Saw a few recommendations for this book on reddit in sci-fi posts. Then bought hard back as a gift for my father and he really liked it. So, picked it up for myself on Amazon Kindle. I liked it too. It is fun and dynamic, with quickly changing scenes, stories, has good pace and quite original ideas. So, will start with a few nitpicks. In the beginning you really like the style of inserting joke here and there, especially when talking about grim things. But, then you notice it never ends. Jokes, tones of jokes. Every character in this book is just some standup comedian with instant comebacks and puns. It becomes old. Ha, non pun intended, but i am leaving this in 🙂 And i understand that main characters are life hardened olds, but also to be honest, most olds are whining, nagging. Not hitting you with witty lines all the time. That’s another kind of nitpick or just a thought for discussion. The whole concept of sending old people, who don’t have anything going for them anymore, to do war (after let’s say “refreshing” them) sounds good on paper. But these are old minds, tired of life, accustomed to slow flowing of time. Even if you train them and rejuvenate them, they are still old in their souls. So, this thing was a bit less believable. Of course, they state that most of them still are used kind of like cannon fodder. Ghost brigades, briefly touched in this first book, probably make more sense. But then again. All this technology, just seems wasted. Probably would be more efficient to go the Star Wars way and clone your armies. Another thing that let me to some doubtful thoughts is that i would expect most of them to defect when they learn what they are getting into. I know that they chose to enlist and have contracts, but, they never really knew what they were going to do and go against of. Maybe there were lots of defectors, but book just didn’t touch on that. Of course, that would not make for exciting story. And stoty is interesting. With a twist about “rejuvenating” that i was not expecting. Reminded me a bit my favorite sci-fi “Cobra” (mostly about enhancing human body for war). And also Lord of Light, which is a more close connection. Going into a bit of spoiler category ***it was fascinating to try to imagine how it would be to experience your mind in two bodies simultaneously watching at each other, single mind in two locations at once***. There is enough of science in this book. And it even goes briefly into all the jazz about alternate universes and that it is not actually jumping through space that their drives do, but entering alternate reality. Which is a giant can of worms and can be worth a whole separate book. And there is romance. First somber, then sexy, then weird, but in the end romantic somehow. And it leaves on a note that hints more books. Which i already new when buying it on Amazon and seeing covers for the next 5 or so novels. I might read some of them later. It did hook me to read non stop instead of going to sleep, but not as much as to swallow the whole series. So, if i was doing fractions in ratings, i would give it 8.5. Not quite 9 or even 10. But good. Solid 8/10.