Tag: John_Scalzi

The Consuming Fire

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Another fast run read from Mr Scalzi, this book is the sequel to The Collapsing Empire. I think this book is actually better than the first, which I guess is fair given the first had to set the universe up. I particularly like the twist about two thirds of the way through this one, and I think the universe has a lot of potential to be really interesting in future books. Mr Scalzi remains on my I-buy-everything-he-does list.

I wish he’d write another book in the Old Man’s War universe.

The Consuming Fire Book Cover The Consuming Fire
John Scalzi
Tor
October 18, 2018
336

The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi is the dazzling follow-up to The Collapsing Empire - a space opera in a universe on the brink of destruction. The Interdependency, humanity's interstellar empire, is on the verge of collapse. The Flow, the extra-dimensional pathway between the stars, is disappearing, leaving planets stranded. Billions of lives will be lost - unless desperate measures can be taken. Emperox Grayland II, the leader of the Interdependency, is ready to take those measures. But it's not that easy. There are those who believe the collapse of the Flow is a myth - or an opportunity for them to ascend to power. While Grayland prepares for disaster, others prepare for civil war. A war that will take place in the halls of power, the markets of business and the altars of worship as much as between spaceships. Nothing about this power struggle will be simple or easy . . . and all of human civilization is at stake.

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Head On

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A sequel to Lock In, this book is a quick and fun read of a murder mystery. It has Scalzi’s distinctive style which has generally meshed quite well for me, so it’s not surprise that I enjoyed this book.

 

Head On Book Cover Head On
John Scalzi
Fiction
Tor Books
April 19, 2018
336

To some left with nothing, winning becomes everything In a post-virus world, a daring sport is taking the US by storm. It's frenetic, violent and involves teams attacking one another with swords and hammers. The aim: to obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. Impossible? Not if the players have Hayden's Syndrome. Unable to move, Hayden's sufferers use robot bodies, which they operate mentally. So in this sport anything goes, no one gets hurt - and crowds and competitors love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field. But is it an accident? FBI agents Chris Shane and Leslie Vann are determined to find out. In this game, fortunes can be made - or lost. And both players and owners will do whatever it takes to win, on and off the field.John Scalzi returns with Head On, a chilling near-future SF with the thrills of a gritty cop procedural. Head On brings Scalzi's trademark snappy dialogue and technological speculation to the future world of sports.

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Hugo nominees for 2018

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Lifehacker kindly pointed out that the Hugo nominees are out for 2018. They are:

  • The Collapsing Empire, by John Scalzi. I’ve read this one and liked it.
  • New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I’ve had a difficult time with Kim’s work in the past, but perhaps I’ll one day read this.
  • Provenance, by Ann Leckie. I liked Ancillary Justice, but failed to fully read the sequel, so I guess we’ll wait and see on this one.
  • Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee. I know nothing!
  • Six Wakes, by Mur Lafferty. Again, I know nothing about this book or this author.

So a few there to consider in the future.

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The Collapsing Empire

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This is a fun fast read, as is everything by Mr Scalzi. The basic premise here is that of a set of interdependent colonies that are about to lose their ability to trade with each other, and are therefore doomed. Oh, except they don’t know that and are busy having petty trade wars instead. It isn’t a super intellectual read, but it is fun and does leave me wanting to know what happens to the empire…

The Collapsing Empire Book Cover The Collapsing Empire
John Scalzi
Fiction
Tor Books
March 21, 2017
336

Our universe is ruled by physics and faster than light travel is not possible—until the discovery of The Flow, an extra-dimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transport us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It’s a hedge against interstellar war—and a system of control for the rulers of the empire. The Flow is eternal—but it is not static. Just as a river changes course, The Flow changes as well, cutting off worlds from the rest of humanity. When it’s discovered that The Flow is moving, possibly cutting off all human worlds from faster than light travel forever, three individuals -- a scientist, a starship captain and the Empress of the Interdependency—are in a race against time to discover what, if anything, can be salvaged from an interstellar empire on the brink of collapse. “John Scalzi is the most entertaining, accessible writer working in SF today.” —Joe Hill "If anyone stands at the core of the American science fiction tradition at the moment, it is Scalzi." —The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Third Edition

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The End of All Things

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I don’t read as much as I should these days, but one author I always make time for is John Scalzi. This is the next book in the Old Man’s War universe, and it continues from where The Human Division ended on a cliff hanger. So, let’s get that out of the way — ending a book on a cliff hanger is a dick move and John is a bad bad man. Then again I really enjoyed The Human Division, so I will probably forgive him.

I don’t think this book is as good as The Human Division, but its a solid book. I enjoyed reading it and it wasn’t a chore like some books this far into a universe can be (I’m looking at you, Asimov share cropped books). The conclusion to the story arc is sensible, and not something I would have predicted, so overall I’m going to put this book on my mental list of the very many non-terrible Scalzi books.

The End of All Things Book Cover The End of All Things
John Scalzi
Human-alien encounters
Pan Macmillan
August 13, 2015
378

Our fate is in their hands. . . The Colonial Union's Defence Force was formed to save humanity when aggressive alien species targeted our worlds. Now Lieutenant Harry Wilson has an urgent new mission, as a hostile universe becomes ever more dangerous. He must investigate a sinister group, which lurks in the darkness of space playing different factions against one another. They'll target both humans and aliens, and their motives are unfathomable.The Defence Force itself is weakening as its soldiers fall - without recruits to replace them. Relations with Earth have broken down and it will send no more troops, even as human colonies become increasingly vulnerable to alien attack.Lieutenant Wilson and Colonial Union diplomats must race to keep the peace, seek reconciliation with an enraged Earth, and maintain humanity's unity at all costs. If they don't, it will mean oblivion, extinction and the end of all things.

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The Human Division

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I originally read this as a series of short stories released on the kindle, but the paperback collation of those has been out for a while and deserved a read. These stories are classic Scalzi, and read well. If you like the Old Man’s War universe you will like this book. The chapters of the book are free standing because of how they were originally written, and that makes the book a bit disjointed. The cliff hanger at the end is also pretty annoying given the next book hasn’t been released.

So, an interesting experiment that perhaps isn’t perfect, but is well worth the read.

The Human Division Book Cover The Human Division
John Scalzi
Fiction
Tor Science Fiction
February 25, 2014
512

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. Being published online from January to April 2013 as a three-month digital serial, The Human Division will appear as a full-length novel of the Old Man's War universe, plus—for the first time in print—the first tale of Lieutenant Harry Wilson, and a coda that wasn't part of the digital serialization.

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Lock In

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I know I like Scalzi stuff, but each series is so different that I like them all in different ways. I don’t think he’s written a murder mystery before, and this book was just as good as Old Man’s War, which is a pretty high bar. This book revolves around a murder being investigated by someone who can only interact with the real world via personal androids. Its different from anything else I’ve seen, and a unique idea is pretty rare these days.

Highly recommended.

Lock In Book Cover Lock In
John Scalzi
Fiction
Macmillan
August 26, 2014
336

When a new virus causes one percent of the population to become completely paralyzed in body but not in mind, America pursues a scientific initiative to develop a virtual-reality world for victims, with unexpected consequences. By the Hugo Award-winning author of Redshirts.

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Redshirts

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I was super excited to get my hands on the latest John Scalzi book because I’ve really liked his previous stuff. Unfortunately while this book is fun I feel that the underlying concept is pretty weak… Its more of a toy boy than something which makes you think, which is a disappointment to me.

Don’t get me wrong, the overall execution is good, but the book feels lazily plotted, much like a badly done Harry Harrison does. So, if that sort of thing annoys you, give this one a miss.

Redshirts Book Cover Redshirts
John Scalzi
Fiction
Hachette UK
November 15, 2012
320

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better ... although there are a few strange things going on: (1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces (2) the ship's captain, the chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these encounters (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Suddenly it's less surprising how much energy is expended below decks on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned an Away Mission. Andrew's fate may have been sealed ... until he stumbles on a piece of information that changes everything ... and offers him and his fellow redshirts a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives ...

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The Android’s Dream

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This is a Scalzi book, so its clever and funny, and has possibly one of the best first sentences I have read ever. It is a light read, and I finished all of it apart from the last 50 pages or so on a single flight. Scalzi also plays again with the idea of transferring consciousness, which is something which he deals with a lot in the Old Man’s War series. I liked this book.

[isbn: 9780765348289]

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