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.

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.

A Middling Position

First and formost, if you haven't read the Old Man's War series and are considering picking up this book - what are you doing?

Stop.

Right now.

Even if you've stumbled onto this page by accident and your curiosity is naught but a faint glimmer in the distance, that's good enough. Go to the search bar and find his earlier works before coming to this one.

It's not that the Human Division (located in the same universe as OMW) won't make any sense (it won't) or even that there are spoilers in the Human Division for the previous series (there are) - the truth is that Scalzi's first foray into this world was better. As a matter of fact, it was fantastic.

His characters had more shades, the aliens were more interesting, the science was explored more deeply, and the plot line was more intricate.

Scalzi is true to his style in this newest novel - easy and interesting, funny without pandering to the audience, and the story zips along - but it's clear that the Human Division is propped up by the strength of the last series.

Don't get me wrong - Scalzi stands heads above the rest of herd, and is still one of the most engaging sci-fi writers around. I'll continue reading the series with the same relish as I read most of Scalzi's work, but given how high he set the bar with the first series, it's hard not to feel a little let down.


Also, as an aside: the dialogue tags. My god, the dialogue tags. In the written form it's easy enough to gloss over the word "said", but listening to it repeated over and over and over was occasionally, frustratingly, hugely distracting.

Every so often, I found myself thinking of synonyms that Scalzi could have used in place of the word "said" and noting the rare occasions he chose to use them.

If that's liable to bother you, you might want to consider getting the book.

Continuing the excellence!

A great continuation of Scalzi's series. I highly recommend this title and series to all scifi fans everywhere. The action continues with more diplomatic intrigue between the three major factions.

WARNING: This is not the first book in the series.

I have to say, I really like this book, but thought it a bit scarce in detail at the start.Its only when started looking for more books by John Scalzi, that I found out this was not the first book in the series. I have since tracked down the others and it fills the gaps.

The story is classic Science Fiction, which not only looks at issues in the future, but also tries to provide explanation of the technology advances that are highlighted in the book. So its not only a book.

The story seems a bit disjoined, skipping from one scenario to another but it ties together in the end to realise a comprehensive outcome.

Its well worth the read but try to track down the earlier books, and you will enjoy it more.

when is an alien not an alien

Any additional comments?

The story was interesting and the twists in it entertaining. The narrator was very good as well. A relaxing listen.

Scalzi does it again!

Scalzi returns to his popular "Old Man's War" universe, but this time we leave the Perry family behind and meet a new protagonist, Harry Wilson. In true Scalzi fashion, Wilson's misadventures are both thrilling and hilarious. My only pet peeve with this book is how Scalzi holds the reader's (or in this case listener's) hand with dialogue tags. The most commonly used word in this book: "Said." It made me want to tear out my hair at times.

But putting that minor complaint aside, its a great story, a worthy sequel, and William Dufris does an excellent job narrating. I'll definitely listen to the next installment.

Same universe, different characters

It was fun to follow the series from different points of view for a change. I really enjoy this universe and story.

Great!

This book is awesome! Zoe's war had me scared cause it's closely tied to the previous book, but this book is a new storyline and it is awesome! read the whole series and you won't regret it. there wasn't a tough part in this book and the narrator did a great job with deliverence. If you've gotten this far in the series, you've got to check it out