Storyline: 3/5 
 Characters: 2/5 
 Writing Style: 3/5 
 World: 2/5 
 This was an entertaining enough story. I don't think that I would have picked to read it or would suggest reading it if you weren't already invested in the Old Man universe. If you've already left that universe, this is not a novel to bring you back. I realized in this novel that Scalzi is a very effective writer. When he wants you to feel warm and fuzzy over a budding friendship, he's going to be effective at it. When he wants you to be angry over some injustice, he will be effective. When he decides that you should be apprehensive and tense through a battle scene, he will find a way to instill the effect. The other bonus Scalzi brings (and in a higher dose here than ever before) is sarcastic and witty banter. He pulls off that nonchalant, ironic, craftily mischievous attitude with just about every character in the book - both genders, all ages, and cross-species. There's hardly a character in the book that's not going to speak Scalizese. It's entertaining in its own way, but it does come off as somewhat juvenile. It might have been less noticeable had their been an alternate defining characteristic of the book. In fact, now that I think about it, this is probably a young adult novel. There's no poetry here - Scalzi isn't writing beautiful or carefully penned turns of phrases (other than the aforementioned banter). You won't find any questions (or answers) into matters deep. Old Man's War and and the Ghost Brigades were both legitimate science fiction books, using technology not only for the story but as part of the story. Here Scalzi simply uses his previously established universe to showcase his smart-alecky dialogue. In the end, its really braggadocio wrapped in science fiction trimmings. Scalzi could have written the same book with essentially the same characters and set it as a tale of drug runners in Nicaragua, sprites in an enchanted castle, or a White House political thriller. The Old Man universe was available though, and Scalzi already had a fan base and a contract, so it got put here. I'm near the end of the series, and these iterations rank as some of the easiest science fiction I've ever read, so I'll finish it out (plus this novel left with a will-be-continued ending). I'm amused with them, realize that I shouldn't expect much from the future, and Scalzi will be able to deliver on that.