The Human Division #13: Earth Below, Sky Above by John Scalzi

The final episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War. Beginning on January 15, 2013, a new episode of The Human Division will appear in e-book form every Tuesday. At last, the Earth and the Colonial Union have begun formal discussions about their relationship in the future—a chance for the divisions in humanity to be repaired. The diplomats and crew of the Clarke are on hand to help with the process, including Ambassador Ode Abumwe and CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson, both of whom were born on Earth. But not everyone wants The Human Division to be repaired...and they will go to great length to make sure it isn't. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The last serialized novel I read was Stephen King's The Green Mile. I bought each of the slim paperbacks as they came out and enjoyed the very moving story. I wasn't sure what to expect from John Scalzi's The Human Division, but I've been entertained by his other novels so I pre-ordered the entire set of 13 episodes for Kindle. It turns out that my commute to work is about one Scalzi episode long. Very convenient.

Writing about his publishing experiment, Scalzi suggested that each chapter would be like a television episode in the first season of a show set in the Old Man's War universe. At first, I was a little disoriented. I guess I was expecting chapters in a book. After about three episodes, I understood that he really was approaching this like a TV show, and settled in for the long haul. He was as good as his word. Instead of 13 chapters in a contiguous storyline, he gave us 13 episodes featuring an ensemble cast, multiple locations, and introduced multiple story threads. Some episodes worked better than others, but overall, I had a good time reading his show. I experienced one brief moment of disorientation at the end of episode #13, which concluded without answering some of the questions raised in the plot. That was my book-reading self surfacing again. I got over it, hoping he would follow up those threads in the next season. Will there be another season? Apparently so. See http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/04/09/the-human-division-episode-thirteen-earth-below-sky-above-is-now-live-an-announcement-about-the-future/

I'll be there to read the new episodes. I don't think I'll buy the print edition, even though it has some additional material. Scalzi was up front about that when The Human Division was first announced. I'll wait for new episodes. I had to click a bunch of times to pre-order all 13 episodes, but this is acceptable. Pre-orders can be cancelled if the screenwriter starts jumping the shark during the next season.

So, with a nod to the recently departed and missed Mr. Ebert:

* Thumbs up for the story and characters
* Thumbs up for keeping me engaged and interested in reading another season
* Thumbs up for the episodic structure and commuting convenience
* Thumbs up for pre-ordering individual episodes
* Thumbs up for the experiment

I have read the entire series of chapters released in “The Human Division”. I have to say that by the end, I was somewhat disappointed. The book ended before some crucial questions were resolved, and while the characters wound up resolving one situation (not necessarily for the best), it wound up having an incomplete feel to it. Very much looking forward to the newly promised follow-up book.