Zoe's Tale

This seems to be a retelling of the events in [book:The Lost Colony] from Zoe's point of view. There are a few details that weren't told (or happened off-stage) in that book, but not enough to hold my attention. Did someone say, “Hey, Scalzi? You gotta write a Young Adult novel, man!” at some point? Blah.

Originally posted at FanLit:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/zoes-tale/

Zoe???s Tale, the fourth book in John Scalzi???s OLD MAN???S WAR series, is the same story we were told in book three, The Last Colony, except it???s from Zoe???s perspective. Zoe is the 17-year-old daughter of the traitorous scientist Charles Boutin. Jane Sagan and John Perry adopted Zoe when she was a small child and they???ve been farming on one of Earth???s colonies for years. Now, though, the family is off to lead the settlers of a new colony called Roanoke (uh-oh). When they get there they realize they???ve been duped and life on Roanoke has a lot more going on than just terraforming a new planet.

While I was reading The Last Colony there were several times I wondered ???what???s Zoe doing???? or ???what does Zoe think about this???? or even ???is Zoe the sweet innocent teenager her parents think she is???? I guess John Scalzi knew I was wondering those things, because the sole purpose of Zoe???s Tale is to let us know what Zoe was doing and thinking all this time. Thus we hear the same plot again ??? there isn???t really any plot progression ??? but we do get to know Zoe and we get information about the events that only Zoe experienced in The Last Colony. Mostly these occur at the end of the story when Zoe has a major role in saving Roanoke colony.

I liked getting to know Zoe in this novel, but I found the lack of new plot to be disappointing. I also was not convinced by Scalzi???s characterization of Zoe, mainly because she and her teenage friends banter with each other as if John Scalzi was writing their dialogue. They???re just too clever to be believed.

My favorite characters in Zoe???s Tale were Hickory and Dickory, the aliens who revere Zoe???s father and act as Zoe???s bodyguards. Their lack of a sense of humor, literal interpretation of human speech, and deadpan delivery of their lines is charming. I listened to Tavia Gilbert???s narration and she does a wonderful job with them (and Zoe and the rest of the characters, too). Hickory and Dickory also supply some background information about one of the alien races that I hope we will see more of in a future installment.

If you???re not interested in a sometimes angsty teenage girl???s perspective of the events that occurred in The Last Colony, there???s no reason to read Zoe???s Tale. If you haven???t read The Last Colony you could read Zoe???s Tale instead ??? you???d be caught up with the story so far. I don???t know if Scalzi plans for Zoe to be protagonist in a future book. If she is, then I???ll be glad I read this story of her childhood and teenage years.

I???m giving Zoe???s Tale 3.5 stars for those who haven???t read The Last Colony. In that case it???s an enjoyable novel with a lot of plot and some great characters. If you have read The Last Colony, I???d give this book a 3 star rating. It???s just not enough new plot.