dimecres, 26 d’agost del 2015

The end of all things - John Scalzi (english review)

Disclaimer: English is my third language,  so I want to apologize in advance for there may be mistakes in the text below. If you find any, please let me know so that I can correct it. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks. You can read this review also in spanish here.


The usual followers of this blog already know that John Scalzi occupies a prominent place here. I usually read all the novels he publishes because his refreshing, fun and entertaining style is perfect for reading after some denser books. I call it "degreasing" literature.

His latest novel The end of all things is located in the universe of The Old Guard, already the sixth published novel, and direct continuation of The Human division. It is one of the few sagas of science fiction that are being published that I have been following on time, and although the novel is accurate and entertaining (like almost all of Scalzi's work) and changes the characters and points of view to give the story more depth, I think that this universe doesn't allow more stories. I really think that Scalzi would better devote himself to promote other interesting universes he has created, like the one where Lock in is located.

The novel consists of four short stories narrated in first person by different characters, some new and others already known from other novels in the series, and focuses on the conflict between the Colonial Union, Earth and the organization that gathers hundreds of intelligent alien species, the Conclave.

The novel is true to the style of the author: action, humor based on dialogues, good rhythm, good ideas in technology ... In this case the focus of the plot is the political and diplomatic relations as well as conspiracies hidden to hold power. The story is very interesting, but I think it's closed abruptly, almost roughly.

In short: a typical  Scalzi style novel ,with its strengths, which are many and well known and I have already enumerated on several entries devoted to his previous novels, and his faults. I think he is correcting which I consider his main mistake, the use of humor when doesn't fit the story.

Based on the title and how the plot is closed  I think that it's the end of this exceptional saga, certainly a key work in science fiction in recent years, although maybe elongated excessively. Let's see with what Scalzi surprises us now. Sure it will appear for here sooner or later.

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