Old Man's War [Paperback]

"Gripping and surpassingly original. It's "Starship Troopers" without the lectures. It's "The Forever War" with better sex. It's funny, it's sad, and it's true."
--Cory Doctorow
"John Scalzi is a fresh and appealing new voice, and "Old Man's War" is classic SF seen from a modern perspective--a fast-paced tour of a daunting, hostile universe."
--Robert Charles Wilson
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

John Perry did two things on this 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it to interstellar space. The bad news is that planes fit to live on are scarce and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. Fr from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, and unyielding. We fight to defend Earth from our new enemies and to stake our claim to planetary real estate. On Earth, the bulk of the resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defence Force. Only those of retirement age can join the CDF: they want people who carry the skills from decades of living. CDF members are taken off Earth to serve two years at the front. If they survive, they're given a generous homestead on hard-won colony planets, never to return to Earth. John Perry is taking that deal with only the vaguest idea what to expect. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry's service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring their youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the Old Farts, Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including a brain-implanted computer. But all too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry must fight for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds. 'Scalzi's astonishingly proficient first novel reads like an original work by the late grand master, Robert A. Heinlein' Publishers Weekly 'Delivers fast-paced scenes of combat, and pays attention to the science underpinning his premise' San Francisco Chronicle --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

John Scalzi is an author and online writer, known for his blog Whatever, at which he has written daily on a number of topics since 1998. Old Man's War, his first novel, was a finalist in the Hugo Awards. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.