Review: The Old Man's War Universe

This is a tough one to review. It's the final book in a long and excellent series. John Scalzi has used the series of books that make up the Old Man's War Universe to stretch new muscles in a science fiction career that I hope to see grow to King size proportions. What King did for horror I think that Scalzi could easily due for science fiction. And that is bring in the average reader. Cover the seemingly infinite space between science fiction and the type of person who gets their reading list from the likes of Oprah and the New York Times. 

The series has long been one of my favorites. It started as a very personal story of a soldier fighting in a war, for a humanity he was feeling more and more detached from. On this side of seven books the series is closing with a story that stretches into the realms of galactic civilizations and yet continues to explore the flexibility of the word human. From brains in jars to breathless rock shaped space marines Scalzi has taken us on a journey through shared history and left us feeling like we were never sure if we'd chosen the wrong side of the fight.

This novel concludes that fight and provides a nice wrapping up of current events and characters. I wouldn't say that this is my favorite book in the series, but it continues to be imaginative and so very readable even if it isn't blowing my mind with the force of the first few books in the series. I encourage you to give this series a chance, if only because I can tell you with certainty that it will end well. Having any sort of ending in long standing series feels like a blessing, and that this one is so well done is more than pudding. The End of All Things gets a three out of five. The Old Man's War Universe is a five out of five as a whole. Clear some space on your shelf.