Book Review: The Human Division by John Scalzi

The Human Division
Author: John Scalzi
Series: Old Man's War (Book 5)
Publication: Tor Books; 1 edition (May 14, 2013)

Description: Following the events of The Last Colony, John Scalzi tells the story of the fight to maintain the unity of the human race.

The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU's secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance―an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they've invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.

Against such possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won't be easy, either. It will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning…and a brilliant "B Team," centered on the resourceful Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you're struggling to preserve the unity of the human race.

Being published online from January to April 2013 as a three-month digital serial, The Human Division will appear as a full-length novel of the Old Man's War universe, plus―for the first time in print―the first tale of Lieutenant Harry Wilson, and a coda that wasn't part of the digital serialization.

My Thoughts: This was an entertaining space opera that was written as thirteen separate episodes that needed to work together as a novel when finished. Earth has learned that the Colonial Union had been keeping them isolated and mining them for soldiers and settlers. Naturally, this didn't go over well on Earth and now the Colonial Union is trying to find a way to survive in a galaxy in which humans are in a definite minority and in a galaxy where they aren't liked very much.

Many of these stories focus on Lieutenant Harry Wilson of the Colonial Defense Force and the Diplomatic team he is assigned to. This team is the B team which doesn't usually get sent in for important missions. And they are often expected to fail.

Other stories focus on the Conclave - a group of 400 alien species - and on one of its diplomats Hafte Sorvalh.

The big problem is that someone is trying to keep the Colonial Union and the Conclave at odds. Each side believes that it is the other that is responsible for ship losses and other activities. Both are also rivals for Earth. The Colonial Union needs Earth for its survival. The Conclave is also courting Earth though they wouldn't be accepted as a member until they had one unified Earth government which they do not.

I enjoyed all the stories and like how they ranged in tone from serious to humorous. I enjoyed the characters especially Harry Wilson. I liked that all of them were trying to do their best for peace no matter how large or small a role they play. The ending is unresolved but not a cliffhanger. Luckily, I have the next book in the Old Man's War series so that I can find out what happens next.

Favorite Quote:

"Hold your breath!" the groundskeeper said.

"Why?" Wilson wanted to know.

"It couldn't hurt!" the groundskeeper said. Wilson was going to make a sarcastic reply to this but then realized that, in fact, it couldn't hurt. He took a deep breath.

The plant sucked him under.

"This is the best day ever," said the groundskeeper to Schmidt.

I bought this one May 15, 2013. You can buy your copy here.