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, Jared's brain should be able to access Boutin's electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades.

At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin's memories slowly surface, Jared 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...

"This fast-paced interstellar military drama doesn't quite meet the high expectations set by its predecessor, Scalzi's acclaimed Old Man's War (2005), but it comes impressively close. Shifting focus from seniors in young bodies to infants in old bodies, it follows Jared Dirac, a superhuman soldier, from unusual birth to ambiguous death. Dirac is an altered clone of Charles Boutin, a military scientist who betrayed humankind to alien aggressors, and the Colonial Defense Forces' only hope of finding Boutin lies in transplanting his memories into Dirac's brain. When the transplant seems to fail, Dirac is sent to Special Forces, known as the Ghost Brigades for their habit of creating new soldiers from the DNA of the dead. His indoctrination there comes in handy when Boutin's memories begin to surface. Scalzi pays gleeful homage to Ender's Game, The Forever War and Starship Troopers, sometimes at the expense of originality. All he needs to make the jump from good to great is to trust in his own ideas." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"A mix of Starship Troopers and Universal Soldier, Ghost evokes awakening, betrayal, and combat in the best military sci-fi tradition. (Grade: B+)" Entertainment Weekly

"[An] equally engaging, battle-driven sequel....Scalzi skillfully weaves together action, memorable characterizations, and a touch of philosophy in a first-rate military sf outing." Booklist

"The sequel to Old Man's War combines taut military action with keen insights into the moral issues revolving around developing technologies. Scalzi has a finely tuned sense of balance between personal drama and the 'big picture.'...Highly recommended." Library Journal

"[A] fine tale that will be enjoyed by readers interested in military and ethical dilemmas." San Antonio Express-News

"[T]hrilling and funny....It's unapologetically violent and fierce, full of weird, slimy aliens and the dauntless heroes who shoot them, yet at the same time tender and deeply human." Dallas Morning News

"[G]ood battle scenes, clever storytelling and the ability to juggle abstruse scientific principles without breaking a sweat...an impressive piece of work." Philadelphia Inquirer

"[A] deeper and more thoughtful look at the mind-set of the career soldier [than Old Man's War]....The moral dilemmas that Scalzi is able to generate from this premise are often quite stunning..." Dave Itzkoff, The New York Times Book Review

"The Ghost Brigades gleams with the best traits of thoughtful SF." Bookmarks Magazine

The sequel to the extraordinary Old Man's War.

In this sequel to Old Man's War, 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.

John Scalzi is a prolific journalist, columnist, and non-fiction writer whose books include The Rough Guide to the Universe and The Book of the Dumb. His web journal The Whatever is one of the longest-established and most widely-read weblogs on the net. He lives in Ohio. His first novel was Old Man's War.