Grain Cart Book Review...

For all of you who get stuck in the grain cart, some advice on stuff I've been reading in 12 minute intervals.


Old Man's War by John Scalzi

The premise is targeted right at me:

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: 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 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 fast-clotting "smartblood" and a brain-implanted personal computer. All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds. Scalzi's blending of wry humor and futuristic warfare recalls Joe Haldeman's classic, The Forever War (1974), and strikes the right fan--pleasing chords to probably garner major sf award nominations.

Good writing and several sequels if you like it.  But for a boomer like me the idea of a new, improved version of myself at 75 is pretty darn engaging.  For sci-fi, it's better than most with very strong character development.

Another hint: my Kindle and an LED headlamp work superb in this situation.

What - you were expecting War and Peace?

[Update: No wonder I like his books.]