For he's a jolly good fellow

John Scalzi writes some great science fiction, but it also appears that he is a swell fellow. He is making one of his recent books, the Ghost Brigades, available for free to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. He did the same thing, with a different book, last year. This guy is like school on Monday, all class.

He's also funny, as proven by his top ten least successful holiday specials. This one has something for everyone. Ayn Rand gets mocked: The special ends with the entropic collapse of the civilization of takers and the spectacle of children trudging across the bitterly cold, dark tundra to offer Santa cash for his services, acknowledging at last that his genius makes the gifts -- and therefore Christmas -- possible. So does Noam Chomsky: ...explaining how the development of the commercial Christmas season directly relates to the loss of individual freedoms in the United States and the subjugation of indigenous people in southeast Asia.

His new novel is also comedic, while still holding true to his non-jingoistic military adventure roots.