One of science fiction's greatest strengths is its unabashed enthusiasm for exploring provocative "What if...?" scenarios. John Scalzi opens Old Man's War with a firecracker setup:
I did two things on my seventy-fifth birthday. I visited my wife's grave. Then I joined the Army.
The universe is a dangerous place, and the Colonial Defense Forces need help protecting humanity's interests throughout the solar system. But the CDF doesn't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. Nobody on Earth knows how septuagenarians are turned into soldiers, since recruits are never allowed to return once they've enlisted, but that doesn't stop new waves of elderly from signing up every year.
Old Man's War is an astonishingly good debut novel, more than worthy of its oft-blurbed comparison to Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Discussions for the book, including non-spoiler tangents for those who haven't had a chance to read it yet, will begin in mid-July (see the full book schedule for other selections).
Join up, soldier!
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