Talk show host Al Birnbaum, the “Voice of the Wilderness”, is suffering from an ever-increasing drop in ratings and doing his best to deny that this will have an effect on his career. When a mysterious man shows up to offer him a chance at renewed fame and influence Birnbaum must decide what steps he is willing to take to avoid a descent into obscurity.

The fourth episode of John Scalzi’s novel, The Human Division, goes live today in audio and ebook format. As a reminder for those who are not reading these, each of the thirteen episodes will be released on consecutive Tuesday mornings for the bargain price of just $.99. Thus far readers have gotten a satisfying bang for their buck each week, and this week is no different.

It is too early to declare this as a pattern that will remain throughout the novel*, but the episodes thus far have alternated between the main story line one week and a stand alone supporting story the next. Although each episode is meant to be “stand-alone” these alternate story lines appear to more closely fit that description. However, astute readers will realize that each of these episodes, while entertaining in their own right, are revealing nuggets of information that will come to play as the greater story unfolds. Each episode we are getting an interesting story and new clues. How fun is that?

If you have read this week’s episode and want to talk spoilers in the comments, I welcome you to do so and ask that you please include the SPOILERS tag at the top.

Happy reading everyone. Meet you here next Tuesday for more of The Human Division.

*I had to laugh. I wrote that sentence early this morning after reading the episode and less than an hour later got an email notification of John Scalzi’s latest blog post which points out this pattern.

The enigmatic title to John Scalzi’s latest episode in The Human Division loses all its enigma in spectacular fashion as he returns readers with a vengeance to the characters introduced in Episode 1. If you could have been inside my head, dear readers, as I absorbed “We Only Need the Heads” this morning you would have heard the word “Damn!” drawn out with genuine incredulity time and time again. Daaaamn, John Scalzi! Do I have to wait an entire week to get the next episode?!?!

Daaaamn.

(Possible spoilers from here on in)

Ambassador Abumwe is abruptly dispatched to conduct negotiations with the Bulu after the assigned diplomat was sidelined due to a burst appendix. Along with her new assignment she was informed that a wildcat colony illegally located on a remote Bula planet had sent out a coded distress call to the Colonial Defense Force. Harry Wilson has been temporarily reassigned to the warship Tubingen as they attempt to rescue the wildcat colony while leaving the Bulu unaware. From the beginning Ambassador Abumwe can sense that the negotiations are off somehow; things appear to be going much more smoothly than was expected. And when Harry Wilson discovers what is awaiting him on the planet’s surface, negotiations get very interesting indeed.

John Scalzi gave us an exciting opening chapter mystery, followed it up with an unconventional dialogue-only episode laden with hints at things to come, and followed that up with an offering so intense that I suspect he is sitting at his desk right now with a self-satisfied grin on his face, giggling maniacally and saying “You think that was something, just you wait, just you wait….”

If only I could get this kind of value out of every dollar I spend.
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My non-spoiler reviews of previous episodes:

Episode 1: The B-Team
Episode 2: Walk the Plank

At a Glance: Authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, under the pen name James S.A. Corey, offer two shorter works set in the Expanse universe unveiled in their much-lauded collaboration debut, Leviathan Wakes.

Pros: Focused storytelling; not a word wasted; accessible to all readers regardless of experience with science fiction.
Cons: Need there be any?

My Experience: I was very impressed with their Expanse prequel, “Drive”, in the Edge of Infinity anthology when I read it last week and bought the first of these two stories right after finishing it. “Drive” demonstrated that these authors could tell an emotionally engaging story in a fully realized universe without wasting exposition on obvious world-building. These two additional works prove that they have the short form down cold. “The Butcher of Anderson Station” was compelling right from the start, telling a two-stage tale that had me completely immersed right through to the end. I followed it up this afternoon with a purchase and read through of “Gods of Risk” and it did not disappoint. This is well-crafted fourth generation space opera with a maturity that makes it impossible for me to keep to myself.

My Combined Rating: 9/10 stars

Continue reading Tales from the Expanse ~James S.A. Corey →