Old Man's War

John Scalzi

Tor Science Fiction

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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 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.

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Book Excerpts

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"In this room right now are 1,022 recruits," Lt. Colonel Higgee said. "Two years from today, 400 of you will be dead."

Higgee stood in the front of the theater, again. This time, he had a backdrop: Beta Pyxis III floated behind him, a massive marble streaked with blue, white, green and brown

"In the third year," he continued, "another 100 of you will die. Another 150 in years four and five. After ten years -- and yes, recruits, you will most likely be required to serve a full ten years -- 750 of you have been killed in the line of duty.

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Reviews

Praise for Old Man's War

“Though a lot of SF writers are more or less efficiently continuing the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein, Scalzi’s astonishingly proficient first novel reads like an original work by the late grand master...This virtuoso debut pays tribute to SF’s past while showing that well-worn tropes still can have real zip when they’re approached with ingenuity.”
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Old Man’s War
 
“Solid…[Scalzi] sidesteps most of the cliches of military science fiction, delivers fast-paced scenes of combat and pays attention to the science underpinning his premise.”
--San Francisco Chronicle on Old Man’s War
 
“Thought-provoking!”
--Entertainment Weekly on Old Man’s War
 
“Smartly conceived and thoroughly entertaining, Old Man’s War is a splendid novel.”
–Cleveland Plain Dealer
 
“Solid…[Scalzi] sidesteps most of the cliches of military science fiction, delivers fast-paced scenes of combat and pays attention to the science underpinning his premise.”
–San Francisco Chronicle on Old Man’s War
 
"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 on Old Man’s War

"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
 
“I enjoyed Old Man's War immensely. A space war story with fast action, vivid characters, moral complexity and cool speculative physics, set in a future you almost want to live into, and a universe you sincerely hope you don't live in already.”
--Ken MacLeod

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About the Author

John Scalzi

John Scalzi won the 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and Old Man’s War, his debut novel, was a finalist for science fiction’s Hugo Award. His other books include The Ghost Brigades, The Android’s Dream and The Last Colony. He has won the Hugo Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for science-fiction, the Seiun, The Kurd Lasswitz and the Geffen awards. His weblog, Whatever, is one of the most widely-read web sites in modern SF. Born and raised in California, Scalzi studied at the University of Chicago. He lives in southern Ohio with his wife and daughter.

John Scalzi

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Available Formats and Book Details

Old Man's War
John Scalzi

Mass Market Paperbound

Mass Market Paperbound
Tom Doherty Associates
Tor Science Fiction
January 2007
Mass Market Paperbound
ISBN: 9780765348272
ISBN10: 0765348276
4 3/16 x 6 3/4 inches, 320 pages
$6.99
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Unabridged Digital Audio

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Unabridged Digital Audio
Macmillan Audio
August 2007
Unabridged Digital Audio
ISBN: 9781427203229
ISBN10: 1427203229
Audio Run Time: 10:00
$23.95

Hardcover

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Hardcover
Tom Doherty Associates
Tor Books
January 2005
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780765309402
ISBN10: 0765309408
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 320 pages
$23.95

Trade Paperback

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Trade Paperback
Tom Doherty Associates
Tor Books
December 2005
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780765315243
ISBN10: 0765315246
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 320 pages
$12.95
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e-Book Agency

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e-Book Agency
Tom Doherty Associates
Tor Books
April 2007
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429914710
ISBN10: 1429914718
320 pages
$6.99
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