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  • Zoe's Tale

  • Old Man's War, Book 4
  • Written by: John Scalzi
  • Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
  • Length: 10 hrs
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (110 ratings)

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Zoe's Tale cover art

Zoe's Tale

Written by: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
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Publisher's 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.

©2008 John Scalzi (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

What listeners say about Zoe's Tale

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Issues with this book

I have two issues with this book. I love John Scalzi's writing, and I love the way he tells stories. What I don't understand is why we need to see this story again, from Zoe's perspective. It didn't really add anything, I thought.

My biggest issue with this recording is the narrator. It would have been so simple to review the first three audiobooks, to make sure that her pronunciation fit the world as had been established. Because I went from book three straight to this one, the changes in pronunciation were jarring, took me out of the world, and in some cases caused me to not be able to connect what she was talking about (ie., with race names).

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Zoe's Redundant Tale

The book is 24 chapters long. It wasn't until chapter 22 that I finally felt like I was listening to a unique story. Had I known this book would be a retelling of The Last Colony, effectively scene - for - scene, but from the perspective of an obnoxiously sarcastic teenage girl, I wouldn't have wasted a credit on it...

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Good, but similar to book 3 in series. same story

I am a fan of Scalzi, but this book was a rehash of book 3

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Story is great, Narrator not so much.

Not a fan of the narrator. what really catches my attention is how a boy in the novel sounds just like the aliens in the. May just be me but Enzo and Hickery/Dickery sound almost identical.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

same story

exact same events as in the previous book in the serie : the last colony

superb voice acting

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Sc
  • 2024-03-16

Aimed at teenage girls

I loved the old man’s war series. This book is awful and is only about a teenage girl and the drama in a teenagers life. It is devoid of a story and is incredibly boring.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic read

To the other reviewer saying the story was being retold - i think you're wrong. I also read the first 3 books (albiet, a while ago) and felt like this was it's own story. I was hoping that this book would be enough of a refresher for me to continue reading the next 3.

The perspective of Zoe, a teenage girl, gave more dimension to The Old Mans War. Scalzi had me laughing at many occasions, and then had me emotional and teary at others. I felt this was a great stand alone, or addition to the series.

-Sarah

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

I couldn't get into this book

A 15 year old MC shouldn't be as emotionally mature as Zoe. A lot of horrible things happen to he but she takes it all in stride and remains highly functional. I can't buy it. the ending was also very diplomatic for a 15 year old all on her own. The pacing was very slow. Very slow

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