Zoe's Tale

June 23, 2008
In the touching fourth novel set in the Old Man's War universe, Scalzi revisits the events of 2007's The Last Colony
from the perspective of Zoë, adopted daughter of previous protagonists Jane Sagan and John Perry. Jane and John are drafted to help found the new human colony of Roanoke, struggling against a manipulative and deceitful homeworld government, native werewolf-like creatures and a league of aliens intent on preventing all space expansion and willing to eradicate the colony if needed. Meanwhile, teenage Zoë focuses more on her poetic boyfriend, Enzo; her sarcastic best friend, Gretchen; and her bodyguards, a pair of aliens from a race called the Obin who worship and protect Zoë because of a scientific breakthrough made by her late biological father. Readers of the previous books will find this mostly a rehash, but engaging character development and Scalzi's sharp ear for dialogue will draw in new readers, particularly young adults.

August 1, 2008
At the close of the widely admired Old Mans War trilogy, Scalzi hinted he would take a long break from his saga of seniors rejuvenated for interstellar battle. But reader demand has extracted one more installment. Zoe Boutin Perry is the adopted daughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan, heroes of the first and third installments (Old Mans War, 2004; The Last Colony, 2007). Complicating her life as an otherwise ordinary, wisecracking 15-year-old is her status as a venerated idol of the Obin, an alien race who owe their self-awareness to an invention of Zoes late biological father. Accompanied everywhere by her overprotective Obin bodyguards, Hickory and Dickory, Zoe quickly realizes how critical the Obin are to her familys survival when the Colonial Defense Force overseeing the Perrys colonization of a new world underhandedly pits them against a murderous alliance of alien races. Scalzi takes a calculated risk in adopting Zoes adolescent viewpoint, but it pays off in a captivating story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
Snarky Zoe starts over when her parents are named leaders of a new planetary colony. She wants to be a normal teenager with friends and boyfriends, but due to the strange circumstances of her birth, only Zoe can prevent interspecies war. This first YA offering in Scalzi's adult Old Man's War series works unexpectedly well as a standalone.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)