The Human Division

Old Man's War, Book 5

By: John Scalzi

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Following the events of The Last Colony, John Scalzi tells the story of the fight to maintain the unity of the human race.

The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance - an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.

Against such possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won’t be easy, either. It will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning…and a brilliant "B Team", centered on the resourceful Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you’re struggling to preserve the unity of the human race.

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

Terrific book. Terrific performance.

So far, I have NEVER been disappointed by a book from this series. Bravo! I have recommended this to many of my friends. 5 out of 5 Stars. Can't wait to read the next one.

Not my favorite, but a good read nonetheless

Mostly a series of loosely connected scenes/shorts stories, lacking the coherence of the earlier novels on the series. Scalzi's rather acerbic wit shines throughout. If you loved the previous books, you will like this one.

just fun

After the scene was set, it was nothing but fun. Loved the normalizing of space travel and the relatable characters.

Great entry to the series.

The Human Division strongly advances the Old Man's universe. Extras at the end were also a great addition.

Structured Like a TV Series

I haven't read Old Man's War, so I'm approaching The Human Division as a new series, a spin-off set in the OMW universe. In fact, the way the book was written -- chapters called episodes published weekly -- this omnibus volume has the feel of a TV series. For me, this is a good thing.

But it's more than just the publication schedule (13 episodes, the standard for a cable drama). The way the episodes and the overall story are plotted are key to the feel of a TV series. The episodes stand up on their own, for the most part, as complete stories, and they also figure into the overall story arc -- attempts by various forces to either divide the human race scattered across the galaxy from Earth or keep them united.

Every other episode centers on the main characters -- Colonial Union officer Harry Wilson, diplomatic aide Hart Schmidt, and ambassador Ode Obumwe (there are several other major recurring characters). In between, the stories follow other characters, some of whom figure more or less as the overall story unfolds. The emphasis on characterization over plotting is highly successful, as it would be on the best TV series.

The book ends with a cliffhanger that leaves the central mystery unresolved, anticipating the next entry in the series, due out this year (2015) -- indeed, in announcing the next entry, John Scalzi said "The Human Division has been renewed for a second season".

Having previously listened to all of Scalzi's novels except any of the OMW series, I was worried about having a narrator other than Wil Wheaton, who is my favorite. But William Dufris, who reads most of the OMW series, is excellent as well. Maybe not as funny as WW, but maybe this series is not supposed to be as funny (though Harry Wilson is a bit of sarcastic Scalzi cut-up, and Dufris does him justice).

Scalzi continues to amaze me!

Not only this book works as separate chapters but he continues to develop this huge universe and exploring human culture and condition through adversity and exploring new entities. If you loved Ghost Brigades this book won't disappoint you!

best in the series!

This was my favorite book in the Old Man War series. The delivery for each character is wonderful, I really get the feeling that i know each and every character.

BONUS FEATURES

Great book in a great series. Performed flawlessly. First book I've seen with deleted scenes.

An unconventional series

What I thought was just going to be a set of unrelated short stories set in the already established universe, turned into a great series of puzzle pieces that didn't disappoint in the slightest. tension, hilarious hijinks, and the unexpected twists made this another solid entry in the series!

Scalzi Keeps Getting Better and Better

I read the first three Old Man's War books a few years ago, and loved them, but I'd had my fill. I jumped on here with the Human Division and was thoroughly entertained. In some ways, this is better than Star Trek. The characters are more believable and so are the situations. I realize many people would love to see this series wind up on TV, but I'm skeptical, since there have been so many bad sci-fi shows on Syfy and other stations over the years. Only HBO could do this series justice.

For now we have the books and Audible and I'm perfectly happy with those options. Bravo!