There's two angles from which I come at this book.One angle is of great pleasure in the ideas of this book. It's a very clever concept, with a fun blend of meta ideas and an intriguing storyline. There's nothing not to like about a fun story, right?The other angle is focused more on the latter ...
Fuzzy Nation, at first from the synopsis, seemed like it might be a bit boring. However, that was far from what it ended up being. The main character, a contractor prospector on an alien planet, gets tied up in a political fight for his life, the fate of planet he works on, and the future revenue...
Ah, what joy it is to read a well thought out sci-fi book? I should warn you that it takes a few pages to understand what's going on. At least it took me a little time to understand we're dealing with droids operated by physically paralyzed people. The book goes deep. I mean....it goes really dee...
I appreciate this was written and presented as a serial novel, but let's be honest, prepare yourself for a series of linked short stories.A return to the "Old Man's War! universe is still welcome and it makes for a very easy read for those of us who have arrived late. All the stories are good, ni...
Interesting little book. The story is one of a people who are able to travel between planets by using imprisoned gods to power their ships (god engines). The people themselves worship a different god and it is their faith in that god which gives power to bind & use these lesser gods.If society is...
An astonishing novella that fuses dark fantasy with science fiction tropes, THE GOD ENGINES packs a lot into a short number of pages. Scalzi has succeeded in creating a fully realized -- and utterly insane -- world of enslaved gods, powerful theocracies, and blind faith. I had no idea where this ...
This was fun. I am glad that I took the recommendation of the staff member of the bookstore I bought this at. I told Her I wanted something light and entertaining and was fine with space opera. And this what she recommended. I think for me the best parts came near the end, because it addressed so...
This has been one of my favorite books that I've read recently. I really didn't expect to be so pulled in by it, but I was a total sucker for the Fuzzys! Just a REALLY good book that I am happy to have in my collection and I am sure I will read it many more times over the years. I love revisit...
After a lackluster episode 2 (the 2nd story in his 13 story episodic tale called The Human Division) Scalzi gets his mojo back in this one.We've got Harry Wilson as a strong supporting character but Ambassador Abumwe really steals the show in this episode (that does tie in the aforementioned epis...
Captain Coloma of the Clarke is on tenterhooks awaiting the results of the review board, after she did major, irreparable damage to her ship by placing it in the path of a missile intended for the aliens Ambassador Abumwe had been sent to negotiate with. In the meantime, she and her crew have bee...
Another chapter of Johns Scalzi's «The Human Division» where the author surprises us with a plot twist after the plot twist. We get to see more of Lieutenant Harry Wilson doing his best as a tech specialist. But that's not all. This chapter contains an emotional story, something that truly paints...
This is another excellent stand-alone story. It's a locked-room prisoner's dilemma thing, and it is worked out exceedingly well, story-wise.I really appreciated this story, and actually went through and read it a second time once I stopped being surprised. You should pick it up.Read if: You like ...
This is a review for the series of the Human Division. I have read all the 13 books in a row, this was my first time reading John Scalzi.I was at first disturbed by the series: more than 400 different races, some with very unfriendly intents toward each other, but all at about the same technologi...
I couldn't have asked for a better climax! The Human Division wraps up with its largest chapter (more than double the size of every other of the twelve previous chapters) and it needs the extra length. Relations between the Colonial Union, Earth and the Conclave shift so abruptly that I can't ima...
Set in the same universe as Old Man's War, Scalzi returns to familiar territory. Not having read all of the previous books in this series did not effected my understand in the least. I had no trouble keeping up. These are light fun reads, written in serial form. While the ending was not a cliffha...
The crew of the diplomatic ship Clarke picks up another clue in the eleventh episode of Scalzi's new Old Man's War novel. Someone is taking old CDU vessels, those disarmed and sold for civilian use. Some think it's The Conclave. when the ship comes out of skip for a clandestine mission with the o...
Argh, I bought this short story without realizing that it was already included with the full version of "The Human Division". Well there's $0.99 down the drain. Anyway, this story is fine. It's basically in the same style and features the same characters as "The Human Division". So my review of t...
Ooh, this one is a good installment, full of intrigue, danger, and double-crossing.Also some baseball.This little story is all the things you probably enjoyed about the Old Man's War books, in one teeny little package."“Right, but they’re not rated for this sort of power output,” Basquez said. “T...
Scalzi is ever so nicely tying the previous chapters/episodes together into a pretty decent narrative. This one was a spy story that brought together the Captain of the Clarke & Wilson while still keeping us tied with Abumwe. The baseball storyline was genius and being a baseball fan made it ev...
Another entry in The Human Division, and this time the focus turns away from the Clarke and her diplomatic "B Team." The stability of the Colonial Union is being challenged, and Colonial Defense forces, normally dedicated to defending the CU against alien enemies, has to put down a local rebellio...
I waited and read the whole lot in one hit. It's basically the greatest science fiction tv show you've never read. The episodic format of the stories works brilliantly and Scalzi manages to fit in drama, romance, comedy and action without any element feeling tacked on. My one complaint, a lack of...
This is a review for the series of the Human Division. I have read all the 13 books in a row, this was my first time reading John Scalzi.I was at first disturbed by the series: more than 400 different races, some with very unfriendly intents toward each other, but all at about the same technologi...
The B Team has been dispatched to support a diplomatic mission acting as mediators on an alien planet attempting to emerge from civil war and form a new, unified government. The war has been going on for a couple of centuries, ever since the disappearance of the last king, and the pretext for the...
As low writer on the totem pole at his magazine, Charlie gets the pleasure of coming home to his girlfriend to explain he will be going on a series of dates with various aliens for a human (well, alien) interest piece. It would be a disservice to spoil the story by going into any more detail.So f...
Don't you hate it when you are stuck taking care of some mucky-muck's dog?....and then it gets eaten by a giant carnivorous plant?Harry Wilson continues in his scifi version of A Series of Unfortunate Events, where he just tries to do the right thing and everything comes apart around him. Happily...
CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson is in charge of looking after the ambassador’s dog while the diplomat is conducting sensitive negotiations with an alien race. However when the dog gets eaten by a plant it’s up to Wilson to save the dog and the negotiations. I guessed before it happened that the dog w...
Why am I so torn about this book?((actually, a compilation of posts from his "Whatever" blog, dating from 1998-2008) On the one hand, he's hilarious and smart and insightful. I got to meet him at C2E2 this year and he was very personable and sweet (although I have a feeling he would take except...
Tale of the Wicked is a short, fun Scalzi tribute to Isaac Asimov. If you know your Asimov then anything more I say about the plot, or possibly even the setup, would be a spoiler. So let's skip how its a tribute and instead focus on what makes it Scalzi. Wicked is smart, but not intellectual. He'...
Have I ever mentioned that I love John Scalzi? because I kind of do. He's an amusing writer who creates engaging worlds that may or may not be likely to happen.An Election is an absurdly quick read, a little snack of his style and is probably one of the best for character banter and sheer "read...
I could see where Scalzi was going with this one but it was still a compelling, inexorable slide toward the inevitable conclusion. It was a fascinating glimpse of a man enslaved by obsession and unwilling or unable to break free, and an author unwilling to give in to easy answers. (I prefer happy...
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews The Ghost Brigades is book two of the Old Man’s War series. In the first volume, seventy-five-year-old John Perry abandons his life on Earth, joins the Colonial Defense Force, and heads off into space to protect mankind’s far flung colonies. Once there, ...