Perhaps twice a winter, I enjoy making a big pot of chili, suitable for snowy nights and bone chilling cold. I spend much of the morning slicing, dicing and simmering. Although I follow the same general recipe every time, on occasion it just doesn't turn out as savory. I don't know if I boiled instead of simmered, uncovered instead of covered, or failed to sneak in extra secret spice. All the same ingredients and yet it doesn't quite spark. Still decent, mind you--I wouldn't throw it out--but I also wouldn't enter it in any competitions.

That pretty much sums up [b:The Ghost Brigades|239399|The Ghost Brigades|John Scalzi|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316729668s/239399.jpg|18279845].

Like that second pot of chili, The Ghost Brigades just doesn't quite have the right composition. A fascinating and action oriented start tease the reader into adrenalin surge. Unfortunately, long passages of info-dump quickly take over, and not merely in the guise of mission briefing. While the main character has an intriguing set-up as a decanted member of the Ghost Brigade, he fails to develop much of an identity--even other characters describe him as 'passive.' While that may be the point, it doesn't help the reader establish an emotional connection, so it's a relief to have Jane and Harry from [b:Old Man's War|51964|Old Man's War|John Scalzi|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1346671475s/51964.jpg|50700] drop in. I did struggle with what was supposed to an attempt at a more traditional sci-fi exploration of consciousness and soul. Scalzi's handling seemed awkward and unfinished to me, perhaps because Ghost is more like an action book with a sci-fi setting and theme than an exploration of ethical and philosophical issues. ([b:The Sparrow|334176|The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)|Mary Doria Russell|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1230829367s/334176.jpg|3349153] handled quite similar threads of inter-species encounters and souls with a much better degree of success).

Overall, still a decent read--a filling bowl of soup on a cold night. It'll deserve another attempt. ( )

8/10
Scalzi is a gifted storyteller, but I found it harder to care about the main character in this book. I did appreciate the author’s exploration of the meaning of consciousness and the idea of always having a choice.i will think about these themes long after I forget the details of the story. ( )

This was a fun sci-fi and sequel to Old Man’s War. The book itself starts off with a conspiracy afoot, involving many aliens and the turncoat scientist Charles Boutin. The story then progresses into a war account of the Colonial Union’s super soldier special forces, the Ghost Brigades. Jared Dirac, a failed experiment to clone Charles Boutin for his expertise, is conscripted into the Ghost Brigades and thrust into impossible missions to break-up the interstellar alliance threatening humanity. Some points of interest are how the Colonial Union manipulates alien politics, how they genetically-birth neo-humans modified for space exposure, and a rough estimate on how old the Colonial Union actually is. What we also get is the dark nature of the Colonial Union and the horrible things governments demand of soldiers. Unlike Old Man’s War, this is a tale about dredging up old skeletons in the closet. A Dune Messiah to Frank Herbert’s Dune as it subverts the hero’s quest in the most terrifying way. It is a complicated, but brilliant successor to Old Man’s War and the third novel only gets better. ( )

Good follow-up to Old Man's War, though I liked the first novel a bit better. The main character in this is a character who is built on the memories of another person, and so he is a bit hard to pin down. Still, there's good drama, some nice twists in the story, and it was good quick read. I will probably read the third book if I can find a used or library copy. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Old Man's War series. I borrowed this from Kindle Unlimited on audiobook.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this but not quite as much as the first book in the series. I think the wonder of this world and the humor in the first book just really blew me away. I did enjoy still getting to see Jane, but this story focused more on a Ghost Brigade soldier (Jared) created from the consciousness of traitor to humanity, Charles Boutin.

I continued to enjoy this world and really enjoyed learning more about The Ghost Brigades. We meet a mostly new set of characters in this book, although Jane and Harry are in and out of the story some. I enjoyed Jared as a character but not as much as I enjoyed Perry and crew in the first book.

We do get a much broader story here about the CDF versus three other alien races. We also get exposed to some intriguing questions about the CDF and their motives when it comes to human interactions with alien races. Additionally, this book focuses a lot on The Ghost Brigades themselves and what it really means to be human.

I didn't think this was as funny as "Old Man's War" but there is some humor throughout. I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed the audiobook narration. I would recommend listening to this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this. I didn't think there was as much humor in this book and didn't enjoy the characters in this second book quite as much. However, I did enjoy learning more about The Ghost Brigades and delving deeper in to this world. I also really enjoyed the broadened storyline around the CDF and the three alien races joining forces against humanity. I look forward to reading "The Lost Colony" soon. I would recommend to those who enjoy science fiction with some intriguing space travel, aliens, and a look into what it means to be human. ( )