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.