The Human Division #2: Walk the Plank
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3.9 • 88 Ratings
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- $0.99
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- $0.99
Publisher Description
The second episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War. Beginning on January 15, 2013, a new episode of The Human Division will appear in e-book form every Tuesday.
Wildcat colonies are illegal, unauthorized and secret—so when an injured stranger shows up at the wildcat colony New Seattle, the colony leaders are understandably suspicious of who he is and what he represents. His story of how he's come to their colony is shocking, surprising, and might have bigger consequences than anyone could have expected.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Scalzi's hectically paced and philosophical continuation of the Old Man's War series is an invigorating and morally complex interstellar thriller with heart. The human Colonial Union has lost the trust of neighboring worlds due to allegations that it's been delaying Earth's technological development so it can "farm" Earth for colonists and soldiers. When the Polk, a Union ambassadorial starship, is obliterated while on a secret diplomatic mission with the alien Utche, the Union sends in a "B-team" rebellious and unorthodox Lt. Harry Wilson, meek diplomatic assistant Hart Schmidt, and aggressive ambassador Abumwe to seal negotiations and discover who (or what) destroyed the Polk. Scalzi injects the thrilling wonder of escapist science fiction with the painful despair of human betrayal and selfishness, focusing as much on conflicts of the heart as on warring alien civilizations. First released as digital serial installments, the book's chapters reverberate with cliffhanger suspense, building and resolving a central conflict while building on more complex story arcs. Deeply realized characters and stinging webs of political and social deceit lend mystery and emotionally harsh realism to a thrilling setting of deep space and distant worlds.
Customer Reviews
Dark preview
This episode of the series has a distinctly dark tone that appears to foreshadow some dire prospects for the continuing story. It has an intriguing format of an official recording's transcript that appears to record some things those being recorded would rather not have recorded.
I was disappointed at the length of this episode at first, but in comparing its length to the first episode, I remembered feeling the first was an excellent value for the price. So I think it's basically a wash in terms of value. We got a bonus for Episode 1, Episode 2 is a bit short, the rest appear to somewhere in between.
Disappointing amount of content
The first part of this series felt like a good amount of content for $.99 (90 pages or so) and I picked this one up without a second thought. I should have looked at the description to see that the length had been severely reduced from the first installment (28 pages of real material).
Shame on me, I should have looked at the description and will do so in the future, but a warning to all that this installation is extremely short on content.