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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
For some reason I read this years ago, before reading the first three [b:Old Man's War|36510196|Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)|John Scalzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509467059l/36510196._SY75_.jpg|50700] books.
I really enjoyed this audiobook. I had listened to the previous book the week before - and this was essentially a retelling of that story from another perspective. That said, the performance of Tavia Gilbert (the reader) was pretty great, and I think that really contributed to my enjoyment.
Zoe’s Tale is a companion book to John Scalzi’s great series that ended with The Last Colony. That story followed the two leaders of a new colony trying to hide themselves from aliens while they establshed a new planet. This book tells the same story from their daughter Zoe’s point of view. It’s also labeled as juvenile literature (though it’s better written then most juvenile literature I’ve read). So while they’re trying to figure out why ther government abandoned them, she’s trying to navigate a new boyfriend and new best friend.
This is all wrapped up in her two alien bodyguards trying to protect her from werewolves, her becoming a diplomat to the General that want’s to destroy the colony, and establishing contact with a race that won’t talk to anyone, so the story never gets boring.
The book is full of humorous moments, and great characters. Scalzi makes it look like a simple thing to create characters that you start caring about almost immediately. There are great action equences sprinkled throughout the book, and I enjoyed reading about some of the scenes in Last Colony from a different point of view. He also gives the full back story on the deus ex machina that was used in Last Colony in a way that makes it a much less simple save.
If I had read Last Colony yesterday I imagine this might have seemed like a total rehash of the events, but after a few months it was fresh enough (especially with the additional scenes from Zoe’s perspective) that I found it exciting and funny all over again.
This is all wrapped up in her two alien bodyguards trying to protect her from werewolves, her becoming a diplomat to the General that want’s to destroy the colony, and establishing contact with a race that won’t talk to anyone, so the story never gets boring.
The book is full of humorous moments, and great characters. Scalzi makes it look like a simple thing to create characters that you start caring about almost immediately. There are great action equences sprinkled throughout the book, and I enjoyed reading about some of the scenes in Last Colony from a different point of view. He also gives the full back story on the deus ex machina that was used in Last Colony in a way that makes it a much less simple save.
If I had read Last Colony yesterday I imagine this might have seemed like a total rehash of the events, but after a few months it was fresh enough (especially with the additional scenes from Zoe’s perspective) that I found it exciting and funny all over again.
Truly amazing the way that Scalzi can retell the story he just told in his previous book through the eyes of another character and make it just as engaging and meaningful. I love this series.
Interesting revisit of the events in The Last Colony, though unfortunately it's been so long since I read The Last Colony that my memory was hazy going in. If I'd realized that's what this book was doing, I probably would have reread Book 3 first, but, well, too late. I read books 1 through 3 in quick succession, then felt like I needed a break from the universe for a while.
I think the most impressive thing about this book is that Scalzi actually pulls off a teenage girl's POV (he credits much help from female friends and colleagues in the afterword). I also really liked the sting operation near the end (vague to avoid spoilers).
Recommended, but in sequence, and preferably not too long after you've read The Last Colony.
I think the most impressive thing about this book is that Scalzi actually pulls off a teenage girl's POV (he credits much help from female friends and colleagues in the afterword). I also really liked the sting operation near the end (vague to avoid spoilers).
Recommended, but in sequence, and preferably not too long after you've read The Last Colony.
As other reviewers have already pointed out, this is a good book, as opposed to others in the series. I liked this and Ghost Brigades best, actually. And this is the better book.
So why is a retelling of the events of the last book better than the actual events?
1. Others have said it first: Scalzi writes YA or NA if you will anyway. Meaning his plots aren’t all too complicated and he doesn’t develop his characters or other races or politics all that much. So it’s in his genre anyways.
2. I’ve figured out I never actually liked a third-person book of his and liked all first-person ones. This is because the third-person narrative is so focused on events that you don’t get a good sense of the characters. They all sound the same: mildly humorous, essentially completely bland. They also don’t emote much. There are not many facial expressions or tones of voice or other such indicators. All this doesn’t matter in a first-person narrative though, because then the characters have their own ‘voice’ and I understand where they’re coming from and can actually be made to care about them.
3. Obviously, Zoe isn’t Perry so she’s a much better character and not just an audience stand-in. Also, she’s an interesting character in her own right. You’ve seen her go through a lot and also take agency in the last book and her story is much more compelling than that of Perry.
4. So, basically it’s all been down to character focus until now BUT the narrative is also so much better here, because the focus is narrower. Zoe isn’t directly involved in all of the galactic events. This makes it easy to just forget they all happened and how often the last book jumped the shark like a bad CW show. Seriously, the Winchester brothers are more plausible (and much more enjoyable) characters than Perry, to whom everybody comes calling and lending a helping hand and who gets to set straight about 200 years of colonialism. Because he’s just such a regular dude....
5. Finally, credit where credit is due: this isn’t just a re-telling. Plot points are largely not re-hashed and Zoe has a completely different focus than her parents and so new events unfold and the old ones are put in perspective very fell. If anything, it feels fresher than the original book.
Now back to point 4. Sorry author, your aim completely failed. Explaining how a deus ex came to be doesn’t make it less of a deus ex. Also, explaining away all moral ambiguity and interesting dilemmas the character faces doesn’t make the book MORE interesting, it makes it less compelling. By a lot.
So here’s the thing, Zoe has a nice scene in this one where she lays down the rules. And I absolutely loved it. Then the author makes an about-face and tries to convince us she didn’t mean it that way. Because that would make her not-perfect you know. And his characters absolutely need to have the moral high ground at all times. Never mind the reason readers like Gau and the Consu. Anyway, he does his hand-waiving and suddenly Zoe gets to have her cake and eat it, too, morally speaking, i.e. savor the fruits of a morally less than good decision while remaining perfectly good.
Only it doesn’t work that way. I know this author has trouble with stuff like emotional manipulation and power dynamics in relationships, so I’m gonna spell it out. If someone develops Stockholm Syndrome and you then tell them it’s okay to leave you and they “decide of their own free will to stay”.... *sigh* they’re not actually deciding if their own free will, okay? That’s what Stockholm Syndrome is, okay? It makes them unable to have free will around leaving you, the kidnapper. So no, you cannot magically take the kidnapper’s responsibility out of the equation. It doesn’t work with Perry and Jane (him being the Boutin to her Obin, pretty much) and it doesn’t work with Zoe either. Tough luck. Zoe’s hands are still VERY VERY dirty. And you making her conveniently eschew that responsibility makes her more morally compromised, not less.
But, I’ve decided not to hold bad authorial decisions against the poor character. She did her best, she really did and she honestly tried to face herself, hobbled though she was by the author’s unwillingness to take any risks. Kudos to you, Zoe.
So why is a retelling of the events of the last book better than the actual events?
1. Others have said it first: Scalzi writes YA or NA if you will anyway. Meaning his plots aren’t all too complicated and he doesn’t develop his characters or other races or politics all that much. So it’s in his genre anyways.
2. I’ve figured out I never actually liked a third-person book of his and liked all first-person ones. This is because the third-person narrative is so focused on events that you don’t get a good sense of the characters. They all sound the same: mildly humorous, essentially completely bland. They also don’t emote much. There are not many facial expressions or tones of voice or other such indicators. All this doesn’t matter in a first-person narrative though, because then the characters have their own ‘voice’ and I understand where they’re coming from and can actually be made to care about them.
3. Obviously, Zoe isn’t Perry so she’s a much better character and not just an audience stand-in. Also, she’s an interesting character in her own right. You’ve seen her go through a lot and also take agency in the last book and her story is much more compelling than that of Perry.
4. So, basically it’s all been down to character focus until now BUT the narrative is also so much better here, because the focus is narrower. Zoe isn’t directly involved in all of the galactic events. This makes it easy to just forget they all happened and how often the last book jumped the shark like a bad CW show. Seriously, the Winchester brothers are more plausible (and much more enjoyable) characters than Perry, to whom everybody comes calling and lending a helping hand and who gets to set straight about 200 years of colonialism. Because he’s just such a regular dude....
5. Finally, credit where credit is due: this isn’t just a re-telling. Plot points are largely not re-hashed and Zoe has a completely different focus than her parents and so new events unfold and the old ones are put in perspective very fell. If anything, it feels fresher than the original book.
Now back to point 4. Sorry author, your aim completely failed. Explaining how a deus ex came to be doesn’t make it less of a deus ex. Also, explaining away all moral ambiguity and interesting dilemmas the character faces doesn’t make the book MORE interesting, it makes it less compelling. By a lot.
So here’s the thing, Zoe has a nice scene in this one where she lays down the rules. And I absolutely loved it. Then the author makes an about-face and tries to convince us she didn’t mean it that way. Because that would make her not-perfect you know. And his characters absolutely need to have the moral high ground at all times. Never mind the reason readers like Gau and the Consu. Anyway, he does his hand-waiving and suddenly Zoe gets to have her cake and eat it, too, morally speaking, i.e. savor the fruits of a morally less than good decision while remaining perfectly good.
Only it doesn’t work that way. I know this author has trouble with stuff like emotional manipulation and power dynamics in relationships, so I’m gonna spell it out. If someone develops Stockholm Syndrome and you then tell them it’s okay to leave you and they “decide of their own free will to stay”.... *sigh* they’re not actually deciding if their own free will, okay? That’s what Stockholm Syndrome is, okay? It makes them unable to have free will around leaving you, the kidnapper. So no, you cannot magically take the kidnapper’s responsibility out of the equation. It doesn’t work with Perry and Jane (him being the Boutin to her Obin, pretty much) and it doesn’t work with Zoe either. Tough luck. Zoe’s hands are still VERY VERY dirty. And you making her conveniently eschew that responsibility makes her more morally compromised, not less.
But, I’ve decided not to hold bad authorial decisions against the poor character. She did her best, she really did and she honestly tried to face herself, hobbled though she was by the author’s unwillingness to take any risks. Kudos to you, Zoe.
Not entirely sure what this added to the series, this unfortunate hobby of scifi writers exploring the same story from multiple points of view doesn't really work for me. Apart from the last few chapters which finally told us something new, I probably could have done without this book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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