Since Zoe's Tale is essentially a re-telling of events from some of the other books, primarily The Last Colony, isn't it kind of repetitive, and more to the point, why would I give it one more star than The Last Colony?

Repetitive? Maybe a little. But Scalzi tells a very different story this time. It is the tale of Zoe and secondarily of Hickory and Dickory. And in the afterword Scalzi notes that one of the things he wanted to do was fix some of the problems people noted in The Last Colony, particularly the Deus Ex Machina salvation of the colony and the appearance and disappearance of the Roanoke natives. When I looked back at my review of The Last Colony I discovered I was one of the folks complaining about just that.

I think the story telling on Zoe is more consistent, better paced, and has fewer holes than The Last Colony did. If I'd read this one first I might not think that though. There is no question it is meant to be read in conjunction with The Last Colony. Should they be read in publication order? Probably. You could start with Zoe's Tale, but I think it assumes a lot of familiarity with the events of The Last Colony. I can't say that it suffers from a predictable ending since the ending is a foregone conclusion. ( )

For those of us who have already read The Last Colony, this is great companion piece. The overall plot is the same, so there are no twists and turns, but instead there is depth. For example, I knew when a major character was going to die and was still moved, almost to tears, over that character's death. Still, in some ways, I wish I could have read this on its own and I think someone who has not read the rest of the series may actually get more out of it than I did. I think that teens would enjoy this book.

http://archthinking.blogspot.com/2009... ( )

http://tyranist.blogspot.com/2009/05/... ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1213582...

Zoë's Tale actually takes place in parallel with last year's Hugo nominee, The Lost Colony, being the story of the teenage daughter of John Perry and Jane Sagan, the leaders of the human colony of Roanoke, living through and playing a key role in the key points of humanity's conflict with the alien Conclave federation. I had forgotten most of last year's book, but Zoë's Tale does clear up one (but not all) of the more handwavey plot elements.

Zoë herself is rather delightful, with a line in sarcasm that readers of her creator's blog will recognise. The other characters seem fairly three-dimensional as well. The political background, and behaviour of the most senior political leaders, once again doesn't make a lot of sense (a standard complaint of mine, and of course a YA novel like this more or less has to involve the protagonist getting one up on the adults) but it's a decent enough story apart from that. ( )

The premise: it's not easy being seventeen. Not when you're the biological daughter of the man who betrayed the human race, the adopted daughter of the colony leaders on a pioneer world that's been abandoned and used for bait, and what amounts to being a holy icon to the Obin, a race of aliens. Zoë's Tale takes us through the events of The Last Colony, but all from HER point of view and how her actions effected that book. But it's more than a retelling: it's a story about love and friendship, about the dangers of a pioneer world, and what it means to hold the entire race of an alien people in the palm of your hands.

My Rating

Must Have: sue me, I've reached the point where I'm biased. I enjoy Scalzi's work way too much, and while his trademark humor and snark is evident in this book, he did a great job crafting Zoë's character and giving her a story within the story we already know. And I'm serious about wanting to get the YA audience to read this, because I think they'd really, really enjoy it (those who like SF, anyway). I think the book stands well enough on its own, but even I'll admit at its strongest after reading all the OMW books that come before. It's the icing on the cake, and the cherry on top is the realization that Scalzi could, if he wanted to, write YA too. Just watch out for the occasional bits of profanity. Although my new favorite word is now "smartassery." Thanks for that, Scalzi!

The full review, which does include spoilers unless you've already read The Last Colony, is in my journal if anyone's interested. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)

REVIEW: John Scalzi's ZOE'S TALE

Happy Reading! :) ( )