The Ghost Brigades

I really enjoyed Old Man's War and saw people were kind of upset that this wasn't a continuation of John's story, instead focusing on other characters including Jane.

The focus this time out is on the Special Forces, who are basically the amalgamation of recruits that died before reaching their 75th birthday to enlist in the CDF officially. They start off as a blank slate and develop alongside their Special Forces mates which helps to turn them into the ultimate soldiers. The Special Forces were perhaps the part of the first book that had the most intrigue going for them so the departure to focus on this branch of the military was a welcome one.

The story is based around a rogue scientist defecting to ally three hostile alien races together against humanity who left behind a digital version of his consciousness, which is decided should be placed in a Special Forces clone of him. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan and instead we end up with an abnormal Special Forces agent under Jane's command and a whole lot of secrets to uncover.

It's a fun read and did a great job of expounding on one of the most interesting characters from the first book in Jane while building up this whole universe and continuing its story.