Book Log 2019 #28: Old Man's War by John Scalzi

The colonization of space is on, but the other races we've discovered along the way are less than happy that humans are claiming planets left and right. The ongoing war requires that the Colonial Defense Force find a new source of soldiers, which they do in an unexpected place: senior citizens. Through the magic of bioengineering and a mind-transfer process, humans who reach their 75th birthday can be transplanted into a new, young body, the idea being that the combination of years of wisdom and experience paired with a body made for battle will result in superior soldiers.

The catch: you can never return to Earth. If you survive your enlistment, you'll be given a homestead on a new planet. Even with that restriction, it's a winning deal for many, including John Perry, whose experience as a new CDF soldier make up this novel.

I really enjoyed this book, which is much more in the vein of pulp science fiction rather than, say, The Three Body Problem. It's nice to remember that not all science fiction needs to be a somewhat dire philosophical meditation on Big Issues.