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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I ate up the Old Man's War trilogy last year like it was a friggin' breakfast burrito during a hangover. It was my first exposure to John Scalzi, and it was delicious (especially #1). Zoe's Tale is a re-telling of the final book in the OMW trilogy, The Last Colony, from the perspective of the protagonist's daughter, who played a pivotal but largely unseen role in the story. Because I'd enjoyed the original trilogy so much, and because I'd been burned by re-tellings before*, I was a little wary of Zoe's Tale, despite my faith in Scalzi as a storyteller.
*Had a nasty reaction to Ender's Shadow a couple years back. I did end up enjoying the sequels to that story, but I still kind of hate what Orson Scott Card did to the events of Ender's Game by placing so much credit on Bean's "behind the scenes" actions. I liked the Bean backstory, but I thought the "new" events in Ender's Shadow took away some of the magic from the original story. I should stop now or this could will go on for a while.
It is possible to go into Zoe's Tale not having read any of Scalzi's other writing, but I wouldn't recommend it, not only because it would ruin the story if you ever decided to read Old Man's War, but because Zoe's Tale just isn't as good as the other three books. I don't know if I would feel the same way about it if I hadn't read the other three, but I obviously have no way of knowing at this point. The only way I can honestly review this book is in the context of its predecessors. My verdict is largely that it was a fun idea, but I'm not entirely sure it needed to have been written, at least, not as a whole novel. It was sort of fun seeing Scalzi put on the persona of a sixteen year old girl, and it was nice to see things through Zoe's eyes, but all the narrative tension was mostly non-existent for me, because hey, I'd already read the story before in another form. But that's always the danger of re-tellings: you have to find a way to make the story succeed even though the audience knows what's coming, and I'm not sure that Scalzi did that. At least, not for me.
Again, reading this book is a particularly subjective experience, so there could be people out there (and I'm sure there are) who completely disagree with me. This was a fast, fun read, but really there were only two scenes in the entire book that warranted this re-telling: the scene where Zoe saves everyone from the werewolf things (a scene I missed in The Last Colony) and the whole ending sequence, which I imagine was Scalzi's justification for this whole novel in the first place. And it was really awesome. I'm just not entirely convinced he needed to write a whole novel along with it. Of course, there's also the strong possibility that I'm talking out of my ass. This book did make me cry, after all, even though I totally knew what was coming. I give it 3.5 stars, because of the ending, and because I have a strong suspicion that I'm an asshole and need to make up for it a little bit.
ANYWAY, you guys should all read Old Man's War, because it's awesomesauce. Peace out.
[3.5 stars]
*Had a nasty reaction to Ender's Shadow a couple years back. I did end up enjoying the sequels to that story, but I still kind of hate what Orson Scott Card did to the events of Ender's Game by placing so much credit on Bean's "behind the scenes" actions. I liked the Bean backstory, but I thought the "new" events in Ender's Shadow took away some of the magic from the original story. I should stop now or this could will go on for a while.
It is possible to go into Zoe's Tale not having read any of Scalzi's other writing, but I wouldn't recommend it, not only because it would ruin the story if you ever decided to read Old Man's War, but because Zoe's Tale just isn't as good as the other three books. I don't know if I would feel the same way about it if I hadn't read the other three, but I obviously have no way of knowing at this point. The only way I can honestly review this book is in the context of its predecessors. My verdict is largely that it was a fun idea, but I'm not entirely sure it needed to have been written, at least, not as a whole novel. It was sort of fun seeing Scalzi put on the persona of a sixteen year old girl, and it was nice to see things through Zoe's eyes, but all the narrative tension was mostly non-existent for me, because hey, I'd already read the story before in another form. But that's always the danger of re-tellings: you have to find a way to make the story succeed even though the audience knows what's coming, and I'm not sure that Scalzi did that. At least, not for me.
Again, reading this book is a particularly subjective experience, so there could be people out there (and I'm sure there are) who completely disagree with me. This was a fast, fun read, but really there were only two scenes in the entire book that warranted this re-telling: the scene where Zoe saves everyone from the werewolf things (a scene I missed in The Last Colony) and the whole ending sequence, which I imagine was Scalzi's justification for this whole novel in the first place. And it was really awesome. I'm just not entirely convinced he needed to write a whole novel along with it. Of course, there's also the strong possibility that I'm talking out of my ass. This book did make me cry, after all, even though I totally knew what was coming. I give it 3.5 stars, because of the ending, and because I have a strong suspicion that I'm an asshole and need to make up for it a little bit.
ANYWAY, you guys should all read Old Man's War, because it's awesomesauce. Peace out.
[3.5 stars]
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
tense
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
While this book is absolutely a symbiotic companion to The last Colony, I think it added real value. Both in terms of fleshing out events and characters that were breezed by in the original, and in revealing additional plot-relevant details. Don't skip this one in the series.
I'm also fond of it because this volume had all the emotional resonance that other books in this series have been light on. It confronts some more philosophical questions and deals with the generational gap in very insightful ways. Every story in the real world has complexity and subtlety that can be missed or glossed over in creating the bigger picture. And this was an exploration of just how relevant and epic those smaller human stories can be in their own right.
I have feels about this book. But most importantly this is a worthwhile read and not something you should dismiss because of it's nature as a "retelling" of book 3.
I'm also fond of it because this volume had all the emotional resonance that other books in this series have been light on. It confronts some more philosophical questions and deals with the generational gap in very insightful ways. Every story in the real world has complexity and subtlety that can be missed or glossed over in creating the bigger picture. And this was an exploration of just how relevant and epic those smaller human stories can be in their own right.
I have feels about this book. But most importantly this is a worthwhile read and not something you should dismiss because of it's nature as a "retelling" of book 3.
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
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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:
Complicated
I really enjoyed returning to the old Man’s War universe. The voice of Zoe was so incredibly delightful. Her relationships were to watch. Every character felt as real. All around fantastic return to a familiar story.
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes