John Scalzi Announces New Book Underway:
John Scalzi recently announced that work has officially started on book 6 of his critically acclaimed “Old Man’s War” military science fiction series. “Old Man’s War,” released in 2005, was John’s debut novel. The book featured Colonial Defense Force recruit John Perry and was nominated for a Hugo award in 2006. The sequels include “The Ghost Brigades (2006),” “The Last Colony (2007),” “Zoe’s Tale (2008),” and “The Human Division (2013).”
“Now, you may think that this is some sort of generalized hatred that I will carry for the lot of you. Let me assure you that this is not the case. Each of you will fail, but you will fail in your own unique way, and therefore I will dislike each of you on an individual basis.”
~ John Scalzi, Old Man’s War
How good are these books? I am a late convert to the alter of Scalzi. Last year, just before leaving on a vacation to the Gulf of Mexico, I locked and loaded “Old Man’s War” onto my trusty Nook eReader. The book is incredible, and I seriously could not put the book down until it was finished. On that vacation, I used toothpicks to prop my eyes open as I lay in bed till the wee hours of the night reading the Scalzinator’s tale of life in the military protecting planetary colonists. Do you remember when you were a kid and fell head over heels in love with a book? Did you read that book under the covers with the assist of a flashlight? This book rekindled that childhood love of literature in my soul. I proceeded to buy and read all five books back to back.
So what do we know so far about book six?
The book is tentatively set to be released in the first half of 2015. Presently, the working title consists of 5 words. End of announcement.
Is that all? Yup. Not much to report, but the news that more tales from the “Old Man’s War” universe are slowly leaking from the Scalzi brain is enough liquid sunshine to keep this soldier marching towards oblivion.
Not everyone is a huge fan of Scalzi. Many feel he has an ego the size of Texas. In all fairness, John is remarkably open about where he stands on a wide gamut of issues. I must admit that when I first started reading his blog some of what he wrote rubbed me the wrong way. Then I realized that Scalzi is as Scalzi does. I hope he becomes even more successful, and his ego swells to planetary size. I love it that he slays the dude bros of the world, supports feminist causes, and fundamentally stands up for what he thinks is right. John is a man with a strong sense of self and he backs up the checks he writes with a proven literary track record.
Would you want Hemingway to be a wimp? Absolutely not! Hemingway hunted Nazi U-boats in his beloved fishing boat Pilar armed with nothing more than whiskey, a submachine gun and a cache of grenades. In John Scalzi’s character, I see shades of Hemingway and Heinlein in his no holes barred quest for the truth, a man with a desire to get to the bottom of it all, to explore the different shades of grey, a man not afraid to make a stand.
This is important to me because as I get older I realize that I still need heroes.
Hemingway said it best: “As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”
As I age, I have become more cynical and tend to take a harder view of life. At the same time, I still am in touch with the little boy I once was, and that inner child still needs a hero to make things right in a world where thick necks and fat wallets push people around with impunity. I started with Sergeant Rock in the comics, cast my lot with Robert A Heinlein and Hemingway during college, and even rode through the literary desert in a red Cadillac with Hunter S. Thompson. Heroes are needed. Yes, perhaps now more than ever. John Scalzi is my hero. Who is yours?
Photo Credit: “John Scalzi – Old Man’s War”
by RA.AZ is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image resized and combined with another image.
Photo Credit: “Steve Hudson and John Scalzi”
by Jeff is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image cropped, resized and combined with another image
(Steve Hudson cropped out – Sorry Steve).