Once again, I’ve received way too many books from the library, so I’ve been reading like a fiend to tackle them all before they’re due. I’m grouping the sci-fi here, and the fluffy stuff will be in another post. So, onward!
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi: As you may recall from a previous post, I’ve read a couple of John Scalzi’s books and enjoyed them. But those were the more lighthearted books; I wasn’t sure I would be as delighted with the heavier material, namely the four books in the Old Man’s War series. But like his stuff I do, so read this book I did. And I was silly to be worried — this book was just as excellent as the lighter stuff. He’s created a fascinating universe, where humans can volunteer for the colonial defense (a badass space army) at age 75. They’re made physically fit, trained, and sent out to fight pretty much every other race in the universe. It’s almost, dare I say it, an Ender’s Game for the senior set. Scalzi has taken the sci-fi trope of training-space-soldiers and put a very cool twist on it. In full disclosure, Scott is reading this book right now, and said, “This lead characer, John, is kind of a Mary Sue, isn’t he?” I didn’t feel that, but there it is. 8 out of 10.
The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi: I was going to read the latest Nick Hornby book, but then this arrived on my doorstep, and poor Nick got bumped. It’s the second book in the Old Man’s War series, set in the same universe with a couple of the same characters. But a much different angle; more of a mystery combined with sci-fi war and adventure. And again, it was a really enjoyable read. (I’ve put the third book in the series in my request queue.) Three alien races are coming together to attempt to wipe out humankind, and a human traitor is behind it. The special forces (also called the titular ghost brigades) are tasked with finding out where the traitor is, and what his plans are. The story moved along at a great clip, and the ending gave just a glimpse into the possible content of the next book, which I can’t wait to receive. 8 out of 10.
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card: I enjoyed Ender’s Game immensely, so I promptly requested the second book in the series. It took a very long time to get to me; the line of library requests was oddly long. And I’ll say this right off the bat: this book is incredibly different from Ender’s Game. And at first, I had a really hard time getting into it. While the first book was about children learning to be soldiers, this book starts out about biologists studying an alien race. Eventually Ender himself enters the scene, and the book comes together not as a war book, but as a sci-fi murder mystery. Once I finally realized how completely opposite this book was, I got a lot more into it. I wish I’d known in advance that it was nothing like Ender’s Game — it might have taken less time for me to settle in. For me, then, the back half of the book really took off and got interesting. My biggest issue overall is that most of the characters had given names and nicknames, and a lot of their nicknames were similar. I spent a lot of time thinking, Wait, now who was that again? Card also pretty plainly telegraphed what the sequel would be about, and even led me to guess about some of the relationships that would develop. We’ll see if they come about the way I think; I’ve put book 3, Xenocide, on the hold list. 7 out of 10.





















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