The Ghost Brigades cover art

The Ghost Brigades

An Explosive Military Science Fiction Adventure

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The Ghost Brigades

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: William Dufris
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About this listen

The military SF sequel to his extraordinary Old Man's War, John Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades is the second in The Old Man's War series.

Who can you trust, if you can't trust yourself?

Three hostile alien races have united against humanity, determined to halt our expansion into space. The mastermind behind this lethal alliance is a traitor - Charles Boutin. He was a Colonial Defence Force scientist, with access to their biggest military secrets. Now the CDF's only hope is to discover Boutin's plan. Trouble is, Boutin's dead.

As a super-soldier created from Boutin's own DNA, Jared Dirac may have answers. However, when Dirac fails to access the scientist's memories, he's transferred to the Ghost Brigades for training. These elite troops are also cloned from the dead, so he might fit in. But will Dirac's memory return as the enemy plots the fate of humankind? And whose side is Dirac really on?

Continue the gripping space war series with The Last Colony.

Fantasy Fiction Hard Science Fiction Humorous Military Science Fiction Space Opera War Comedy Haunted

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Critic reviews

A mix of Starship Troopers and Universal Soldier, Ghost evokes awakening, betrayal, and combat in the best military sci-fi tradition.
Scalzi's prose harkens back to the Golden Age of science fiction while still remaining fresh and vibrant
Like Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades is thinking fans' space opera . . . The Ghost Brigades maintains Scalzi's standing as one of SF's most rewarding purveyors of thrilling, gut-wrenching, and thoughtful space opera
If anyone stands at the core of the American science fiction tradition at the moment, it is Scalzi.
All stars
Most relevant
Always a pleasure listening and residing scalzi work 5 stars are not enough for this series

Great

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Really wanted this book to be as good as the first one, unfortunately I found the human interest and humour of the first book, lacking.
Often I would zone out when trying to listen.
Lot's of explanation about alien races and tec but I'm afraid it left me cold.
Not planning on getting the third book.

Not as good as the first book

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A genuinely good sifi book

Gets a bit lost

Complexity of character is bit 2d

The first book is 100 x better , more complex, more ethically questioning and funner.

pretty good but nothing compared to the first book

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whilst most people will be upset at the story not following John Perry, once you past that it becomes an excellent story with the final third having some great twist and turns. Gerad is so likeable by the end and I really was invested in his story. really enjoyable.

starts slow ends great

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Fast moving and imaginative storyline. Good character development and lots of action. Narration is excellent. Engaging and difficult to put down. Already ordered the next in the series.

Lightweight B movie space romp

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