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The Human Division #3
We Only Need the Heads
The third 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.
CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has been loaned out to a CDF platoon tasked with secretly removing an unauthorized colony of humans on an alien world. Colonial Ambassador Abumwe has been ordered to participate in final negotiations with an alien race the Union hopes to make allies. Wilson and Abumwe’s missions are fated to cross—and in doing so, place both missions at risk of failure.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
48 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 29, 2013
79 people are currently reading
2288 people want to read
About the author
John Scalzi
185 books28.5k followersJohn 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.)
(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.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
September 16, 2021
Negotiations!
Ambassador Abumwe is tasked with negotiating tourism and trade rights with the Bula, an alien race.
However, Settlers from Earth, wildcatters, have illegally chosen a Bula planet as their home.
This can destroy the negotiations with the Bula, so the Colonial Union has decided to keep it a secret and send the CDF there to remove them.
When the forces arrive, the colony has been destroyed, the people slaughtered, and some of them have their heads removed!
Ambassador Abumwe is tasked with negotiating tourism and trade rights with the Bula, an alien race.
However, Settlers from Earth, wildcatters, have illegally chosen a Bula planet as their home.
This can destroy the negotiations with the Bula, so the Colonial Union has decided to keep it a secret and send the CDF there to remove them.
When the forces arrive, the colony has been destroyed, the people slaughtered, and some of them have their heads removed!
September 25, 2023
I would have words with Ambassador Abumwe.
Walk the Plank felt like I was watching an episode of some intergalactic tv show that's been lost in the ether of "The golden era of tv". Scalzi wrote the short story in script format and it was effective. We Only Need The Heads takes place directly after the events of WTP and we're back with remnants of "The B-Team". Here's the thing, the end of WTP and the start of WONTHs is so seamless it's jarring when we realize that something is amiss in the Wildcat Colony. Much like watching one of those shows.
Plot/Storyline: Holds the reader in a vice grip and drags one through a riveting, shenanigan-esque plan of sneaking and plotting and hoping things work out.
Characters: I'm beginning to understand the Ambassador but c'mon, just give my man Hart Schmidt a break. He is NOT useless. Harry Wilson remains extremely likeable. For some reason I keep seeing middle-aged Jude Law in Harry Wilson's place - so I guess the character has that going for him.
Favorite scene: The sequence leading up to the "We only Need the Heads" line that Harry Wilson delivers with a bit of wonder still stuck in his voice. There is way more to the story than meets the eye.
Favorite Quote/Concept: I still want the BrainPal for Christmas so who do I need to sell my soul to in order to get one? Do I need to find a Djinn or demon?
StoryGraph Challenges: 1800 Books by 2025 and Top 22 Male Authors (Scifi/Fantasy/Horror)
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2025 / John Scalzi Human Division Series
Walk the Plank felt like I was watching an episode of some intergalactic tv show that's been lost in the ether of "The golden era of tv". Scalzi wrote the short story in script format and it was effective. We Only Need The Heads takes place directly after the events of WTP and we're back with remnants of "The B-Team". Here's the thing, the end of WTP and the start of WONTHs is so seamless it's jarring when we realize that something is amiss in the Wildcat Colony. Much like watching one of those shows.
Plot/Storyline: Holds the reader in a vice grip and drags one through a riveting, shenanigan-esque plan of sneaking and plotting and hoping things work out.
Characters: I'm beginning to understand the Ambassador but c'mon, just give my man Hart Schmidt a break. He is NOT useless. Harry Wilson remains extremely likeable. For some reason I keep seeing middle-aged Jude Law in Harry Wilson's place - so I guess the character has that going for him.
Favorite scene: The sequence leading up to the "We only Need the Heads" line that Harry Wilson delivers with a bit of wonder still stuck in his voice. There is way more to the story than meets the eye.
Favorite Quote/Concept: I still want the BrainPal for Christmas so who do I need to sell my soul to in order to get one? Do I need to find a Djinn or demon?
StoryGraph Challenges: 1800 Books by 2025 and Top 22 Male Authors (Scifi/Fantasy/Horror)
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2025 / John Scalzi Human Division Series
January 29, 2013
Vintage Scalzi. Demonstrating that he is skillful enough to get everything you need to know by indirection. A reader could skip "episode two" and get the jest of the story.
A fun read.
A fun read.
June 28, 2021
Diplomacy returns to the forefront of John Scalzi’s Human Division series as negotiations proceed with an alien race even as the existence of a wildcat colony threatens the proceedings. This story was reminiscent of the original book in the series, The B-Team, and I enjoyed it more than the second story. Things are looking bleaker for humanity as the Colonial Union’s “disagreement” with earth continues, leaving it short of military personnel. Will they be able to stop this wild cat colony from breaking the peace?
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
March 31, 2013
Returning to characters from the first episode/chapter, and tying in with the second episode/chapter, We Only Need The Heads advances the plot and gives me a bit more of a clue where we're going. I think. I'm certainly hooked now, anyway. Straight on to the next episode, I think...
There's not much to say about each individual chapter, I think, but I'll keep reviewing them separately since I've started. It'll be interesting to keep track of my reactions all the way through.
There's not much to say about each individual chapter, I think, but I'll keep reviewing them separately since I've started. It'll be interesting to keep track of my reactions all the way through.
April 4, 2022
3.5 stars
January 29, 2013
The third week in, I can tell this serialization is really working for me. I woke up early, realized it was Tuesday, and felt like Christmas. I swear, I got out of bed early to read this thing before work.
And now we're cooking with gasoline. This third episode ties the first and second installments together. It brings back the characters I came to care about from episode 1 and leaves me legitimately concerned for the characters from episode 2. It provides context about the larger circumstances in the universe (which I appreciated because it's been so long since I read The Last Colony).
Episode 3 is full of Scalzi's particular brand of wry humor. It's tense and mysterious, and balances the tension well between clue-finding, diplomatic and social tension, and physical tension. It ends on a complete arc, but I could absolutely hear Dunh-dunh-dunh in my head after the final reveal.
If you're not reading this, you should be.
And now we're cooking with gasoline. This third episode ties the first and second installments together. It brings back the characters I came to care about from episode 1 and leaves me legitimately concerned for the characters from episode 2. It provides context about the larger circumstances in the universe (which I appreciated because it's been so long since I read The Last Colony).
Episode 3 is full of Scalzi's particular brand of wry humor. It's tense and mysterious, and balances the tension well between clue-finding, diplomatic and social tension, and physical tension. It ends on a complete arc, but I could absolutely hear Dunh-dunh-dunh in my head after the final reveal.
If you're not reading this, you should be.
June 24, 2014
After a lackluster episode 2 (the 2nd story in his 13 story episodic tale called The Human Division) Scalzi gets his mojo back in this one.
We've got Harry Wilson as a strong supporting character but Ambassador Abumwe really steals the show in this episode (that does tie in the aforementioned episode 2) about a Wildcat colony on a world where they shouldn't be and how that affects negotiations that Abumwe is undergoing.
I've got to tell you - I really love the episode format. Kind of a stand alone short story that tells part of a bigger tale. They don't all end in cliffhangers but Scalzi really has me wanting more when I finish each episode.
Bring it on.
We've got Harry Wilson as a strong supporting character but Ambassador Abumwe really steals the show in this episode (that does tie in the aforementioned episode 2) about a Wildcat colony on a world where they shouldn't be and how that affects negotiations that Abumwe is undergoing.
I've got to tell you - I really love the episode format. Kind of a stand alone short story that tells part of a bigger tale. They don't all end in cliffhangers but Scalzi really has me wanting more when I finish each episode.
Bring it on.
January 29, 2013
We get back to Schmidt & Wilson in this installment. Schmidt is with Ambassador Ambumwe & Wilson is on a trek to New Seattle on Wantji. The Ambassador's negotiations with the Bula's Sub-Ambassador Ting is going strangely well & before too long we find out how what's going on at the New Seattle colony ties in. Needless to say, the treachery is running deep, the CDF has a lot to explain & there's that issue of the missing head (I think it's clear where it turns up at the end). Looking forward to the next!
January 30, 2013
These are getting harder and harder to rate.
I really enjoyed reading this. The problem is that, unlike the first two sections, this one felt like a chapter in a book rather than a standalone story. If the next one is like this (with an unresolved ending), then I may just wait until the entire completed set is done before I read it / purchase it.
On the plus side, when you realize the meaning of the title it's pretty great.
I really enjoyed reading this. The problem is that, unlike the first two sections, this one felt like a chapter in a book rather than a standalone story. If the next one is like this (with an unresolved ending), then I may just wait until the entire completed set is done before I read it / purchase it.
On the plus side, when you realize the meaning of the title it's pretty great.
February 1, 2025
Loving it, eager to move on to the next section. Heads, heh.
I bought a copy.
I bought a copy.
October 10, 2017
I really wanted to give it 3,5 stars. I enjoyed the first book in the series, the second was a so so read, and this one was a bit better, but pointless without context. When I buy books in this sort of series, I excpected some sort of resolution in each one. This one certainly is nothing as a stand alone.
I liked little politics and the interactions between diplomacy and military, but found it all wanting.
I liked little politics and the interactions between diplomacy and military, but found it all wanting.
September 9, 2017
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.
August 16, 2018
John Scalzi, particularly when read by Will Wheaton, is my favorite of the Sci-Fi Humor audio to listen, and reading the book first always give insights to the listen. This book is one of my favorites of his works and deserves a re-read to catch all of the humorous references in context as the whole book feeds on itself.
June 12, 2019
Better than book 2 as it was at least inherently interesting in and of itself, it still kind of went nowhere. It was at least somewhat needed setup for subsequent books though. Not much though; one could really skip this without missing anything of note.
May 8, 2023
CDF Harry Wilson gets transferred to help extract an illegal wildcat colony. Meanwhile a very touchy negotiation between the two parties is taking place simultaneously. A few twists to make things interesting are thrown into the mix. Recommended
February 20, 2024
Loving this series. Definitely a fast paced adventure!
I felt like this episode just flew by. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen next. I was struck by the details in this story. Such intrigue!
I felt like this episode just flew by. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen next. I was struck by the details in this story. Such intrigue!
April 1, 2018
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the last couple. The plot is starting to take shape and it is getting interesting. Someday will have to re-listen all at once so I can see the whole story unfold.
August 14, 2018
This series is fun! Quick to read, each one an episode in a longer story. And yes, they only needed the heads, but they forgot one!
March 18, 2019
Enjoying the intrigue!
June 30, 2019
Interesting format; Rather than one big book, it has been broken up into how size pieces. Each Novella is a continuation of the story.
October 9, 2020
Anything with Harry Wilson in it is ok by me!
November 23, 2020
A very good gruesome short
June 22, 2021
Wow. Best so far
October 28, 2023
Harry finds a big problem and negotiations faulter for Ambassador Abumwe, the truth will set you free.
January 23, 2024
another chapter
May 21, 2024
( Format : Audiobook )
Space is awsome. "
Review follows
Space is awsome. "
Review follows
June 7, 2024
This is a wonderful serial.
July 24, 2024
I love a cliffhanger and this get you right there. This takes science fiction and blends it with science fact. Political turmoil and intrigue and espionage all making this story an excellent story
October 14, 2024
The title is a harbinger of things to come. The CDF is left between a rock and a hard place.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews