Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Always fun to revisit a great story re-narrated from a different point of view. Scalzi's voice becomes surer and more entertaining with each volume of this well-conceived series.
After reading "The Last Colony" I was excited to just go read the next book in the series. Wish I'd ready more about this first. It's basically the same story but written by and for teenagers. Ugh. If I hadn't already read "The Last Colony" or were a teenager this might be mildly entertaining, as it was I couldn't get through it.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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 really love The Last Colony. If the last 15% of this book was the story, I would enjoy this complimentary tale. It's very obvious this book from the perspective of a 15 year old girl was written by a 35+ year old man.
This is an okay read if you are a completions. Otherwise: pass.
This is an okay read if you are a completions. Otherwise: pass.
I don’t care for books that take a step back in a plot line, nor am I particularly interested in a teenage girl’s coming of age story, but I had to read this one to get on to the next. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book, because Scalzi is pretty much my favorite pure writer. His words, even if less than exactly what I want, are always ones that entertain and inspire and tell a quickly moving story that makes me want to leap into the stars and take on the universe.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Weakest of the series, as it's a retelling of events in The Last Colony, but from 16-year-old Zoë's point of view (minor nitpick - why is the character name spelled as Zoë throughout the book, but the book title spells it as Zoe?). Scalzi provided an explanation in the Acknowledgements for why he felt this book was necessary, but even that seems more defensive than anything else.
Still, the second half of the book is better than the first. This is because it diverges from the storyline in TLC to follow how/why Zoë does what she does. In TLC, these things are done offpage with no exposition other than hand-waving, so this is helpful to the overall story arc. Maybe this could have been included in TLC itself. Or maybe the story could have started on the colony itselfat or just before the point where the colonists meet the "werewolves" , and continued on past the events in TLC. We already know Zoë and her friends from the previous book, so the meet-cute on Phoenix Station and setting up their friendships were slightly unnecessary.
Still, the second half of the book is better than the first. This is because it diverges from the storyline in TLC to follow how/why Zoë does what she does. In TLC, these things are done offpage with no exposition other than hand-waving, so this is helpful to the overall story arc. Maybe this could have been included in TLC itself. Or maybe the story could have started on the colony itself
adventurous
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:
No
Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi 2/5 ⭐⭐
I can't say I'm super happy with this next book in the series. It rehashes most of The Last Colony almost too closely at times. However, the ending is the meat and potatoes of what you're looking for with this one.
Starting with a hole left by The Last Colony regarding the Roanoke's original intelligent life forms, that I and apparently other readers had noticed and wrote to the author about enough for him to revisit.
Also, a major event that you're just not in the right perspective for during The Last Colony, that was really my main reason for reading this but I was thinking initially it would be the starting point to this novel. It was not and left me disappointed but I eventually got my answers.
I can't say I'm super happy with this next book in the series. It rehashes most of The Last Colony almost too closely at times. However, the ending is the meat and potatoes of what you're looking for with this one.
Starting with a hole left by The Last Colony regarding the Roanoke's original intelligent life forms, that I and apparently other readers had noticed and wrote to the author about enough for him to revisit.
Also, a major event that you're just not in the right perspective for during The Last Colony, that was really my main reason for reading this but I was thinking initially it would be the starting point to this novel. It was not and left me disappointed but I eventually got my answers.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
This is the previous story (The Last Colony), as seen by the teenage daughter of the two main characters. It might be better as a stand-alone read, but it wasn’t that interesting to read plot points I already knew in a passive voice. John Scalzi’s cynical and wry dialogue works well for old men and military personnel but doesn’t really work for a teenage girl. I don’t think YA readers would enjoy it. There are two scenes that fill in some gaps from the previous books but I think you don’t need to see them.