Old Man's War: An Okay Book

Old Man's War is the second time I've tried John Scalzi. I was annoyed with Redshirts, so this book was definitely a step up. It's well written, well edited, flows nicely, easy to read, sets up a nice and rich world, and has a mostly good story arc.

The overall concept is innovative. By the time John Perry turns 75, his wife has died and he has nothing to look forward to, so he decides to join the Colonial Defense Forces. They have technology that can make him young again, but there's one small catch: he must be declared legally dead and start a new life off-world, never to return to Earth again.

Once he enters the intergalactic war, he learns that Earth fights not to conquer, but rather to survive. As many different civilizations compete for limited resources in the galaxy, they have no choice but to fight. Conquer other worlds or die--much like the Dark Forest philosophy from the Three Body Problem series, but instead of hiding, all worlds come out fighting.

As I read on, something kept bugging me, though. It was a good book, but I didn't see anything that made it a great book. I'm going to be extra picky, as this novel placed first in Tor's top ten SFF novels of the decade.

The book suffered from some annoyances common among early novels. Even though Scalzi did a decent job in distinguishing his different characters, he yet had all of them acting the same. It was as if he had instilled his own funny pessimistic satiric view on life. For example, when our heroes are youngified, the first thing they do is go have sex with themselves -- for an entire chapter! At first, a reader might say, "Well, why wouldn't they? Wouldn't you do that if you were young again?" There's no question that Scalzi himself wouldn't hesitate, and I know a majority of people would likewise indulge, but I also know several people in real life who just wouldn't do it. Scalzi missed a wonderful opportunity for further character distinction by having one of the characters decide not to participate.

The same comment goes also for the F-bomb dropping by everyone. Not everyone does that. Several books I've read recently are not in the Tor list, and they do a better job at character distinction than this (having only certain characters cussing). It's understandable that their first drill commander would let the F-bombs fly, but wow, was that character the most cliche character in the book. It just didn't flow naturally.

And finally, the book's form was disappointing. The whole purpose of the plot was to build the world for the readers. John just happened to find himself at the right places at the right time to learn different aspects about how things worked. As I saw the future pages in the book were getting fewer, I started wondering why it was chosen as #1 of the decade. Was there some great Ender's Game reveal coming at the end?

When I got to the last page, it didn't happen, and it seemed that so many things were left unresolved. The book just ended. I sat there staring at it and scratched my head. I had enjoyed the other three novels I had already read from the Tor list much more than this one. How did it get to be #1? Popularity? Does the series get much better in the sequels, now that the world has already been established?

Old Man's War was a fun read and well done, but for now I'm not too excited to continue the series. Eventually I'll get around to it, ... maybe in a couple of years ...

Solo: Fun Fan Fodder

Next up in my catch-up-athon: this awesome review of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

I'll be honest and say that going into the theater, I wasn't too excited about this movie, even though I loved The Last Jedi (review). It felt like I had just seen a Star Wars movie, it was way too close to Infinity Wars, and most of the trailers out at the time didn't hook me. (Though, the trailer attached here is a lot more exciting than what I had seen -- why didn't they lead with this one?) I had no desire to catch this movie on review night, nor any desire to watch in IMAX or 3D or with any other gimmicks. But still, as a Star Wars fan, I had to go.

Despite a few slow parts, I ended up enjoying it more than I had expected. Why? Because it had action, a decent story, and a whole slew of nods and easter eggs geared toward fans. If I had to make a comparison with Star Trek, I would compare this one to #3: The Search for Spock. That was another movie made entirely for the fans, but lost on most everyone else.

If there is any question you previously had about Han Solo, this movie most likely covers it. My personal favorite was an explanation of the Kessel Run and the 12 parsecs remark. It was a BIG stretch, but I approved with a good laugh.

Another moment near the end takes a swing, mocking George Lucas' digital adjustments to the original trilogy. Again, I approved with a good laugh.

My main complaints are these:

I and others in the theater evidently spent too much time trying to figure out where this movie fit in the whole anthology. How many years after #3 did it come? At one part, a lot of people seemed confused, wondering if it were possible that this movie might be happening before #1. I think a quick paragraph in the beginning could have better set the stage and avoid this confusion.

I felt that a large part was missing from Qi'ra's story. How exactly did she come to her position after three short years? And how could her character allow for it?

I already mentioned the timing of the release ... way too early in the year, and way too close to other blockbusters. November or December would have been much more enjoyable. And now we must wait a year and a half for the next installment?

Other than that, I rather enjoyed the movie, and I'm disappointed that it performed poorly in the box office. One of the reasons for this came to light when I read a recent column blasting again The Last Jedi and saying why it was prudent to miss Solo, even though he listed it as being a "good movie." That made me scratch my head. "You mean to tell me you're a Star Wars fan, but you're so mad at The Last Jedi that you would happily skip a movie written by one of the original screenplay writers for people just like you?" Their loss. There are yet millions of true fans who are sticking with the series while things are starting to get interesting.

2018 Checkpoint #3

I'm happy to report that my new goal system appears to be a success. Over the past two months, I've noticed that depression has been way down. I don't feel so stuck anymore. I still get depressed over world events sometimes, but I've learned a trick in that area: stay away from the news! Last week was awesome while I was on vacation.

My biggest milestone is: I've started writing fiction again! Yay! It hasn't been much, but just doing it makes me feel good.

And yes, I have plenty of excuses for my low output: pressures from my music business, the day job sucking the life out of me, getting caught up with organizing the home, and so on. You've heard it all before, but this time it's okay, because I see a path now. Things are getting done. Once I put a task on my list, it will get done, even if it takes a couple of weeks to get around to it.

I expect that as I push forward, things will start gaining momentum, and I'll be able to do things faster.

My plans are to first spit out some shorter fiction pieces, and then move on to some moderately longer ones I've been planning. And then perhaps by the end of the year, I'll start working on my books again.

I'm also going to spend more time in the near future working on my Mormon blog, as I'd like to relate some recent stories and experiences -- and evidently it's easier to write when you have something to say.

I've got more plans for what comes next, and I will succeed.