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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I thought this would pick up where the last one left off, but it was a retelling of book 3 from another direction. There were a couple fantastic scenes dealing with first contact and interactions with aliens you don't see in the other book, but there is also an annoying teenager voice to deal with.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A good continuation and retelling of the last OMW series. It's been most of a year since I read the last colony so I didn't remember some stuff but a lot is new from the times she was off on her own. Overall compelling installment if a touch slower than previous, which is also nice to reflect on some of the headier themes that come up like autonomy, use of force, sense of self.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read the other books in the series 1st or you will be confused. This is basically the 3rd book in the series (The Last Colony) retold from the viewpoint of Zoe. I thought it was interesting to bring the story around again but from Zoe's viewpoint. Although it was a fast read I thought is wasn't as good as The Last Colony. I felt like plot points were either left out or glossed over. Overall I still like the series.
Scalzi's weak point really seems to be his characters. Somehow, despite not actually being related to him, Zoe suffers from the same "just some guy" syndrome as her father John (but not in the way that makes it fun). I think most of it stems from Mr. Scalzi not really knowing how to write teenagers.
As for the book itself? Decidedly meh. It's a retelling of the story from the previous book, told from the POV of John's adopted daughter. About 75% of the book tells about Zoe's experiences while her parents are trying to keep their new colony from collapsing, sprinkled here and there with details we didn't get in The Last Colony.
And it's frickin' boring. It feels plain old lazy, like Scalzi finished his trilogy and then had all these ideas of things he wished he'd added to The Last Colony, so he went back and added them in, and then swore the POV character and her friends to secrecy so it didn't look like retconning.
This book is exactly the same storyline and events as seen in [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)|John Scalzi|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1289467614s/88071.jpg|15558696], just told from Zoe's point of view, rather than John Perry. There's enough difference in points of view to make both of them interesting reading, but this one does suffer somewhat from knowing the plot ahead of time, and knowing how it all ends, overall. There are still some surprises, sure, but I'm not sure it makes up for already knowing the bulk of the plot.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
I rather enjoy the plot device of telling the same events of a previous book from the perspective of another character. Unlike [a: Orson Scott Card|589|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1294099952p2/589.jpg]'s [b: Ender's Shadow|9532|Ender's Shadow (Ender's Shadow, #1)|Orson Scott Card|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424904668s/9532.jpg|3145587], this book did not provide further character development of the protagonist from the previous book. Instead we get a much more personal take on the events from a vibrant but youthful teenage perspective. This book sated my curiosity about two of the dangling plot points from the previous book, and was a thoroughly entertaining installment in its own right.