Zoe's Tale: An Old Man's War Novel

Written by:
John Scalzi
Narrated by:
Tavia Gilbert

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
20
Narrator
10
Release Date
August 2008
Duration
10 hours 3 minutes
Summary
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 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.
Reviews
Profile Avatar
Mikal K.

Mostly established events from the prior book, but believably written from the perspective of a teenage girl who’s had a very unusual life, plus a number of events not previously explored. As with all of his writing that I’ve read so far, Scalzi manages to write from the perspective of someone that (I assume) is very different from himself—a feat not overly common in the field science fiction. This is helped in no small part by the narrator, who manages to embody the unique personalities of the various characters quite effectively, especially Zoe and her friend Gretchen, making the transitions between the characters very easy to manage. Overall I found this to be very entertaining—at times heartwarming, harrowing, distressing, and much more… but most importantly, a very enjoyable listen.

Profile Avatar
Eric C

The Narrator must not have listened to the previous books being read. She mispronounces the majority of the characters' names and the names of most of the alien races. The story is funny and entertaining but the poor performance of the narrator makes for a trying and distracting time listening to the story.

1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$26.99
View Cart