Zoe’s Tale ~John Scalzi
–published 2008
–336 pages, Tor Books
–4.5/5 stars
As I embark upon reviewing this, the latest novel in John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series, I must admit that I am feeling somewhat guilty. Over the course of the past two years John Scalzi has occupied a slot as one of my all-time favorite authors. I have devoured his books only to find myself with two conflicting emotions: satisfaction and the desire for more. So how is it that I am just now reviewing a book that came out in August of this year? I bought the book the minute it hit bookstore shelves! In fact it came out early and I was so excited that I brought it straight home and immediately started reading it. After all, it was the latest Scalzi! So what happened? Well, me–that is what happened. I was not in the mood for science fiction at the time, particularly as I was gearing up for hosting the R.I.P. III Challenge and was in a particularly gothic mood. I have never been secretive about the fact that I am a reader tossed to and fro by his reading whims and Zoe’s Tale was just not right for me at the time. Sure, I had enjoyed the first 90 to 100 pages that I read, but not the way that I wanted to. I wasn’t finding myself lost in John Scalzi’s universe the way I had been with the other three novels of this series. And so I did the unthinkable, I laid aside a favorite author with the sincere hope that it was just my timing that was off and that when I came back to Zoe and her perspective on the events covered in The Last Colony I would be able to give this author the reverence due his position in my ‘favorites’ hierarchy.
What follows will hopefully serve as an apology to Mr. John Scalzi and to all of you who would never dare to treat a cherished author the way that I have treated mine.
