24 replies to this topic

[banjax451]

Snow Bass, on 26 February 2013 - 02:49 AM, said:

Pretty much, and Scalzi's always been open about the money-making objective side of his work. That said, I suspect it's also where he's most comfortable as a writer.

I also think it works most of the time because we have a relative lack of snark in a lot of new SF. So much of it takes itself so seriously, and there's a perception that SF isn't "serious writing" unless it's So Serious and talking about Issues Today. Light-hearted writing livens things up.

That's a fair statement. I think it is where he's most comfortable. And I don't dislike Scalzi's writing in general - I'm actually quite enjoying the new serial novel. But I get the feeling that he is capable of much better writing. It might be his comfort zone, but sometimes you have to move outside that. I (for one) would like to see him move in that direction.

Edited by banjax451, 26 February 2013 - 01:32 PM.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Banjax,

I enjoyed the codas too.

[Independent George]

I'm enjoying the Human Division, but there's something that's been bothering me from the start. I'm not sure if this is a spoiler thread or not, so I'm putting this behind the wall.

Spoiler

Jane's pregnancy, and the revelation that the new Special Forces bodies were now 100% human and capable of reproducing the old-fashioned way, seems to be a nuclear game-changer for the CU and the social institutions therein. And yet, we've seen or heard nothing about it in The Human Division.

Since the first book, it's been reiterated that the genetically modified soldier bodies were evolutionary dead ends, probably by design, so that CDF soldiers never got it into their heads to supplant humanity. With Special Forces soldiers, that's even more important, as they already have a huge social schism with the realborn. It's also a major reason why they seldom retire; the notion of inhabiting a mundane body without brainpals is unfathomable to most of them.

But, it's been stated that there already is a colony for retired special forces soldiers. It presumably doesn't consist only of special forces, but there would appear to be a comparatively large contingent of them there. I imagine that it would also be a popular spot for retired CDF as well; they have more in common with each other than with most colonists. If somebody got it into his head to create a new, self-sustaining branch of humanity with superhero powers, wouldn't this be the natural choice to begin?

Wouldn't the schism with earth and the seeming existential threat of the conclave be just the kind of depserate situation to push just such an plan into place? Could the events of The Human Division be an attempt to socially engineer a situation to force humanity as a whole into accepting the new soldier upgrades? And with its dependency on brainpals, doesn't that effectively put the CDF in complete control?

[Gigei]

Finished Redshirts. Loved it. I wasn't sure at first if I would but thankfully I found it rather funny even though I haven't watched more than a few episodes and movies of Star Trek. I did also enjoy Galaxy Quest so maybe I just like stuff that pokes fun at Star Trek.

I did get the following:

Captain = Captain
Spock = Q'eeng
Bones (medical) = Hartnell
Scotty = West
but who is Kerensky supposed to be? Sulu seems to fit (astrogator=navigator?) but I don't recall him being hurt much. That would be Worf of the Worf effect. Idgi.

Not sure where to go from here as Scalzi has a lot of different stuff. Old Man's War seems to be his most popular work but I'm not into military sf at.

Edited by Gigei, 01 May 2013 - 11:23 AM.

[Dagger]

I think Kerensky was more Chekov than anyone else. Anyway, I thought the codas packed a surprising punch for a novel that started as a light romp.

Loved OMW and Android's Dream. The opening chapter of Android was one of the best long form fart jokes the genre has ever seen.