The Human Division
Ratings160
Average rating4
Wonderful! The serialisation of this book was perfect for the story and I was always looking forward to Tuesday mornings when my Kindle would update with the latest edition.
I find myself looking for a sequel.
Cruising through the series. This one is an anomaly so be aware: It is more of a series of short stories rather than a cohesive novel. That said i really enjoyed all of Scalzi's talents in dialog and I can see where the seeds of one of my top5 fictional characters, Kiva, of the Interdependency Series, comes from.
The Human Division by John Scalzi
CAWPILE SCORE
C-8
A-8
W-8
P-8
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-8.14/10
This is basically a short story collection of events that are happening after The Last Colony, but a short story collection that follows a certain number of individuals. I think this is my 2nd favorite Old Man's War book after the first one.
CAWPILECharacters.The Characters are well thought out and put to good use on the page. AtmosphereThe Style of making this an Anthology really helped me get into the mood and series faster. WritingScalzi excels at short fiction. Maybe if there was a bigger gap between these books when I read them, I would think less of it. His prose and writing is as good as ever.PlotThe plot involving the crew of the Clarke and Abumwe and Wilson flowed very well throughout the story. Never felt like there was an increase in abilities or skills. Just them doing the best they can.InvestmentI was very invested in this from the beginning. I wasn't sure I was going to be because we aren't with the Perry family, but I did really enjoy these shorts and the ways they were able to get through the problems. Learning more about a shadow faction that is trying to incite war against the Conclave and the CDF. LogicI really enjoyed the puzzling out of who is doing what and how its happening. What is the next step. How is this going to play out. Felt very realistic as to peoples reactions to things happening around them and the political manuevering.EnjoymentI really enjoyed this book.
Another great installment of the series. This time shown from a more geopolitical perspective. In a sense this book looks like a prelude to what will happen next (unlike the previous positions in the series), but also gives us a set of memorable characters who we cheer for. From time to time some situations are a bit silly (like the one with brain controlling the ship and an instant friendship with Wilson), but the read is still very enjoyable.
“¿Qué clase de gobierno toma la decisión de que lo más inteligente, lo más prudente, lo más sensato es mantener a un planeta entero en un estado de retraso para utilizarlo como criadero de colonos y soldados?”
Es, una vez más, un placer regresar al universo de La Vieja Guardia. Creo que se perdió un poco el epicness al cambiar a relatos sueltos conectados, a diferencia de tener una sola novela mejor estructurada como las cuatro anteriores. De todas formas me la pasé genial.
La historia continúa después del “Incidente Perry”, cuando la Tierra se entera de que ha sido usada por 200 años como un criadero de soldados y colonos. Suficiente para estar cabreados con los hijos de puta de la Unión Colonial y querer unirse al Cónclave, ¿no? A pesar de eso, estoy seguro de que era “por su propio bien”. Me hubiera gustado volver a saber algo de Perry aunque era de esperar luego de After the coup, era claro que se venía algo totalmente nuevo con Harry Wilson. Me queda una maldita intriga por saber quién demonios está tratando de joder todo. ¡A terminar con la saga!
Not my favorite. While it attempted to maintain a cohesive story, the original material's episodic nature made for a read through that felt stilted at times. Much of that was due to slight rehashing (for new readers when it was on Tor.com no doubt) and the need to reintroduce key bits repeatedly. Understandable in the original format, but in a collected “novel” I don't think it worked as well.
not every one of these short stories is a winner, bit overall I enjoyed the book quiet a lot.
I liked it, it felt a little disjointed at times.
I lost track of some of the characters but the stories were interesting and an SF book about diplomacy was unusual enough to add some fun to it.
Might have benefited if the book version of the serial and been editted to feel more like a single story rather than a collection.
Executive Summary: This might be my favorite book in the Old Man's War universe yet. Though it's not really a book, so much as a collection of short stories. Either way, I can't wait for the next one!Audio book:William Dufris is a great fit for this series. I really like Wil Wheaton for Scalzi books, but I was really missing Mr. Dufris for [b:Zoe's Tale 2102600 Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301108028s/2102600.jpg 18280032] (though I totally understand why they didn't use him). He does a great job delivering the snark and really just the dialogue in general that I'll continue to listen to this series despite all the “saids”.Full ReviewNot really a novel, but a collection of short stories. Though not exactly that. Mr. Scalzi liked it to episodes in a season, and that seems a good fit. This book collects 13 “main” stories along with 2 bonus stories.Some of these stories are far better than others. The lengths vary quite a bit. I'm not sure if I would have been happy about buying each story individually. It's not really a price thing either, they seemed to have been reasonably priced. But much like TV and Netflix, I think I prefer binging on a season rather than doing one/week.This story has far less action than many of its predecessors, but it's far form devoid of it. It instead focuses more on the politics and aftermath as a result of events in [b:The Last Colony 88071 The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406858062s/88071.jpg 18279847].One of the main character is a familiar face from [b:Old Man's War 51964 Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402867788s/51964.jpg 50700], in Harry Wilson (one of the “Old Farts”) whose on special assignment to the Colonial Union diplomatic core. The stories focused on Harry and company are the better ones, and I found most of the ones covering other locations/characters not nearly as enjoyable.Since this is a Szalzi book there is of course a high amount of snarky humor and far too many occurrences of the word “said”. It's fast paced and fun and really breathes life into a series I felt was losing some of it's steam with [b:The Last Colony 88071 The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406858062s/88071.jpg 18279847] and especially [b:Zoe's Tale 2102600 Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1301108028s/2102600.jpg 18280032].I think the first story “The B Team” is the best of them, but “The Observers” is a very close second, and none of the stories are bad by any means.I'm eagerly awaiting [b:The End of All Things 23168809 The End of All Things (Old Man's War, #6) John Scalzi https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411134775s/23168809.jpg 42713953], and need to decide if I can put up with doing the weekly episodes, or if I'll wait for the final collection.Main Story RatingsThe B Team- 4.5 starsWalk the Plank - 3 starsWe Only Need the Heads - 4 StarsA Voice In The Wilderness - 3.5 starsTales From the Clarke - 4 StarsThe Back Channel - 3.5 StarsThe Dog King - 3 starsThe Sounds of Rebellion - 4 StarsThe Observers - 4.5 StarsThis Must Be the Place - 3.5 stars.The Problem of Proportion - 4 starsThe Gentle Art of Cracking Heads - 4 starsEarth Below, Sky Above - 4 starsExtra Story RatingsAfter the Coup - 3.5 starsHafte Sorvalh Eats a Churro and Speaks to the Youth of Today - 3 stars
Had Mr. Scalzi finished the story I would have given it four stars. I guess I have to wait for the next book in the series.
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.