The Human Division (Old Man's War, 5) - Hardcover

Scalzi, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765333511 ISBN 13: 9780765333513

Publisher: Tor Books, 2013

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author

John Scalzi won the 2006 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novel for Redshirts, and his debut novel Old Man’s War was a finalist for Hugo Award as well. His other books include The Ghost Brigades, The Android’s Dream, The Last Colony and The Human Division. He has won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for science-fiction, the Seiun, The Kurd Lasswitz and the Geffen awards. His weblog, The Whatever, is one of the most widely-read web sites in modern SF. Born and raised in California, Scalzi studied at the University of Chicago. He lives in southern Ohio with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

Sort of a mixed bag here from the author of Redshirts (2012) and other fine sf novels. Scalzi’s writing is as readable as ever, but the story—set in the universe of his Old Man’s War (2004)—is a bit unfocused. But that’s probably unavoidable, given that the novel began life as a 13-part online serial. Here’s the premise: the Colonial Union is on the outs from planet Earth, the union’s big secret—that it has used humanity as a sort of factory for its soldiers—having recently been revealed. An allied group of alien races, the Conclave, is courting humanity, offering safety in their vast numbers, but this could spell disaster for the CU. Each of the book’s 13 interconnected stories adds a piece to the picture, using multiple points of view to move the narrative forward. Readers expecting a straightforward sequel to Old Man’s War and its follow-ups may be disappointed, but any new novel from the extremely talented Scalzi is always good news, and this one, despite its experimental feel and shifting narrative, is one more proof that he’s an unqualified A-lister in the genre. --David Pitt

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0765333511
• ISBN 13: 9780765333513
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432