I would drink with this guy any day of the week. Or all of them.

If you were born in the 1980′s and you have yet to read any Scott Pilgrim, then I urgently (yet still gently) want to push you in that direction – the right direction. Yes, I know there’s a movie coming out soon (Aug. 13th), and while the early reviews look to be positive I don’t know a thing about how the film will turn out. The books on the other hand I know for certain are gold. Sure, they’re undeniably dorky, but it is still just such a satisfying experience from beginning to end that when you finish one volume I promise you will be looking for another. It won’t take very long to see Scott Pilgrim is the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve… he is also (at times) incredibly slow-witted when it comes to girls, but when he has to fight for what he loves, man this guy fights. When you throw in real life situations (relationships, crappy jobs, rent, ninjas) explained through jokes referring to Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog and X-Men, it doesn’t get any better than this.

Here, let me point you in the right direction: Volume 1, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life, is cheap as hell on amazon right now. Totally worth it.

That was the first question that popped into my head as I began reading John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War”, a book that captivated me from page one and only became more fascinating as I delved deeper into John Perry’s “second” life post-Earth. I think I liked it so much because the premise was completely believable; I do not doubt for one second that this could happen sometime in the coming decades.

What I liked best about “Old Man’s War” was Scalzi’s creation of a world that, at first glance, seems foreign and unfamiliar but becomes more real as we learn about the people (and creatures) living there. They all had unique personalities and character traits that fit them. I bit my tongue dozens of times for Perry, hoping he would make it out alive in the various scrapes and scuffles he found himself in. The drama, the sex, the action…I can get used to this!

I think I loved the first half of the book more than the second. How Perry got from turning 75 and being human to being “20”, inhabiting a green-skinned imitation of himself, and fighting a war in the multi-verse is mesmerizing to me. I wanted more of the crazy hi-jinks that went down with the “Old Farts”, but then again, I couldn’t wait to see what happened in the aftermath of the Coral massacre and who this Jane Sagan (or Kathy?) person could be.

My terminology might be incorrect. I might be way in over my head with trying to figure out what exactly the Colonial Defense Forces do, but I’m onto something here. I want to learn your ways, people! Give me recommendations. Tell me off! I’m beginning something that can only be finished with your help.