The End of All Things

Starred review from July 6, 2015
Hugo-winner Scalzi integrates the best aspects of war stories into the polished and powerful sixth volume—which consists of four connected novellas—in the
Old Man’s War space opera series. The inevitable and
parallel downward spirals of the two corrupt space empires, the human Colonial Union and the alien Conclave, are finally coming to a head. All four protagonists work for one of the two entities, and Scalzi shifts among their perspectives to thread a fine needle, recognizing that good people can be entrenched in terrible systems and sometimes can’t (or won’t) change them. Added tension comes in the form of a group called the Equilibrium, which is intent on destroying both the Colonial Union and the Conclave and killing billions in the process. Human Harry Wilson and alien Hafte Sorvalh will be familiar to returning readers, while CU pilot Rafe Daquin and CU Lt. Heather Lee are welcome new voices. New readers will certainly enjoy the work, but the real payoff comes for longtime fans, who will especially appreciate a powerful moment featuring the alien General Gau. Scalzi knows just how to satisfy his fans, providing tense, thrilling action scenes while turning a critical eye on the interstellar equivalents of the military-industrial complex. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency.

June 15, 2015

In four linked novellas (first published serially in June and July 2015) Scalzi concludes the story lines from The Human Division. Given that Earth is at odds with the Colonial Union and the increasing hostile Conclave, the end may be nigh for humanity. Things gets even worse with the discovery that all three parties are being manipulated by a shadowy secret organization known as Equilibrium, whose goal may be the destruction of the planet. The standout is the first novella, "Life of the Mind," in which pilot and former programmer Rafe Daquin is enslaved by Equilibrium as a brain in a box and placed in charge of a ship slated for a suicide mission. Ambassador Abumwe, Lieutenant Wilson, Hart Schmidt, and Hafte Sorvalh, known to Human Division readers, play smaller but equally important roles in the other stories. VERDICT A more serious tone and darker themes characterizes Scalzi's latest, which is closest in style to his YA title, Zoe's Tale, and may not satisfy all readers. [See Prepub Alert, 2/9/15.]--JM

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015

Hugo and John W. Campbell Award winner Scalzi debuted with Old Man's War, and here he returns to that book's universe, with Earth finally refusing to provide any more colonists and soldiers to the Colonial Union for defense against alien hostiles. That's a big problem made bigger when dark forces out there start pitting the aliens against the humans.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016

The latest book by Scalzi is set in the universe of The Old Man's War (Tor, 2005) but works well as a stand-alone. Four interrelated novellas, each with a different narrator, tell the story of a conflict among Earth, the Colonial Union (the descendants of Earth, who left to find other habitable planets), and the Conclave (the union of the other intelligent species who joined together in defense against the Colonial Union). It soon transpires that there is yet another group at work in the universe-the Equilibrium-and it isn't immediately obvious what their motives or goals are. This is straight-up military/political science fiction. Scalzi, as always, is adept at presenting his stories not as black-and-white conflicts but rather as complex tales shrouded in shades of gray. Three of the narrators are CDF (Colonial Defense Forces) soldiers, and one is a Conclave diplomat, and each has a slightly different take on the events at the center of the tale. VERDICT This is not a book for sci-fi newbies, but teen fans who enjoy action-packed science fiction with plenty to think about will want to sink their teeth into this one.-Sarah Flowers, formerly of Santa Clara County Library

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2015
In the sixth Old Man's War novel, a direct sequel to The Human Division (2013), human and alien governments on the brink of war must foil the secret cabal that pushed them there. The two major human governments-of the Earth and the Colonial Union-have firmly parted ways after the destruction of Earth Station, and both have a rocky relationship with the Conclave, a coalition of alien governments. A CU diplomatic unit has suspected for some time that a fourth party has encouraged this tense situation and is responsible for several recent provocative incidents which have been pinned either on the CU or the Conclave. But they have no definitive evidence until the brain of a human cargo pilot, Rafe Daquin, and the ship he controls, The Chandler, escape from that group, the Equilibrium, carrying both information on the conspiracy and a significant figure in it. Now the CU diplomats must convince Earth and the Conclave of the truth and that they all must work together (at least for now) before the Equilibrium leads the three governments to destroy one another while it reaps the profits. The Old Man's War books occupy the space-opera void that American TV used to fill with various incarnations of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape, etc.; it's no wonder Syfy is developing the series for TV. This novel-actually four connected novellas-provides a conclusion to the latest plotline while remaining open to new stories in the universe. It's classic crowd-pleasing Scalzi, offering thrilling adventure scenes (space battles, daring military actions, parachute jumps through a planet's atmosphere), high-stakes politics, snarky commentary, and food for thought. Delightful, compulsively readable, and even somewhat nutritious brain candy.

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.