Old Man's War series (Scalzi)

I've read it and thought it was good. The premise of recruiting 70+ year olds and giving them enhanced and young bodies was intriguing. But I have to say that, once the considerable action starts, it seemed like just another G.I. Joe in space story. The characters seemed just as subject to foibles and reactions as any others might be, irrespective of actual age.

There is a strong rumor that there will be a film, but I don't know of any confirmation.
 
I thoroughly enjoyed OMW but whilst still good I didn't enjoy the two following books as much (the third was maybe a little better). However I loved The Android's Dream and I am hoping he might follow that up some time. I did hear mention to that effect on here somwhere.

And yes I too love his mix of tongue in cheek and seriousness. My first exposure to him was Agent to the Stars and I still smile every time I think of that book!
 
When I finished OMW I realised why I thought he was crap. Too many green skinned humans having sex and fighting stereotyped tribal aliens. No real story except going into battle a lot and proving their awesomeness. I found it annoying.
 
I've yet to hear anything bad about these books. I must pick them up.
 
I really enjoyed Old Man's War. I liked Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony too, but not as much. It seems like with each successive book Scalzi loses more and more steam. I still haven't read Zoe's Tale yet. People tired of this series should really seek out Fuzzy Nation, which was thoroughly entertaining and fun to read.
 
clovis-man said:
I've read it and thought it was good. The premise of recruiting 70+ year olds and giving them enhanced and young bodies was intriguing. But I have to say that, once the considerable action starts, it seemed like just another G.I. Joe in space story. The characters seemed just as subject to foibles and reactions as any others might be, irrespective of actual age.

There is a strong rumor that there will be a film, but I don't know of any confirmation.
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it's set up like "G.I. Joe in space," or rather, like a Starship Troopers or similar Heinlein-esque story. but, beneath that, it's actually a satire of those things, and meant to explore the ridiculousness of that premise, and make you uncomfortable with the things those kinds of stories glorify. that's what separates it from stock military SF.

as for the film, Scalzi himself has said that there are on-going negotiations with a specific, unnamed studio that wants to buy the rights to OMW, but that no contract has yet been signed. even if they do buy the rights, it's no guarantee that a film will ever be made.
 
Moggle said:
I really enjoyed Old Man's War. I liked Ghost Brigades, and The Last Colony too, but not as much. It seems like with each successive book Scalzi loses more and more steam. I still haven't read Zoe's Tale yet. People tired of this series should really seek out Fuzzy Nation, which was thoroughly entertaining and fun to read.
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It is often true that with each book in a series the enjoyment goes down. But that might be as much our getting tired of the premise as it is with the author losing his edge.

I guess Old Man's War is too subtle for me. I enjoyed the book and the series, but all of the satire must have flown over my head.

Have you read the original Fuzzy series? I have the paperbacks somewhere in my stored boxes of SF. I thought it was an interesting premise, but wasn't sure it actually worked that well.
 
I enjoyed OMW, it was good lighthearted entertainment. On the strength of it I bought Ghost Brigades, which is still in my TBR stack.
 
Parson said:
It is often true that with each book in a series the enjoyment goes down. But that might be as much our getting tired of the premise as it is with the author losing his edge.

I guess Old Man's War is too subtle for me. I enjoyed the book and the series, but all of the satire must have flown over my head.

Have you read the original Fuzzy series? I have the paperbacks somewhere in my stored boxes of SF. I thought it was an interesting premise, but wasn't sure it actually worked that well.
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Yes, I read the first book, and the difference in quality between Fuzzy Nation and Little Fuzzy is astonishing. Fuzzy Nation reads very professional and polished, and Little Fuzzy is almost embarrassingly amateurish and not very good. Maybe it gets better with the sequels, but I was so turned off that I haven't bothered to read them. I can only imagine that Scalzi felt he could do a better job. Why else would an author adapt a story that's already been told. This is the first I've ever heard of this being done.
 
Moggle said:
Yes, I read the first book, and the difference in quality between Fuzzy Nation and Little Fuzzy is astonishing. Fuzzy Nation reads very professional and polished, and Little Fuzzy is almost embarrassingly amateurish and not very good. Maybe it gets better with the sequels, but I was so turned off that I haven't bothered to read them. I can only imagine that Scalzi felt he could do a better job. Why else would an author adapt a story that's already been told. This is the first I've ever heard of this being done.
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Actually, that's good news. Usually people who come into a series lower the quality of it, and I wasn't too interested in a series which quality was lower than the "Fuzzy" series.

However, did you know that there are some who consider "Little Fuzzy" et al classic SF. I bought them used, and the owner of the store said she had had some people ask if she had them, but she wouldn't sell them to them because she thought that they weren't real SF fans. (A weird interlude in my life.:eek:)
 
I enjoyed OMW, and I agree I saw echoes of Heinlein. It's an interesting premise giving people another life, but the war so narrowed the focus that it did slow down for me in the second half. I liked the ending though, and that made it all worthwhile.
 
I read it a while ago, and my memory of the characters isn't too clear. I was thoroughly disappointed to realise that his execution of the premise 'old people go to war' ended up being 'old people get turned into young people and then go to war'. It was well-written, though, and I did enjoy it in a sort of fast-food way. I do remember being reasonably interested in the ghost-brigade stuff - though not interested enough to actually go and get the other books in the series.
 
I read the OMW series and enjoyed it. But when I got to Zoe's Tale it lost its' freshness and I could not finish it. I have tried author's more recent work and found it rather boring.
 
Am currently reading Old Man's War and finding it hugely enjoyable. Couldn't stop laughing after John named his BrainPal. And then when we found what the others had called theirs. :)

Good pace, engaging, and wonderful humour so far. However, I suspect that it's about to become really serious and downbeat. If it falls into the predictable anti-war narrative I'm hoping to see it handled in an interesting and new way. Even if it doesn't, it's certainly been fun and interesting so far.
 
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