Old Man's War

I have finished John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" some time ago, and it was really nice, solid Science Fiction in my humble opinion. Although some compare it Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" I cannot say the same. While Heinlein's novel has kind of the same structure as Scalzi's work, it has more depth in terms of military background and a more philosophical approach. Scalzi's work on the other hand is more science orientated and the description of the alien societies is far more intriguing.

What's the story? Here's the back cover teaser from the book:

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 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.

Would I recommend "Old Man's War"? That's a definitive yes, if you like Science Fiction in general and military SF in particular.

By the way, In the meantime I have finished the sequel "Ghost Brigades", although sequel is maybe the wrong term here, since it is located in the same universe, but from a totally different perspective this time.