- Mass Market Paperback: 406 pages
- Publisher: Tor Books; Reprint edition (28 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0765356198
- ISBN-13: 978-0765356192
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.7 x 2.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,252,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Zoe's Tale
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is the fourth book set in the Old Man's War universe, but it's not a continuation of the story arcs he established in the first three, but rather a retelling of the events of the third book, The Last Colony, but told this time from a very different perspective, that of sixteen year old Zoe Boutin-Perry, daughter of a traitor, the object of a major treaty between the Colonial Union and the Obin, and adopted by John and Jane Perry.
Now doing something like this is fraught with peril, as readers of the earlier books will certainly know how everything ends, and will therefore have little sense of suspense throughout this work. It is even more perilous for a middle-aged man to attempt to find the correct `voice' for a teenaged female, one that rings true and will appeal to younger readers, and still engage readers of much greater ages. I'm happy to say that Mr. Scalzi quite deftly succeeded very, very well with both the characterization and being able to still hold at least this reader glued to the pages, even without the suspense.
Zoe herself is a full-bodied person, one you'd definitely like to meet, someone you come to care about a great deal over the course of this work. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, occasionally her sarcasm and biting comments might make you grimace, and there is an element of unthinking `me-ness' to her, an attitude that she's unique. But in this case, she really is unique - not many girls can say that they are the goddess-object of an entire alien race. But besides her, several of her close friends also come alive as real people, something that's a little rare in first-person perspective works. Gretchen, Magdy, and Enzo are very much real people, and even better, real teenagers.
Certain aspects of other major players are given better backgrounds, most especially the Obin and Zoe's two Obin bodyguards, Hickory and Dickory, and a certain story `hole' in The Last Colony gets a better, fuller explanation. These are nice touches that help hold your interest.
Scalzi's writing style has much to do with your enjoyment of this book. It's witty, sarcastic, funny, thoughtful, and incredibly easy to read, a trait he shares with a writer he's often compared to, namely Robert Heinlein. But beyond this, in this book he also grabs your jugular of emotional response, expertly playing you like a harp, and making you at time furious, sad, and very strongly up-lifted to the point of tears. It's just this strong emotional content that makes me think this book is better than The Last Colony, and on par with the first book of this series, Old Man's War.
All in all, a great accomplishment, one that should appeal to both teenagers and old codgers like me.
---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Now doing something like this is fraught with peril, as readers of the earlier books will certainly know how everything ends, and will therefore have little sense of suspense throughout this work. It is even more perilous for a middle-aged man to attempt to find the correct `voice' for a teenaged female, one that rings true and will appeal to younger readers, and still engage readers of much greater ages. I'm happy to say that Mr. Scalzi quite deftly succeeded very, very well with both the characterization and being able to still hold at least this reader glued to the pages, even without the suspense.
Zoe herself is a full-bodied person, one you'd definitely like to meet, someone you come to care about a great deal over the course of this work. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, occasionally her sarcasm and biting comments might make you grimace, and there is an element of unthinking `me-ness' to her, an attitude that she's unique. But in this case, she really is unique - not many girls can say that they are the goddess-object of an entire alien race. But besides her, several of her close friends also come alive as real people, something that's a little rare in first-person perspective works. Gretchen, Magdy, and Enzo are very much real people, and even better, real teenagers.
Certain aspects of other major players are given better backgrounds, most especially the Obin and Zoe's two Obin bodyguards, Hickory and Dickory, and a certain story `hole' in The Last Colony gets a better, fuller explanation. These are nice touches that help hold your interest.
Scalzi's writing style has much to do with your enjoyment of this book. It's witty, sarcastic, funny, thoughtful, and incredibly easy to read, a trait he shares with a writer he's often compared to, namely Robert Heinlein. But beyond this, in this book he also grabs your jugular of emotional response, expertly playing you like a harp, and making you at time furious, sad, and very strongly up-lifted to the point of tears. It's just this strong emotional content that makes me think this book is better than The Last Colony, and on par with the first book of this series, Old Man's War.
All in all, a great accomplishment, one that should appeal to both teenagers and old codgers like me.
---Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
One of Scalzi's best. Happily it is not all soldiers and wars. Zoe is a real charecter; one to enjoy. I will probably read it again. That is how I define 5 stars. This book which looks at Scalzi's previous novel from Zoe's perspective. Zoe is John and Jane's (the heros of Last Colony) adopted daughter.It really opens your eyes to how much isn't written down in lots of novels. Read The Last colony first then this.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I will confess that I approached Zoe's Tale with some trepidation. How much entertainment value, I wondered, would there be in having the plot of Scalzi's novel The Last Colony retold? Surely knowing how the tale panned out would rob it of any drama. Plus was I, a thirty something man, really interested in an already familiar story told from the perspective of a teenage girl? For these reasons I put off tackling Zoe's Tale for several months.
As it turns out I needn't have worried. Scalzi's skills as a writer are more than enough to cope with telling the story successfully through the eyes of a teenager and to make it engaging for all ages and sexes. He even succeeds in making the plot feel fresh and entertaining despite it being a retread of The Last Colony. In fact Zoe's Tale complements its predecessor, providing additional depth to events.
By the end, despite my initial doubts, I was totally wrapped up in events on the page. At times I even found I had a lump in my throat, which is not a common occurrence for me when I'm reading.
John Scalzi is a fantastic writer who manages to bring real humanity to the science-fiction tales he writes. Zoe's Tale is a perfect demonstration of his skills. If you're not familiar with his work I would suggest picking up one of his earlier novels, such as Old Man's War or The Android's Dream before tackling this novel. I would definitely say to read The Last Colony first and possibly take a break after that before picking up Zoe's War, but you will not be disappointed when you do. Like me you may be very pleasantly surprised.
As it turns out I needn't have worried. Scalzi's skills as a writer are more than enough to cope with telling the story successfully through the eyes of a teenager and to make it engaging for all ages and sexes. He even succeeds in making the plot feel fresh and entertaining despite it being a retread of The Last Colony. In fact Zoe's Tale complements its predecessor, providing additional depth to events.
By the end, despite my initial doubts, I was totally wrapped up in events on the page. At times I even found I had a lump in my throat, which is not a common occurrence for me when I'm reading.
John Scalzi is a fantastic writer who manages to bring real humanity to the science-fiction tales he writes. Zoe's Tale is a perfect demonstration of his skills. If you're not familiar with his work I would suggest picking up one of his earlier novels, such as Old Man's War or The Android's Dream before tackling this novel. I would definitely say to read The Last Colony first and possibly take a break after that before picking up Zoe's War, but you will not be disappointed when you do. Like me you may be very pleasantly surprised.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Book purchased for third party.
This book was purchased for a third party who was very satisfied with both the condition and delivery timescale.
Published on 13 Nov 2009 by R. W. Mason
Really enjoyable
This was reviewed in the latest issue of SFX magazine, and it sounded so interesting that I immediately bought the book. I'm really glad I did - I absolutely loved it. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2009 by E. R. Welsby
An excellent retelling of "The Last Colony"
This is an excellent idea - retell the story of "The Last Colony" from the viewpoint of Zoe, the adopted daughter of the protagonists of the earlier novel who is worshiped by an... Read more
Published on 15 Sep 2009 by Mr. D. Thomson
Hugely enjoyable sci-fi
Zoe's Tale is the fourth novel from John Scalzi set in his Old Man's War universe (Old Mans War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony), although this time we have another viewpoint. Read more
Published on 6 Aug 2009 by Mark Chitty
Welcome addition to Mr Scalzi's works
This is a previous story re-told by a witnessing teenager. You might say this milks the previous idea twice but is so well written (my teenage kids behave just like Sclazi... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2009 by M. Olbrich
Top Class
Dune
I can still remember my excitement in 1966 when I first read Dune by Frank Herbert and my disappointment when all the subsequent books in the series were so poor. Read more
I can still remember my excitement in 1966 when I first read Dune by Frank Herbert and my disappointment when all the subsequent books in the series were so poor. Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by Roy V. Munden
Same story from different point of view
This book goes through almost the same events that were covered in previous book but this time it is from teenage girls point of view. Read more
Published on 6 July 2009 by Jalepe
Cracker from Scalzi
As a huge fan of Scalzi since Old Mans War, I really do have to get these books in the series as soon as they land. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2009 by Gareth Wilson - Falcata Times Blog
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