• The Observers

  • The Human Division, Episode 9
  • By: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: William Dufris
  • Length: 1 hr and 8 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (918 ratings)

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The Observers  By  cover art

The Observers

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: William Dufris
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Publisher's summary

In an effort to improve relations with the Earth, the Colonial Union has invited a contingent of diplomats from that planet to observe Ambassador Abumwe negotiate a trade deal with an alien species. Then something very bad happens to one of the Earthings, and with that, the relationship between humanity’s two factions is on the cusp of disruption once more. It’s a race to find out what really happened, and who is to blame.

"The Observers" 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.

What listeners say about The Observers

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Doesn't reach the best of Scalzi--but very good . . . 😱

5 stars is great.
4 stars is good.
3 stars is OK.
________________________________________________
Earth is aware and still smarting from the Colonial Union Humans nearly two century isolation of Earth Humans from the rest of the known Universe's some 600+ sentient species. And the Conclave (a collection of some 400 of these species) wants to see this division between humans continue.________😱

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

More of the same but different

Continues with the human division theme. but like earlier episodes puts a new slant on some characters who are starting to firm up. If you like intelligent, low key sci fi written with humour, good characterisation and very accessible - this is for you.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Another solid offering in the series

This is another good story in the series. They are all short and this one is a hit. No regrets with this series so far. The story line is going somewhere and the characters are building up nicely. Anxious to find out how this all ends up

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bought the series

After listening to this book, I went and bought the rest of the series, (which is on sale for half price right now, yay!) is there any higher endorsement I can give the book?
I love this author, and can count on the narrator of each book not to drive me crazy and to actually be pretty talented. What more could a sci fi audiobook loving girl ask?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Read them in order

I enjoyed the series more as I went through each episode. At first I struggled because it seemed like random stories set in this universe. But as it continued and I realized it was interwoven story lines I enjoyed them more. The main characters were enjoyable. It's pretty traditional sci fi fare but still worth the read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Pretty good

It's kinda to short, but never the less it's still pretty good. I'm still trying to put all the stories together to see where it's all heading. 4 more to go.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another Great Mystery

The diplomatic team is back and once again up to their necks in political muck. What looks like a simple observer mission from earth quickly gets complicated when one of the observers dies unexpectedly and it looks like the Colonial Union bumped him off. This is a tight little mystery, but not the Ellery Queen kind in which you have all the clues and can identify who did it. Instead, the high-tech solution points to the growing seriousness of the situation between the Colonial Union and Earth. I am very curious how Skalzi’s going to pull all of this together by the last story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

See Review for "The B-Team"

See Review for "The B-Team" this is Episode 9 (minimum 15 words in a Review)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

This series is getting Better and Better!!!!

Thats it, this series is in my A list .... the sabotage, the plot, the mysteries are really great... I was at work while listening to this one, and i couldn't focus mch at work the whole time.. had to go for a break to focus on the book..

In this book you see more and more into the human division, and who are trying to create more conflict between Earth and the Colonial Union... It got tense in a point in the book but then you have your B team to save the day, well mainly Wilson as usual.

i can't wait to see what will happen in the end of this series, but i think its going to be great.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I love the series

Would you listen to The Observers again? Why?

I just love the characters...

Any additional comments?

It drives me crazy to be spoon fed these little bits on at a time... Waiting for the next installment is torture... I thought of waiting until all the pieces are out, then downloading them all in to one play list.. But as soon as I see one is out, I just have to have my fix...

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1 person found this helpful