As I read this novel, I couldn't help but think of Starship Troopers. When I read the acknowledgements at the end, I realized that was an accurate reading. This book is quite different from what Scalzi writes today to my way of thinking, but that makes sense considering that this is his first novel published by a commercial publisher. As a beginning novelist, you write what you think will sell. The trademark Scalzi sense of humour is already there, as is the inclusiveness that marks his fiction.
War is not a subject that I would have expected John Scalzi to tackle, especially just going out into the universe to blast aliens. I guess his main character does make the switch from pacifist to elderly army recruit, which seemed kind of odd to me, I must confess. But it is necessary for the plotline that he wants to pursue, so I shrugged it off and kept reading. The “ambassadorial" mission to the Consu seemed to be the most true to the author's values. We must do something that makes no sense, but we'll do it to the best of our abilities and get the information we need. In many ways, this book seems like an updated 21st century version of Armor, Ender's Game, The Forever War, and Starship Troopers all combined. The competition among species made me think of David Brin's Uplift series as well.
I liked it well enough that I may add subsequent volumes in the series to my SFF Reading Project.
Book Number 469 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project
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