A review by lauren_h
The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

3.0

This follow-up to Old Man's War left me disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed Old Man's War so I went into this book with high hopes, and looking forward to a continuation of the story. Instead, it was almost an entirely different story. Same world and ideas, but we follow a new characters point of view. We also get to know Jane a bit more who we met in the first book but she barely makes any reference to the events of the previous book which left it feeling disconnected. On top of it all, I didn't think this story was very good. The first book was intriguing in it's concepts and the "science" behind them but it still kept it simple enough to enjoy. This book was very heavy with complicated scientific ideas (none of which are real) and felt like I needed a master's degree to understand the concepts. Science Fiction is exactly that... fiction. It doesn't need to be completely realistic, that's why it's fun to read... because impossible ideas are presented in a way that makes you wish they were possible. Here, it felt like the author was trying to convince you that these ideas were in fact possible and he's so smart for having figured it all out. I will probably read the next book because the way this book ended it seems we will be reunited with the characters from the first book and I'm hoping that means it will be as interesting and entertaining as the first book.