Reviews

Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

cbager's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was fantastic. It’s essentially a young adult story, as it is from the voice of a teenager. That said, almost everything I disliked in The Last Colony was rectified in this one. It was such a good transition, and the voice of John Scalzi that I enjoyed in Old Man’s War and the Kaiju Preservation Society was back here. I can see some people not liking it for being a bit of a departure from the last two books in terms of style. But it needed it, and I’m so happy to have read this immediately after.

gherlone's review against another edition

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5.0

interesting change in perspective

it’s a retelling to some extent, but also a new story. I was pretty impressed at the character voice. she very much resembles my daughter & her friends at that age. nice to see a little of the
Paul Harvey from The Last Colony.

bredacted's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

katekor's review against another edition

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3.0

I probably shouldn't have read this right after Last Colony. I liked it and how it added to that story, and really liked how he fleshed out the indigenous intelligent life on the planet. But I probably needed a breather from that story, and I didn't like how it felt like YA.

pauleypocket's review against another edition

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3.0

If I had read this book (book 4) instead of The Last Colony (book 3 in the series), it would garner a higher rating. It’s well-written. But being that it’s basically book 3 from another character’s perspective, it was less enjoyable for me. It does offer new insight into events that John (MC in books 1 & 3) couldn’t provide. It’s a neat writing experiment, and I love the characters.

jdepolo's review against another edition

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4.0

On principle, I don't like the fact that the book is a retelling of a previous story from a different character's POV. The problem is that it's done so well in this story. Zoe's story is markedly different than the one we get from her father's perspective and, in all honesty, evoked more emotion because it's so much more personally focused.

I can't justify giving it more than four stars because it's essentially a remake, but I can't give it less than four because I thought it was so well executed.

mslauraeb's review against another edition

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3.0

Honestly, I didn't love the tone. It wasn't bad and there was a lot to be liked but it just wasn't what I liked about the first three books. I just wasn't feeling the whole teenage girl thing. Maybe this is just more YA? I dunno. Still, I do love the Old Man's War series. I just wasn't over the moon about this particular one.

tservais's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.25

rcd229's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

loumarcsinger's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75