John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

Time to fulfill a wish! Happy reading!

Wow, this was a surprise! Thank you, pippis!

Okay, according to my Goodreads stats I've read this book in 2019. I just haven't remembered to journal it.

I'm glad this wasn't my introduction to John Scalzi's books. This was a bit too heinlein-y and starshipstroopers-y for me. If you've read this book and it wasn't your cup of tea, I'd recommend trying The Collapsing Empire. That was my first Scalzi book and I enjoyed reading that one a lot more.

(It's a bit funny that I've read Scalzi's blog for a long time, but only now started reading his books. I guess these things happen the other way around more often.)

Pienemmällä pöydällä oven lähellä.
On the smaller table near the door.

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