Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Tor Books (2013), 77 pages
Description
The final episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War. Beginning on January 15, 2013, a new episode of The Human Division will appear in e-book form every Tuesday. At last, the Earth and the Colonial Union have begun formal discussions about their relationship in the future-a chance for the divisions in humanity to be repaired. The diplomats and crew of the Clarke are on hand to help with the process, including Ambassador Ode Abumwe and CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson, both of whom were born on Earth. But not everyone wants The Human Division to be repaired...and they will go to great length to make sure it isn't. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member srearley
the 13 episodes of this series have totally inflated by number of books read this year. Now that they are all released, I'm going to reread and see what I think of the series as a whole. I kind of wish I'd waited until it was all done before reading. I'm also on the fence about the fact that it
I do enjoy Scalzi's humor quite a bit, but many of his characters sound...exactly like each other, which sound like HIM.
I do enjoy visiting the future as he envisions it, and I will definitely read more to see where he takes things in the next "season" of this story.
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ended on a cliffhanger. Hmph. At least there wasn't an annoying love triangle.I do enjoy Scalzi's humor quite a bit, but many of his characters sound...exactly like each other, which sound like HIM.
I do enjoy visiting the future as he envisions it, and I will definitely read more to see where he takes things in the next "season" of this story.
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LibraryThing member nnschiller
A worth end to the serial experiment. A success, I hope. At least it was a narrative success, but we don't need experiments to learn that serial novels work. Cervantes and Dumas proved that centuries ago. The experiment, I think, was whether digitally distributing a serial novel worked financially.
Overall, I think the story arc worked. Without getting in to spoilers, here is what I liked about the series. First, it focused on non-violent methods of conflict resolution. The Old Man's War universe has become one where simply kicking alien ass is no longer a reasonable option, so we get to see other ways of fixing problems. Second, it focused on non-alpha characters. Speculative fiction is full of stories where through sheer strength of will, a hero forces a group to follow his lead. Here, everyone is on the B-team and must use intelligence and creativity to troubleshoot, rather than strength or charm to dominate. Hart Schmidt is a great example of this. He watches and he helps and changes the universe. Back-channels establish communication between conflicting parties, rather than alphas slugging it out. Third, the central (ish) character is a super-hero, yet he chooses to play the sarcastic side-kick role. Wilson uses his abilities in creative ways, yet never dominates others with them. It's a great meditation on how strength need not lead to domination or conflict. Wilson knows he can punch/wrestle/fight his way out of situations, but prefers to empathize and engage.
So, well done Scalzi. The Human Division is all about being strong without bullying, solving conflict by engaging in communication, and not letting power overwhelm humanity. It's gamma rabbits in space, and I love it.
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Scalzi seemed to sell a lot of copies and I imagine he'll sell some more when it is released as a single volume. (I'm curious if there will be unique content release w/ that edition, I don't want to buy it again to get the last story, but dammit I will.)Overall, I think the story arc worked. Without getting in to spoilers, here is what I liked about the series. First, it focused on non-violent methods of conflict resolution. The Old Man's War universe has become one where simply kicking alien ass is no longer a reasonable option, so we get to see other ways of fixing problems. Second, it focused on non-alpha characters. Speculative fiction is full of stories where through sheer strength of will, a hero forces a group to follow his lead. Here, everyone is on the B-team and must use intelligence and creativity to troubleshoot, rather than strength or charm to dominate. Hart Schmidt is a great example of this. He watches and he helps and changes the universe. Back-channels establish communication between conflicting parties, rather than alphas slugging it out. Third, the central (ish) character is a super-hero, yet he chooses to play the sarcastic side-kick role. Wilson uses his abilities in creative ways, yet never dominates others with them. It's a great meditation on how strength need not lead to domination or conflict. Wilson knows he can punch/wrestle/fight his way out of situations, but prefers to empathize and engage.
So, well done Scalzi. The Human Division is all about being strong without bullying, solving conflict by engaging in communication, and not letting power overwhelm humanity. It's gamma rabbits in space, and I love it.
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LibraryThing member Kaethe
I'm ambivalent. I really enjoyed the writing of this segment, just as I did all the others. But I'm really bummed that the story wasn't brought to some sort of conclusion. On the other hand, there will be another series...
I bought it.
I bought it.
LibraryThing member Ben_Harnwell
I read the Human Division via the weekly chapter releases from Amazon in my kindle.
This was a great way to read this book serialized and in little bit sized chunks. Scalzi's has created a human and real world for his space operas and this book truly takes that world to a whole new level.
We meet
Great read I'm only sorry I had to wait a week between chapters and then after 13 it all ended.
This was a great way to read this book serialized and in little bit sized chunks. Scalzi's has created a human and real world for his space operas and this book truly takes that world to a whole new level.
We meet
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some familiar people and get to enjoy some new ones. Great read I'm only sorry I had to wait a week between chapters and then after 13 it all ended.
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