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Redshirts (2012)

There's two angles from which I come at this book.One angle is of great pleasure in the ideas of this book. It's a very clever concept, with a fun blend of meta ideas and an intriguing storyline. There's nothing not to like about a fun story, right?The other angle is focused more on the latter ...

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Fuzzy Nation (2011)

Fuzzy Nation, at first from the synopsis, seemed like it might be a bit boring. However, that was far from what it ended up being. The main character, a contractor prospector on an alien planet, gets tied up in a political fight for his life, the fate of planet he works on, and the future revenue...

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Lock In (2014)

Ah, what joy it is to read a well thought out sci-fi book? I should warn you that it takes a few pages to understand what's going on. At least it took me a little time to understand we're dealing with droids operated by physically paralyzed people. The book goes deep. I mean....it goes really dee...

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The Human Division (2013)

I appreciate this was written and presented as a serial novel, but let's be honest, prepare yourself for a series of linked short stories.A return to the "Old Man's War! universe is still welcome and it makes for a very easy read for those of us who have arrived late. All the stories are good, ni...

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God Engines, The (2010)

Interesting little book. The story is one of a people who are able to travel between planets by using imprisoned gods to power their ships (god engines). The people themselves worship a different god and it is their faith in that god which gives power to bind & use these lesser gods.If society is...

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The God Engines (2009)

An astonishing novella that fuses dark fantasy with science fiction tropes, THE GOD ENGINES packs a lot into a short number of pages. Scalzi has succeeded in creating a fully realized -- and utterly insane -- world of enslaved gods, powerful theocracies, and blind faith. I had no idea where this ...

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Red Shirts (2012)

This was fun. I am glad that I took the recommendation of the staff member of the bookstore I bought this at. I told Her I wanted something light and entertaining and was fine with space opera. And this what she recommended. I think for me the best parts came near the end, because it addressed so...

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Fuzzy Nation [Unabridged] (2011)

This has been one of my favorite books that I've read recently. I really didn't expect to be so pulled in by it, but I was a total sucker for the Fuzzys! Just a REALLY good book that I am happy to have in my collection and I am sure I will read it many more times over the years. I love revisit...

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We Only Need the Heads (2013)

After a lackluster episode 2 (the 2nd story in his 13 story episodic tale called The Human Division) Scalzi gets his mojo back in this one.We've got Harry Wilson as a strong supporting character but Ambassador Abumwe really steals the show in this episode (that does tie in the aforementioned epis...

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Tales From the Clarke (2013)

Captain Coloma of the Clarke is on tenterhooks awaiting the results of the review board, after she did major, irreparable damage to her ship by placing it in the path of a missile intended for the aliens Ambassador Abumwe had been sent to negotiate with. In the meantime, she and her crew have bee...

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A Problem of Proportion (2013)

Another chapter of Johns Scalzi's «The Human Division» where the author surprises us with a plot twist after the plot twist. We get to see more of Lieutenant Harry Wilson doing his best as a tech specialist. But that's not all. This chapter contains an emotional story, something that truly paints...

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The Sound of Rebellion (2013)

This is another excellent stand-alone story. It's a locked-room prisoner's dilemma thing, and it is worked out exceedingly well, story-wise.I really appreciated this story, and actually went through and read it a second time once I stopped being surprised. You should pick it up.Read if: You like ...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 9: - Die Beobachter (2013)

This is a review for the series of the Human Division. I have read all the 13 books in a row, this was my first time reading John Scalzi.I was at first disturbed by the series: more than 400 different races, some with very unfriendly intents toward each other, but all at about the same technologi...

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Die letzte Einheit, - Episode 13: Unten die Erde, oben der Himmel - (2013)

I couldn't have asked for a better climax! The Human Division wraps up with its largest chapter (more than double the size of every other of the twelve previous chapters) and it needs the extra length. Relations between the Colonial Union, Earth and the Conclave shift so abruptly that I can't ima...

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Earth Below, Sky Above (2013)

Set in the same universe as Old Man's War, Scalzi returns to familiar territory. Not having read all of the previous books in this series did not effected my understand in the least. I had no trouble keeping up. These are light fun reads, written in serial form. While the ending was not a cliffha...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 11: - Eine Frage der Verhältnismäßigkeit (2013)

The crew of the diplomatic ship Clarke picks up another clue in the eleventh episode of Scalzi's new Old Man's War novel. Someone is taking old CDU vessels, those disarmed and sold for civilian use. Some think it's The Conclave. when the ship comes out of skip for a clandestine mission with the o...

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After the Coup (2008)

Argh, I bought this short story without realizing that it was already included with the full version of "The Human Division". Well there's $0.99 down the drain. Anyway, this story is fine. It's basically in the same style and features the same characters as "The Human Division". So my review of t...

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The Human Division #5: Tales From the Clarke (2013)

Ooh, this one is a good installment, full of intrigue, danger, and double-crossing.Also some baseball.This little story is all the things you probably enjoyed about the Old Man's War books, in one teeny little package."“Right, but they’re not rated for this sort of power output,” Basquez said. “T...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 5: - Die Leute von der Clarke (2013)

Scalzi is ever so nicely tying the previous chapters/episodes together into a pretty decent narrative. This one was a spy story that brought together the Captain of the Clarke & Wilson while still keeping us tied with Abumwe. The baseball storyline was genius and being a baseball fan made it ev...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 8: - Der Klang der Rebellion (2013)

Another entry in The Human Division, and this time the focus turns away from the Clarke and her diplomatic "B Team." The stability of the Colonial Union is being challenged, and Colonial Defense forces, normally dedicated to defending the CU against alien enemies, has to put down a local rebellio...

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A lázadás hangjai (2014)

I waited and read the whole lot in one hit. It's basically the greatest science fiction tv show you've never read. The episodic format of the stories works brilliantly and Scalzi manages to fit in drama, romance, comedy and action without any element feeling tacked on. My one complaint, a lack of...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 3: - Wir brauchen nur die Köpfe (2013)

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The Dog King (2013)

The B Team has been dispatched to support a diplomatic mission acting as mediators on an alien planet attempting to emerge from civil war and form a new, unified government. The war has been going on for a couple of centuries, ever since the disappearance of the last king, and the pretext for the...

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How I Proposed to My Wife: An Alien Sex Story (2006)

As low writer on the totem pole at his magazine, Charlie gets the pleasure of coming home to his girlfriend to explain he will be going on a series of dates with various aliens for a human (well, alien) interest piece. It would be a disservice to spoil the story by going into any more detail.So f...

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The Human Division #7: The Dog King (2013)

Don't you hate it when you are stuck taking care of some mucky-muck's dog?....and then it gets eaten by a giant carnivorous plant?Harry Wilson continues in his scifi version of A Series of Unfortunate Events, where he just tries to do the right thing and everything comes apart around him. Happily...

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Die letzte Einheit, Episode 7: - Der Hundekönig (2013)

CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson is in charge of looking after the ambassador’s dog while the diplomat is conducting sensitive negotiations with an alien race. However when the dog gets eaten by a plant it’s up to Wilson to save the dog and the negotiations. I guessed before it happened that the dog w...

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Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded (2008)

Why am I so torn about this book?((actually, a compilation of posts from his "Whatever" blog, dating from 1998-2008) On the one hand, he's hilarious and smart and insightful. I got to meet him at C2E2 this year and he was very personable and sweet (although I have a feeling he would take except...

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The Tale of The Wicked (2009)

Tale of the Wicked is a short, fun Scalzi tribute to Isaac Asimov. If you know your Asimov then anything more I say about the plot, or possibly even the setup, would be a spoiler. So let's skip how its a tribute and instead focus on what makes it Scalzi. Wicked is smart, but not intellectual. He'...

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An Election (2010)

Have I ever mentioned that I love John Scalzi? because I kind of do. He's an amusing writer who creates engaging worlds that may or may not be likely to happen.An Election is an absurdly quick read, a little snack of his style and is probably one of the best for character banter and sheer "read...

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Muse of Fire (2013)

I could see where Scalzi was going with this one but it was still a compelling, inexorable slide toward the inevitable conclusion. It was a fascinating glimpse of a man enslaved by obsession and unwilling or unable to break free, and an author unwilling to give in to easy answers. (I prefer happy...

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The Ghost Brigades (2007)

Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews The Ghost Brigades is book two of the Old Man’s War series. In the first volume, seventy-five-year-old John Perry abandons his life on Earth, joins the Colonial Defense Force, and heads off into space to protect mankind’s far flung colonies. Once there, ...

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The Last Colony (2007)

Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.That is, until his and Jane'...

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Agent to the Stars (2005)

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. E...

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Uncle John's Presents: The Book of the Dumb (2003)

A celebration of dimwits, lunkheads, bad ideas and just plain wrongheaded foolishness. In every field of human endeavor, there are people, things, and ideas that rank among the best mankind has ever produced. This book isn't about any of that stuff. If there's one thing human history teaches us, ...

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The End of All Things

“Just drop the building on him,” Powell suggested, from behind our cover. She pointed to the apartment complex the rebel sniper had been using to take aim at the Kyoto security forces and the CDF that had been deployed to assist them. We were in Fushimi, the planet’s third-largest city and the ce...

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The End of All Things: The Third Instalment (2015)

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The Human Division #1: The B-Team

Something was nagging at Wilson as he punched in the return route to the Clarke. The Polk had been hit at least fifteen times by ship-to-ship missiles, but before any of them had hit, there had been an earlier explosion that had shaken the ship. But the data had not recorded any event leading up ...

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Old Man's War Boxed Set 1

Here I am again, he thought. General Szilard noticed Robbins’s discomfort. “You don’t really like the general’s mess, do you, Colonel?” he asked, and jammed more steak in his mouth. “I hate it,” Robbins said, before he quite knew what was coming out of his mouth. “Sir,” he added, quickly. “Can’t ...

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Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome (2014)

A feed of me walking into the FBI building got a fair amount of play on the Haden news sites and forums. This was not a thing I needed on my first day. Two things kept all of the Agora from falling down on my head in outrage. The first was that not every Haden was down with the walkout to begin w...

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The Human Division #12: The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads (2013)

said Gustavo Vinicius, the undersecretary for administration for the Brazilian consulate in New York City. Danielle Lowen frowned. She was supposed to be having this meeting with the consul general, but when she arrived at the consulate she was shunted to Vinicius instead. The undersecretary was ...

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The President's Brain Is Missing

“Where’s the boss?” he asked. “He’s out,” said David Boehm, the Chief of Staff, holding a folder. “Close the door and sit down, Alex.” Alex closed the door behind him and took at seat on the east-facing sofa, next to Secretary of State Mona Fitzgerald. Across from him on the west-facing sofa were...

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Clash of the Geeks

It’s said south of Samarand They brew a brown beer bitter with barley Yet hearty and hale. There are wines in the west That Serapha sips flavored and favored By her kin and court. Heavy and hearth-hot And sweeter than syrup they mark a man’s mouth With the color of ...

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Walk the Plank

Right now I’m focused on finding those damn cargo containers. If we don’t track those down, it’s not going to be a very happy next few months around here.AUREL SPURLEA: If I didn’t think the two of them were related, I wouldn’t be bothering you, Chen. Are you recording this, Magda?MAGDA GANAS: Ju...

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The Human Division 0.5 - After the Coup

asked Deputy Ambassador Schmidt. Lieutenant Harry Wilson blinked and set down his drink. “You know, there are a number of places a conversation can go after a question like that,” he said. “None of them end well.” “I don’t mean it like that,” Schmidt said. He drummed the glass of his own drink wi...

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THAT WAS THE MILLENIUM THAT WAS (2010)

The Death of Rudolph Valentino. Because it was a "Chick Thing," and so was hysteria -- or at least it was assumed to be. I mean this literally. The word "hysteria" is directly related to hystera, the Greek word for "uterus." Seems the Greeks (who despite their large, meaty brains, had this pencha...

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A Voice in the Wilderness

and once the fourth most popular audio talk show host in the United States, told his car to ring his producer. “Are the numbers in?” he asked when she answered, not bothering to introduce himself, because, well. Aside from the caller ID, she would know who he was the second he opened his mouth.“T...

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The Back Channel

Unli Hado said.From her seat on the podium behind General Tarsem Gau, leader of the Conclave, Hafte Sorvalh sighed as quietly as possible. When the Conclave was formalized and the Grand Assembly was created, with representatives from every member of the Conclave crafting the laws and traditions o...

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The Sagan Diary

Blauser: As per your instruction in your memorandum of 341-10.07, we have begun processing the BrainPal memory stacks of Colonial Special Forces members who have left that service, whether by death or (rather more rarely) by discharge from service. In both cases BrainPal retrieval was initially v...

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The End of All Things: The Fourth Instalment (2015)

To begin, it’s a curse. “Interesting” in this case uniformly means “Oh god, death is raining down upon us and we shall all perish wailing and possibly on fire.” If someone wanted to say something nice to you, they wouldn’t tell you to live in “interesting” times. They would say something like, “I...

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Old Man%27s War

On the rolling plain, grasses waved purple and orange in the morning breeze; birdlike animals with two sets of wings could be seen playing the sky, testing out the currents and eddies with wild, chaotic swoops and dives. This was our first morning on a new world, the first I or any of my former s...

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The End of All Things #2: This Hollow Union

Ristin Lause said to me. It’s been said, and I suspect largely by people who are not terribly fond of me, that I, Hafte Sorvalh, am the second most powerful person in the known universe. It’s certainly true that I am the confidant and closest advisor of General Tarsem Gau, the leader of the Concl...

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The Human Division #11: A Problem of Proportion

Her second was to yell at Helmsman Cabot for evasive action. Cabot responded admirably, slamming the ship into avoidance mode and launching the ship’s countermeasures. The Clarke groaned at the sudden change of vector; the artificial gravity indulged a moment where it felt as if the field would s...

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The Human Division #10: This Must Be the Place

The ferry headed down to the Phoenix Station Terminal at the Phoenix City Hub, which aggregated most of the civilian mass transportation for the oldest and most populous city of the oldest and most populous human interstellar colony planet. Upon exiting the ferry, Hart wal...

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The Human Division #9: The Observers

Ambassador Ode Abumwe said. “Come in. Sit down, please.” Harry Wilson entered Abumwe’s stateroom on the new Clarke, which was even smaller and less comfortable than it had been on their previous spaceship. “This is cozy,” he said, as he sat. “If by ...

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The End of All Things: The First Instalment (2015)

I don’t remember the first part of it at all. I was shot in the back of the head point blank with some sort of electrical stun gun; I was out. After I got zapped, I was taken to the Rraey’s ship, where a doctor of some sort (at least I hope it was a doctor) put me into a medically induced coma; t...

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The Human Division #8: The Sound of Rebellion

This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce, or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices. Copyright infringement is ...

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