Questions for a Soldier (Old Mans War, #1.5) by John Scalzi

Questions for a Soldier (Old Mans War, #1.5) Reviews

• 
  Raquel Estebaran

  Relato breve con un formato de transcripción de entrevista que sigue a John Perry, protagonista de la primera novela, mientras responde preguntas durante una gira de relaciones públicas para la CDF.
  
  Agradable de leer, aunque no aporta mucho a la serie.
• 
  Joel

  Writing: 4
  Story/Plot: 4
  Depth/Detail: 3
  Enjoyment: 4
  
  This is a quick, down-and-dirty little short story/novella from John Scalzi, in the rather unique format of an interview transcript. It follows the main character of The Old Man's War, John Perry, as he answers questions on one of the CDF colonies. It's short but to the point, and gives a little bit of accessory stories to chew on between books. It's not groundbreaking, and it is just a nibble at best, but it's well-written and interesting, has some of the world political rhetoric in it, and was an entertaining enough 15-20 minute read. I would have loved for it to be 2-3x as long, at the very least, but it was good for what it was.
• 
  Vagner Stefanello

  Review in Portuguese from
  Desbravando Livros:
  
  Questions for a Soldier é um livrinho curtinho (menos de 30 páginas) que se passa alguns meses após os acontecimentos de Guerra do Velho. John Perry mostrou ser um excelente combatente e subiu rapidamente nas fileiras do exército das Forças Coloniais de Defesa. Agora uma de suas missões é fazer tours por alguns dos planetas já colonizados e explicar o papel da União Colonial nisso tudo.
  
  A leitura é bem rapidinha, com John Perry sendo apresentado por um entrevistador e algumas das pessoas na plateia fazendo perguntas a ele sobre assuntos dos mais variados interesses, como o que é ser um soldado das FCD, o que foi feito com seu corpo para ele voltar a ser jovem novamente, o que John Perry pensa a respeito das guerras contras as raças alienígenas, entre outras coisas.
  
  Nosso protagonista também conta a respeito de alguns perrengues que passou durante uma de suas missões, quando foi atacado por vermes gigantes (que me lembraram muito do cenário de Duna, série do autor Frank Herbert) capazes de alterar facilmente todo o equilíbrio de um ecossistema.
  
  Importante perceber que alguns colonistas não estão exatamente felizes com o modo de vida nos seus novos planetas. Como já mencionado em Guerra do Velho, os habitantes são provenientes dos países considerados de terceiro mundo lá na Terra, principalmente das regiões do Oriente Médio e África, enquanto os combatentes das FCD são predominantemente americanos, o que acaba gerando certo desconforto em alguns momentos. Nada que a língua afiada e o bom humor do nosso John Perry não resolvam ao responder as perguntas feitas pelo público presente, mesmo ao ser confrontado com acusações de que a estrutura das FCD é extremamente racista e totalitarista.
  
  Questions for a Soldier é aquele tipo de livro que todo leitor que deseja saber ainda mais sobre uma série que gosta deveria ler, pois contém informações úteis e que complementam as já apresentadas no livro #1 da saga, Guerra do Velho. Fã que é fã nunca está satisfeito e sempre quer mais. ;)
• 
  Arnis

  
  https://poseidons99.wordpress.com/201...
• 
  G.A.

  Divertente racconto ambientato nell’universo delle CU. Un bel capitolo per comprendere un po’ della vita non raccontata di John Perry.
• 
  César Bustíos

  I'm about to finish
  The Last Colony. I should have read this one before but what the hell, there are a couple of stories from Captain Perry here that are worth the reading. You also get the chance to meet Savitri for the first time.
  
  That worm-infested planet felt very Frank Herbert:
  
  
• 
  Tudor Vlad

  This was a transcript of a Q&A session that John Perry had as part of a PR tour for the CDF. As far as plot goes, this short story won’t advance anything in the Old Man’s War universe, but it was really enjoyable and fun.
• 
  Mehrnoosh

  یه کتاب، البته اگه بهش کتاب بگیم، داستان یک جلسه‌ی مطبوعاتی یکی از سفر های جان پری به یک مستعمرست که البته بعد بازنشستگی همونجا زندگی میکنه. خوندنش در حد ۱۰ دقیقه زمان برد :))
• 
  Emerson

  Conto bem curtinho e divertido que se passa alguns meses após o final de A Guerra do Velho. Neste conto John Perry está sento apresentado a uma platéia e responde perguntas de alguns coloniais que não estão muito felizes com o modo de vida de seus novos planetas.
  O conto é bem curtinho e complementa algumas informações apresentadas no primeiro livro da série, e nos faz gostar mais do nosso protagonista de língua afiada.
• 
  Unai

  Breve, pero curioso. John Perry en una colonia, en una charla informal con los colonos respondiendo a sus preguntas sobre las CDF y compartiendo un par de historias sobre otros planetas, otras especies y comiendo tarta.
• 
  Indah Threez Lestari

  332 - 2015
  
  Masih strong...
  
  Transkrip ini intermission sebelum aku baca buku kedua seri John Perry, The Ghost Brigade.
  
  Tapi supaya bisa mencicipi buku2 John Scalzi pelan-pelan, aku kudu melipir ke buku2 genre lain dulu...
• 
  Daniel

  Mini itervju glavnog lika iz knjiga. Simpaticno ali totalno nepotrebno sem kao zabava.
• 
  Brendan

  3.5
  
  I enjoyed Old Man's War and I am now awaiting book 2 from the library, so I thought I would check out the 1.5 book listed here on Goodreads. This was just a short story and while interesting, doesn't really have that much use outside the core franchise. It's probably worth checking out if you are invested in the franchise like myself but if you are only interested in stories, you might find this lacking.
  The story is just a Q&A transcript that dives into some of the questions left unanswered by the first book. This is the part I found to be interesting, it has that novelty factor that long time fans will crave and others won't even know exist. It is very short and you will find doesn't take up much of your time if you enjoyed the first book of the series by John Scalzi.
  Why the 3.5?
  I can't give you too much information with giving away the entire Q&A short story. All I will say is I wouldn't have purchased this if I knew what it was. I was slightly disappointed to learn it was a Q&A but on the other hand I learnt a little more about the universe John Scalzi has created and having a book like this will make some of the lingering questions and answers easier to digest.
  
  My next kindle phone book is The Eight Tower by John A. Keel. I was hoping to read more about the Mothman Prophecies but found this book was cheaper at the time of purchase. Unsure what I'm in for but I'll share my thoughts when I've finished.
• 
  Khari

  I am not sure how something can be short and pedantic at the same time but this story manages it. Scalzi's novels are way better than his short stories if this is any indication.
• 
  Joshua

  This gives a nice answer to the question of "What has John Perry been up to since the end of Book 1?" but generally isn't that exciting.
• 
  Amy

  Quick, enjoyable Scalzi.
• 
  Ian

  Quite an interesting and entertaining addition to the Old Man's war-series.
• 
  Maduck831

  ***SHOULD NOT COUNT TOWARDS 50 BOOK GOAL*** Despite the three stars I recommend this. If I could I'd give it three and a half stars. Centers around Perry and questions asked to him by colonists. I really liked the idea behind this story and some of the ideas explored (objective of CDF re: imperalism, etc). Like to how Perry's answers tie into the choices made in The Last Colony. If anything I wish there was more! Reason for the three stars is like with After the Coup (and granted these are short stories) it felt kind of rushed/unfinished. I wasn't looking for a novel or even a novella but as a short story I didn't feel there was any type of conclusion and as noted, there could've been more depth in Perry's answer (i.e. to the level explored in for example the Ghost Brigades). However, overall worth the read (it was like 99 cents) if you are a fan of this universe. As I read this after the Last Colony it makes me nostalgic towards Perry and the fact Scalzi may not write about him again (as noted at the end of the Last Colony by Scalzi), howoever hoping that won't be the case!
• 
  Paul

  An interesting Novella delivered in the form of a transcript of an after dinner style presentation by John Perry.
  Basically he has random questions hurled at him some hostile and he answers them , probably a lot more honestly than the Colonial Defence forces would be happy about.
  Interesting to see a few of the characters who become more central in Last Colony in a brief cameo here.
  Some interesting ideas on perception from different backgrounds .
  
• 
  kartik narayanan

  This novella was underwhelming. It gives us a slightly larger glimpse of the 'OMW' universe, this time from a colonial's perspective. 'Questions for a soldier' gives us a peak into John Perry's victory parades, from the original OMW. He gives a Q&A and the topics covered include racism, imperialism, whether humanity can coexist in peace and his modified body. And that is all that there is.
• 
  Mayank Agarwal

  A short Q & A with John Perry of Old Man's War. Strictly for fans of Perry, who want more of him. Nothing worth mentioning happens or is added to the Old Man Universe, it's just a Fan Service short story.
• 
  James Kemp

  Interesting background to the Old Man's War universe
• 
  Thom

  Read in May, 2015
  Very brief tale set just after Old Man's War. Enjoyed the introduction of Savitri, and this story leads nicely to The Last Colony.
• 
  Nariman

  یکی از سخنرانیهای جان پری بود که در تور سخنرانی‌‌های بین مستعمراتیش انجام میده.
  بابت مفاهیمی که ذکر میکنه جالب بود، شاید سه و نیم ستاره مناسبتر بود، ولی چهار دیگه خیلی زیادیه
• 
  izawoodsman

  Little tidbits between. It reminds me of Card with his short fiction around Ender's Game.
• 
  Michael Hitchcock

  This novella was just a quick Q&A between John Perry and some colonists on his public relations tour, but it was absolutely perfect at what it was. It gave us the reader from new contact on the state of the galaxy and seemingly endless wars where in broil them, as well as extra knowledge about how regular civilians understand and respond to this war.
  
  But what elevated this a little is the way he answered questions about things we already know about and know he cares about. Watching him talk about subjects that we know were difficult for him in a friendly upbeat conversational informational appropriate for the public way was a really brilliant piece of character work. Definitely an interstitial piece that could not stand on its own but absolutely essential to the series. It was an extended portrait of the guy just being friendly and funny and not having to worry about the big question from Galactic struggle or the small questions of surviv Fivel and fighting for the soldier next to you. Great novella!
• 
  Rob

  Some Q&A between our hero John Perry and a handful of colonist at a dinner party. I was expecting a more from this short story. But I guess Scalzi was looking for a quick way to advertise Old Man's War for somebody who has not read book 1. Unfortunately, this short does not do the series true justice. For anybody new to Scalzi, don't let this one paint a picture. Read Old Man's War #1.
• 
  Liz

  Not worth the $0.99 or the few minutes of reading. Doesn't really add anything to the story; introduces a character briefly who shows up in The Last Colony, but you don't need any of this background information about them to appreciate them. Skip this one with no downside.
• 
  Hisham El-far

  A great short story (28 pages or so) written in the form of an audio transcript. The event in this story takes place some when between Old Man's War and The Last Colony.
  
  It is an account of John Perry meeting colonists on a goodwill tour of the CU.