Zoe's Tale - Kirjakasa

English language

Published March 27, 2008

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-1698-1

(1 review)

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?

I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: How I did what I did ― how I did what I had to do ― not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try to make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic …

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?

I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: How I did what I did ― how I did what I had to do ― not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try to make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.

It's a story you know. But you don't know it all.

2 editions

Thom reviewed Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #4)

Review of "Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Zoë's Tale retells the story of the previous book from a different point of view. The first of these types of stories I read was Bully on Barkham Street, a retelling of A Dog on Barkham Street. In both Scalzi's and Mary Stoltz's tales, I found the second book better than the original.

In the case of Zoë's Tale, the author has had a chance to clean up some of the plot points not made terribly clear in the previous story. He also uses a completely different voice, this one a teenage girl. While not one myself, I found this point of view quite interesting to read and the story really worked for me.

I doubt this would work as a standalone book - we are too far into the major political machinations at this point. Also, events of battle and other plot points are only briefly mentioned. I think …

Zoë's Tale retells the story of the previous book from a different point of view. The first of these types of stories I read was Bully on Barkham Street, a retelling of A Dog on Barkham Street. In both Scalzi's and Mary Stoltz's tales, I found the second book better than the original.

In the case of Zoë's Tale, the author has had a chance to clean up some of the plot points not made terribly clear in the previous story. He also uses a completely different voice, this one a teenage girl. While not one myself, I found this point of view quite interesting to read and the story really worked for me.

I doubt this would work as a standalone book - we are too far into the major political machinations at this point. Also, events of battle and other plot points are only briefly mentioned. I think a standalone reader would be lost.

All that said, I found this a better book than it's predecessor. John Scalzi went out on a limb and tried something difficult, and succeeded in spades.