Brown Bag Book Discussion

Paul McNeil will lead a discussion of John Scalzi's debut sci-fi novel Old Man's War. Participants are encouraged (but not required) to read the book in advance. Ask for a copy at the library’s information desk.

From Booklist:

With his wife dead and buried, and life nearly over at 75, John Perry takes the only logical course of action left him: he joins the army. Now better known as the Colonial Defense Force (CDF), Perry’s service-of-choice has extended its reach into interstellar space to pave the way for human colonization of other planets while fending off marauding aliens. The CDF has a trick up its sleeve that makes enlistment especially enticing for seniors: the promise of restoring youth. After bonding with a group of fellow recruits who dub their clique the "Old Farts," Perry finds himself in a new body crafted from his original DNA and upgraded for battle, including fast-clotting “smartblood” and a brain-implanted personal computer. All too quickly the Old Farts are separated, and Perry fights for his life on various alien-infested battlegrounds. Scalzi ’s blending of wry humor and futuristic warfare recalls Joe Haldeman’s classic, The Forever War  (1974), and strikes the right fan-pleasing chords.