The Ghost Brigades
by John Scalzi
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Book Reviews of The Ghost Brigades
Book Review: Are these reviewers all insane???
Summary: 2 Stars
Please read a few books by the following authors:
Iain M. Banks, Charles Stross, William Gibson, John C. Wright, Richard Morgan, Neal Asher, Ken MacLeod.
Or just read one book by one of the above authors. Now read Ghost Brigade.
Notice a difference?
Scalzi has to tell rather than show. His characterization is shallow. His technological ideas would have been novel ten years ago. The pacing drags.
Here's an example: At one point he writes that the soldier's guns are linked to their specific brain implants. He then writes that that's so "their guns can't be used against them by anyone else". Really?!! Thanks for making that clear, because I wouldn't have picked up on it otherwise. The writing follows this painful pattern throughout.
This would be a great book for a seventh or eigth grader wanting to read their "first" sci fi novel, but is it really "top notch"? If you want some great sci fi, skip this and read any of the authors listed above.
Book Review: One Hit Wonder
Summary: 2 Stars
This book is a true let down. For all of Old Man's War flaws it was sufficiently action packed and entertaining for the reader to forgive. This book is neither action packed or entertaining (I can recall only two combat scenes in the whole book)
But what really destroys this book, is not the awful roll your eyes sarcasm, or the nerdy jokes about sci-fi books, the twenty person orgies, or the red hot jarred. Its not even the hollowness of the returning characters that seem unable to do anything besides shrug and open their mouths but be interrupted before they can speak. Its the fact that in a book that is structured around the importance of making the correct choice, the characters seem to make so many poor ones and never suffer any consequences. I cant begin to describe my disappointment in Jane effortlessly making life and death decisions at the end of the book. It felt like Scalzi had forgotten what he wrote 20 pages ago and went with a quick and easy ending.
This will be the last Scalzi book I read.
Book Review: It Has Been a Long Time
Summary: 4 Stars
It has been a long time since I have read two sci fi books by the same author in quick succession. The fun of Scalzi's "Old Man's War" prompted the quick purchase of and immediate reading of "The Ghost Brigades". And, again, Scalzi delivers a very enjoyable read.
With "The Ghost Brigades" the characters get a bit more character. Since so much of the book turns on Jared Dirac's character this is a good and necessary accomplishment by Scalzi.
Is the obvious only obvious to the reader? Colonial Defense ships are going missing at an extraordinary rate. The traitor is known and was working for Colonial Defense in brain software research. 1+1=2? Is there a link between the software and the disappearances? Fortunately, the plot does not turn on these lapses.
Finally, are there really people out there who do not like the black jellybeans? I never thought of this as a cultural identifier, perhaps because I am a great fan of the black beans.
Book Review: Not as refreshing as the first.
Summary: 3 Stars
Old Man's War was more entertaining, with a mix of serious and light moments. This one is all business, and much darker. It was not as enjoyable, although it was still interesting. Now a SPOILER ALERT....
Near the end when Boutin transfers consciousness into Dirac's body, thereby taking control of the BrainPal, I had a hard time understanding something. Boutin notices immediately that there is a message for him from Dirac, via the BrainPal. Boutin, the amazing genius on consciousness, who was able to figure out a weakness in the BrainPal network, notices a message from Dirac, who he just in effect destroyed, and who he knew opposed his efforts. What does Boutin do? Without hesitation he accesses the message, thereby activating a virus-type program installed by Dirac. Huh?? Boutin never considers the possibility of a virus? He displays ingenuity in the story to that point, so what happened? It was a let-down moment for the story, and a glaring one for me.
Book Review: Scalzi gains momentum
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is military sci-fi at its best, where it deals with more than hardware and the effects of beam weapons in a vacuum. Scalzi's first novel and the precursor to this, "Old Man's War," was an engaging, imaginative book that suffered from an excess of Heinlein in the narrative style. I was really pleased to see that Scalzi found his own voice in this one. All in all, this is a better book, well plotted and, overall, well paced (although right at the end I felt the momentum got bogged down; also, I found the ending a little contrived). This isn't hard sci-fi like David Brin or Iain Banks, and there's still a lot of "Starship Troopers" in the mix, but I liked this book and I like John Scalzi. I think he's an author to watch. (Read the acknowledgments if you want some insight into his personality --- not at all the blue-collar Joe his About the Author photo suggests!) I'll be keeping an eye out for what he does next.