The Sagan Diary

If you're just beginning this series with "Old Mans War"-and take note..these books really need to be listened to in order-the place to listen to this totally different short story is after the second book.."The Ghost Brigades". IMO.

This short bit is written as a diary when Jane Sagan decides to make a big change in her life as a warrior and become a colonist. She downloads memories and thoughts that are supposed to be part of an encyclopedia on the fighters who have made the decision to change their lives but instead records personal thoughts on her past life (lives) and hopes for her future with John Perry.

Written in the first person, it's heartfelt, meaningful, and completely unlike anything Scalzi has previously written-and I commend him on his ability to write such a strong female personality into the book. It is good solid writing and Stephanie Wolfe does a grand job on the narration.

Scalzi himself gives a brief summary on the background of the short story and I am quite happy that he decided to fulfill his obligation by writing this....he really stretched himself and succeeded in making a tremendous addition to the series. A series I've come to enjoy a lot.

Do buy this if you've gotten hooked on the books-it adds a lot.

If you're like me, you are looking at this book because you loved old man's war, ghost brigades, and the lost colony, and you're hoping to get another entertaining, thought-provoking story. Here's a warning that I wish someone had given me:
In a prologue, the author basically states that he's good at writing dialogue and action, and wants to try a story without those elements. I wish I had just deleted the book at that point. I forced myself to listen to the entire book, although my mind kept wandering to topics it found more entertaining, such as fruit fly genetics. I kept hoping there would be something good later on, but there wasn't. If listening to a woman talk about her feelings for an hour and a half sounds like entertainment to you, maybe you'll enjoy this book, but I'm guessing that isn't the case for most fans of old man's war.

I have always enjoyed Scalzi's work. This is not one of his usual efforts. In the introduction he explains how this piece came about. I think he did a good job of meeting his goal, but it wasn't quite what I wanted. And at the end, I really don't think I learned anything important about Jane Sagan. I'm glad I listened to it, but I'm also glad it was short.

This is a poem about life and a love letter in book form. If you're looking for plot and action, skip this book. If youre looking for some amazing writing and thought provoking analogies this will fit it nicely after the ghost brigades.

This short story is amazing. The words flow with poetic grace and touch the heart and mind.
I think Scalzi is ever bit as good as Robert Heinlen at his best!
I can't wait to listen to the Ghost Brigades.

As the title says, I'm really not sure what I think of this. On an intellectual level, I thought it was a mostly well written piece. However, I didn't really enjoy it very much. I won't give any spoilers, but there was an event towards the end of the second book that Sagan went into more detail about in this book. That was the only part of the book I really enjoyed.

There is also a chapter in the book completely about sex. In the first two books I thought that the way sex was handled was mostly well done and pretty tastefully done. Tastefully done in the context of the characters anyway. In this book I could say the same thing if the chapter had been about half as long as it was. I found myself rolling my eyes after a while and just wishing it would hurry up already.

This is also a personal preference, but I've never particularly enjoyed women narrators. It's rare that I think one ever does a great job. Something about a female voice tends to let my mind wander more than usual. That problem is especially bad in such a short book, but as I said, this is just a personal preference. Stephanie Wolfe wasn't particularly bad, but she wasn't very engaging either.

I am really only rating this book as '3 Stars' out of honor for the other books in the series, which were VERY good in my opinion... If I'd listened to this book as a "Stand Alone" I probably wouldn't have even bothered to rate it, but since I enjoyed the other books in the series, I guess I have to give it at least a 'three' for filling in a little background on one of the main characters... Having said that, it's not a book I'd listen to again just for the enjoyment, and to be honest, I struggled to finish it.

As I said in my review of the first book in the series ("Old Man's War"), "The Sagan Diary" seems to be some sort of "Side-Step" to the main series, and in my opinion didn't really add anything important to the "actual" series. It was written as a "prize" for the highest bidder when one of the other books in the series was auctioned to benefit a library... I'm sure it's a masterpiece of prose, but I like "Sci-Fi" and action, not a deep treatise that I now remember only as "how do I feel about feeling when not born to feel?" (Those aren't exact words, but it's the "feeling" *I* got from reading it ;)

The narration by Stephanie Wolfe was very well done, and I truly think her performance was just about the only thing that actually kept me paying attention to the story overall.