Old Man's War

Old Man’s War (2005) is a military science fiction novel by John Scalzi. Set in a future where humans have begun colonizing the universe, it follows John Perry, who, at the age of 75, leaves planet Earth to fight in the military. His consciousness is moved into a younger, genetically modified body, allowing him to join the Colonial Defense Force (CDF) as it fights alien species and colonizes new planets. As John makes friends, advances in the military ranks, and grapples with his genetic changes, he begins to question the goals and morality of the CDF while contemplating his own humanity. Through John’s journey, the novel explores themes of The Ethics of War, Colonization and the Conflict Between Self and Other, and The Duality of Technological Advancement.

This guide is based on the first paperback edition of the novel published by Tor Science Fiction in 2007.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of graphic violence, sexual content, racism, religious discrimination, anti-gay bias, cursing, and death.

Plot Summary

John is a 75-year-old man living on Earth. He says goodbye to his wife, Katherine, at her gravesite and then leaves Earth, joining the Colonial Union’s (CU) army, the Colonial Defense Force (CDF). The CU has begun colonizing the universe, fighting wars for control of different planet systems. The humans on Earth know little about the CU, as its members never come to Earth. However, Earth’s residents are given a chance to join the military at the age of 75, leaving their old lives behind. John does so because of the prospect of getting to be young again, feeling as though he has nothing to lose by leaving Earth.

John is sent to Nairobi, where he and the other recruits board the beanstalk, an escalator that carries them up to the Colonial Station in space. He meets two other recruits, Harry and Jesse, and becomes friends with them as they speculate on the science behind the beanstalk and the powerful nature of the CU.

From there, John begins his initiation into the CDF. He undergoes physical and mental training to test his strength while receiving very little information from any of the CDF soldiers or employees. He meets several other recruits, including Thomas, Susan, Alan, and Maggie, and they discuss their reasons for joining the war and what they think lies ahead. They promise to remain friends throughout.

After several days of testing, John finally learns how he will be made young again. The CDF has mapped his entire consciousness through nanobots and uses that data to transfer his mind to a younger version of himself. He is given a green body that is stronger and faster than John has ever been, and BrainPal implants give him access to unlimited information. For the next week, he receives orders to enjoy himself, leading him and the others to experiment with their new bodies.

On their last day on the ship, John and the other recruits are told that they will go to the Beta Pyxis III system for basic training. They are shown a map of the universe that depicts areas of alien presence and the limited territory that humans have managed to gain and hold. Their primary objective in the CDF will be colonization as humans win planets and struggle to hold them against innumerable alien species. They are also warned that over three-quarters of them will die during their 10-year service, as the war is unlike anything humans have ever fought before.

After arriving in Beta Pyxis III, John undergoes basic training. The commanding officer, Ruiz, is brutal and strict, insisting that the recruits need to prepare themselves for the brutality of war. Despite this, John immediately gets along with Ruiz, who chooses him as platoon leader. He then leads his platoon to the top of his company, learning how to control his new weapon, his new body, and his BrainPal in the process.

In John’s first battle, his forces fight the Consu people, a group that the CDF believes only engages in warfare for entertainment. As John watches for several hours, the Consu undergo a religious ritual in preparation for battle. When the fighting begins, John immediately identifies that it takes two shots to kill a Consu. He manipulates his rifle to do so and passes the information on to the other soldiers, making him the hero of his first battle.

Over the next year, John continues to travel to various planets to fight alien species. One by one, his friends die in combat, leaving him with only Alan, Jesse, and Harry. John continues to excel in the military, surviving each battle and becoming a key component of the CDF. However, he also begins to question the motives of the CDF as he becomes frustrated with the repeated killing of unknown species and the destruction of entire civilizations. In particular, he struggles with the Covandu people, a race of one-inch-tall aliens who mimic humans in every way except their size. When he discusses his feelings with his officers, they all insist that he needs to remember his history and what makes him human. Reflecting on this, John admits that he misses his marriage because it represented personal connection.

John is sent to the planet Coral, where a species called the Rraey has taken control of the human colony. However, his ship is immediately shot out of the sky the second it enters the atmosphere, and he crashes onto the planet. John is the only one who survives, and he watches Alan die. He himself sustains severe injuries and lies incapacitated on the planet for several days until he is finally saved by the Ghost Brigade, a special forces division of the CDF. As he blacks out, he hears his wife’s voice—an apparent hallucination.

After a few weeks of recovery, John comes across his wife in the mess hall. He learns that her name is Jane and that the CDF created her to occupy Katherine’s body, as Katherine committed to the CDF but died before she could officially join. As a result, Jane has no memory beyond six years ago, when she was specifically born to fight in the Ghost Brigade. Although Jane initially responds harshly to John, she later comes to him in secret, asking him to teach her about his wife and life on Earth.

John is then sent to parley with the Consu. The CDF learned that the Rraey can track spaceships that skip (travel faster than light), something that is theoretically impossible. The CDF believes that the technology came from the Consu and chooses John to speak with them.

As part of a Consu tradition, the Ghost Brigade must take part in five hand-to-hand battles. For each one it wins, it can ask one question. After it wins four, John learns that the Consu invented the skip tracking device, that they gave it to no one else, and that it is the only one in existence. For his final question, John asks why the Consu help other species. The Consu delegate explains that they colonize as a means of helping other species. They strive to build up everyone around them technologically and scientifically, helping them to achieve enlightenment.

Afterward, John accompanies the Ghost Brigade to Coral. The plan is to land and attack the Rraey from the ground. These ground forces will discover the tracker’s location, allowing the CDF ships to arrive and provide reinforcements. Over the next few days, John trains while visiting with Jane nightly, giving her information about his past life. Eventually, he expresses his desire to leave the military and spend the rest of his life with her. She jokingly dismisses him, but John insists that it is how he wants to spend his new life.

In the battle on Coral, John and the Ghost Brigade land and execute their plan flawlessly. They take over the command center where the tracker is located and establish a base. However, shortly thereafter, the Rraey mount a counterattack. They ruthlessly attack the Ghost Brigade, which struggles to hold its ground until reinforcements arrive. In the middle of the battle, Jane is severely injured. John transports her to the command center, where there is a stasis chamber that will save her life. While he cares for Jane, he also finds a memory device with all the plans for the tracking device. He manages to take it and get Jane out just as the command center collapses.

After the battle, John is lauded as a hero for saving Jane and getting the plans for the tracker. He spends the next several months being transported around the galaxy, performing public relations for the CU. He then takes a job as a recruiting officer, introducing recruits to their new lives. Eventually, he returns to combat.

John does not hear from Jane for a long time after the battle. He learns that she recovered and returned to the Ghost Brigade but does not see her again. However, he finally receives a letter from her. In it, she tells him that she has decided that she wants to retire with him. She sends him a picture of a farmhouse and a field of grain, with a sunrise behind them. John realizes that he will now be able to finish his life in the CDF knowing that he has a future with Jane.