The B-Team

The Human Division, Episode 1

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last-minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.

The B-Team is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Listen to the complete edition of The Human Division, the fifth full-length book by John Scalzi in the Old Man's War universe.

©2012 John Scalzi (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Diplomatic shenanigans

Even in the future we can be assured of power posturing. This story is the beginning of a good series, about some misfits.
I believe that if the narrator was allowed to use his voice range to discern the characters. Not use the "He said then she said " format or at least mix it up with first names and titles.
Beter yet use dual narrators (male and female). Thus not needing the "character clarifiers".

This is part 1 of 13 of this book

Some what more disjointed than the first book and I probably shouldn’t read the novels out of order but over all I would recommend this title to those who have at least read “Old Mans War” while you could read it separately a little back story on the setting is helpful. Also make sure to read the these 13 episodes in order.

Obumwe said, Eagan said, Wilson said, Rickney said

Would you consider the audio edition of The B-Team to be better than the print version?

Can't say, I haven't read the print version. But, I really enjoyed the audio performance.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The B-Team?

Ambassador Baer's demise.

Which scene was your favorite?

Just liked the whole shebang! Love the snappy banter.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

One of the beauties of a well performed audiobook is that with the different vocal characterizations the listener doesn't have to be told who is saying what. I really enjoy John Scalzi's work, but, can somebody (like his editor, maybe) please tell him to cut out the innumerable "he said" and "she said"'s? It's like almost as annoying as like, you know....like, you know?

Monsieurs Scalzi & Dufris: Well Played Sirs

Would you listen to The B-Team again? Why?

I will certainly listen to it again. Scalzi's stories are enjoyable to reread, and Dufris hits all the notes perfectly. I might just go listen to it again when I finish this review. The nice thing about Scalzi is that the story is fun even when you know exactly what is going to happen. Speaking of which, as Scalzi has warned, this series does contain spoilers for the Old Man's War books. If you already know Scalzi, it's moot. You've already read that series and you've probably already purchased this audiobook because Scalzi just rocks. But if you don't know Scalzi and don't want to risk a credit on Old Man's War, my advice would be to buy this audiobook (I mean, 99 cents) and listen to chapter 1 (about 15 minutes) which doesn't give away any major prior events and/or characters. If you like it, you are going to like the Old Man's War books, so go ahead and beg, borrow or steal three credits and listen to the following: Old Man's War/The Ghost Brigades and The Lost Colony before finishing the rest of The B Team. (And if you got so engrossed in the story that you forgot to stop listening after fifteen minutes, never mind. Spoilers aren't so bad.)

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry Wilson! Who else? That guy is just fun to be around.

Have you listened to any of William Dufris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

William Dufris has narrated three of the four books in Old Man's War. He was a great choice and I'm glad he is narrating this series as well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

As with all Scalzi, there's a moment when I settle back with a satisfied sigh. For Red Shirts, he had me at "The rich are different." This time it happened while the ship was readying itself for a skip drive & Scalzi was judiciously sharing enough backstory so newcomers could keep up. Though he never took his eyes off the dialogue, he had a small smile on his face that we old Scalzi fans knew was meant for us. It told us he knew we knew all this stuff and to just relax & enjoy the ride. :)

Any additional comments?

Scalzi wrote a short story called After the Coup which features these characters & which takes place shortly before the events in The B Team. The ebook version is on Amazon (http://amzn.com/B003V4B4PM) and I wish there were an audio version. Pretty please?

Nice Start To A New Series

This book is a great start to a new saga. It has very good Narration, and a good story. The story does NOT have all that Unnessary crap a lot of books have. You know a lot of everything you don;t need to know or care about just to fill a book. I will now start the next book in this great saga!

The story is good but listening can get annoying

Any additional comments?

This could be a really great audio book if the author could just write his dialog descriptive a bit better. It's really the only thing holding this book and this series back. After listening to all the installments in this serial I really wanted to choke him too. He said. She said. He said. She said. He said. She said. All the stories have great flair but he can't take the time to give us more description of how the characters talk instead of just stating, he said - she said? Come on, can't his imagination stretch to cover that? Why aren't they groaning morosely or stammering anxiously or laughing maniacally? Perhaps it's something one glosses over when you're reading the written word in a book but when you hear it incessantly in the audio version you eventually want to scream and claw someone's eyes out. At least I did anyway. The narrator did a good job considering what he had to overcome. Still overall, the stories themselves are good. They are witty and funny and entertaining. I think the Dog King is my favorite in the serial.

Scratchy Recording but Great Story

The B-team is the first in a series of short stories by John Scalzi. This is the first I have looked at any of his work and from a Science Fiction perspective, he has married a great storyline into a descriptive futuristic environment. The story is great an leaves much room for future stories in the series to branch out into many new plot lines.

The only negative is the audio recording. William Dufris puts in a good effort in the narration but I believe the poor recording quality doesn't allow him to present his true skills.

In short I'm looking forward to the next story in the series.

characters felt "real"<br />

this is the second Scalzi for me. stories make sense and I love the characters.

After Fuzzy Nation this is just a huge let-down

Mr Scalzi wrote Fuzzy Nation based on another author's work. It shows. This is very very forgettable. A very ordinary book with an ok reader.

careful do not buy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you bought the Human Division (book) is the same. DO NOT buy this chapters is the same.. I got rip off (only 99 cents but none the less)

If you’ve listened to books by John Scalzi before, how does this one compare?

If you bought the Human Division (book) is the same. DO NOT buy this chapters is the same.. I got rip off (only 99 cents but none the less)

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

If you bought the Human Division (book) is the same. DO NOT buy this chapters is the same.. I got rip off (only 99 cents but none the less)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If you bought the Human Division (book) is the same. DO NOT buy this chapters is the same.. I got rip off (only 99 cents but none the less)

Any additional comments?

If you bought the Human Division (book) is the same. DO NOT buy this chapters is the same.. I got rip off (only 99 cents but none the less)