w1ckedn0nsense's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sporkshire's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
angelofthe0dd's review
4.0
John Perry, a 75-year-old man, enlists in the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). He's given a young, completely bio-engineered (and green) body. He proves himself as a strong leader in his first major combat. As he grows in his military career, he comes across people that die in combat against various Intergalactic alien races. It's these deaths that the author uses to illustrate traditional stances for or against combat in general. Early in the book, one soldier gets killed because he gets too excited by a combat victory, and he underestimates the firepower of the remaining enemy forces. Another soldier thought he could bring peace and goodwill to an alien religious ceremony. They filled him with about 20,000 small needles fired from ceremonial sticks. He was liquefied. The most poignant part of the book is where John is rescued by a group of Special Forces. One of the special forces soldiers he recognizes as his wife. That's because his wife's DNA was used by the CDF to create clone soldiers. The woman looks and sounds like his wife, but isn't really his wife in mind or actually having led a life. Her name is Jane. She understands that she's an engineered DNA construct, but she wants John to tell her all about his wife so that she can understand the woman she was made from.
John Scalzi did an amazing job weaving a story with so much philosophical depth. I would love to read this book in a classroom or online forum where everyone chimes in with what the book means to them.
John Scalzi did an amazing job weaving a story with so much philosophical depth. I would love to read this book in a classroom or online forum where everyone chimes in with what the book means to them.
evesn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
rick2's review
3.0
Entertaining space war SciFi. Basically space Doom. I know Doom is already on Mars, but this is like Doom if we could go outside the solar system.
I can't remember who said it, maybe Kafka or Camus (google is no help), but it was to the extent, "Whenever you allude to a more interesting story within your story, you have to justify why you didn't tell that one."
I think it applies aptly here. This book is a fun romp through space war with some interesting sci fi concepts. But there was a lot of "oh yeah, punching and kicking and shooting" with what I imagined as heavy metal music playing.
I couldn't help but think of this as a text version of Doom with weird chicken/insect aliens. I would have appreciated a bit more worldbuilding and character development. I wanted more. There were a lot of "oh yeah, this persons only purpose is exposition" and "of course theyre going to do it that way to advance the plot." As such, I thought the nuance was lacking, but the space punching and kicking really carried the day, again a lot like Doom.
I can't remember who said it, maybe Kafka or Camus (google is no help), but it was to the extent, "Whenever you allude to a more interesting story within your story, you have to justify why you didn't tell that one."
I think it applies aptly here. This book is a fun romp through space war with some interesting sci fi concepts. But there was a lot of "oh yeah, punching and kicking and shooting" with what I imagined as heavy metal music playing.
I couldn't help but think of this as a text version of Doom with weird chicken/insect aliens. I would have appreciated a bit more worldbuilding and character development. I wanted more. There were a lot of "oh yeah, this persons only purpose is exposition" and "of course theyre going to do it that way to advance the plot." As such, I thought the nuance was lacking, but the space punching and kicking really carried the day, again a lot like Doom.
snowbenton's review against another edition
4.0
Outrageous in the most Starship Troopers look-over-there-just-pretend-this-is-science way, this is a fun adventure. I love that the main characters are all older people; it adds depth that the story really needs.
gyttja's review
2.0
Även om rymden är oändlig så verkar den inte ha något djup.
Tyvärr hade jag helt andra förväntningar på den här boken en vad jag fick av att läsa den. Även om boken är lättläst och har ett bra tempo så föll den mig verkligen inte i smaken. Alla karaktärer känns platta och så gott som alla pratar på exakt samma smarta, kvicka sätt. Inte ens nu efter att jag läst klart boken känns det som jag känner och förstår huvudkaraktären. Men oj vilken Mary Sue han är! Alla mysterier och problem han stöter på braverar han utan att anstränga sig.
Tyvärr kändes även alla scifi-element lika tunna som bokens karaktärer. Detta trots att många av sidorna går till att förklara de olika teknologierna. Jag hade nog gillat boken mycket mer om Scalzi skippat dessa beskrivningar och förklaringar för att istället gett läsaren djupare inblick i karaktärernas personligheter och känslor.
En sista sak som jag verkligen störde mig på som egentligen kanske är en bagatell är det oändliga användandet av "sa X"! Jag tycker verkligen att det stör läsandet och fick mig stundtals att vilja hoppa över konversationer. Vilket annars är det jag brukar gilla mest i böcker.
Tyvärr hade jag helt andra förväntningar på den här boken en vad jag fick av att läsa den. Även om boken är lättläst och har ett bra tempo så föll den mig verkligen inte i smaken. Alla karaktärer känns platta och så gott som alla pratar på exakt samma smarta, kvicka sätt. Inte ens nu efter att jag läst klart boken känns det som jag känner och förstår huvudkaraktären. Men oj vilken Mary Sue han är! Alla mysterier och problem han stöter på braverar han utan att anstränga sig.
Tyvärr kändes även alla scifi-element lika tunna som bokens karaktärer. Detta trots att många av sidorna går till att förklara de olika teknologierna. Jag hade nog gillat boken mycket mer om Scalzi skippat dessa beskrivningar och förklaringar för att istället gett läsaren djupare inblick i karaktärernas personligheter och känslor.
En sista sak som jag verkligen störde mig på som egentligen kanske är en bagatell är det oändliga användandet av "sa X"! Jag tycker verkligen att det stör läsandet och fick mig stundtals att vilja hoppa över konversationer. Vilket annars är det jag brukar gilla mest i böcker.
pjonsson's review
3.0
Interresting and different concept. I'm generally not very interrested in marine grunt stories, I'm prefer starships slugging it out, but this one was different enough to make me continue going. I might even read the other books in the series.
If you do like marine grunt stuff then the book probably worth a four star rating but as I said, it's not really my cup of tea so...
If you do like marine grunt stuff then the book probably worth a four star rating but as I said, it's not really my cup of tea so...