glad to hear of the clean bill of health (an odd turn of phrase, it seems to me, but there it is). IMHO, Scalzi is the best writer of mil sf to date. Far, far better than some famous, at least partly, simply for having been earlier. It's not my favorite niche...but that boy can write. Others have "done more for the genre" (I'd argue Drake pretty much brought it back from the dead), but in terms of skill...Scalzi is impressive. It's a diff niche than you guys write in, tho.