It's the last episode of [b:The Human Division|15698479|The Human Division (Old Man's War, #5)|John Scalzi|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341582413s/15698479.jpg|21356077], and I have mixed feelings about it.

Back channel efforts, trade contacts, and plain diplomatic persistence have finally produced a major diplomatic conference on the Colonial Union-owned Earth Station, with some real hope of at least improving relations. The CU intends to surprise the Earth diplomats and put them off balance by offering to sell Earth Station to Earth governments, and lease back the facilities it needs. What the CU wants, of course, is the ability to recruit soldiers as it previously did, and also to accept colonists, although at a much slower pace than in past decades.

Sixteen ships dropping into Earth orbit and opening fire on Earth Station and the Clarke is not part of the CU's plans.

Ambassador Ode Abumwe and Lt. Harry Smith both have their special assignments, and Harry's will take him--very briefly--where he never expected to go again: the surface of Earth. Unfortunately, he's going to get there by making a space drop with a US military officer. Danielle Lowen is part of the US delegation, and the officer is her cousin.

And when the unknown ships show up, no one is safe.

I enjoyed the story, another good entry in this collection of related stories. Scalzi continues to have really good characterization, plotting, and an appropriately light touch with some challenging elements. But I'm also disappointed, although for reasons that may not be valid or reasonable.

I had the impression that [b:The Human Division|15698479|The Human Division (Old Man's War, #5)|John Scalzi|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1341582413s/15698479.jpg|21356077] was intended to come together into a coherent and complete novel. It doesn't, really. There is an over-arching story arc that does connect all the stories, and it moves the story of the [b:Old Man's War|51964|Old Man's War|John Scalzi|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1346671475s/51964.jpg|50700] universe forward in some important ways. But it remains a collection of linked short stories. Maybe that's what was intended all along.

In the end: Recommended, definitely. But read these stories in order, and following the overall story arc, but with the understanding that they remain separate stories, and the final resolution to the overall story arc is not found within this collection. For that, we'll have to wait. ( )

I'm ambivalent. I really enjoyed the writing of this segment, just as I did all the others. But I'm really bummed that the story wasn't brought to some sort of conclusion. On the other hand, there will be another series...

I bought it. ( )

I read the Human Division via the weekly chapter releases from Amazon in my kindle.
This was a great way to read this book serialized and in little bit sized chunks. Scalzi's has created a human and real world for his space operas and this book truly takes that world to a whole new level.
We meet some familiar people and get to enjoy some new ones.
Great read I'm only sorry I had to wait a week between chapters and then after 13 it all ended. ( )

A worth end to the serial experiment. A success, I hope. At least it was a narrative success, but we don't need experiments to learn that serial novels work. Cervantes and Dumas proved that centuries ago. The experiment, I think, was whether digitally distributing a serial novel worked financially. Scalzi seemed to sell a lot of copies and I imagine he'll sell some more when it is released as a single volume. (I'm curious if there will be unique content release w/ that edition, I don't want to buy it again to get the last story, but dammit I will.)

Overall, I think the story arc worked. Without getting in to spoilers, here is what I liked about the series. First, it focused on non-violent methods of conflict resolution. The Old Man's War universe has become one where simply kicking alien ass is no longer a reasonable option, so we get to see other ways of fixing problems. Second, it focused on non-alpha characters. Speculative fiction is full of stories where through sheer strength of will, a hero forces a group to follow his lead. Here, everyone is on the B-team and must use intelligence and creativity to troubleshoot, rather than strength or charm to dominate. Hart Schmidt is a great example of this. He watches and he helps and changes the universe. Back-channels establish communication between conflicting parties, rather than alphas slugging it out. Third, the central (ish) character is a super-hero, yet he chooses to play the sarcastic side-kick role. Wilson uses his abilities in creative ways, yet never dominates others with them. It's a great meditation on how strength need not lead to domination or conflict. Wilson knows he can punch/wrestle/fight his way out of situations, but prefers to empathize and engage.

So, well done Scalzi. The Human Division is all about being strong without bullying, solving conflict by engaging in communication, and not letting power overwhelm humanity. It's gamma rabbits in space, and I love it. ( )

the 13 episodes of this series have totally inflated by number of books read this year. Now that they are all released, I'm going to reread and see what I think of the series as a whole. I kind of wish I'd waited until it was all done before reading. I'm also on the fence about the fact that it ended on a cliffhanger. Hmph. At least there wasn't an annoying love triangle.

I do enjoy Scalzi's humor quite a bit, but many of his characters sound...exactly like each other, which sound like HIM.

I do enjoy visiting the future as he envisions it, and I will definitely read more to see where he takes things in the next "season" of this story. ( )