The End of All Things (Old Man's War, 6) Mass Market Paperback – May 31, 2016

I'm a little torn about this book. On the one hand, the four novellas that make up the whole are pretty good. I enjoyed all of the stories as they were contained within themselves, and even how they tied together. And for this I give the book 5 stars.On the other hand, I am not fond of the direction Scalzi took with this book (and indeed the 4th and 5th books in the series) as it relates to the overall story arch that began with Old Man's War. The first 3 books of the series are focused more on war and gamesmanship, with John Perry and Jane Sagan as the focal characters. The last three books focus more on politics and diplomacy, with some well-written action (for the most part) scattered throughout. The primary characters in books 5 and 6 being Harry Wilson, Hart Schmidt, Obe Abumwe, and Hafte Sorvalh. Book 4 is an outlier all around, and my least favorite of the series.What I disagree with Scalzi is how the series wrapped up. <SPOILER> The ending was a bit too Hollywood happy ending, in the "walking away from the explosion" sort of way. And they lived happily ever after? Is this really it, and Scalzi just wants to move on, or is there something brewing that will continue the story? As far as I am concerned, the primary story arc from the first three novels was dropped abruptly when Zoe's Tale concluded and never fully redressed in the final two books. And this could be because the first three books (four if you count Zoe's Tale) are novels, whereas four and five are collections of short stories and novellas. It's just frustrating to me. John Perry and family appear above Earth bearing tidings of good will, and 400 trade ships from 400 alien species, and then fall off the face of it. What ever happened to them? What happened to Obin? Zoe was such a key element for a book and a half...gone? What about the Consu? What happened between The Last Colony and where The Human Division picks up? So many questions remain unanswered. Or am I just being impatient, and Scalzi has some tie-in stories or a new series in the universe coming out in the future? <END SPOILER>If I were king for a day, I would declare the Old Man's War series concluded with the 3rd book, The Last Colony. Relegate Zoe's Tale to tie-in novel status, and The Human Division and The End of Everything a new series in the same universe. Maybe that's how Scalzi meant them to fit in all along? I would give the first 3 books together 5 stars, and I think it is one of the best sci-fi series I have read. I would give the last 2 books in the series 5 stars as well. Together, and including book four, I would give the whole series 3.5 stars for <SPOILER> failing to keep it together and tying up the loose ends.<END SPOILER>

(Warning: some spoilers ahead)Despite the dramatic title, this book is less about endings and more about finding equilibrium (with a small "e") ... picking up shortly where "The Human Division" left off, "The End of All Things" resumes with the uneasy and fragmenting relationship between the Earth, the Colonial Union, and the Conclave ... with a new group ("Equilibium") out to further disrupt this balance. Like "The Human Division", this novel is really a series of fairly self-contained novellas, each with their own protagonist and perspective. That being said, "The Human Division", while disjointed, told a gripping narrative and ended on a high note ... despite--or because of--the cliffhanger ending, I'd argue that the last chapter of that book ("Earth Below, Sky Above") was Scalzi at his best--combining humor, action, suspense, unexpected twists, and genuine peril for characters we cared about as readers. In contrast, I'd argue that while "The End of All Things" started well, by the end it had lost coherence and believability.As is expected with Scalzi, this book was an addictive page-turner filled with action, humor, and a deceptively large amount of bigger picture ideas. Starting the novel with a new character in an unusual predicament (he's a brain in a box ... yet he's in the middle of hatching an escape plan ... all while subverting a mysterious and menacing foe!) was a gripping and interesting start. At the very end of the novel, Scalzi included an earlier draft of that chapter from a different perspective ... let's just say he wisely chose which version to include in the final novel. We move on to the perspective of Hafte Sorvalh, General Gau's right-hand woman (?) and confidant, a likable character from earlier books. Indeed, one of the most interesting aspects of this series is that in many cases the "aliens" are more likable than the humans, individually and institutionally (I'd trust the Conclave over the CU any day!). It is in this part, as we see the political wranglings and factions within the Conclave, that the long-time reader is amazed at how far this series has come--from a tightly-woven military thriller in the tradition of Heinlein, to a sprawling *political* space opera. After an unexpected and emotional event, Sorvalh finds herself in a difficult predicament. A predicament that is solved largely through sheer will-power ... which sounds nice, yet is the first of many moments to follow that seem to solve incredibly tricky situations by getting the principal actors in the room, basically deciding through sheer force of will, personality, and insight what needs to be done, and making it happen because they're all basically good people with the same vision who want to do what's best for the greater good. In other words, pretty much the complete opposite of how politics really happens ...The third part is told by Heather Lee, who appeared in the previous book as a relatively minor but memorable character (she escaped captivity in a brothel by setting her blood on fire! How many people can say they've done THAT?). For me, at least, the transition from high level politics back to old-school boots-on-the-ground military action was a bit jarring (albeit making me a bit nostalgic for the "simpler days" of the first two books in the series--I just wish Scalzi had done this section better justice). From a narrative standpoint, this part really only serves to show that the Colonial Union is falling apart ... the characters aren't really developed, and many of the plot elements are just like those wind-powered crowd control devices--creative, humorous, but ultimately nonsensical with even a minute's contemplation.The book is brought home by the always likable Harry Wilson ... by the way, he's really the de facto protagonist of this series now, isn't he? What happened to the Perry family!? The Consu? Hickory and Dickory? So many unanswered questions! Sorry, tangent over. Anyway, having Wilson as the narrator is good in the sense that having likable people around, like him and Abumwe, partially made up for the unraveling storylines. Equilibrium turns out to be a bunch of megalomaniac, incompetent chin-strokers and mustache-twirlers straight out of a James Bond movie (at one point Wilson idly comments that it's amazing Equilbrium was ever seen as a serious threat--the reader will immediately agree! And this is to the detriment of the story--what's the old adage about a story only being as good as its villain ...). The responsible adults get together and do the responsible things, leading to the defeat of the bad guys and yet another uneasy stalemate between Earth, the CU, and the Conclave ... a new (small-e) equilibrium is reached with the destruction of (big-e) Equilibrium. To some degree, it feels like we're kind of back where we started ... did we even "need" Equilibrium? I feel like we would've gotten to this point even without them ...All-in-all, however, this is still an exciting, fun, page-turner--which is why I give it 4 stars despite my complaints. Scalzi at his worst is still better than most writers at their best. It just didn't quite live up to its potential. Other reviewers felt like Scalzi didn't care and was going through the motions ... to me it felt more like he was rushed, resulting in some sloppiness, and I think this infatuation with the serialized format is a big mistake at a time when the plot is getting bigger and more complicated--it makes it harder to get to "the end", whatever it might be. In the afterword, Scalzi mentions that there will be at least one more book in this series ... I look forward to seeing what comes next, but I hope he can get the quality back up to where it was at the beginning of the series. That said, it's always easier for an author to start a novel (or series) well than to end one well ... so, fingers crossed!

Scalzi amazes me with his ability to subtly capture the reader's attention within just the first few pages of this book. I am loathsome to put down the book lest I abandon the verisimilitude and return to my generally mundane existence in the real world.This books picks up soon after the events in "The Human Division". Earth has severed all diplomatic and economic ties with the Colonial Union who they blame for the destruction of Earth's only space station.This novel is broken up into four parts. Each part is told in the first person with a different character thus providing a nice gamut of different perspectives.The book is a balanced mixture of action and dialogue, and Scalzi excels at providing witty banter. The novel is a great addition to the Old Man's War series and has a nice satisfying ending.

What an excellent series of reads.Thoroughly enjoyed the clarity and variety of characters and different scenarios.All overlaid with a dry humour that allowed the reader to engage with the storylines.Thoroughly recommended.

Exciting action and psychology

I really appreciated the first three books in Old Man War, and skipping the fourth (already reviewed that) I also read the last two. While there are interesting ideas and characters also in the latter two, we could say that the end of the saga came three books after the end of the writer inspiration...The last two books are organized as a sequence of episodes rather than a unique story as in the first three, with different recurring characters and multiple changes of point of view. While this allows to cover a broader story arc which is pheraphs more suitable for the political angle of this books, the sensation that this is a collection of story cues which didn't sparkle into a single novel is there. Anyway I appreciated the ending and how the perception of the Colonial Union changes along all the books.

One more amazing book written by John Scalzi in the "Old Man's War" universe.We have stories about diplomats, soldiers, aliens, humans. CDF, Earth and the Conclave.Adventure and humor.I recommend.

Gripping, entertaining, very easy to read sci fi even if you haven’t read the other books in the series! But it’s worth going back to do so! Get on it!