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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love the universe of Old Man's War. This book was a great addition. Given the episodic nature of it, would be an awesome series to see produced with each chapter being an episode of the show.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Well then, that was a thing.
So, the easy bits. This was typical Scalzi, and I say that in a good way. This was amusing, interesting and engrossing sci-fi in a universe that I already love, by and author I also already love. If you like Scalzi, you'll like this. If you don't, you won't.
There. Now that that's out of the way.
This was, as Scalzi has said in several places, somewhat of an experiment. The individual "episodes" (chapters) were released weekly, and the intention was for them to stand alone as stories, but also combine into a cohesive whole. I have no idea how he convinced Tor to go for it, other than he's a talented writer, and Tor is a cutting edge sci-fi publishing house.
Well, it works. I didn't read the episodes as they came out. While I like short stories, I prefer to get a bunch of them at once. I got the book, uh, yesterday, and finished it today. I have no idea how much work went into the mechanics of this book, but it sure was worth it. The individual episodes are uniformly excellent, and they combine into a book that is, to be trite, more than the sum of its parts.
Each episode truly does work on its own as a story, and yet they come together (slowly and almost coquettishly) to give an unified whole that leaves you feeling like you got more for your money than you expected.
I expected this book to be good, and worth the price of admission. I was curious as to how all the episodes fit together, and if Scalzi could make this odd sort of semi-episodic book work.
They fit great. I'm more than please. If there's a follow-up in the same format, I will certainly buy and read it with much eagerness.
So, the easy bits. This was typical Scalzi, and I say that in a good way. This was amusing, interesting and engrossing sci-fi in a universe that I already love, by and author I also already love. If you like Scalzi, you'll like this. If you don't, you won't.
There. Now that that's out of the way.
This was, as Scalzi has said in several places, somewhat of an experiment. The individual "episodes" (chapters) were released weekly, and the intention was for them to stand alone as stories, but also combine into a cohesive whole. I have no idea how he convinced Tor to go for it, other than he's a talented writer, and Tor is a cutting edge sci-fi publishing house.
Well, it works. I didn't read the episodes as they came out. While I like short stories, I prefer to get a bunch of them at once. I got the book, uh, yesterday, and finished it today. I have no idea how much work went into the mechanics of this book, but it sure was worth it. The individual episodes are uniformly excellent, and they combine into a book that is, to be trite, more than the sum of its parts.
Each episode truly does work on its own as a story, and yet they come together (slowly and almost coquettishly) to give an unified whole that leaves you feeling like you got more for your money than you expected.
I expected this book to be good, and worth the price of admission. I was curious as to how all the episodes fit together, and if Scalzi could make this odd sort of semi-episodic book work.
They fit great. I'm more than please. If there's a follow-up in the same format, I will certainly buy and read it with much eagerness.
As an episodic work, it’s a bit more meandering than the others in the series, but also more intriguing in the balance, with more of an opportunity to focus on character. There’s an interlude with Hart Schmidt (an interstellar diplomat) spending some time among family that creates an interesting slice of life. The larger universe has been established so thoroughly that it provides this sort of opportunity for a deeper exploration of certain facets farther from the spaceships and laser battles.
4 stars. Standard Scalzi fare: somewhere between good and great. The incessant sarcasm was fun and the characters interacted in interesting ways. Despite originally being published in short story episodes, the plot was certainly connected enough to count as a novel. I did not like the massive loose thread left almost completely unexplored: the driving force behind most of the events is mysterious. I guess that’s left for the final installment.