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Old Man's War
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Old Man's War: Book 1

Old Man's War (2005) (edit title/settings)

by John Scalzi (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

It is a book about war, and those who fight in it. a master piece, with solid charters and fast paced action.

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar... read more

Summary edit see section history

The novel tells the story of John Perry, a 75-year old retired writer, who joins the Colonial Defense Forces. Applicants are required to sign a letter of intent when they are 65—which John and his now deceased wife Kathy had signed 10 years prior. He takes a space elevator to the CDF's Henry... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

The novel tells the story of John Perry, a 75-year old retired writer, who joins the Colonial Defense Forces. Applicants are required to sign a letter of intent when they are 65—which John and his now deceased wife Kathy had signed 10 years prior. He takes a space elevator to the CDF's Henry Hudson, where his mind is transferred to a new body. This new body, based on his original DNA, has been enhanced for enormous strength, and has been supplemented with several proprietary products which increase the oxygen loading capacity of his blood, provide enhanced eyesight and other enhanced senses. It also features a BrainPal—a neural interface that allows Perry to communicate with other members of the CDF. Perry names his "Asshole", and the names of his fellow recruits' BrainPals also reflect this sentiment.

After receiving basic training on Beta Pyxis III, Perry is shipped out to the CDF's Modesto. Their first engagement is with the Consu, a fierce and intelligent alien species. Perry improvises a tactic which enables the CDF to win this first battle. This is soon followed by a number of battles with, among others, the Whaidians and the tiny Covandu.

Now a war-seasoned veteran, Perry then participates in the Battle for Coral. The CDF plans to rapidly transport in a small number of vessels to Coral, which is being held by the Rraey. Somehow, the Rraey are able to predict the trajectory of the vessel's skip drives, whereby they destroy the fleet. Perry and a small number of others escape in a shuttle craft and make for the planet's surface, where they are shot down by missiles. Perry is left for dead, only to be rescued by the mysterious "Ghost Brigades", the Special Forces units of the CDF. The leader of the Ghost Brigades rescue team, Jane Sagan, looks like Perry's dead wife Kathy.

After being regenerated, Perry tracks down Jane Sagan, who turns out to have been generated using Kathy Perry's DNA, as legally allowed by her letter of intent to join the CDF. Unlike John, Jane has no memories of her previous life. Jane manipulates her chain of command to promote John as an adviser for a subsequent attack on Coral. The CDF determines that the Rraey have received tachyon technology from the Consu, allowing them to predict the location of their ships. Jane and John then participate in a Ghost Brigades mission to attempt to capture or destroy this technology in advance of a major invasion. While John is instrumental in the successful outcome of the battle, he loses track of Jane as she returns to the insular Ghost Brigades.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Characters/People edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “I could just be a lonely old man wandering around looking for a conversation.”
    John Perry
  • “The problem with aging is not that it’s one damn thing after another—it’s every damn thing, all at once, all the time.”
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • Do not mourn me, friends I fall as a shooting star Into the next life
    Highlighted by 75 Kindle customers
  • Part of what makes us human is what we mean to other people, and what people mean to us. I miss meaning something to someone, having that part of being human.
    Highlighted by 60 Kindle customers
  • The problem with aging is not that it’s one damn thing after another—it’s every damn thing, all at once, all the time.
    Highlighted by 60 Kindle customers
  • “I’m not insane, sir,” I said. “I have a finely calibrated sense of acceptable risk.”
    Highlighted by 55 Kindle customers
  • ‘This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle, without me, is useless. Without my rifle, I am useless. I must fire my rifle true. I must shoot straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must shoot him before he shoots me. And I will.’
    Highlighted by 50 Kindle customers
  • The sense you’re where you’re supposed to be, with someone you’re supposed to be with.
    Highlighted by 48 Kindle customers
  • “I didn’t mind getting old when I was young, either,” I said. “It’s the being old now that’s getting to me.”
    Highlighted by 44 Kindle customers
  • For as much as I hate the cemetery, I’ve been grateful it’s here, too. I miss my wife. It’s easier to miss her at a cemetery, where she’s never been anything but dead, than to miss her in all the places where she was alive.
    Highlighted by 43 Kindle customers
  • “I’m a seething cauldron of disconnected rage on the inside, Lieutenant.”
    Highlighted by 40 Kindle customers
  • Especially because if you don’t, in a decade you’ll be eighty-five, and then the only difference between you and a raisin will be that while you’re both wrinkled and without a prostate, the raisin never had a prostate to begin with.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
Show all 12 quotes from this book

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Organizations edit see section history

  • Colonial Union: The CU represents all of mankind, except for Earth.. who is virtually unaware of the scope of the off-world activities.
  • Colonial Defense Force: Humankinds defense force against a galaxy full of species, each of whom want their own slice of the galaxy.

First Sentence edit see section history

I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday.

Glossary edit see section history

  • Skip Drive: Old Man's War introduces a new form of FTL interstellar travel called a Skip Drive. This is a misnomer because it is not a drive system at all as it has nothing to do with acceleration. The Skip Drive simply takes an object, like a space ship, and punches a hole in the universe you're in, and places the object at its destination, just in a new, essentially identical universe. The universe in general doesn't like anomalies, due to the laws of physics, so it considers such a huge anomaly as a completely new spaceship as too much change and attempts to keep everything in the new universe identical to the previous universe to keep differences as small as possible. There are limits on the skip drive due to the users in the book not knowing all there is to know about how it works. It is likely that the Humans in the book did not invent it, or at least by themselves. The limitations are as follows:The object skipping must be out of a major gravity wellThe object skipping cannot skip out too far, as it will exceed its skip horizon.The Colonial Union and other governments use devices called skip drones to communicate. These skip drones are essentially computers equipped with skip drives. A ship or satellite will launch one of these devices away from local gravity wells and skip to its target locale and download its information to the local people.In the second book The Ghost Brigades, the CDF knows more about the Skip drive, they are continually modifying it. They come out with a new, smaller skip drive that can be operated at the Lagrange point of two planetary objects. The Skip Horizon is touched upon, but clearly no CDF member in the book knows why the Skip Horizon exists. It is the maximum range of a skip drive. If an object skips beyond the Skip Horizon it disappears, and no one knows what happens to it.More advanced races, notably the Consu, have a more complex understanding of skip drives and can even detect ships skipping into a system. (Wikipedia)
  • BrainPal: The BrainPal is a neural implant that allows members of the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) to send and receive data; including speech, battle plans and much more. The Brainpal comes pre-programmed with a treasure trove of information. CDF soldiers use their brainpals to translate alien languages, watch classic cartoons and read old books.Brainpal allows the CDF soldiers to operate colonial technology by thought alone. A CDF rifle can only be used by someone with a brainpal.To the members of the Ghost Brigades the Brainpal does much much more, it provides a synthetic consciousness that allows the newborn soldiers to function until their own identities develop. The Brainpal allows special forces platoons to integrate into a single hive mind. (Wikipedia)
  • Smartblood: Replacement of one of humanities biggest weaknesses: blood. It contains nanobots that can carry out specific tasks faster and more efficiently than normal blood, like plastering a cut almost instantly to avoid massive blood loss. It carries more oxygen than normal blood allowing extended periods of time without breathing and an easier time during physical excersice.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Immortality: In this book we see a different version of immortality, in that people are able to transfer their minds to NEW bodies which with proper use would effectively make them immortal.
  • Resurrection: People who sign up for the military, but die before service may be cloned and brought back. Their minds will be different, but they are a sort of resurrection of a dead person. Not in the classical term, as their original body is gone.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 1 of 16 in Old Man's War. (standard series)

Followed by Mass Market Paperback:The Ghost Brigades Publisher: Tor Science Fiction.

This is book 74 of 99 in National Public Radio's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. John Scalzi (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Tor Books
Country: United States
Publication Date: 2005
ISBN: 0-765-30940-8
Page Count: 320

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3619.C256 O43 2005
  • Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Young Adults

Parents should be aware that this book has violence, and minor language and sexual content.

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

  • Wikipedia: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Forever War
  • The Uplift War
  • Dauntless
  • Starship Troopers

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Forever War

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Ghost Brigades

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