peopleschamp305's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
thebradking's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't expect [b:Zoe's Tale|2102600|Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)|John Scalzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1301108028l/2102600._SX50_.jpg|18280032] to be my favorite entry in the Old Man's War series, but here we are. The book retells the story of [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)|John Scalzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437660786l/88071._SY75_.jpg|18279847] through the eyes of Zoe Perry, the adopted daughter of John Perry (the protagonist from Book 1 and 3) and Jane Perry (a main character from Book one and two).
I went into the story with low expectations because I dislike these tropes. But, dammit, [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg] didn't just recon what didn't work in the last book (or what was intentionally left out so he had room to write this story), but instead added an entire layer of intrigue to his geo-political story world.
Zoe's interactions with the Obin and the Conclave brilliantly opened up this universe. Her point-of-view, which is linked to the non-human part of this universe, enabled the read to explore the "alien invaders" through a lens that wasn't human. Now, it's helpful that neither faction—the aliens nor the humans—had been portrayed as "evil" or "good" in the series, which made this transition easier. Still, we hadn't spent time with their intentions until this book.
The first few acts of the book, before she leaves Roanoke (the colony her parents ran in Book three), felt like a young adult novel, while the later acts felt more like an [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg]-lite rumination on the world. And Zoe's participation in that—she was humanities representative—felt right. (The youth—the young—will always see the world in its best light and not as it is.)
I'm not a fan of science-fiction series because authors tend to get lost in what doesn't matter and drawn towards bright, shiny explosions. But Scalzi's Old Man's War series does just the opposite. The deeper he gets into the series, the smaller we get. He digs into the interpersonal relationships, and—as we know in real life—that is where the right people in the right place can make the right kind of changes.
I went into the story with low expectations because I dislike these tropes. But, dammit, [a:John Scalzi|4763|John Scalzi|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1562613145p2/4763.jpg] didn't just recon what didn't work in the last book (or what was intentionally left out so he had room to write this story), but instead added an entire layer of intrigue to his geo-political story world.
Zoe's interactions with the Obin and the Conclave brilliantly opened up this universe. Her point-of-view, which is linked to the non-human part of this universe, enabled the read to explore the "alien invaders" through a lens that wasn't human. Now, it's helpful that neither faction—the aliens nor the humans—had been portrayed as "evil" or "good" in the series, which made this transition easier. Still, we hadn't spent time with their intentions until this book.
The first few acts of the book, before she leaves Roanoke (the colony her parents ran in Book three), felt like a young adult novel, while the later acts felt more like an [a:Isaac Asimov|16667|Isaac Asimov|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1341965730p2/16667.jpg]-lite rumination on the world. And Zoe's participation in that—she was humanities representative—felt right. (The youth—the young—will always see the world in its best light and not as it is.)
I'm not a fan of science-fiction series because authors tend to get lost in what doesn't matter and drawn towards bright, shiny explosions. But Scalzi's Old Man's War series does just the opposite. The deeper he gets into the series, the smaller we get. He digs into the interpersonal relationships, and—as we know in real life—that is where the right people in the right place can make the right kind of changes.
ftagliaca's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
3.0
Zoe's Tale is not a new story. It's a companion novel to the [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437660786s/88071.jpg|18279847] or to put it plainly: it's the same events told from different point of view.
I never liked this parallel-novel trend, they were always too similar to original and mostly boring. But I love John Scalzi's writing, so I decided to give it a shot.
Likes:
+ Zoe's sarcastic flare copy/pasted from John Perry is in full assault mode trough the whole book. I enjoyed her verbal sparring.
+ Completelly focused on Zoe and we really get to know her.
+ Hickory and Dickory get a lot of prime time too. I like them and scenes with them were favorite in this book.
Dislikes:
- It's obvious John Scalzi tried to not just simply retell the story. But except for a couple of chapters, nothing new (aka. we didn't already know) happened.
- Mostly boring. Previous books were centered around military character that lead life full of actions. Zoe's teenage problems were sedate and ... boring by comparison.
- There are big skips in plot. It's not possible to follow the events in Zoe's Tale if you haven't read the previous books in series. It's not written as replacement or alternative to [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437660786s/88071.jpg|18279847], more like an add-on.
- Zoe and her best friend Gretchen feel unrealistically mature for 15-year-olds. Especially in wit and sarcasm.
Companion novels are definitely not my thing. John Scalzi's trademark humor was as good as always but Zoe's Tale was a pointless tale that didn't add much to the plot of the story. I wish I just skipped it and continued with the next book in series.
I never liked this parallel-novel trend, they were always too similar to original and mostly boring. But I love John Scalzi's writing, so I decided to give it a shot.
Likes:
+ Zoe's sarcastic flare copy/pasted from John Perry is in full assault mode trough the whole book. I enjoyed her verbal sparring.
+ Completelly focused on Zoe and we really get to know her.
+ Hickory and Dickory get a lot of prime time too. I like them and scenes with them were favorite in this book.
Dislikes:
- It's obvious John Scalzi tried to not just simply retell the story. But except for a couple of chapters, nothing new (aka. we didn't already know) happened.
- Mostly boring. Previous books were centered around military character that lead life full of actions. Zoe's teenage problems were sedate and ... boring by comparison.
- There are big skips in plot. It's not possible to follow the events in Zoe's Tale if you haven't read the previous books in series. It's not written as replacement or alternative to [b:The Last Colony|88071|The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1437660786s/88071.jpg|18279847], more like an add-on.
- Zoe and her best friend Gretchen feel unrealistically mature for 15-year-olds. Especially in wit and sarcasm.
Companion novels are definitely not my thing. John Scalzi's trademark humor was as good as always but Zoe's Tale was a pointless tale that didn't add much to the plot of the story. I wish I just skipped it and continued with the next book in series.
charlibirb's review against another edition
4.0
Basically, book 3 told by Zoe. I enjoyed it, but I would have liked to have seen her go further than just the story in book 4. I wanted more! Hopefully in the next few books. Scalzi does a much better job writing females in this book than she did in that weird short story told by Jane.
markgius's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
oiproks's review against another edition
4.0
Despite being the same story as the third book, but told from another point of view, the book fills the gaps left previously , adding interesting and breathtaking twists to the already well written story.
lauralh05's review against another edition
4.0
I confess, I skimmed a lot in the beginning because it so closely rehashed events in The Last Colony; but the further in I got the more closely I had to read and for possibly the last quarter of the book I was crying. It seemed more heart wrenching to read about what happened to Enzo & co. from this perspective, as well as the goodbyes and interaction with Zoe and the Obin. On to The Human Division!