John Scalzi returns to the enormously popular Old Man’s War universe with The Human Division, though perhaps not exactly as conventional wisdom and publishing would have it. I’ve been reading, like many other folks, Scalzi’s fiction since the publication of his massively successful Military SF novel Old Man’s War. The majority of his fictive output has taken place in that universe, with some stop overs in some stand-alone novels. Although I felt Fuzzy Nation, a reboot novel (perhaps the first) was a strong effort, his recently Hugo-award winning Redshirts was seen by many as a slight step back. On the other hand, a step back by Scalzi still results in an entertaining novel. So, to say his return to the universe where he first made his name is most welcome is an understatement for many readers, myself included.
The Human Division plays in the universe with a drastically changed status quo thanks to the recent events as depicted in The Lost Colony and Zoe’s Tale (same stories told from different points of view, and both very enjoyable novels). That change to the status quo is that Earth/Humanity now knows they have been living in a universe vastly more populated with intelligent life than they initially thought. The Colonial Union has been using Earth only as a source for military personnel. Meanwhile, Earth is invited to join the alien Conclave in alliance against the Colonial Union. Enter into this fray our protagonist, Harry Wilson, as well as his friend Colonial Union Diplomat Hart Schmidt, and their supervisor Ambassador Ode Abumwe, and a handful of other regulars who make up the “B-Team” aboard the space ship Clarke charged with taking on impossible missions.
However, before proceeding further about the content of the novel, discussing it withoutmentioning the form of The Human Division is likely impossible, so I’ll get it out of the way now. Scalzi published this novel as chapters as Episodes on Tor.com forming the first season of The Human Division. At the end of the “season” the episodes were collected and published as this book, much in the same way TV series are published as DVDs following the conclusion of a season. It was a smashing success, so of course Tor ordered a second season.
Back to the work itself … These thirteen episodes do add up to a cogent and holistic novel, from the opening chapter where a ship explodes to the end which promises more to come. Harry Wilson is sort of an everyman character; he thinks very quickly on his feet and was part of John Perry’s military class. John Perry, if you haven’t read the other books in the milieu, is the hero of those earlier books and his actions on the Lost Colony planet of Roanoke have opened up the eyes of Earth, as earlier mentioned. Most of the episodes feature a mission, the first and last episodes being twice the length of those in between the bookends.
The first double episode introduces the main players of Wilson, Schmidt, and their boss Ode Abumwe as they form the B-Team. Each episode brings the story of an Earth with newly opened eyes forward, with room for little side stories that flesh out the world from some different perspectives. The one featuring Hart Schmidt’s visit home for Harvest day with his family was a good foundational one to give readers a better idea of what kind of man Schmidt is and wishes to be.
The book contains stories not released as part of the main first season of The Human Division, a humorous story in which Hafte Sorvalh, an alien ambassador, visits human children in a classroom and also enjoys a churro. This could be a shout out to readers of Scalzi’s blog and his love of churros or it could just be a humorous story about an alien, the innocence of children, and a delicious Mexican Pastry. The other “extra” on this “DVD” of the first season is story published on Tor.com back in 2008 – “After The Coup.”
My only problem with The Human Division is the lack of a true ending or resolution. Although with a second season of The Human Division on order, I’d rather wait for more of the story than a rushed ending. The Human Division is Scalzi’s strongest novel in a few years (better than his Hugo winning Redshirts, and better than Fuzzy Nation which I enjoyed a great deal) and one that will ultimately be followed-up by the ‘second season’ next year. I can’t wait and just might read this in its episodic format rather than waiting for the book / DVD set of the season.
Recommended
© 2013 Rob H. Bedford
Tor / May 2013
Hardcover ISBN 978-0-765-33351-3 432 Pages / eBook 978-1-466-80231-5
Feature on Tor.com: http://www.tor.com/features/series/the-human-division
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever
Review copy courtesy of the publisher, Tor
