John Scalzi is on a mission. That mission, I believe, is to make sure that I personally do not have time to read anything but his books. Despite his obvious ploy to dominate my literary life by releasing book after book after book, you will not find me complaining. I am in ecstasy.

All kidding aside, John Scalzi has rekindled my passion for science fiction with the universe he has created in his novels Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades, as well as The Android’s Dream (not related to the previous books, but a damn good read nonetheless). Clicking on the previously mentioned titles will take you to my reviews of those books, so no need to recreate the wheel.

The books that I cultivate the deepest relationship with need to have certain elements. One is a sense of wonder, another is adventure, and perhaps the most important is a bit of romance. That romance may or may not be completely fleshed out within the confines of the story, but it has to be at least implied, so that my old-fashioned romantic mind can imagine the rest. John Scalzi’s books are all of the above and more, they have quickly become old friends.

In Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades, John Perry and Jane Sagan are two characters who develop a romantic relationship. This relationship holds a great deal of significance that I won’t spoil for you, you really need to read the books. The third book in the trilogy, The Last Colony, is mere months away from release. What is a fan to do while he/she waits for this books’ release? No need to fear, John Scalzi has taken care of that. This is where The Sagan Diary comes in (its about time, you are no doubt thinking!)

The Sagan Diary is a novelette published by Subterranean Press that covers events during the time of the previous novels from the viewpoint of Jane Sagan. The conceit of this book is that it is the private thoughts, the diary, of Jane Sagan, being viewed by members of the Colonial Defense Forces as they process her BrainPAL after her voluntary discharge from the service. The book reads just like one would expect a diary to read. It is filled with the thoughts and feelings, the musings, of a woman bound by duty and intoxicated with a new and growing love. In many ways it is a philosophical and existential work which provides a glimpse into the mind of a character I have personally grown very fond of over the past two novels.

One of the first questions one might ask is whether or not a man can adequately capture the voice of a woman? Despite many evidences to the contrary, I truly believe that men and women have the same depth of emotions, the same fears, the same dreams, the same hopes, as one another. I concede that most men can have their lofty thoughts derailed by the merest hint of cleavage, but that doesn’t mean that we are not capable of the depths of emotion and introspection that women are. From a man’s point of view (take that for what its worth), I think John Scalzi succeeds in making the reader believe that these are the private thoughts of a woman. A point of interest: John Scalzi mentions on his site that the Gender Genie, a program purported to be able to guess the sex of a writer from examining a stories’ text, has concluded that The Sagan Diary is written by a woman.

The Sagan Diary is an inspiring peek into the mind of Jane Sagan. The various chapters address Fear, Killing (something both men and women do and do alot of in this future military), Friendship, Sex, Age, Endings and various other subjects. Each ties in to the relationship of the characters from John Scalzi’s universe and taken as a whole they paint the portrait of the cares and concerns of a human life. The book is simply amazing to read, especially after having devoloped a relationship with John Perry and Jane Sagan over the previous two novels.

Like any good introspective work, this book not only had me thinking about the life of Jane Sagan, but also caused me to think of my own life. The wonder she feels for the love affair developing between her and John Perry is infectious. For anyone who has or has had a healthy physical relationship with a person they love, the chapter on sex provides a refreshingly honest, fun take on sex in a relationship. By the end of this brief story I was even more attached to the characters from John Scalzi’s universe.

In my favorite Robert Heinlein book, Time Enough for Love, the main character is Lazarus Long. The book contains the reminiscences of Lazarus Long, told so that the wisdom of the oldest man alive won’t be forever lost. Most of Long’s stories involve the many treasured loves he has had in his life. Interspersed among the stories are chapters from the ‘notebooks’ of Lazurus Long that contain his proverbs, his nuggets of wisdom, gleaned from a long life. So much of this novelette reminded me of that book and it left me with the same warm, yet melancholy feeling that Time Enough for Love did, if that makes any sense.

I don’t recommend The Sagan Diary as a stand alone read, for it to have any emotional resonance you need to read Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades. If you have, or if you do, I am sure that you’ll find this a welcome edition to that universe and will be as touched by this wonderful story as I have been.
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On a side note, this book came into existence because of science fiction and fantasy author John M. Ford. When he passed away, his family asked that anyone who wished to remember him to please contribute to a book endowment, in Mr. Ford’s name, that would go to benefit the Minneapolis Public Library. John Scalzi donated a bound draft copy of The Last Colony for bid and said that if the bidding reached $5,000, he would write a short story for the winning bidder.

Bill Schafer, of Subterranean Press, took him up on his offer and bought the book, thus procuring this short story for Subterranean Press. Let me take this moment to publicly thank Mr. Schafer. If it wasn’t for his generosity, and keen eye for opportunity, we wouldn’t have this wonderful story about Jane Sagan and John Perry. I took the plunge and ordered the limited, signed edition and got number 135 out of 500. It is a beautiful, leather bound book with great pencil illustrations by Bob Eggleton. Well done, Subterranean Press.

Incidentally, my name, Carl Anderson, was a name of a character in this book. While I know this is not me, it is still very thrilling to see one’s name in print. Just thought I’d share.

Now get out there and read John Scalzi’s books already!