Zoe’s Tale (review)

Scalzi’s Old Man’s War sequence takes a YA turn in this companion to The Last Colony; Zoe’s Tale examines the same interplanetary colonization event, a confrontation between human and alien groups, through the perspective of seventeen-year-old Zoe, the adopted daughter of the colony leaders. Zoe’s take on things is decidedly more naïve and teen centered, and it’s inevitably colored by the elements that make her unique, even among the wildly diverse group of colonists. As a child, she was spared by a race of aliens, the Obin, who felt they owed her birth father a debt for giving them consciousness. Since then, she has had two Obin serve as bodyguards and companions, recording her life so that their planet may vicariously live through and learn from Zoe. Life in the new Roanoke colony is risky enough in its own right, but soon the situation becomes even worse than the colonists had bargained for. Although Zoe will ultimately save the day from an alien attack and a conspiratorial assault from allies, it is at an unexpected and shocking cost, both to her and likely readers, who may find themselves contemplating this resolution long after they’ve forgotten the specifics of the plot. Impetuous Zoe demonstrates more than a little teen angst, but she is also deeply loyal and courageous; her blend of imperfections and admirable qualities makes her an amiable protagonist with whom many readers will easily identify. An author’s note acknowledges the risk of taking a well-known series and rewriting a volume through the narrative lens of a teen girl instead of her parents, but the resulting novel is graceful and intriguing, and it will draw more than a few fans back to the original series.