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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this quite a lot; It's essentially a collection of short stories that follow a general story arc and culminate in a development that is obvious once the last story begins, but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the stories nor does it make the harshness at the end any easier to read. I'm really glad Scalzi decided to keep telling tales in the Old Man's War universe, and am now properly primed for The End of All Things, knowing that The Human Division pretty much is one of the shit-goes-down-in-the-hood-middle-book-of-the-trilogy volumes. The stories themselves ranged from "funny as hell" to "gd buzzkill", but they're all written with the same attention to detail and characters. I feel like Scalzi must hear the characters talking in his head pretty clearly, as his dialog tends to flow like a beautiful, vivid cartoon (especially when I listen to the audiobooks).
I'd also like to mention that I adore Lieutenant Wilson; among the cast of characters that I very much enjoyed reading about, he's a star, and if you care to argue that he's Scalzi's MacGyvering-author-insert, I will nod cheerfully and continue to not care. A+, would cheer for the erstwhile B-Team again.
I'd also like to mention that I adore Lieutenant Wilson; among the cast of characters that I very much enjoyed reading about, he's a star, and if you care to argue that he's Scalzi's MacGyvering-author-insert, I will nod cheerfully and continue to not care. A+, would cheer for the erstwhile B-Team again.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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
I discovered Scalzi's "Old Man's War" a few years ago. A piece of excellent writing & sci-fi, I'd put it in my top 10 favorites. If you haven't read it, DO SO. Then go & read his others (they aren't numbered as some series are)
The Ghost Brigades
The Last Colony
Zoe's Tale
then finally:
The Human Division
I remember enjoying the 3 before The Human Division...but I don't know if it's just that much better or I've gotten used to reading mediocre drek, but I really loved it. Written (& released) as a series of short stories, they're all compiled here in this one book.
Earth has started colonizing the universe, which requires both soldiers & colonists. The organization in charge of...well, pretty much everything to do w/ space...is the Colonial Union. One of their rules is that once you leave earth, you never go back. Colonists are usually refugees or adventurous individuals, as you would suspect. Soldiers, on the other hand, are all volunteers who are 75 yrs or older*. Earth has knocked around the universe for 200 years, smashing up against a multitude of alien races (some friendly, some not so much, some who think we're just so darn tasty). However, the Colonial Union has been keeping Earth in the dark. They've done little sharing of technology & have basically been farming them for colonists & soldiers, resulting in a pissed off Earth. The aliens are also tired of fighting with everyone & have formed an alliance...one that says there is to be no more colonization. Bad news for the CU. Earth has broken their ties with the Colonial Union & the Conclave is trying to woo them away to join the alliance. The Colonial Union anticipates that this would result in the annihilation of the human race within 30 years. The book doesn't wrap everything up, so I am looking forward to the next installation.
The stories are exciting, the writing is excellent w/ wry bits of humor scattered pleasantly about. You can't go wrong w/ a book by Scalzi. Start at the beginning (or pick up his stand-along Red Shirts) & become a fan of him, too!
And if you didn't see this being shared on FB, read it quick:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/
*Read Old Man's War!!
The Ghost Brigades
The Last Colony
Zoe's Tale
then finally:
The Human Division
I remember enjoying the 3 before The Human Division...but I don't know if it's just that much better or I've gotten used to reading mediocre drek, but I really loved it. Written (& released) as a series of short stories, they're all compiled here in this one book.
Earth has started colonizing the universe, which requires both soldiers & colonists. The organization in charge of...well, pretty much everything to do w/ space...is the Colonial Union. One of their rules is that once you leave earth, you never go back. Colonists are usually refugees or adventurous individuals, as you would suspect. Soldiers, on the other hand, are all volunteers who are 75 yrs or older*. Earth has knocked around the universe for 200 years, smashing up against a multitude of alien races (some friendly, some not so much, some who think we're just so darn tasty). However, the Colonial Union has been keeping Earth in the dark. They've done little sharing of technology & have basically been farming them for colonists & soldiers, resulting in a pissed off Earth. The aliens are also tired of fighting with everyone & have formed an alliance...one that says there is to be no more colonization. Bad news for the CU. Earth has broken their ties with the Colonial Union & the Conclave is trying to woo them away to join the alliance. The Colonial Union anticipates that this would result in the annihilation of the human race within 30 years. The book doesn't wrap everything up, so I am looking forward to the next installation.
The stories are exciting, the writing is excellent w/ wry bits of humor scattered pleasantly about. You can't go wrong w/ a book by Scalzi. Start at the beginning (or pick up his stand-along Red Shirts) & become a fan of him, too!
And if you didn't see this being shared on FB, read it quick:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2005/09/03/being-poor/
*Read Old Man's War!!
To quote another reviewer: If you like Scalzi's Old Man's War, you'll like this. I did, and I do.
Released as a 13-part ebook serial, this book reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel with a cohesive narrative. It feels a lot like classic Niven at the top of his game working his magic in Known Space. Since I love short stories and classic Niven, I'm okay with this.
Some of the tales are straight up space opera, a couple are mysteries, some are stylistic exercises, a couple are downright hilarious. This lends to the somewhat disjointed feel to the book, despite the fact we follow three or four main characters throughout much of it.
There are a couple weak entries in the book, but overall it's quite good. My only reason for giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is that we never find out whodunit. There's an over-arching mystery at work here with a shadowy organization causing trouble among our four main divisions: the Earth (now independent from the Colonial Union), the Colonial Union (trying desperately to get back in Earth's good graces), the 400-alien-race strong Conclave and the 200-odd races who are as yet unaffiliated. Someone seems hell-bent on starting a war. All we can say with reasonable accuracy is that it isn't the Earthlings, since the CU has kept Earth ignorant and powerless for more than 200 years.
Minor spoiler about the title here:
Since Scalzi seems to have set himself up for a sequel, I hope it comes sooner rather than later. I really enjoy spending time in this universe.
Here's the bonus short story at the end of the book, available for free at Tor.com. This actually happens *before* the events in the story: http://www.tor.com/stories/2008/07/after-the-coup
Released as a 13-part ebook serial, this book reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel with a cohesive narrative. It feels a lot like classic Niven at the top of his game working his magic in Known Space. Since I love short stories and classic Niven, I'm okay with this.
Some of the tales are straight up space opera, a couple are mysteries, some are stylistic exercises, a couple are downright hilarious. This lends to the somewhat disjointed feel to the book, despite the fact we follow three or four main characters throughout much of it.
There are a couple weak entries in the book, but overall it's quite good. My only reason for giving this 4 stars rather than 5 is that we never find out whodunit. There's an over-arching mystery at work here with a shadowy organization causing trouble among our four main divisions: the Earth (now independent from the Colonial Union), the Colonial Union (trying desperately to get back in Earth's good graces), the 400-alien-race strong Conclave and the 200-odd races who are as yet unaffiliated. Someone seems hell-bent on starting a war. All we can say with reasonable accuracy is that it isn't the Earthlings, since the CU has kept Earth ignorant and powerless for more than 200 years.
Minor spoiler about the title here:
Spoiler
The book's title comes from the focus of the four main divisions: that of the Earth and the Colonial Union. Like a lot of the twists both major and minor in the book, the "human division" is the one Scalzi is focused on. Said division is also occurring within those two polities, since, you know, people are people and they'll find any reason to argue.Since Scalzi seems to have set himself up for a sequel, I hope it comes sooner rather than later. I really enjoy spending time in this universe.
Here's the bonus short story at the end of the book, available for free at Tor.com. This actually happens *before* the events in the story: http://www.tor.com/stories/2008/07/after-the-coup
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I rather liked it. I enjoyed it more than The Last Colony despite having forgotten completely about Lt. Wilson, and not really being sold on the episodic "collected stories" approach.
Heading towards the end of the series, the author has focused here on the diplomats and bureaucrats fighting their own war behind the scenes. The structure of the book is that of a series of interconnecting stories with a rotating cast of characters that dip in and out of each others tales. Apparently this was because the different parts of the book were originally released separately and later fixed-up to make this book. As will all short stories, some are better than others but on the whole the tale hangs together well.
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-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
Yet another exciting entry in the Old Man's War series! Scalzi continues to expand our understanding of the universe. This rag-tag group of diplomats and government workers keep getting thrown into complex situations and, at least some of the time, wrest victory from the jaws of defeat. There were a number of sections that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved it and it made me want to read the whole series again. As people point out, all of the characters have very similar personalities...but I like that personality so it was fine by me! And while others were turned off by the way that each chapter is a standalone story on its own that connects with the rest, for me that was a strength.