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inquesoitrust's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
dodgson's review against another edition
4.0
As someone who deeply loves Back to the Future: Part II, I’m thrilled with this idea of diving back into the previous story from a fresh perspective. As someone who notices that all of Scalzi’s characters talk like snarky teens, I’m pleased to see him finally take one on as protagonist. His emotional depth—not usually a sci-fi strong suit—remains impressive, and this new perspective on the universe he’s built offers some potent examinations of privilege and morality.
titleistmuffin's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thewallflower00's review against another edition
4.0
Scalzi says this is his attempt at YA, but I have a hard time believing it. Because he gets the voice of an overwhelmed teenager right, but other things wrong. The main character has zero relationship with her parents. All the YA I ever read, parents take a strong front and center role. Even if they're dead. And especially if the main character's a girl. It doesn't matter that she's adopted, her dad's an 80-year-old man in a 25-year-old body, and her mom's a space green beret. All teens have a strong latch onto their parents. It may not be pleasant, it may be filled with conflict or love. But they do, because they know they're inches away from leaving the nest.
And there is no sex. I don't know what the future is like, but hormones haven't changed that much in the past two thousand years. Here's a fact about all teens: they think about sex. It's always on their minds. It's not always in the context of wanting it, but they think about it. And most of them have sex when they're teenagers (not me, of course). So unless the Colonial Union has some kind of suppression field like in Half-Life 2, something's wrong here. Also, there's no whining, no snapping, no drugs, no alcohol, no engaging in destructive behavior. Zoe's the perfect girl.
Also I'm realizing that Scalzi does a lot of dialogue is his novels. His characters do a lot of talking--civilized debates, interviews and arguments. That's his style, and that's okay. But at a certain point it's like, okay, this has gone on long enough, it's time for something to happen. Enough speechifying.
And I could not believe his author comments at the end when he thought he could just handwave the werewolves and deus ex the "bullet sapper" machine in "The Last Colony". How could you leave obvious plot elements like that and not realize they are unresolved? Don't you read your own work? I'm looking forward to his next work, but I feel like I'm starting to get burnt out on his style.
And there is no sex. I don't know what the future is like, but hormones haven't changed that much in the past two thousand years. Here's a fact about all teens: they think about sex. It's always on their minds. It's not always in the context of wanting it, but they think about it. And most of them have sex when they're teenagers (not me, of course). So unless the Colonial Union has some kind of suppression field like in Half-Life 2, something's wrong here. Also, there's no whining, no snapping, no drugs, no alcohol, no engaging in destructive behavior. Zoe's the perfect girl.
Also I'm realizing that Scalzi does a lot of dialogue is his novels. His characters do a lot of talking--civilized debates, interviews and arguments. That's his style, and that's okay. But at a certain point it's like, okay, this has gone on long enough, it's time for something to happen. Enough speechifying.
And I could not believe his author comments at the end when he thought he could just handwave the werewolves and deus ex the "bullet sapper" machine in "The Last Colony". How could you leave obvious plot elements like that and not realize they are unresolved? Don't you read your own work? I'm looking forward to his next work, but I feel like I'm starting to get burnt out on his style.
tdop's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
4.5
humanignorance's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. It’s been a while since I read The Last Colony, so I remember the broad plot but few details. Zoe’s Tale is a retelling, but given the substantial differences in location and life experiences between the two protagonists of their respective books, there’s enough fresh plot to merit the retelling. I found it consistently enjoyable. I just would have liked to see a bit more of the wider political machinations going on behind the scenes, and more on the werewolves.
bkp's review against another edition
4.0
Another episode in the Old Man's War! Excitement, danger, adventure... teenage-girl drama? Whodidiwhatinow?
For the fourth book, Scalzi takes on pretty much the same exact story from Book Three, only this time from the eyes of another character in the plot. Initially, a do-over of a story, especially one told from the point of a teenager, did not sit well with me. It felt like a bit of a cop-out.
But, teen angst aside, Scalzi's new peek into an old story gave a lot of new insights and sets up a lot more meaning to human and alien relationships in this universe.
And the teen angle ended up not being so bad after all. Scalzi channels the inner snark of his young characters pretty well. The dialog was funny and meaningful, reminding me a lot of Brian Michael Bendis' work.
For the fourth book, Scalzi takes on pretty much the same exact story from Book Three, only this time from the eyes of another character in the plot. Initially, a do-over of a story, especially one told from the point of a teenager, did not sit well with me. It felt like a bit of a cop-out.
But, teen angst aside, Scalzi's new peek into an old story gave a lot of new insights and sets up a lot more meaning to human and alien relationships in this universe.
And the teen angle ended up not being so bad after all. Scalzi channels the inner snark of his young characters pretty well. The dialog was funny and meaningful, reminding me a lot of Brian Michael Bendis' work.
liketheday's review against another edition
4.0
It certainly stands alone and is awesome at it, but it makes infinitely more sense having read the first three books. Especially I would recommend reading The Last Colony and Zoe's Tale in quick succession, because the story is so much fuller that way.
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December 2008: This novel is the story of Zoë Boutin Perry, a teenager who is part of the first colony of colonists — where her planet was settled by people from Earth, she and a bunch of people from other planets are settling a new one. The problems start when the Colonial Union, who is sanctioning this colonization, informs the travellers that they are being hunted by a group called the Conclave who don't want anybody but themselves colonizing anything.
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December 2008: This novel is the story of Zoë Boutin Perry, a teenager who is part of the first colony of colonists — where her planet was settled by people from Earth, she and a bunch of people from other planets are settling a new one. The problems start when the Colonial Union, who is sanctioning this colonization, informs the travellers that they are being hunted by a group called the Conclave who don't want anybody but themselves colonizing anything.
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greymalkin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I really enjoyed seeing events from Zoe's PoV. Her voice felt very distinct from Perry's and I enjoyed how much Zoe apparently knew that her parents thought she was ignorant of, much like any bright observant teen.I loved being able to finally see the assassination attempt play out and more of the relationship between Zoe and Hickory and Dickory.