This Must Be the Place

The Human Division #10

by John Scalzi

The tenth 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.

Colonial Union diplomat Hart Schmidt is back home for Harvest Day celebrations—to a family whose members wonder whether its youngest son isn’t wasting his life clinging to the lowest rung of the CU’s diplomatic ladder. When his father, a legendarily powerful politician, presents him with a compelling offer, Schmidt has to take stock of his life and career.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Space Opera, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 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 4 out of 5]

A relatively calm, quiet interlude in which Hart Schmidt goes home for a harvest festival dinner with his family. No big adventure, no tricky plot, just good-natured family ribbing and some backstory. Well, okay, some thoughtful observations about class, presented in an amusing way.

As a whole, this is going to be great.

I bought it.

[Joel · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I am buying John Scalzi's pitch that this serial novel is akin a to a TV show, this is that late-season episode where they just figured out that they need a week of filler so they can time the actually interesting episodes for sweeps.

[S.A Reidman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had that Talking Heads song playing on a loop in my brain 🎶 I don't want this series to end. Jokes on me though because I'm playing catch up. And yet, the feeling stands

Plot/Storyline/Themes:
I had no idea Hart existed outside of the Clarke. Actually, all the members of The B-Team for that matter.

It's a family affair. Hart is on vacation from the cramped space in the new Clarke and is back home for Harvest Day.
Character Development/Favorite Character:
Hart Schmidt gets his own episode and the series is richer for it. He has sinlings and oh yeah, he is a 1 percenter rich kid who chose to slog away at the Colonial Union which pisses his father off to no end. As if Ineedwd another reason so adore my beloved Clarke underdogs, in this case Hart Schmidt.

Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene: :
✔️Hart and Broussard have a heart-to-heart:
✔️Oh and Hart's Harvest Day Dinner Toast.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “He is almost exactly the same. He’s not old enough yet to age poorly.” (Isabel and Brandt on Hart)
🖤 “They stuck you with a diplomatic team that’s been catching lost-cause missions for years, and assigned you to a CDF grunt who uses you for menial tasks” (How DARE Alastair call Wilson a grunt!)
🖤 “Wes is Wes. One in every family. I love him, but I think of him as a sarcastic pet.” (And just like that, now I want a Wes episode)Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■ Phoenix
■Massive interstellar Human colonies
■ Planetside Politics without Earth
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2027
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2027

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was . . . okay. In depth background on a secondary character about whose background the reader probably doesn't care.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't let the 3 star rating throw you off - I enjoyed this quite a bit. Schmidt goes home for Harvest Day and the story revolves around his father wanting him to give up the Colonial Union for politics on Phoenix Station.
I don't see where this fits in the big story arc (other than to give us backstory or character development) but it was a nice tale. I care more about Schmidt than I ever have and let's be serious here - Scalzi can write! He makes you feel things that you shouldn't feel. The guy is a true master.
But the 3 star review is 100% due to the fact that this is episode 9 of 13 and there should be a climax coming up, there should be tensions rising, there should be something that looks like the end of the story and this was mainly backstory so I'm confused.
But
I trust him and will keep turning the pages because he's never let me down so far (take that Robert Jordan!)

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This installment is one with no direct diplomatic mission or military warfare. Instead it's a vignette about the life & thoughts of Hart that would seem unrelated until the ending which explains WHY those who've chosen to serve in either service despite the dismal food, atrocious living conditions and poor pay do so despite personal hardship, risk and danger combined with a total lack of recognition or respect from the majority who either are unaware or will never understand Sir Winston Churchill's words when he said “We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”

Some of us DO understand, and chose accordingly. I'll step off of the soap box now, since readers either agree or choose not to, and nothing further will change their thinking.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A visit home for the annual Harvest Day holiday for Hart Schmidt means the usual family dysfunction that most of us deal with around holiday time. Long travels followed by bickering sibling and parents pressuring their grown children into living the kinds of lives they think would better suit said grown children. The difference comes in that the Schmidt family is one the most powerful families on Phoenix, human-kind's largest population center and civilization beyond Earth. Hart has to justify to his family why he thinks that staying in the CDF and working for the Colonial Union is the best job for him and how he thinks he can best contribute to society.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hart Schmidt is home on Phoenix for Harvest Day. Not looking forward to spending the week with family because he knows what's coming. Part of the privileged, the Schmidt family is heavy into politics. Dad's party lost big in the last election, one son is a wastrel, one likes being around politics, just not the job, and his sister will one day rule the planet.

And his father will try to get him to leave the Clarke, the Diplomatic Corps, and come home to the family business.

Hart will have a decision to make.

[Annabeth Leong · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story felt like the moment in a war movie when a soldier shows his family photos right before he gets blown away. I like Hart but wouldn't find much value in the downtime of this episode if it didn't feel like foreshadowing that he's about to pay a huge and potentially lethal price. Scalzi said on his blog that the pace is about to pick up in a big way for the last three episodes -- really looking forward to that.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm sure Scalzi knows what he's doing and is not an idiot, so somehow this will all come together, but argh. Right now I want to shake him. Stop side tracking! Entertaining as it is, there are bigger things on the line!

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was the weakest of The Human Division stories so far, but that didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy listening to it. The other stories clearly show the progress of the Colonial Union in dealing with the problem of an earth that has figured out how badly it has been used and treated by the Union and the problems this has caused the Union as they have now lost their unlimited supply of soldiers from earth, forcing them to change their foreign policy from one of military conflict to one of diplomacy. By contrast, this novel follows one of the minor diplomats as he returns home to his family for the holidays. His father and the rest of his family want him to abandon his diplomatic career and join their political colonial dynasty and he has to determine what to do. It’s a good story, but didn’t feel as “meaningful” as the others in the series have.

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

[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.

[D. Darko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amongst the grandiose notion of aliens, interstellar politics, and war, what really sets John's stories apart is characterization and complexity. Throughout The Human Division there is a rich world of relatable characters which holds it all together. Absolutely fantastic stuff so far...

And unto the next!

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice chapter but it makes me wish this was compiled into one book. It’s a bit annoying to have to read piecemeal. I suppose it’s like the old radio days. But at times it’s just like, let’s get on with it already.

[x x x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best family one

So rulers with Hart that can define altruism aren't all monstrously rare eh? Surely we jest at the Shrews, Slings, Arrows, and Jesters that tie human hands to the clown ploughshares.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story is about Hans Schmidt coming back home to Phoenix for Harvest Day and getting together with his family. Rather a dull story thrown in to help fill out the agreed upon number of words or pages.

[Emz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An episode revolves around Hart and his influential and wealthy family, who pressure him to change direction in his chosen career. Hart gives a passionate speech for why he is in the right job at the right time and the right place. These are exciting times which we live in.

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

( Format : Audiobook )
"The family business."

A moment out of the chaos as Schmitt has a short holiday, going home for his family's Thanksgiving meal. A brief time to reflect.
And also for Scalzi to indulge in his 'he said' 'she said' repetition.

Easy short listen - back into space?

[JGrant '71 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an essential read for this series.
While a nice "sideline" story where Hart Schmidt returns home to be with his family for the Harvest Festival/Day and where he declares, eloquently, at the end that despite pressures from his parents he has decided to remain in the CDF

[Call me Jeeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great ending to a small series of book small books. As a whole the books could have been released as a novel. I am not sure why, because they all are ties together. Maybe the next release will be a novel, so here’s to the next.

[Cybercrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Backstory of Hart Schmidt.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, but advances the story, I think three more to go!

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hart’s dinner with a dysfunctional but loving family

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Hart to begin with buy I like him more so now after his little speech

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

[Amy Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another chapter of the whole

[Steve Smythe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful family time

I am constantly amazed by the writing of these episodes. This felt so tangible in the story, like I was there as it was happening. So good.

[Karl Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

CDF diplomat Hart Schmidt visits home for Harvest Day.

[elsalmon L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgic home visit for a Colonial Union State Department Diplomat on Harvest Day.

[Jay Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars