There's plenty to do in Thailand, but when I just couldn't muster the musclepower to do it (usually between 10 AM and 3 PM) then I passed the time reading with a frosty beverage or two. And occasionally I'd compose a paragraph or two, so I'm clearing out a backlog of new posts.
I read mostly non-fiction, but I've saved four shelves of bachelorhood science fiction through nearly 19 years of marriage. Every once in a while I tear myself away from the Golden Age & the 1970s to read modern science fiction. John Scalzi has been writing for a while, but this is his first sci-fi novel. It's described as Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" without the lectures and Haldeman's "The Forever War" with better sex.
Scalzi has humanity colonizing the stars for two centuries despite plenty of alien competition. The "Colonial Defense Force" fights to keep the diaspora alive despite being outmanned & outgunned. Americans are welcome to join the CDF-- but only on their 75th birthday. No one knows how it's done (until afterwards) but somehow the CDF turns geezers into youthful rejuvenated warriors. If they survive their military career then they're entitled to a stakehold on the colony of their choice and a new lifespan. And if they re-enlist again when they're 75 years old...
I can't reveal more without spoiling the plot, but it's a well-written philosopher's war saga wrapped up with a love story. The infantry may be geezers but they've been quite successful in their previous lives and they're capable of critical thinking instead of merely following orders. The chapters about the military's training commands are hilarious and Scalzi raises a slew of ethical issues. He also has a lot of fun with PDAs and other computer assistants. (After this book you'll wince whenever you see a physician with a PDA). The plot lines are complicated enough that I read it twice.
His next book, Agent to the Stars, is coming in August.
I read mostly non-fiction, but I've saved four shelves of bachelorhood science fiction through nearly 19 years of marriage. Every once in a while I tear myself away from the Golden Age & the 1970s to read modern science fiction. John Scalzi has been writing for a while, but this is his first sci-fi novel. It's described as Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" without the lectures and Haldeman's "The Forever War" with better sex.
Scalzi has humanity colonizing the stars for two centuries despite plenty of alien competition. The "Colonial Defense Force" fights to keep the diaspora alive despite being outmanned & outgunned. Americans are welcome to join the CDF-- but only on their 75th birthday. No one knows how it's done (until afterwards) but somehow the CDF turns geezers into youthful rejuvenated warriors. If they survive their military career then they're entitled to a stakehold on the colony of their choice and a new lifespan. And if they re-enlist again when they're 75 years old...
I can't reveal more without spoiling the plot, but it's a well-written philosopher's war saga wrapped up with a love story. The infantry may be geezers but they've been quite successful in their previous lives and they're capable of critical thinking instead of merely following orders. The chapters about the military's training commands are hilarious and Scalzi raises a slew of ethical issues. He also has a lot of fun with PDAs and other computer assistants. (After this book you'll wince whenever you see a physician with a PDA). The plot lines are complicated enough that I read it twice.
His next book, Agent to the Stars, is coming in August.
