Steven C. (SteveTheDM) - , reviewed on 4/19/2009 + 204 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 2

This was the tale of Scalzi's "The Last Colony" told from Zoe Boutin's point of view. And he did a great job. As with the other Old Man's War books, this one does a splendid job of characterization, and finding the stories among the characters of his world, rather than the technology.

The stories have actually mellowed a lot, considering the changes between this novel and his first; there's a whole lot less gadgetry, and a lot more smart thinking in it's place. Both styles are a lot of fun, but this feels a lot more mature.

I think Scalzi did a pretty reasonable job rendering "teenagerdom," but that's a bizarre sub-society in any population, so it's not clear (to me) whether he actually got it right or not. It was enjoyable in any event.

I really liked how smart and self-confident he made Zoe. She's a smart-ass, wise-cracking teen who learns a lot about herself and her place in the universe. If only my own teenagers could learn something similar...

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