A Problem of Proportion

The Human Division #11

by John Scalzi

A secret backdoor meeting between Ambassador Ode Abumwe and the Conclaves Hafte Sorvalh turns out to be less than secret as both of their ships are attacked. Its a surprise to both teams but its the identity of the attacker that is the real surprise, and suggests a threat to both humanity and The Conclave.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Space Opera, Aliens, Military Fiction

46 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2013

About the author

John Scalzi, having declared his absolute boredom with biographies, disappeared in a puff of glitter and lilac scent.

(If you want to contact John, using the mail function here is a really bad way to do it. Go to his site and use the contact information you find there.)

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

We're nearing the end, with more of the puzzle being revealed, and also, more of the characters.

Well done, and touching.

I bought it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yeah! Vintage Scalzi. This is why we read him. Classic space opera.

Why only four stars? Because this reads like a rough draft. There are many phrases and a few sentences which clutter the story and knock the read out of the moment. If John had re-read it just once more--maybe cut ten percent--I bet it would be even better.

A very good read.

[Banner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was going to wait until I finished the series and rate the book as a whole, but after this chapter I had to jump in with a 5 star. I haven't decided yet how I will rate the book, but this chapter was one of the most touching and moving stories I have read in science fiction in awhile. Now I understand that to some degree this is a cowboy space opera and you don't always get a lot of depth and that's ok, because it's a fun read. But without giving anything away....

One of our protagonists interacts with a minor character in the plot of our evil shadow force. Actually this minor character turns out to be innocent victim himself. This is one very tragic figure. Humanity looks good for a change and we learn a little something about what is really valuable in the universe.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, now this, this episode I really liked. Well, insofar as you can like something that stabs you in the heart a little. This worked really well, and I think I see how things are connecting up -- and for me, at least, it brought in a level of emotion and connection that I hadn't yet really felt.

Also, what this reviewer said about consent, etc.

Moving straight on to the twelfth episode.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know something is up when the Colonial Union and the Conclave are on a joint mission and we've got Harry Wilson as lead. This one had one of the coolest concepts in recent memory - a little depressing at the end but still cool.

No spoilers here so I'll end the review now except to say....keep them coming....this was episode 11 of 13 and I'm dying to know how it ends.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, the Colonial Union’s backup diplomats end up being in a critical place at the wrong time, uncovering a plot that appears to be trying to push the Colonial Union and the Conclave into war. That was fine as far as it goes, but the real heart of this story is Wilson trying to save a man whose brain has been removed from his body and wired into a killer starship. It was genuinely heartwarming.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Erin (PT) · Rating 4 out of 5]

To use a fandom expression: ALL THE FEELS.

This was a great chapter. Besides the usual great elements: Abumwe and her Diplomatic Missions of Doom, the Wilson and Schmidt Sideshow, the ongoing mysteries--and finally, some small insight into those!--we have BRAIN IN A BOX! It's one of my all time favorite sci-fi tropes and the horrific brutality of it here, of what was done to Rayth Ablant, is just incredibly, affectingly well done. So that was great.

But the topper on all of it was this exchange:

You did. You tried. And even right now, if you wanted to keep trying, it's clear I couldn't stop you. But when I asked you to help, you helped. Now I am asking you to stop.

"All right," Wilson said, after a moment.

With all the conversations about consent, about respect, about agency and autonomy going on right now, this exchange seems especially timely, especially important; that Rayth Ablant, with no power or agency to enforce his desires, could ask for his wishes to be respected and to have Wilson, and by extension, all the other characters, respect it--ESPECIALLY when that request is, basically, to die in peace--is a HUGE and monumental thing that, even so, is not called out in the text as remarkable or anything beyond what should naturally happen in that moment.

I love that Scalzi did that. That he knew enough to write that and write it in that way.

Such an excellent chapter.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We get a tiny bit closer to finding out what's going on with the mysterious disappearing spaceships and how the Colonial Union and the Conclave seem to be poised on the brink of war. Harry Wilson works with aliens from the Conclave to explore one of those mysterious spaceships that has just returned - and attacked both the humans and the aliens. What they discover on board that ship is one of the stranger elements of The Human Division, and that includes a previous episode where they electrocuted a dog that had been swallowed by a carnivorous plant to save a diplomatic mission.

[Kat Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of stories set in the OLD MAN’S WAR universe. It continues the plot, so you don’t want to miss it. I listened to the audio version which was very good. You can each episode separately or all together.
We've got a review of the full series here:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fant...

[Karlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the series more as I went through each episode. At first I struggled because it seemed like random stories set in this universe. But as it continued and I realized it was interwoven story lines I enjoyed them more. The main characters were enjoyable. It's pretty traditional sci fi fare but still worth the read.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great chapter in the Human Division series. Reminiscent of the Expanse. I see now why we had Book 10. By giving us insight into Wilson’s home life, we understand why he makes the choices he makes. It’s very well done.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meeting of two diplomatic ships that’s off the record get fired upon by a third unknown ship. After disabling it, they find it’s controlled by a “brain in a box.” The brain makes contact and then things get interesting. Recommended

[Emz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A secret meeting is arranged between Ambassador Ode Abumwe and the Conclave's Hafte Sorvalh. However, the situation turns deadly when a mystery ship appears and attacks both vessels. The biggest surprise of all is who is in charge of the mystery ship—someone neither side has seen before.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"Cruelty"

A secret meeting g between Ambassador Abumwe and the Conclave's Ursj Darmi was shown not to as secret as believed when both were attacked by a third. A rather sad and perterbing tale, again performed by William Dufris.

[S.A Reidman · Rating 3 out of 5]

🤔Well now I have to read Old Man's War - no two ways about it.

That's it. That's the review. Oh and I need an ETA on that BrainPal tech - d'you know how many books I could inhale in minutes. Oh the joy.
That would be an actual high.

[Call me Jeeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know it it took me so long to get this book finished. I think I even got them out of order. Such a great book. Poignant and thoughtful as Wilson befriends someone who had just tried to kill him, and offers him some sort of comfort and compassion. Brilliant book.

[Cybercrone · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was OK, but just felt kind of skimpy somehow. I think this theme would have worked much better as a full-length book.

[Darren Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Simply wow!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope these will all come together......

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a sad episode

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another very good, intriguing and a little sad 😥, Harry Wilson story

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The saddest story

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad two

So Scalzi delves into the emotional box in our brain to what end? Shared joy or chagrin at the circumstances and our emotions for our motivation? So many ways to find it.

[Amy Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another chapter of the whole

[Steve Smythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh the feels

I had a quiet moment there in the end. Oof. That was really good. Such a touching end to the episode.

[Karl Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambassador Abumwe and Hafte Sorvalh are to meet, but their ships are attacked suggesting that both the CDF and the Conclave have a common enemy.

[elsalmon L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colonial Union starship on a diplomatic mission comes out of skip space and is immediately fired upon by alien Conclave ship.

[Jay Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for the entirety of The Human Division, comprised of The B-Team; Walk the Plank; We Only Need the Heads; A Voice in the Wilderness; Tales From the Clarke; The Back Channel; The Dog King; The Sound of Rebellion; The Observers; This Must Be the Place; A Problem of Proportion; The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads; Earth Below, Sky Above.

My first thought about this, the latest story in the Old Man's War universe from John Scalzi, was annoyance that I hadn't read it whilst it was being released. The individual episodes each come to around 25 or 30 pages on my Nook (except for the first and last parts) and it would have been fun to read them and have the cliffhangers as it happened. In the end, though, being able to read the entire thing in one go was also pretty cool.

At the end of The Last Colony, John Perry and the Conclave revealed the nature of interstellar warfare and diplomacy to the citizens of Earth. This story details some of the fallout from that decision, dovetailing neatly with the B-team mentioned in the first episode and their attempts to remedy the diplomatic events that occur as a result. It's a welcome return to the universe from Scalzi, who has mostly stayed away from writing more tales here for the last five years (since the the publication of Zoe's Tale). I really enjoyed catching up with the universe, and the episodic nature of the story was handled extremely well.

Looking forward to reading Scalzi's next works in this direction, both from the perspective of this universe and the perspective of episodic storytelling.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the eleventh installment of The Human Division, a serial SF novel by John Scalzi. There are two episodes left after this, and I can't wait to read them.

This episode has Abumwe and her team meeting with Hafte Sorvahl and her Conclave ship, and starts off with the Clarke dodging missiles. Luckily, the Conclave ship came armed, and disables the ship, but the incident has the humans and Conclave reps eyeing one another suspiciously. Lieutenant Harry Wilson once again steps in to get to the bottom of the matter, and staves off war a little longer.

The characterization of Rayth Ablant is given within a few glimpses, and it's a testament to Scalzi's writing chops that he makes him so likable that we understand why Wilson goes to such lengths to save him. Rayth is so surprised at Harry's empathy and forgiveness, and the moments of levity are nearly laugh-out-loud funny, in their contrast with the seriousness of the mission.

I thought this was a very well-written episode, and I enjoyed it immensely. I'm looking forward to the next two.

Once more, I read this on audio, narrated by William Dufris. His consistency with voices is excellent, and I never wondered who was speaking at any given moment, even without dialogue tags.