Old Man's War

Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
 
Imagine living out your life on Earth well into your golden years in relative peace and normalcy, except that when you turn seventy-five you suddenly have the option of transferring your consciousness to a new, younger body. Sounds terrific, right? The only hitch is that to get your new body you have to enlist in the mysterious Colonial Defense Force for anywhere from two to ten years, and you can never return to Earth. Doesn't sound so bad, considering the traditional alternative of growing older and dealing with the increasing infirmities of advancing age until you eventually expire; and after you leave CDF service they'll even give you a plot of land on a colony world where you can begin an entirely new second life. Still sounds like a pretty good deal, doesn't it? Sure, but once you've joined up and you're all settled into your brand-spanking-new, genetically-engineered and heavily modified bad-ass of a new body, you find out that the universe is a crowded and hostile place and that every xenophobic impulse you might ever have had is about to be entirely validated as you travel to strange new worlds, meet interesting and exotic alien species, and kill them (before they kill you first). Oh, and your chances of survival past a full tour of duty are pretty abysmal. It's still a shot at a brand new life though, and in addition to your arsenal of bio-engineered enhancements and cutting-edge weaponry you have what is probably your greatest asset--seventy-five years' worth of wisdom and life experience to help guide you through the ensuing mayhem. For John Perry, new recruit of the CDF, that might almost be enough...

John Scalzi has crafted an enthralling, fast-paced sci-fi tale with his Hugo-nominated Old Man's War. Readers may pick up strong echoes of Heinlein and Haldeman, but Scalzi borrows concepts from a number of sources (Finley-Day and Gibbons' Rogue Trooper comes immediately to mind) and uses them all to infuse his story with fresh perspective and new twists on some time-tested ideas. The narrative itself is brisk, being light on exposition and heavy on action. This one's a real page-turner.
-Will