# Old Man's War by John Scalzi

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Old Man's War by John Scalzi and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a series with a strong opening sentence that readers devour. Critics say the characters sound alike and it is only good, not great.

## Why people recommend it

- Great opening sentence (1 comments): "had such a great first sentence I devoured the series" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46759205))
- Readers devour the whole series (1 comments): "had such a great first sentence I devoured the series" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46759205))

## What people warn about

- Characters all sound alike (1 comments): "Scalzi's characterizations in that one are singular, in that all of his characters think and talk like exactly the same snark-spewing geeky dude." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49593728))
- Reads like wish-fulfillment fantasy (1 comments): "It read like a teenage boy's wish-fulfillment fantasy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49610790))
- Good rather than great (1 comments): "I would put it as a good one, but not a great one." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49600222))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1447295374?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781447295372) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Old Man's War by John Scalzi", https://hackerapproved.com/p/old-man-s-war/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).