But genre fiction does not have to do these things to achieve greatness. There may be those who turn their noses up at the traditionalism of Scalzi’s themes and plots, at the fact he writes science fiction first as a fan’s expression of love, rather than doing whatever it is you’re supposed to do to be “literary” - deconstructing tropes, treating them with skepticism and an eye towards subverting them artistically. As usual, Scalzi succeeds at whatever he sets his mind to, and The Human Division turns out to be not only a career-best for him, but one of SF’s most electrifying space operas of the new century. This required each chapter to function as a stand-alone story, with the whole working as a cohesive novel at the same time. The book was initially serialized monthly as downloadable chapters prior to its hardcover release in complete form. For this novel, he experimented with a new approach to storytelling that took advantage of the emerging world of e-publishing while avoiding alienating traditionalists into the bargain.

After a few years of giving free reign to his lighter side - which resulted, among other things, in perhaps the funniest “you gotta be kidding me” short story Hugo nom in the genre’s history - Scalzi has returned to his Old Man’s War universe in the dazzling The Human Division. But he keeps pushing, moving forward, challenging himself with new approaches to writing, or simply indulging his whims. If any writer in contemporary SF is in a position to rest on his laurels, it’s John Scalzi.

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The Human Division by John Scalzi