This book is fun. Like at the end of the day, that's the review. It's a military sci-fi book about old people joining a space army, but it's just a fun time. If that sounds like your kind of thing, you'd probably love this.

I really enjoyed it, but I didn't love it so much because I don't get along very well with lighthearted books. Which is not to say that this is fluffy because there's a great deal of death (it is war, after all), but the part of the book with gravitas and sadness and serious discussion of topics definitely felt like it came in second to the good time feels. I'd rather have a bit more seriousness.

There were loads of interesting topics brought up, like the morality of the army in general and what it meant to be following commands and the overall issue with the de-ageing process, since no one joins the army before 75. I think I wanted a bit more of that, but it was really well done and such a well crafted world.

My other main issue was how fast this book felt. I think it could have been slowed down a great deal, but then it probably would have become much more serious and that's just a different book. It wasn't trying to do that, so it's a little hard to fault for just happening to be something that isn't my favorite. I just wish it had taken a little more time to develop everything more.

I really liked how the science was handled. I struggle with science a lot so any book that's especially heavy on it is always going to be an issue for me. The science in this book was either simple enough that even I could follow it or just wasn't super important to the story. I skimmed a few sections that were heavy on it, but overall, as a science illiterate person, I'd give this a solid thumbs up.

I know this whole review sounds a bit negative, but I really did enjoy this. The characters were well done (even if there were quite a lot of them and they were occasionally hard to keep track of) and the world was fascinating. I really liked the political elements and how the military's role in the world, both positive and negative, was handled.

This is the first book in a series, but I don't think I'll be continuing on. Not out of a lack of enjoyment, but this book had a good ended. It just feels over to me. I'd much rather have one good standalone than a whole series and after the closure I was given, I don't feel the need for more, even if the other books are quite good.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It was pretty far outside my comfort zone, but it was so worthwhile and so much fun.