Old Man's War

What a delight! Scalzi is very funny. Sometimes I think he might be too funny for his own good, which can take away from the drama of a situation, and sometimes his humor reminds me of cheesy dad jokes, but that's not always a bad thing!

And yet at the same time, Scalzi is technically thorough. All of the science in this book is apparently based on real theoretical concepts, particularly his mind-blowing explanation for Faster Than Light travel, which is impressive and also makes me feel smart. But the good news is that this stuff isn't presented in a stuffy or highly complicated manner.

Another thought: it's amazing how much this book feels like how video games work. HUDs, enhanced abilities, multifaceted weapons, etc. I don't know if you could make a good game out of it, but all of the game mechanics are already there and solidly built. So glad I chose to read this and I can't wait to check out more of Scalzi's work.

Fun, GOOD science fiction can be hard to find (or at least hard to find in the mountains of available books), but here is Old Man's War, and it's just the right kind of thing to read when you're looking for a good space romp. It's not Ender's Game, but it doesn't need to be either.