This is my “and so it begins” book for CBR bingo, which is slightly improbable as after finishing Redshirts I wasn’t sure I’d read another John Scalzi book again. CBR changed my mind; enough people enjoyed Head On that I picked it up, not having remembered that I had in fact read something by the author before.
I enjoyed Head On enough that when I was looking for reading material on an international trip I actively sought out Scalzi. I needed something light, something fun, and a mass market paperback for space. This fit the bill. Sold.
You buy Scalzi for likeability, and a surprising wealth of intriguing premises, but not for characters. This was his first novel as I understand it, so that’s all doubly true here. Our protagonist is fleshed out; all of the ancillary characters save the drill sergeant could have been interchanged without any noticeable effect. But, given that the book was essentially a bunch of “what if’s” strung along what is admittedly an excellent prompt, who cares?
We follow John Perry as he sheds his old life on earth to enlist in the colonial defense forces, an opportunity afforded to citizens at the age of 75 to become essentially young again in exchange for 2-10 years of service in intergalactic/inter dimensional war. Scalzi has a lot of fun exploring sci-fi tropes – what aliens would actually be like, assumptions humans would make in space based on a lifetime on earth, dropping classic sci-fi references left and right – so it’s impossible not to have fun right along with him.
Great choice for a travel read, excited to read the rest of these.
This was his first published novel, but his first novel (which he wrote to see if he could actually write one) was Agent to the Stars, which is enjoyable, but my least favorite of his books, and obviously a first novel. He published it for free on his website for a while (not sure if it’s still there?) and then Subterranean Press did a limited run, and when he became a bestseller, Tor bought the rights and did a full run. It’s sillier and more satirical than his other books, but worth checking out if you like the rest of his stuff enough.
I always recommend Fuzzy Nation. It’s my favorite.