Zoe's Tale: An Old Man's War Novel

I'm writing the same review for all of the John Scalzi books that I've read. If you want to know what this book's about, read the description and the sample. I'd only be repeating that info here. What I want you to know is that Scalzi is a genius Writer (with a capital "W"). "Writer" seems so pedestrian when referring to Scalzi. Better to describe him as "Novelist" or "Storyteller" or "Wordmonger" (maybe not that last one). Or "Craftsman." His stories are clever and brilliant, all unique, humorous and dramatic, believable...yet out there. If you want to get your mind off your troubles, or the troubles of the world, or you want to let go of your disbeliefs willingly (like a movie), or you need some frivolity, or you like plot twists and turns, or you think you can guess what's coming next or later in a story (like I do) but you get it totally wrong, or you just want a tale that blows your mind, read one of John Scalzi's books. I guarantee that you will be totally ecstatic, if not downright jubilant. You're welcome.

I read all of Scalzi's "Old Man's War" series in sequence, including Last Colony, then Zoe's Tale. In case anyone doesn't know, Zoe's Tale covers the same ground as "The Last Colony," but this time it is from the point of view of Zoe Boutin-Perry, rather than her parents. Between the two, I consider Last Colony to be the better book. But that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy Zoe's Tale, too. And I highly recommend it if you want an introduction to Scalzi's writing and don't want to read the more 'military' stories that he has written. Just consider that if you think you might like the military aspect, then Zoe's Tale is probably NOT the place to start. Zoe's Tale, though a fine book, is really more of a YA story. It focuses much more on relationships than on events. John Scalzi still shows his great skill at characterization and his clear, concise writing style that is so effortless to read It does take place at the same time with the same general frame as Last Colony. It nicely rounds out some of the questions I had, but some events and details that were very important in The Last Colony aren't even mentioned in Zoe's Tale, and vice-versa. In some cases it is almost like 2 parallel worlds. Essentially Zoe's Tale is more of a coming of age story, and gives you a much better understanding of the Obin as a race, and of Zoe as a person. It also gives more detail on one or two very important things that happened towards the end of Last Colony, but even then it doesn't go into the detail you would expect for such important occurrences. Zoe's Tale is also, clearly, a character study. I actually marveled at Scalzi's ability to capture the mind and heart of a teenage girl. Very nicely done. And some of the relationships are interesting in and of themselves, especially Zoe with her friend Gretchen and her Obin bodyguards, as well as her relationship with Enzo, the boy she comes to love. I liked it, but if that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, then this book probably isn't for you. You can feel free to stop at "The Last Colony" and not worry that you have missed too much. Now, if Scalzi writes more stories about Zoe, or the Conclave, or the Obin, or the new choices that Earth makes among the stars, and I suspect he will do exactly that, then this book might assume more importance as a key pivotal point in the series. But as things currently stand, you can choose to read it or skip it. If you do read it, just don't expect it to be quite the same as what has gone before.

This is the fourth book set in the Old Man's War universe, but it's not a continuation of the story arcs he established in the first three, but rather a retelling of the events of the third book, The Last Colony, but told this time from a very different perspective, that of sixteen year old Zoe Boutin-Perry, daughter of a traitor, the object of a major treaty between the Colonial Union and the Obin, and adopted by John and Jane Perry. Now doing something like this is fraught with peril, as readers of the earlier books will certainly know how everything ends, and will therefore have little sense of suspense throughout this work. It is even more perilous for a middle-aged man to attempt to find the correct `voice' for a teenaged female, one that rings true and will appeal to younger readers, and still engage readers of much greater ages. I'm happy to say that Mr. Scalzi quite deftly succeeded very, very well with both the characterization and being able to still hold at least this reader glued to the pages, even without the suspense. Zoe herself is a full-bodied person, one you'd definitely like to meet, someone you come to care about a great deal over the course of this work. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, occasionally her sarcasm and biting comments might make you grimace, and there is an element of unthinking `me-ness' to her, an attitude that she's unique. But in this case, she really is unique - not many girls can say that they are the goddess-object of an entire alien race. But besides her, several of her close friends also come alive as real people, something that's a little rare in first-person perspective works. Gretchen, Magdy, and Enzo are very much real people, and even better, real teenagers. Certain aspects of other major players are given better backgrounds, most especially the Obin and Zoe's two Obin bodyguards, Hickory and Dickory, and a certain story `hole' in The Last Colony gets a better, fuller explanation. These are nice touches that help hold your interest. Scalzi's writing style has much to do with your enjoyment of this book. It's witty, sarcastic, funny, thoughtful, and incredibly easy to read, a trait he shares with a writer he's often compared to, namely Robert Heinlein. But beyond this, in this book he also grabs your jugular of emotional response, expertly playing you like a harp, and making you at time furious, sad, and very strongly up-lifted to the point of tears. It's just this strong emotional content that makes me think this book is better than The Last Colony, and on par with the first book of this series, Old Man's War. All in all, a great accomplishment, one that should appeal to both teenagers and old codgers like me. ---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

This was a retelling of lost colony with some additional stuff to weave lose end , it was enjoyable but could be skipped in the series reading

La suite de la série Old Man's War, excellente, même si le tome précédent procurait plus de nouveautés. Ce tome est la vision en parallèle de Zoé de la partie Last Colony, avec quelques plus. Toujours aussi agréable à lire. Un excellent auteur, et j'attends la suite avec impatience...

ほんとは2.5にしたい。三作目を一作目、二作目の主人公夫婦の養女の視点から1人称で書いたもの。先のシリーズを読んじゃったら、読まんでもえーじゃろ、と思いながら読んでしまったので。若干微妙な評価となった。三作目を読んだ時、ここ端折ってるな、と感じたとこを本作で埋めているので、最初っからこいつを出すために意図的にやったのか？と勘ぐってる？元々ネット小説だったらしいので、そこでは、並行して話が進んでいたかも。

A fantastic SciFi history about a girl, Zoe Boutin Perry. John Scalzi tells us the history of the stepdaughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan, in the fourth book of the pentalogy (Old Man's War), and their two Obin friends. Wow: great development and characters to remember. A great book, like Ender's War from Orson Scott Card !

Muy entretenida la saga de histoide John Scalzi...muy recomendable