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eliaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic
singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I read The Old Man’s War (the first book in this series) last year, I think. I don’t remember how many stars I gave it, but my main criticism then was that the main character seemed to be too perfect, and everything was too easy for him. I can happily report that this book has a different main character, and things are not too easy for him.
We follow Jared Dirac, a “super soldier” created from the DNA of a scientist who has turned into a traitor to the human race. The higher-ups hope that Jared will be the key to finding out why the scientist betrayed them and how to stop him. This book has space warfare (but not spaceship battles, so if you’re looking for that kind of book, this ain’t it), some political intrigue and interesting moral discussions about cloning, choices and what makes a person an individual. The book executed all this well, balancing the different aspects of the book without being too heavy on any of them.
My one criticism is that Scalzi’s protagonists all seem to come from a similar mould (I’ve read three of his books so far), and if you don’t like that character type, you’re out of luck. But the plot kept me engaged, and I liked the discussion this book was having. The ending made me a little bit emotional, so I have to give this book bonus points for that too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Abandonment