Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Tor (New York, 2013). 1st edition, 1st printing. 432 pages. $25.99.
Description
B Team leader Lieutenant Harry Wilson counters hostile alien forces, angry humans and unpredictable elements from the universe in order to protect the interests of the Colonial Union.
Media reviews
Entertainingly exemplifying the maxim that "All diplomacy is a continuation of war by other means," The Human Division is the type of intelligently crafted and inventive military-political science fiction that reminds us that though we might be able to pinpoint a genre's takeoff point, nobody can
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predict how far it it will fly. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member DLMorrese
I've enjoyed the stories set in Scalzi's 'Old Man's War' novels. This one is no exception. The plot is intelligently constructed. The characters and prose are up to Scalzi's high standards, but the novel as a whole is 'choppy.' It's presented in 'episodes.' Each of these installments relates to the
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overall situation of the Colonial Union's relationship to Earth and its competition with the Conclave. They create something like a political whodunnit, but we never discover who or why or how. The episodes provide clues to the mystery, but they don't resolve it at the end. I suppose this means a sequel is in the works. I'll undoubtedly read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member JudithProctor
A continuation of the Old Man's War series. This book was written as a collection of episodes, which is both a plus and a minus. The plus is it's really easy to read an individual chapter as a story in it's own right, but the minus is that it's harder to get a sense of an overall story arc.
The
The
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character development is excellent with several well-drawn characters, especially Harry Wilson. There's a strong strain of humour in the character relationships and dialogue. Show Less
LibraryThing member g33kgrrl
This is a continuation of Scalzi's Old Man's War series, and another enjoyable book. The pieces in this were originally released serially and then collected, but they form a coherent whole. I enjoyed reading it, and spending time with the characters, and I even enjoyed the vignette nature of the
For my money my favorite chapter was The Dog King, by the way.
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book. I wish there had been a bit more of a resolution to the central mystery but I guess that will happen in the next book.For my money my favorite chapter was The Dog King, by the way.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
The latest book in the Old Man's War series. Unfortunately, while I really enjoyed the book, its incomplete. New characters are introduced in this one, there's no appearance by any of the characters in the previous books, which is actually a good thing. The bad part is the very abrupt ending. The
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colonies and the Earth are seriously divided, and the Conclave continues to put pressure on the humans and stifle human expansion. Unfortunately that's the situation at the beginning of the book and the end. In the middle are some very enjoyable stories and good characters. There are plots and counter-plots afoot, but they are all left hanging. Can't wait for the next one! Show Less
LibraryThing member jonwwil
My only real issue with this book, as with the other Scalzi books I've read (which now includes the OMW books and Redshirts), lies in the dialogue--and, in a related way, in characterization. First off, I think Scalzi vastly overestimates the number of times people say each other's names when
Now, all that aside, this is a damn fun book. I really enjoyed it. Realizing the "chapters" were originally released as individual episodes that were then compiled into a novel, I actually enjoyed the way the perspective jumped around a little bit, each time coming back home to the main characters and their missions. As I said, issues with the dialogue aside, it does make for some very funny spots, and the humor nicely balances the tension of the small- and large-scale conflict that going on and/or threatening to erupt at any time. "The Dog King," in particular, stands out for its hilarity; and, while I'm not sure it was entirely necessary, the final story, "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today," was a nice, calm way to bring the book to a close after the chaos that was "Earth Below, Sky Above." And the way the book played out, there's plenty of intrigue built up at the end that will carry over into the next installment. I know I'm looking forward to it.
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they're conversing. Secondly...well, I read Scalzi's blog and follow his Twitter feed, so I'm pretty familiar with his personal writerly voice, and all of his characters talk the same way. They're all quick-witted smartasses, even the aliens. Which, don't get me wrong, makes the book pretty funny; it also makes it tough at times to differentiate between the characters. Is this the 90-year-old human in his second body, which is genetically enhanced and, oh by the way, green, or is this his total human junior diplomat sidekick? There are no dullards (none that get more than a handful of lines, anyway), nobody with no sense of humor (or even just a different sense of humor) or who just isn't quick on the draw with a witty line. And there are no communication gaps at all, which is pretty amazing given the variety of cultures that come together in a book based on conflicts between humans and a vast number of alien species (to say nothing of the huge culture gap that should exist even between your normal garden variety humans and the "elderly" solider of the Colonial Defense Force).Now, all that aside, this is a damn fun book. I really enjoyed it. Realizing the "chapters" were originally released as individual episodes that were then compiled into a novel, I actually enjoyed the way the perspective jumped around a little bit, each time coming back home to the main characters and their missions. As I said, issues with the dialogue aside, it does make for some very funny spots, and the humor nicely balances the tension of the small- and large-scale conflict that going on and/or threatening to erupt at any time. "The Dog King," in particular, stands out for its hilarity; and, while I'm not sure it was entirely necessary, the final story, "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today," was a nice, calm way to bring the book to a close after the chaos that was "Earth Below, Sky Above." And the way the book played out, there's plenty of intrigue built up at the end that will carry over into the next installment. I know I'm looking forward to it.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
If you enjoyed the previous four books set in the world of "Old Man's War" there is no reason that you'll not enjoy this book to, as Scalzi plays with the implications of the sundering of the Human commonwealth at the end of "The Last Colony." I have little more to say about this book that has not
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been already said but it does end on rather more of a cliffhanger than I expected. That I don't rate it a bit higher is a commentary on how I have high expectations for the follow-on novel(s) and I want to see how Scalzi to meets them. Show Less
LibraryThing member stefferoo
Back when I first started getting into reading more sci-fi, John Scalzi's Old Man's War series was a great starting point. The books had just the right mix of space travel, aliens and futuristic technology, but were still light enough not to intimidate a relative newcomer to the genre. Now they
So when I found out about Scalzi's new serialized novel based on the Old Man's War universe, I became all excited and got set to pick up the new episodes every week from January to April 2013. Unfortunately, I discovered that I am very impatient when it comes to having to wait to find out what happens next, and I'm as bad with books as I am with TV shows when it comes to keeping up with weekly installments. For the latter, I'd much rather buy the complete DVD/Blu-ray box set with all the extras at the end of the season and do a marathon all at once, so I essentially decided to do the literary equivalent with The Human Division.
It will help to have read the previous books in the series, especially The Last Colony, since what happens in The Human Division is the direct result of the drastic events that occur the end of that novel. As such, this review may contain minor spoilers for the books that came before.
For a couple hundred years, the Colonial Union has happily taken advantage of Earth, keeping the planet's population in the dark while farming it aggressively for colonists and soldiers in the name of human expansion across a hostile universe. Last we saw, John Perry has basically blown the cover off that whole operation. Thanks to him, the people of Earth now know the truth.
Angry and betrayed, Earth considers an invitation from a political alliance made up of 400 alien races -- also known as the Conclave, bitter rivals of the Colonial Union. The CU, currently aware of their precarious position, begins to play things more carefully, making every possible effort in politics and diplomacy. An unknown entity, however, may be sabotaging all their efforts.
Being a serialized novel, this was a great mix of thirteen narratives which all come together to tell an overarching story. Some served to push the plot forward while focusing on the main characters, while others acted more as filler but were still invaluable in providing the necessary background information required to follow the story. Like any anthology-type book, there were some episodes I liked more than others, but on the whole they were all very entertaining and enjoyable.
Some highlights for me include Episode 1: The B-Team, the story which serves as an introduction to our main characters, Ambassador Abumwe, Captain Coloma, Hart Schmidt, and Harry Wilson. Wilson, of course, I was glad to see because he's someone we first met in Old Man's War, one of John Perry's friends in the group they'd dubbed the "Old Farts", so it was nice to be able to catch up with him. This story was also one hell of a start.
Also Episode 2: Walk the Plank, which a one-off short told in transcript form and was a punch in the gut. This just goes to show while John Scalzi's a funny guy and a delight to read, his stuff's not all fun and games; he's also very capable of writing poignant scenes that can fill you with dread. Walk The Plank also reaffirmed my decision to read this novel only after it was complete, as it was a drastic shift from the first episode and I would have been left very confused that week.
Then there were the episodes like #7, The Dog King which were lighter, more humorous and closer to what I expect when I think of Scalzi's works. There were also pleasant surprises like Episode 10: This Must be the Place which I found heartwarming and quite meaningful. And of course, the final episode Earth Below, Sky Above which was all action all craziness, and had me on the edge of my seat. John Scalzi gets to flex all his writing talents with this diverse collection of stories.
Basically, if you've followed the Old Man's War series up to this point, you really can't afford to miss this. It continues the story, but the serialization format also made this an incredible experience. Admittedly, I had initial doubts about it, fearing that the novel being presented as individual episodes would make it feel too disjointed, but that was not the case at all. In fact, I actually really liked it. Either I'm just not as bad as I thought at handling serial novels, or John Scalzi is simply really good at pulling this off. It's probably both.
Like I said, you can get the full-length novel now which includes all the episodes as well as a couple extras, and personally, I so much prefer reading it this way. It appears Scalzi's been signed on for a second season too, so I'm ecstatic that the adventures in the universe of Old Man's War will continue.
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still rank among some of my favorite books of all time.So when I found out about Scalzi's new serialized novel based on the Old Man's War universe, I became all excited and got set to pick up the new episodes every week from January to April 2013. Unfortunately, I discovered that I am very impatient when it comes to having to wait to find out what happens next, and I'm as bad with books as I am with TV shows when it comes to keeping up with weekly installments. For the latter, I'd much rather buy the complete DVD/Blu-ray box set with all the extras at the end of the season and do a marathon all at once, so I essentially decided to do the literary equivalent with The Human Division.
It will help to have read the previous books in the series, especially The Last Colony, since what happens in The Human Division is the direct result of the drastic events that occur the end of that novel. As such, this review may contain minor spoilers for the books that came before.
For a couple hundred years, the Colonial Union has happily taken advantage of Earth, keeping the planet's population in the dark while farming it aggressively for colonists and soldiers in the name of human expansion across a hostile universe. Last we saw, John Perry has basically blown the cover off that whole operation. Thanks to him, the people of Earth now know the truth.
Angry and betrayed, Earth considers an invitation from a political alliance made up of 400 alien races -- also known as the Conclave, bitter rivals of the Colonial Union. The CU, currently aware of their precarious position, begins to play things more carefully, making every possible effort in politics and diplomacy. An unknown entity, however, may be sabotaging all their efforts.
Being a serialized novel, this was a great mix of thirteen narratives which all come together to tell an overarching story. Some served to push the plot forward while focusing on the main characters, while others acted more as filler but were still invaluable in providing the necessary background information required to follow the story. Like any anthology-type book, there were some episodes I liked more than others, but on the whole they were all very entertaining and enjoyable.
Some highlights for me include Episode 1: The B-Team, the story which serves as an introduction to our main characters, Ambassador Abumwe, Captain Coloma, Hart Schmidt, and Harry Wilson. Wilson, of course, I was glad to see because he's someone we first met in Old Man's War, one of John Perry's friends in the group they'd dubbed the "Old Farts", so it was nice to be able to catch up with him. This story was also one hell of a start.
Also Episode 2: Walk the Plank, which a one-off short told in transcript form and was a punch in the gut. This just goes to show while John Scalzi's a funny guy and a delight to read, his stuff's not all fun and games; he's also very capable of writing poignant scenes that can fill you with dread. Walk The Plank also reaffirmed my decision to read this novel only after it was complete, as it was a drastic shift from the first episode and I would have been left very confused that week.
Then there were the episodes like #7, The Dog King which were lighter, more humorous and closer to what I expect when I think of Scalzi's works. There were also pleasant surprises like Episode 10: This Must be the Place which I found heartwarming and quite meaningful. And of course, the final episode Earth Below, Sky Above which was all action all craziness, and had me on the edge of my seat. John Scalzi gets to flex all his writing talents with this diverse collection of stories.
Basically, if you've followed the Old Man's War series up to this point, you really can't afford to miss this. It continues the story, but the serialization format also made this an incredible experience. Admittedly, I had initial doubts about it, fearing that the novel being presented as individual episodes would make it feel too disjointed, but that was not the case at all. In fact, I actually really liked it. Either I'm just not as bad as I thought at handling serial novels, or John Scalzi is simply really good at pulling this off. It's probably both.
Like I said, you can get the full-length novel now which includes all the episodes as well as a couple extras, and personally, I so much prefer reading it this way. It appears Scalzi's been signed on for a second season too, so I'm ecstatic that the adventures in the universe of Old Man's War will continue.
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LibraryThing member JGolomb
"The Human Division" is the single volume format of what was originally 13 individual shorts released in 2013. Each chapter represents one of the individual short stories. This book as a whole threads those stories together, but not particularly well.
I enjoyed the individual stories, and no current
I encourage this read because Scalzi's a terrific writer, and I thoroughly enjoy myself each time I pick up one of his books. If you've never read Scalzi before, I recommend reading his original novel in this universe: "Old Man's War".
I enjoyed the individual stories, and no current
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writer pulls together dialogue (and snarkiness) as well as Scalzi. But as a single volume, the book fell short. The characters were consistent, the themes were persistent, but the thread that bound the individual stories together was tenuous and ended flatly.I encourage this read because Scalzi's a terrific writer, and I thoroughly enjoy myself each time I pick up one of his books. If you've never read Scalzi before, I recommend reading his original novel in this universe: "Old Man's War".
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LibraryThing member ladycato
This is so far into the series that it's difficult to say anything without it being a spoiler. Suffice to say, this is another solid volume in a fantastic science fiction story. Scalzi writes deep political intrigue with aliens and humans, with humans often as the most villainous at all... though
I really enjoy Scalzi's dialogue--he does great banter--though I have noticed that many of his characters sound alike. They engage in the same kind of banter. This stood out to me when I read his stand-alone humorous Redshirts as well. It makes things a little confusing at times, but if that's the worst fault I can find in his writing, he's doing pretty well.
There were two standout sections of the book. The first involves churros. I wondered why Scalzi and churros have been linked since the book came out; now I understand. The other part involves a brain in a box, and it is so beautifully written that the end actually brought tears to my eyes.
This is a series I'll continue to read.
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in this book, that's not quite clear anymore. There's another enemy lurking in the shadows and the ending leaves the issue as a frustrating mystery.I really enjoy Scalzi's dialogue--he does great banter--though I have noticed that many of his characters sound alike. They engage in the same kind of banter. This stood out to me when I read his stand-alone humorous Redshirts as well. It makes things a little confusing at times, but if that's the worst fault I can find in his writing, he's doing pretty well.
There were two standout sections of the book. The first involves churros. I wondered why Scalzi and churros have been linked since the book came out; now I understand. The other part involves a brain in a box, and it is so beautifully written that the end actually brought tears to my eyes.
This is a series I'll continue to read.
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LibraryThing member wjohnston
This is a solid addition to Scalzi's "Old Man's War" universe.
I read it in book form. He issued it as a series of ebook episodes, once a week. I didn't buy the episodes at the time because I didn't have a device on which to read them. After reading the book, I can't decide if I would have preferred
As to the book itself, as I said, it's solid. I preferred it to his Hugo-winning 'Redshirts.' I have some minor quibbles (I'd like him to forget the word 'wryly' exists, and too many of the characters have the same sarcastic banter), but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to the next outing.
I read it in book form. He issued it as a series of ebook episodes, once a week. I didn't buy the episodes at the time because I didn't have a device on which to read them. After reading the book, I can't decide if I would have preferred
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to read it that way. There are rhetorical tics that stood out to me, which might not have stood out if I was reading one story a week.As to the book itself, as I said, it's solid. I preferred it to his Hugo-winning 'Redshirts.' I have some minor quibbles (I'd like him to forget the word 'wryly' exists, and too many of the characters have the same sarcastic banter), but overall I enjoyed it and look forward to the next outing.
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LibraryThing member halkeye
Enjoyed it. Not as good as old mans war, but the characters were good, the format was interesting but still more engaging than normal short stories. I'm glad I waited for the entire package instead of trying to do them week to week.
LibraryThing member smcamp1234
So I was new to this Old Man's War and because I enjoyed Redshirts I gave this episode idea a chance. And at first I really loved it. I was able to jump into this world and follow where the story was progressing with a lot of eagerness for each new episode.
Now I would almost would have given this
Overall though I loved the story and ill be reading the rest of the series now, but I am even more cautious more than ever whenever I see ideas such as this and ill just hold off from the initial hype and wait it out.
Now I would almost would have given this
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five stars after the first seven episodes, but after that I became disenchanted by the idea that this was going to be compiled later with a couple of extras. That fact turned me off from finishing the episodes and I just waited until I could find this at the library to finish it up. It's disappointing when a publisher try's to pull every gimmick they can to make an extra buck. It's just an insult to us readers.Overall though I loved the story and ill be reading the rest of the series now, but I am even more cautious more than ever whenever I see ideas such as this and ill just hold off from the initial hype and wait it out.
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LibraryThing member joeydag
I'm a big Scalzi fan. If someone asks me for a recommendation, he is the author I first name. This is a very epidsodic novel, a series of cliff-hangers, lots of snappy dialog, no girly-girly romance. A fun book with lots of thrills, some tragedy, and lots of plot twists.
LibraryThing member theWallflower
I really want Scalzi to branch out into new intellectual property. He did so with Redshirts, which has now won the Best Novel Hugo. But then he went back to the OMW universe with a semi-serialized e-Book experiment.
It's... I'm not sure what to say about it. It's still "Old Man's War", it's still
It's... I'm not sure what to say about it. It's still "Old Man's War", it's still
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Scalzi. It still feels like a novel, although it rests on a much more inconclusive cliffhanger than "The Last Colony" did. If you liked any of the other Old Man's War books, you'll like this too. Maybe a little bit less. I don't know, maybe it's because I like novels, and not a series of short stories. That's just me. Show Less
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
I really liked the idea behind this book. It was a electronic short story serial that can work as either stand alone stories or it makes a very nice novel. The plus is you have lots of viewpoint characters but a few due keep cropping up every few stories. As a novel I liked it because there is so
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much more of this universe I want to see. And I am happy to hear that there will be a second book done in the same fashion. Now to decide if I want to do it electronically to read it faster or wait and read the entire thing in one sitting. Show Less
LibraryThing member Guide2
Once again excellent well-written book from Scalzi. The fact that is as written as episodes does not really show. Overall very enjoyable. Looking forward to the next story based in the Old Man's War universe.
LibraryThing member TadAD
I was listening to this on audio book. And then I wasn't. And I never really noticed that I stopped until I saw it in my 'Currently Reading' category. So, I guess it wasn't that riveting. Since I have zero impetus to pick it up again, I guess I'm done. Hard to rate that — I didn't finish it but I
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didn't mind it while listening. I'll average the two scores. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cataloger623
This is the 1st part of well written story in the Old man's war universe. The is really 14 separate stories but it reads like one cohesive story.The story takes place after the events in the Last Colony. The major issue of this book is who will Earth ally itself with? The Conclave or the Colonial
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Union? What power Is trying to start a war between them. Scalzi creates interesting characters and puts them in near impossible situations. This is what makes his book worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member kinwolf
Different tempo in this book, alot less action and centered exclusively toward the colonial union/earth relation. Still great writing, but not as fun or entertaining as the first 2 books in the series.
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
This is the first one I've enjoyed as much as Old Man's War, and I think it's because it does what I've been waiting for since that book: it tears the whole concept of the violently dangerous universe apart and replaces it with the complex, political universe that much more closely resembles the
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real world. Show Less
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: After the events of Zoe's Tale, Earth has largely cut ties with the Colonial Union, citing the fact that the Colonial Defense Fleet has been largely using the Earth as nothing more than a source of raw materials, settlers, and soldiers while keeping it deliberately ignorant of the larger
Review: The Human Division is not so much a novel proper as it is a short story collection focused around the adventures of the Clarke and her crew. This is a reflection of its origin as a digital serial novel - each of the stories ("episodes") tells a more-or-less complete story that could function on its own; the question is how well they come together to form a larger whole. And, at least for my part, the answer was "pretty well". On the whole, as long as I thought of it as a short story collection rather than a novel, I didn't mind that there wasn't one distinct narrative through-line. What the stories do accomplish is giving the reader a sense of something bigger taking shape below the surface, murky and shadowy but becoming clearer with each additional installment. It was an interesting experience, trying to piece everything together based on the fragments we see, and so in general, I liked the non-traditional format. Ignoring the format and the plotting, Scalzi's writing is on point here - the episodes themselves are exciting, well-constructed, and fun. His dialogue is as funny and as snappy as ever, even if his use of basic dialogue tags gets kind of monotonous to listen to. This book was easy to get into, fun to listen to, and kept me wanting to go bak and listen to more.
However, my primary issue with this book was that the shadowy shape below the surface never comes into focus: we never find out who the bad guys are. I listened to the audio version of this book (which was very well done; William Dufris does a nice job with all the characters and with Scalzi's sense of humor, although it was weird listening to a Scalzi book without Wil Wheaton narrating). Anyways, I had about an hour and a half left to go when I thought to myself: "he'd better get a move on; that's a lot to wrap up in the next 90 minutes." And then it turned out that it was actually only five minutes left of the book itself - the Audible version includes a reading of the two short stories "After the Coup" and "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today" - and basically nothing was wrapped up. So it left the book feeling fragmentary (which I didn't mind), and incomplete (which I did). Hopefully the sequel, The End of All Things, will provide some more answers (and you'd better believe I've pre-ordered that audiobook for when it comes out). 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Scalzi does a nice job of worldbuilding in this book, such that it could be read on its own, without having read the Old Man's War series. That said, it's nice to have a more detailed background on what CDF soldiers are and what they can do, what a BrainPal is, what the "John Perry incident" was, etc., plus the Old Man's War series is just so good. Regardless, I think Scalzi's in the upper tier of modern sci-fi writers, particularly if you share his similar snarky sense of humor, and while this way of structuring a "novel" might not appeal to everyone, if you treat them as loosely connected short stories, I think this book is definitely worth reading.
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universe. This puts the CU in a very precarious position diplomatically - most of the other sentient life forms in the galaxy are members of the Conclave, which has the power to wipe out human colonies if it so desires, and the Conclave is currently offering membership to the Earth - in opposition to the CU. Harry Wilson is the CDF liason stationed aboard the CU diplomatic ship Clarke, staffed by Ambassador Abumwe and her aide, Wilson's friend Hart Schmidt. They're treated as the B-team by the upper divisions of the CU diplomatic service - not sent out on missions of critical importance. But the more scrapes that the team of the Clarke manage to get themselves into - and out of - without causing any major diplomatic incidents, the more that they start to be taken seriously… because there's a bigger crisis brewing: someone is trying to start a war between the Earth, the Colonial Union, and the Conclave.Review: The Human Division is not so much a novel proper as it is a short story collection focused around the adventures of the Clarke and her crew. This is a reflection of its origin as a digital serial novel - each of the stories ("episodes") tells a more-or-less complete story that could function on its own; the question is how well they come together to form a larger whole. And, at least for my part, the answer was "pretty well". On the whole, as long as I thought of it as a short story collection rather than a novel, I didn't mind that there wasn't one distinct narrative through-line. What the stories do accomplish is giving the reader a sense of something bigger taking shape below the surface, murky and shadowy but becoming clearer with each additional installment. It was an interesting experience, trying to piece everything together based on the fragments we see, and so in general, I liked the non-traditional format. Ignoring the format and the plotting, Scalzi's writing is on point here - the episodes themselves are exciting, well-constructed, and fun. His dialogue is as funny and as snappy as ever, even if his use of basic dialogue tags gets kind of monotonous to listen to. This book was easy to get into, fun to listen to, and kept me wanting to go bak and listen to more.
However, my primary issue with this book was that the shadowy shape below the surface never comes into focus: we never find out who the bad guys are. I listened to the audio version of this book (which was very well done; William Dufris does a nice job with all the characters and with Scalzi's sense of humor, although it was weird listening to a Scalzi book without Wil Wheaton narrating). Anyways, I had about an hour and a half left to go when I thought to myself: "he'd better get a move on; that's a lot to wrap up in the next 90 minutes." And then it turned out that it was actually only five minutes left of the book itself - the Audible version includes a reading of the two short stories "After the Coup" and "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today" - and basically nothing was wrapped up. So it left the book feeling fragmentary (which I didn't mind), and incomplete (which I did). Hopefully the sequel, The End of All Things, will provide some more answers (and you'd better believe I've pre-ordered that audiobook for when it comes out). 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Scalzi does a nice job of worldbuilding in this book, such that it could be read on its own, without having read the Old Man's War series. That said, it's nice to have a more detailed background on what CDF soldiers are and what they can do, what a BrainPal is, what the "John Perry incident" was, etc., plus the Old Man's War series is just so good. Regardless, I think Scalzi's in the upper tier of modern sci-fi writers, particularly if you share his similar snarky sense of humor, and while this way of structuring a "novel" might not appeal to everyone, if you treat them as loosely connected short stories, I think this book is definitely worth reading.
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LibraryThing member fyrefly98
Summary: After the events of Zoe's Tale, Earth has largely cut ties with the Colonial Union, citing the fact that the Colonial Defense Fleet has been largely using the Earth as nothing more than a source of raw materials, settlers, and soldiers while keeping it deliberately ignorant of the larger
Review: The Human Division is not so much a novel proper as it is a short story collection focused around the adventures of the Clarke and her crew. This is a reflection of its origin as a digital serial novel - each of the stories ("episodes") tells a more-or-less complete story that could function on its own; the question is how well they come together to form a larger whole. And, at least for my part, the answer was "pretty well". On the whole, as long as I thought of it as a short story collection rather than a novel, I didn't mind that there wasn't one distinct narrative through-line. What the stories do accomplish is giving the reader a sense of something bigger taking shape below the surface, murky and shadowy but becoming clearer with each additional installment. It was an interesting experience, trying to piece everything together based on the fragments we see, and so in general, I liked the non-traditional format. Ignoring the format and the plotting, Scalzi's writing is on point here - the episodes themselves are exciting, well-constructed, and fun. His dialogue is as funny and as snappy as ever, even if his use of basic dialogue tags gets kind of monotonous to listen to. This book was easy to get into, fun to listen to, and kept me wanting to go bak and listen to more.
However, my primary issue with this book was that the shadowy shape below the surface never comes into focus: we never find out who the bad guys are. I listened to the audio version of this book (which was very well done; William Dufris does a nice job with all the characters and with Scalzi's sense of humor, although it was weird listening to a Scalzi book without Wil Wheaton narrating). Anyways, I had about an hour and a half left to go when I thought to myself: "he'd better get a move on; that's a lot to wrap up in the next 90 minutes." And then it turned out that it was actually only five minutes left of the book itself - the Audible version includes a reading of the two short stories "After the Coup" and "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today" - and basically nothing was wrapped up. So it left the book feeling fragmentary (which I didn't mind), and incomplete (which I did). Hopefully the sequel, The End of All Things, will provide some more answers (and you'd better believe I've pre-ordered that audiobook for when it comes out). 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Scalzi does a nice job of worldbuilding in this book, such that it could be read on its own, without having read the Old Man's War series. That said, it's nice to have a more detailed background on what CDF soldiers are and what they can do, what a BrainPal is, what the "John Perry incident" was, etc., plus the Old Man's War series is just so good. Regardless, I think Scalzi's in the upper tier of modern sci-fi writers, particularly if you share his similar snarky sense of humor, and while this way of structuring a "novel" might not appeal to everyone, if you treat them as loosely connected short stories, I think this book is definitely worth reading.
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universe. This puts the CU in a very precarious position diplomatically - most of the other sentient life forms in the galaxy are members of the Conclave, which has the power to wipe out human colonies if it so desires, and the Conclave is currently offering membership to the Earth - in opposition to the CU. Harry Wilson is the CDF liason stationed aboard the CU diplomatic ship Clarke, staffed by Ambassador Abumwe and her aide, Wilson's friend Hart Schmidt. They're treated as the B-team by the upper divisions of the CU diplomatic service - not sent out on missions of critical importance. But the more scrapes that the team of the Clarke manage to get themselves into - and out of - without causing any major diplomatic incidents, the more that they start to be taken seriously… because there's a bigger crisis brewing: someone is trying to start a war between the Earth, the Colonial Union, and the Conclave.Review: The Human Division is not so much a novel proper as it is a short story collection focused around the adventures of the Clarke and her crew. This is a reflection of its origin as a digital serial novel - each of the stories ("episodes") tells a more-or-less complete story that could function on its own; the question is how well they come together to form a larger whole. And, at least for my part, the answer was "pretty well". On the whole, as long as I thought of it as a short story collection rather than a novel, I didn't mind that there wasn't one distinct narrative through-line. What the stories do accomplish is giving the reader a sense of something bigger taking shape below the surface, murky and shadowy but becoming clearer with each additional installment. It was an interesting experience, trying to piece everything together based on the fragments we see, and so in general, I liked the non-traditional format. Ignoring the format and the plotting, Scalzi's writing is on point here - the episodes themselves are exciting, well-constructed, and fun. His dialogue is as funny and as snappy as ever, even if his use of basic dialogue tags gets kind of monotonous to listen to. This book was easy to get into, fun to listen to, and kept me wanting to go bak and listen to more.
However, my primary issue with this book was that the shadowy shape below the surface never comes into focus: we never find out who the bad guys are. I listened to the audio version of this book (which was very well done; William Dufris does a nice job with all the characters and with Scalzi's sense of humor, although it was weird listening to a Scalzi book without Wil Wheaton narrating). Anyways, I had about an hour and a half left to go when I thought to myself: "he'd better get a move on; that's a lot to wrap up in the next 90 minutes." And then it turned out that it was actually only five minutes left of the book itself - the Audible version includes a reading of the two short stories "After the Coup" and "Hafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today" - and basically nothing was wrapped up. So it left the book feeling fragmentary (which I didn't mind), and incomplete (which I did). Hopefully the sequel, The End of All Things, will provide some more answers (and you'd better believe I've pre-ordered that audiobook for when it comes out). 4 out of 5 stars.
Recommendation: Scalzi does a nice job of worldbuilding in this book, such that it could be read on its own, without having read the Old Man's War series. That said, it's nice to have a more detailed background on what CDF soldiers are and what they can do, what a BrainPal is, what the "John Perry incident" was, etc., plus the Old Man's War series is just so good. Regardless, I think Scalzi's in the upper tier of modern sci-fi writers, particularly if you share his similar snarky sense of humor, and while this way of structuring a "novel" might not appeal to everyone, if you treat them as loosely connected short stories, I think this book is definitely worth reading.
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LibraryThing member pegasus.rose.99
My best synopsis of it is a comedic sci-fi space opera short story collection that forms a cohesive whole, if that makes any sense. It's a very good book with fleshed out characters and short stories that really do make up a larger story.
LibraryThing member capiam1234
So I was new to this Old Man's War and because I enjoyed Redshirts I gave this episode idea a chance. And at first I really loved it. I was able to jump into this world and follow where the story was progressing with a lot of eagerness for each new episode.
Now I would almost would have given this
Overall though I loved the story and ill be reading the rest of the series now, but I am even more cautious more than ever whenever I see ideas such as this and ill just hold off from the initial hype and wait it out.
Now I would almost would have given this
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five stars after the first seven episodes, but after that I became disenchanted by the idea that this was going to be compiled later with a couple of extras. That fact turned me off from finishing the episodes and I just waited until I could find this at the library to finish it up. It's disappointing when a publisher try's to pull every gimmick they can to make an extra buck. It's just an insult to us readers.Overall though I loved the story and ill be reading the rest of the series now, but I am even more cautious more than ever whenever I see ideas such as this and ill just hold off from the initial hype and wait it out.
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LibraryThing member cdogzilla
A fun read. I'm fond of Scalzi's sense of humor, his characters run a line of patter that put one in the mind of Bogart and Bacall, or Powell and Loy. If the rating seems low it's because this really doesn't work as a novel, it's a collection of short stories and the seams show. But I'd watch the
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heck out of a Netflix series adaptation. (Instead of grimdark wannabe sci-fi noir like Altered Carbon.) Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2013-05-14
Physical description
432 p.; 6.02 inches
ISBN
9780765333513