SOJALS rating:

Mediocre (2/5)

I first read this on the 3rd March 2008.

The Ghost Brigades are the elite fighters of the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). The soldiers in the CDF are retirees re-embodied as green-skinned superhuman androids. The Ghost Brigade however are different. Their souls are children and their bodies speed-grown, rigorously motivated and dedicated to doing the job.

Humankind is fighting against a secret alien alliance of the Rraey, the Eneshans and the Obin. A human traitor, Charles Boutin, is aiding the aliens in their plans to wipe out humanity.

Jared Dirac is a new member of the Ghost Brigades and we follow him and his platoon as they get themselves killed off, little by little, attempting to capture the nefarious Charles Bootin.

This is the first John Scalzi novel I've read after the excellent "Old Man's War". I'm a bit shocked to discover that while I've been occupied in a few months of bringing up Max Jr, Scalzi has been and gone and done and written a further two novels, "The Android's Dream" and "The Last Colony" so there's a world of wonder to look forward to.

I have to admit, however, that I didn't enjoy this as much as "Old Man's War". I wanted something gritty, painful with broken hearts and splintered bones but John wrote the "The Ghost Brigades" in a more jocular Haldeman style. Now that's his right, since it's his novel, but it meant that I coasted through the book vaguely interested in the possibilities of green skin but otherwise uninvolved.

It is a good book but it's not top dog in the Max kennel.