Picking my next read. What will it be? Sometimes I read the first few pages and see what grabs me.
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Started, and finished, @scalzi's latest Old Man's War book, The Shattering Peace, last night. What a great read. It was such a joy to return to the Old Man's universe. Hoping to see more in the future!
🆕 blog! “Book Review: The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (Old Man's War Book 7)”
★★★⯪☆
I'm reasonably sure I've read all the "Old Man's War" books. As the last one was published a decade ago, you'll forgive me if I don't remember all the intricacies of galactic politics and interpersonal intrigue. Thankfully, Scalzi has carved off a side…
👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/08/book-review-the-shattering-peace-by-john-scalzi-old-mans-war-book-7/
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#BookReview #scalzi #SciFi
Book Review: The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (Old Man's War Book 7)
I'm reasonably sure I've read all the "Old Man's War" books. As the last one was published a decade ago, you'll forgive me if I don't remember all the intricacies of galactic politics and interpersonal intrigue. Thankfully, Scalzi has carved off a side character from a previous book and given them a brand-new adventure. There's enough exposition to tickle the parts of your brain that go "Ah, yes, that sounds familiar" but the story is just about separate enough that a new (or lapsed) reader can dive straight in.
An off-the-books colony has vanished. Only one woman has the martial and intellectual skills to save the day. With her trusty alien companion she's in a race against time to save the galaxy!
The plot is a little thin, and has a slightly …
Book Review: The Shattering Peace by John Scalzi (Old Man's War Book 7)
I'm reasonably sure I've read all the "Old Man's War" books. As the last one was published a decade ago, you'll forgive me if I don't remember all the intricacies of galactic politics and interpersonal intrigue. Thankfully, Scalzi has carved off a side character from a previous book and given them a brand-new adventure. There's enough exposition to tickle the parts of your brain that go "Ah, yes, that sounds familiar" but the story is just about separate enough that a new (or lapsed) reader can dive straight in.
An off-the-books colony has vanished. Only one woman has the martial and intellectual skills to save the day. With her trusty alien companion she's in a race against time to save the galaxy!
The plot is a little thin, and has a slightly annoying habit of jumping forward and then giving retroexposition in "flashback". Some of the prose is gorgeous - "All you need for an avalanche of chaos is one inebriated snowball." - but it is used sparingly. That gives it a rather cold and utilitarian feel - which matches the alien surroundings our protagonist finds herself in.
I also found the humour to be a bit repetitive - the alien doesn't quite get that you shouldn't talk aloud about human's sexual habits - but the story is well-paced and keeps the intrigue high without delving too deeply into convoluted political machinations.
It doesn't really add much to the science fiction pantheon in terms of Big Ideas, but it is rather good fun.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the advance copy, the book is out in September this year and can be pre-ordered now.
Sasu reviewed When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The moon has turned into cheese.
Now humanity has to deal with it.
For some …
Amusing, but doesn't live up to its potential
3 stars
Content warning Some discussion of plot structure and hints about the ending
I listened to John Scalzi's When the Moon Hits Your Eye because the combination of the premise and Scalzi's reputation for irreverence reminded me of the film Don't Look Up, which I remember as one of the best movies I've seen in recent years. Perhaps that was not the most ideal place to read from, but that's where I started anyway.
In short, I found the book amusing with a few good moments. However, having listened to the whole thing, I'm left with the sense that it was too #superficial to be satisfying. Some scenes did go a bit deeper, especially those that dealt to any significant degree with the emotional implications of the impending #apocalypse, but on the whole, I thought that the opportunities for #satire afforded by the #absurdity of a moon made of cheese were used mostly for simpler humor instead.
I think that the chapter involving #writing deserves special mention. I experienced it as the most moving part of the book by far and suspect that it might have been even stronger standing on its own as a short story, possibly with a bit added for context.
I was surprised and somewhat aggravated by the abrupt twist near the end, but what I thought was really clever about it despite my frustration was the amount of #doubt that was left open as the book ended.
From the afterword, I got the sense that this book probably would have been more satisfying if I had approached it from the perspective of a dyed-in-the-wool Scalzi fan (which I am not, even if I often enjoy his writing) who just wanted to read something amusing, be entertained, and enjoy some light satire. I can also imagine that the lightness of the satire might make it something of a "gateway" to considering things from a different perspective for anyone who would find something like Don't Look Up difficult to digest.
#Scalzi #JohnScalzi #DontLookUp #WhentheMoonHitsYourEye #Moon #Cheese #CheeseMoon #Luna #Caseus #ScalziFan
Redshirts (Recommended, meta-fiction)
Redshirts by John Scalzi. Writer having fun. Reader invited along. Tender hearted just-go-with-it spoof. Note: Some familiarity with Star Trek required. Note: If you need an escape from reality, you could do worse than this book. #bookstodon #books #booklovers #Scalzi
https://bookreviewsintenwords.wordpress.com/2025/02/04/redshirts-recommended-meta-fiction/
🆕 blog! “Book Review: When the Moon Hits Your Eye - John Scalzi”
★★★★★
Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is one of those massive, crushing, momentous, century-spanning and era-defining hard sci-fi novels. It starts with the immortal line "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Classic! It dives into a world plagued with…
👀 Read more: https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/book-review-when-the-moon-hits-your-eye-john-scalzi/
⸻
#BookReview #NetGalley #scalzi #SciFi
Book Review: When the Moon Hits Your Eye - John Scalzi
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/book-review-when-the-moon-hits-your-eye-john-scalzi/
Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is one of those massive, crushing, momentous, century-spanning and era-defining hard sci-fi novels. It starts with the immortal line "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Classic! It dives into a world plagued with Kessler syndrome and the grimly inevitable consequences for the future of humanity.
Scalzi's latest book is cheesy homage - fromage if you will - to that giant of literature. It asks an equally important question.
What if, without warning and for no apparent reason, the moon turned into cheese?
That's it. That's the novel.
It is gloriously silly - but no less reverent to humanity. Rather than focus on one single story, the book floats around a dozen different people. We sample the plebeian to the rock-star, President to hausfrau. Everyone gets to bathe in …
Book Review: When the Moon Hits Your Eye - John Scalzi
https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2024/12/book-review-when-the-moon-hits-your-eye-john-scalzi/
Neal Stephenson's "Seveneves" is one of those massive, crushing, momentous, century-spanning and era-defining hard sci-fi novels. It starts with the immortal line "The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason." Classic! It dives into a world plagued with Kessler syndrome and the grimly inevitable consequences for the future of humanity.
Scalzi's latest book is cheesy homage - fromage if you will - to that giant of literature. It asks an equally important question.
What if, without warning and for no apparent reason, the moon turned into cheese?
That's it. That's the novel.
It is gloriously silly - but no less reverent to humanity. Rather than focus on one single story, the book floats around a dozen different people. We sample the plebeian to the rock-star, President to hausfrau. Everyone gets to bathe in the moonlight (cheeselight?) of the story. And what a story! As with any good slice of sci-fi, it is light on the technobabble and high on the everyday drama.
Yes, there are obvious parallels to the shared emotional trauma of Covid, but it doesn't dominate as a theme. And, of course, the fractured nature of our shared reality is likely to be the focus of most literature for the foreseeable future. Scalzi instinctively understands what makes sci-fi absurd and how to gently squeeze the humour out of it. Because sci-fi is intrinsically funny. It's about us playing a massive game of "what if" and seeing where it takes us.
The laughter is offset with just the right amount of heartbreak. The moon turning in to cheese isn't all fun and games. No one gets off scot-free, but all the villains get their just desserts. It is impossible to read without a smile on your cheeks and a lump in your throat.
As with his two most recent books - The Kaiju Preservation Society and Starter Villain - these are stand-alone novels. There's no massive trilogy to commit to reading and no prior knowledge is assumed.
If you've read Neal Stephenson, Andy Weir, and Mary Robinette Kowal, you'll probably get a little bit more out of it than the casual reader. It is fully of fun little sci-fi references and tropes, all expertly shaken out for a daft laugh.
The book is released in March 2025. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy - the rest of you will have to pre-order.
Sie sind groß, gefährlich und vom Aussterben bedroht … Jamies Traum war es, bei einem …
Ein kurzweiliger Scalzi
5 stars
Das Buch ist für John Scalzi relativ kurz. Trotzdem baut er eine interessante und spannende Geschichte um die Godzilla Wesen, um dessen Forterhalt es geht. Er schrieb es in der Corona Zeit als Ersatz für einen längeren Roman, für den er aufgrund der dunklen Zeit voller schlechter Nachrichten und Geschehnisse keine Kraft mehr hatte.
Schlussendlich hat ihn dieses Buch von seiner Schreibblockade befreit und man merkt in jedem Kapitel, dass ihm das Schreiben Spaß gemacht hat. Mit einer schnoddrigen Schnauze ein echter Scalzi.
Hey folks in #Ohio (with a shout out to #scalzi - if that’s not too presumptuous). You have a super easy way to make your voice heard right now in support of the #trans community.
Via jessdkant on BlueSky : link starts here https://bsky.app/profile/jessdkant.bsky.social/post/3kibnbcnpbk2s with a link to proposed anti-trans legislation that will make it illegal to receive trans affirming care even for adults. It goes on, but the tldr is :
“DeWine has a contact form and needs very much to hear from you. Cis people especially, do this now— this is a thing you can do. Sit down, bang out a letter of disgust and unequivocal condemnation, send it, then save to submit as testimony. We need every voice.
governor.ohio.gov/contact”
Please boost especially if you know Ohioans.