A review by sophiaforever
Old Man's War by John Scalzi

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

It's definitely a product of it's time (post-9/11, early Iraq war). The book makes no attempt to examine why war happens or wrestle with the justifications of it. The protagonist gets his marching orders from command, the enemies are bloodthirsty unreasonable religious zealous, and so there's no question for him: this is a just war where he gets to go in and shoot guns. If that's the book you want to read, here you go, but don't be like me expecting any sort of critical thought about the justification behind war.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Islamophobia

Minor: Gore

The book was written in 2005, it's overall pro-war, and one of the alien species they fight are a bunch of blood-thirsty unreasonable religious zealots who do a lot of suicide attacks. Take one guess who that's supposed to be an allegory for (it's anti-Muslim propaganda).