| Old Man's War | |
.jpg/200px-OldMansWar(1stEd).jpg) Cover of first edition (hardcover) |
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| Author | John Scalzi |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 320 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-765-30940-8 |
| Followed by | The Ghost Brigades |
Old Man's War is a science fiction novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an author and online writer best known for his Hugo Award -nominated Science fiction novel The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Tor Books is one of two Imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC based in New York City Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. The Ghost Brigades is the second book by John Scalzi set in the Old Man's War universe A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an author and online writer best known for his Hugo Award -nominated Science fiction novel The year 2005 in literature involved some significant events and new books It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best Science fiction or Fantasy works and achievements of the previous year Winners of the Hugo Award for best science fiction or fantasy Novel, along with all the nominees are presented here
A loose sequel, The Ghost Brigades, was published in 2006, and a more direct sequel, The Last Colony, was published in 2007. The Ghost Brigades is the second book by John Scalzi set in the Old Man's War universe The Last Colony is the third book by John Scalzi set in the Old Man's War universe
Contents |
Plot introduction
The first-person narrative is about a soldier named John Perry and his exploits in the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces). See also First person First-person narrative is a Narrative mode in which a Story is narrated by one character, who explicitly 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. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. Starship Troopers is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published (in abridged form as a serial in The Magazine Joe William Haldeman is an American Science fiction author. Life and work Haldeman was born in 1943 in Oklahoma City Oklahoma The Forever War is a 1974 Science fiction Novel by Joe Haldeman. 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. 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. Starship Troopers is a Science fiction Novel by Robert A Heinlein, first published (in abridged form as a serial in The Magazine The Forever War is a 1974 Science fiction Novel by Joe Haldeman.
Plot summary
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 CDF's 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. Old Man's War is a Science fiction Novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. Perry names his "Asshole", and the names of his fellow recruits' BrainPals also reflect this sentiment.
After receiving basic training on Beta Pyxis III, Perry is shipped out to the CDF's Modesto. Their first engagement is with the Consu, a fierce and intelligent alien species. Perry improvises a tactic which enables the CDF to win this 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 shot down by 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 adviser 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.
Skip Drive
Old Man's War introduces a new form of FTL interstellar travel called a Skip Drive. This is a misnomer because it is not a drive system at all as it has nothing to do with acceleration. The Skip Drive simply takes an object, like a space ship, and punches a hole in the universe you're in, and places the object at its destination, just in a new, essentially identical universe. The universe in general doesn't like anomalies, due to the laws of physics, so it considers such a huge anomaly as a completely new spaceship as too much change and attempts to keep everything in the new universe identical to the previous universe to keep differences as small as possible. There are limits on the skip drive due to the users in the book not knowing all there is to know about how it works. It is likely that the Humans in the book did not invent it, or at least by themselves. The limitations are as follows:
- The object skipping must be out of a major gravity well
- The object skipping cannot skip out too far, as it will exceed its skip horizon.
Obviously, in the second book The Ghost Brigades, the CDF knows more about the Skip drive than the reader because they are continually modifying it. The Ghost Brigades is the second book by John Scalzi set in the Old Man's War universe They come out with a new, smaller skip drive that can be operated at the gravity point between two gravity wells, planetary objects. The Skip Horizon is touched upon, but clearly no CDF member in the book knows why the Skip Horizon exists. It is the maximum range of a skip drive. If an object skips beyond the Skip Horizon it disappears, and no one knows what happens to it. More advanced races, notably the Consu, have a more complex understanding of skip drives and can even detect ships skipping into a system.
BrainPal
The BrainPal is a neural implant that allows members of the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) to communicate telepathically. Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subject's Brain - usually placed on the Users can send and receive a great deal of information via the BrainPal, including speech, battle plans, and much more.
External links
- Old Man’s War publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
See Also
- The Ghost Brigades
- The Last Colony
- The Sagan Diaries
- John Scalzi
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