Old Man's War

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**Old Man's War**

Author	John Scalzi
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Tor Books
Released	2005
Media Type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	320 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0765315246

Old Man's War is a science fiction novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. The first-person narrative is about a soldier named John Perry and his exploits in the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces). Old Man's War is similar in overall structure to Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers and Joe Haldeman's The Forever War as it follows Perry's military career from CDF recruit to the rank of captain. Set in a universe heavily populated with life forms, colonialists from Earth must compete for the scarce planetary real estate which is suitable for sustaining life. As such, Perry must learn to battle against a wide variety of aliens, unlike Starship Troopers and The Forever War, where wars were fought against single alien species (the Arachnids and the Taurans). Additionally, while the soldiers in Starship Troopers and The Forever War relied on powered body armor to gain advantage over their aliens, the soldiers in Old Man's War have enhanced DNA and nanotechnology, giving them advantages in strength, speed, and endurance. Old Man's War was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006.

A loose sequel, The Ghost Brigades, was published in 2006, and a more direct sequel, The Last Colony, will be published in 2007.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The novel tells the story of John Perry, a 75-year old retired writer, who joins the Colonial Defense Forces. Applicants are required to sign a letter of intent when they are 65 - which John and his now deceased wife Kathy had signed 10 years prior. He takes a space elevator to the CDFS Henry Hudson, where his mind is transferred to a new body. This new body, based on his original DNA, has been enhanced for enormous strength, and has been supplemented with several proprietary products which increase the oxygen loading capacity of his blood, provide enhanced eyesight and other enhanced senses. It also features a BrainPal - a neural interface that allows Perry to communicate with other members of the CDF.

After receiving basic training on Beta Pyxis III, Perry is shipped out to the CDFS Modesto. Their first engagement is with the Consu, a fierce and intelligent alien species. Perry improvises a tactic which enables the CDF to win his first battle. This is soon followed by a battle with the Whaidians and a battle with the tiny Covandu.

Now a war-seasoned veteran, Perry then participates in the Battle for Coral. The CDF plans to rapidly transport in a small number of vessels to Coral, which is being held by the Rraey. Somehow, the Rraey are able to predict the trajectory of the vessel's skip drives, whereby they destroy the fleet. Perry and a small number of others escape in a shuttle craft and make for the planet's surface, where they are taken out with missiles. Perry is left for dead, only to be rescued by the mysterious "Ghost Brigades," the Special Forces units of the CDF. The leader of the Ghost Brigades rescue team, Jane Sagan, looks like Perry's dead wife Kathy.

After being regenerated, Perry tracks down Jane Sagan, who turns out to have been generated using Kathy Perry's DNA, as legally allowed by her letter of intent to join the CDF. Unlike John, Jane has no memories of her previous life. Jane manipulates her chain of command to promote John as an advisor for a subsequent attack on Coral. The CDF determines that the Rraey have received tachyon technology from the Consu, allowing them to predict the location of their ships. Jane and John then participate in a Ghost Brigades mission to attempt to capture or destroy this technology in advance of a major invasion. While John is instrumental in the successful outcome of the battle, he loses track of Jane as she returns to the insular Ghost Brigades.