Audiobook Review – Ghost Brigades (Old Man’s War, Book 2) by John Scalzi, Narrated by William Durfis (4/5 stars)

Reading Level:Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 10 hours and 25 minutes
Publisher:‎‎ Macmillan Audio
Release Date: March 11, 2008
ASIN: B0015VEVU8
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Old Man’s War series
Source: Borrowed Audiobook from Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF+s toughest operations. They+re young, they+re fast and strong, and they+re totally without normal human qualms.The universe is a dangerous place for humanity-and it+s about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF+s biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did.Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers-a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin+s DNA, whose brain is uniquely able to access Boutin+s electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given over to the Ghost Brigades.At first Jared is a perfect soldier, but as memories surface, he begins to intuit the reasons for Boutin+s betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his -father,+ he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: the alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity+s mere military defeat . . . .”

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.