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Old Man's War
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Series: Old Man's War, Book 1
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
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The Ghost Brigades
- Old Man's War, Book 2
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The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and they're totally without normal human qualms.
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Just ok
- By Kyle on 2019-10-08
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The Last Colony
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Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up. That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game.
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Well Worth the Read
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"I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player in a interstellar chess match to save humanity. Seventeen years old. Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope."
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Issues with this book
- By Shannon on 2018-11-11
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The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance - an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.
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Felt like a clip-show!
- By Joanne C Vida on 2020-07-02
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Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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ok novel
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The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. They're young, they're fast and strong, and they're totally without normal human qualms.
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Just ok
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Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up. That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game.
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Well Worth the Read
- By S Gebrial on 2019-08-05
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"I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player in a interstellar chess match to save humanity. Seventeen years old. Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope."
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Felt like a clip-show!
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Humans expanded into space...only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
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Awesome book
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ok novel
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The Interdependency, humanity’s interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional conduit that makes travel between the stars possible, is disappearing, leaving entire star systems stranded. When it goes, human civilization may go with it - unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures to help ensure the survival of billions. But nothing is ever that easy.
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Wil Wheaton should read all audio books
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The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems - and billions of people - are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction...and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.
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Jane Sagan: Soldier. Killer. Lover. Dreamer. In John Scalzi's best-selling Old Man's War series of science-fiction novels, we see this warrior woman as the other characters see her - silent and strong, from the outside. But now The Sagan Diary shows us Sagan from another point of view: her own, as she prepares to leave military life and join her new husband and adopted daughter on a colony world.
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A loooong poem.
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Heaven's River
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Civil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by Audible number one best seller Dennis E. Taylor. More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate - whatever the cost. But nothing is ever simple in the Bobiverse. Bob’s descendants are out to the 24th generation now, and replicative drift has produced individuals who can barely be considered Bobs anymore.
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great story, great narrator, but drop the politics
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The Forever War
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I don't know how many times I've read it.
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Brushfire
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fantastic as usual with a hiccup
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Redshirts
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Stars can’t do it justice
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Fuzzy Nation
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In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesnt care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorps headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporations headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, thats not up for discussion.
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Enjoyable and Entertaining
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Agent to the Stars
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The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
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Wacky and fun
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
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Didn't think I'd like it, but I loved it
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For We Are Many
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Bob Johansson didn't believe in an afterlife, so waking up after being killed in a car accident was a shock. To add to the surprise, he is now a sentient computer and the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann probe. Bob and his copies have been spreading out from Earth for 40 years now, looking for habitable planets. But that's the only part of the plan that's still in one piece.
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Amazing story
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Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- Written by: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
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I have a new Author I really like!
- By Amazon Customer on 2018-12-07
Publisher's Summary
The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce - and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So, we fight, to defend Earth and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.
Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.
John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea of what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine. And what he will become is far stranger.
What the critics say
- Hugo Award nominee, Best Novel, 2006
"Scalzi's imagined interstellar arena is coherently and compellingly delineated." (The Washington Post)
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What listeners say about Old Man's War
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nathan
- 2018-09-13
One of the best books I've read in years
This book is great, my father even loved it and he's not a scifi fan. I'm listening for a 2nd time, would recommend to anyone. #Audible1
2 people found this helpful
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- Cori Oreskovich
- 2017-12-12
Excellent book, great performance
This book suffers a small amount from the standard military scifi problem where the protagonist is never allowed to be wrong about anything or make any mistakes, unless those mistakes make them even more awesome.
That said, this is an excellent read and the author seems to have mainly avoided the above problem. The characters are likeable and human, the plot is well paced and exciting, and the performer has done an excellent job differentiating the characters.
one issue I had with the performer (and this is more of an issue with the writing than anything) is that he will be speaking in a character's voice and then drop down to read a "he said", only to immediately go into another character's voice. This happens pretty frequently and can be jarring. I would suggest just leaving these out some of the time, especially when the characters are obvious.
All in all, I'm excited to listen to the next one!
2 people found this helpful
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- reale gladue
- 2018-05-03
heartfelt. funny. sad. oh ya, sci fi too.
it's got it all, loss, love, rebirth, humor and of couse; cool battles. i loved it for it's honesty.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2021-01-07
Interesting start, mediocre end
This story has an interesting premise but it doesn't really go anywhere with it unfortunately. The main character was compelling in some parts but doesn't really seem to have an arc in this story. You also don't get a sense for how war may have changed him or is worldview. There is one instance where it was slightly touched on but the writer moved on from it rather quickly. The supporting characters are not done well either in my opinion, and thr lackluster voice acting didn't help either. Early in the story we're introduced to six characters that the main considers as family after getting to know them (in more ways than one). However, most of these characters disappear from the story once they're all shipped off to different war fronts. What we're left with after this point is an uninteresting lead with perhaps the best luck in the multiverse, characters that come and go at a moments notice and a meandering story structure. It's hard to get invested in anything going on as a result of this especially when there's little to no weight behind the events in the story.
The narration was fine but as I said before the voice acting left a lot to be desired, didn't really do much to bring these characters to life.
By the end I was left to wonder why they had to enlist 75 year olds into the war effort at all. The book had an explanation as to why they do but there isn't any payoff behind it and there's also an element in the story that seems to contradict this need. All in all I can only recommend this book with reservation, there's MUCH better stories out there.
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- Punkrokjeff13
- 2021-01-04
great universe building
cool story takes place in a unique universe
narration distracting at times especially when he does the female voices
but all in all a good listen
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- Michael
- 2020-12-08
Star Ship Troopers, but cleverer
A great and fun listen involving lots of moving pieces without being overwhelmed. An oddly believable story. Would make a great flick, like most of Scalzi’s writing.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-11-20
A fun read
the whole way through this book is funny, witty, and surprising. can't ask for more
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- Robin Thomas
- 2020-11-12
top notch
absolutely loved this story. i found it to be witty, fast paced, intelligent, and surprising heart warming. the characters were believable and relatable. i loved the old farts. the narration was amazing. the change in voice for each character was brilliant. can't wait for the next book.
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- Justen
- 2020-10-08
Terrible Narration
The story seemed fine but the narrator made it feel like I was listening to a children's cartoon with horrible voices for every character. I couldn't make it past chapter 3. Just awful.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2020-08-30
good premise, well narrated, ending meh
liked the premise and beginning of the book. dialogue was done well. narration brought life to the story. latter part of book too military focussed for my liking.
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- M. Spencer
- 2012-10-21
Fun and Witty Military Sci-Fi
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi was the first book that I downloaded with my Audible subscription as I had heard from various sources (including the Sword and Laser podcast) that it was a great read. I have to say that, after reading the novel, I agree wholeheartedly. Old Man’s War was one of the best novels that I’ve read all year. I would even go so far as to say it’s one of my favorite science fiction novels period.
From the start, I really got a kick out of the conceit of the story. In some future United States, elderly people are recruited to enlist and serve in the intergalactic military. With so many novels following a young protagonist (even many adult novels), I found it to be a very refreshing experience to read a novel where the main character was 75 years old.
In addition to that, I really enjoyed Scalzi’s writing style. It had just right combination of dry wit and cynicism to really resonate with me. I should also extend that compliment to William Dufris, the narrator of the audio version that I listened to. I thought he did an excellent job. His tone was perfect for the main characters of the novel.
I don’t want to give anything away in my review so I won’t go into too much detail about the plot, but I really did enjoy the story line a great deal as well. The novel is very much a military story filled with battles and typical military life. In that way, it reminded me of Joe Haldeman’s Forever War, but what I liked about Old Man’s War was a bit lighter and more fun.
The novel really roped me and I had a lot of fun listening to it. In fact, I tended to listen on my iPod while running, giving me the perfect excuse to exercise regularly.
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel and I would recommend it to any science fiction reader.
159 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2012-10-06
Real science fiction, for a change
What made the experience of listening to Old Man's War the most enjoyable?
It was nice to finally read a science fiction book that actually was science fiction, not science 'fantasy'. The science fiction was understandable science, not pulled out of nowhere fantasy stuff that all to often is passed off as science fiction in our largely scientifically barely literate population.
16 people found this helpful
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- Michael
- 2011-11-14
As good as Heinlein
This book reminds me of Heinlein ??? which is about the greatest compliment I can give a Sci Fi author. This book has multiple levels. It blends humor with social commentary, politics with action. The Sci Fi is merely a framework for the story and characters (which is as it should be). The characters are multifaceted and change substantially as the story evolves. The story has a lot of funny bits, but the story includes nice emotional and intellectual content. This book made me want to read everything by this author.
92 people found this helpful
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- CrysAnne
- 2018-07-18
He said, She said
The incessant "He/She/I said" after nearly every bit of dialog was maddening once I noticed it.
12 people found this helpful
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- Jim "The Impatient"
- 2015-10-22
I DIDN'T MIND GETTING OLD, WHEN I WAS YOUNG EITHER
This is not good, it is GREAT!!!! It's Science fiction, it's Military Sci-Fi, it's a romance, it's witty, LOL at times, it is character driven, it is everything I ask for in a novel. I think the older you are and the longer you have been happily married the more you will enjoy this. It is so nice to listen to a novel, where elders are respected. The main character was married for around 42 years, if I remember right. They had some ups and downs, but they were in love. As a man who has been married for over 37 years and who is more in love now than when I was as a youth, I feel the pain and longing of the main character.
The science fiction is cool and this platform gives Scalzi, the ability to show off his imagination. The different aliens he comes up with and how they think different then us, makes for some thought provoking and funny situations. Some other reviewers have compared it to Star Ship Troopers and I see that, but I was thinking more of Forever War by Haldeman. It may have a little of both, but it is all Scalzi.
Dufris does a great job.
128 people found this helpful
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- Diana - Audible
- 2012-04-17
A welcome listening challenge
Audible’s editors thought it would be fun for each of us try a genre we haven’t listened to before, and for me it was sci-fi. Our resident expert on the topic, Steve, recommended John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War as a place to start—and what a start it was! Filled with space battle, technology of the future (including new and improved bodies), characters you’ll care about, and even a heart-tugging love story, this book was a great way to ease into the category. One of the things I loved most was Scalzi’s insights into what makes us human. Or as he says, “Part of what makes us human is what we mean to other humans and what they miss about us.”
39 people found this helpful
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- john s larigan
- 2008-11-21
Science Fiction is Not Dead
I grew up in the 1950's in the hey day of Heinlein, Asimov, Norton, Dickson and other great hard Science Fiction writers. To a great extent the genre in trying to reinvent itself turned its back on the traditional Science Fiction Fan. John Scalzi's novels, like the juveniles of Charles Sheffield, have reinvigorated the old hard science fiction style. However, John Scalzi has gone Sheffield one better. Old Man's War, Ghost Brigade, etc have not only brought Heinleinian style Science Fiction back to life, but he has successfully put a modern spin on the style which gives a fresh perspective. Old Man's War is an amazing effort and like any good book it stands up to being read and re-read. The audio interpretation is very well done and the reader gets a 5 star rating to complement the story itself.
38 people found this helpful
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- Kurt Schwoppe
- 2018-03-17
Just Wow
I am kicking myself for taking so long to find John Scalzi and the Old Man's War series. Thanks to Jim the Impatient for the great review that now has me hooked on the series. I just read the third book, and the storyline is still going strong.
At first I didn't realize that Old Man's War was written 13 years ago, so I kept thinking that Scalzi was borrowing ideas. Now it's pretty clear that he is one original thinker who has set more than a few recent trends in the SciFi genre. As one reviewer said, he is the new Robert Heinlein.
After binge listening to the first three books, I've decided to pace out the remaining three. I got a few 10 hour road trips in the next couple of months, and I can count on the Old Man Series to help make the drive fly quickly by. In the meantime, John Scalzi is going to get a few more of my credits as I try out some of his other books.
6 people found this helpful
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- Dale
- 2007-10-10
A Keeper
The first part of this book, reminiscent of Heinlein's "Starship Trooper", is a worthy homage. The second part is also a love story with emotional depth. The technology is part of the plot and not simply window dressing. I will look for other works by this author.
48 people found this helpful
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Overall
- david
- 2008-08-18
good find
I really liked "Old man's War". This book has everything I wanted. Sci-fi, aliens, fighting, humor. I enjoy the type of book where you have a person who starts a new situation, learns about the univers and becomes a hero. Ussually it is from the perspective of a young person coming of age, going through bootcamp or some like training. The unique thing about this, is that it is from an old man's perspective.
The writing is well done, the book goes quick. The alien races are an interesting mix. Good book.
36 people found this helpful