The Ghost Brigades

I actually read this book in one sitting; it was literally (pardon the pun) that good. I would recommend this to any fan of military science fiction, as it is a great follow up to the universe developed in Old Man's War. With most of the fleshing out done in the previous novel, this one focuses on more fast-paced action sequences than its predecessor, but still retains enough of an introduction to the milieu that it can be read out of order. Also introduced are some interesting philosophical issues that are truly fun to sink one's mental teeth into. While it's not that big on the massive scale-- say David Weber or Frank Herbert-- it has a great amount of small-scale development (mostly squad-level) and really brings an interestingly new perspective to the table. Most certainly worth a read on a day when you're longing for an action movie experience.

This is the inevitable sequel to "Old Man's War", and Scalzi matches the high bar he set in that first novel. Other than being in the same universe, and picking up the story with a secondary character from the first book, there is little direct connection between the two. Nevertheless, the first two together are a superb setup for the third. I WILL get it.

Read Old Man's War first, but you will not be let down by this sequel. The first book might, in my opinion, having just finished the second, be be slightly better, but it would be just by a tiny margin. It is definitely worth purchasing.