John Scalzi Books In Order

Old Man’s War

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife’s grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place. So: we fight. To defend Earth a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity’s resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What’s known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don’t want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You’ll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You’ll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you’ll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine and what he will become is far stranger.

The Ghost Brigades

The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF’s toughest operations. They’re young, they’re fast and strong, and they’re totally without normal human qualms. The universe is a dangerous place for humanity and it’s about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF’s biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did. Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin’s DNA, Jared’s brain should be able to access Boutin’s electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to The Ghost Brigades. At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin’s memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reason’s for Boutin’s betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his ‘father,’ he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity’s mere military defeat

The Last Colony

John Perry and Jane Sagan soldiers in Old Man’s War and The Ghost Brigades have laid down their weapons and as husband and wife has started a new life on a sleepy colony world. But when the Colonial Union shows up at their door and asks the two to lead a new colony, the two find themselves in the stars once more, leading a fractious collection of settlers to a world called Roanoke.

But Roanoke is not what it seems not what Perry and Sagan were told it was and soon the pair are fighting for survival: Not only their own, but that of their colony, and that of humanity in an increasingly hostile universe. And as they fight for their lives, they confront another question entirely: Where does their allegiance lie? With the colony of Roanoke? With the Colonial Union? With their family? Or somewhere else entirely? A question with no easy answer and no margin for error.

Hugo nominated for Best Novel in 2008, this special limited edition of The Last Colony comes with stunning cover and interior artwork by Vincent Chong.

Zoe’s Tale

How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?

I ask because it’s what I have to do. I’m Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player and a pawn in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don’t know my tale: How I did what I did how I did what I had to do not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I’m going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try to make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.

It’s a story you know. But you don’t know it all.

The Sagan Diary

Fans of John Scalzi’s ‘Old Man’ universe, prepare yourselves: there’s a long new story in that universe, told from the point of view of one of the series’ most intriguing characters. Subterranean Press is proud to publish The Sagan Diary, a long novelette that for the first time looks at the worlds of the Hugo nominated Old Man’s War and its sequel The Ghost Brigades from the point of view of Lieutenant Jane Sagan, who in a series of diary entries gives her views on some of the events included in the series…
and sheds new light into some previously unexplored corners. If you thought you knew Jane Sagan before, prepare to be surprised.

METAtropolis

Welcome to a world where big cities are dying, dead or transformed into technological megastructures. Where once thriving suburbs are now treacherous Wilds. Where those who live for technology battle those who would die rather than embrace it. It is a world of zero footprint cities, virtual nations, and armed camps of eco survivalists.

METAtropolis is an intelligent and stunning creation of five of today’s cutting edge science fiction writers: 2008 Hugo Award winners John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear; Campbell Award winner Jay Lake; plus fan favorites Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder. Together they set the ground rules and developed the parameters of this ‘shared universe’, then wrote five original novellas all linked, but each a separate tale.
Bringing this audiobook to life is a dream team of performers: Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan ‘Saul Tigh’; Alessandro Juliani ‘Felix Gaeta’; and Kandyse McClure ‘Anastasia ‘Dee’ Dualla’; plus legendary audiobook narrators Scott Brick Dune and Stefan Rudnicki Ender’s Game.

John Scalzi, who served as Project Editor, introduces each story, offering insight into how the METAtropolis team created this unique project exclusively for audio.

Uncle John’s Presents: The Book of the Dumb

If there’s one thing history teaches, again and again, it s this: Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. The Book of the Dumb chronicles some of the biggest and funniest moments of folly in every field of human endeavor. From idiotic utterances to dumb decisions like vegetable flavored Jell O or land wars during bitterly cold Russian winters, it s all here in a format perfect for samplings or extended reads. Chapters include the Dumbest Fad of the 20th Century pole sitting, the Dumbest Dead End Technology Ever the much maligned 8 track tape, and the Dumbest Baseball Trade Red Sox trade Babe Ruth. This latest addition to the best selling series also offers stupid quotes, crackpot theories, and more in a celebration of all things stupid.

Uncle John’s Presents Book of the Dumb 2

This amusing collection proves that dumb doesn’t discriminate it comes in all sizes, shapes, and colors from every outpost of the planet. And to prove that dumb is not a current failing of humanity, the author digs into the past to bring fans some of history’s most ill advised blunders and bloopers. Sample topics include Dumbest TV Shows, Stupidest Heists of all Time, Historical Dumbosity, Songs That Make You Scream, Nitwits in the News, and the timely Big Business Blunders.

Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded

On September 13, 1998, John Scalzi sat down in front of his computer to write the first entry in his blog Whatever and changed the history of the Internet as we know it today. What, you’re not swallowing that one? Okay, fine: He started writing Whatever and amused about 15 people that first day. If that many. But he kept at it, for ten years and running. Now 40,000 people drop by on a daily basis to see what he’s got to say. About what? Well, about whatever: Politics, writing, family, war, popular culture and cats especially with bacon on them. Sometimes he’s funny. Sometimes he’s serious mostly he’s sarcastic. Sometimes people agree with him. Sometimes they send him hate mail, which he grades on originality and sends back. Along the way, Scalzi’s become a best selling, award winning author, a father, and a geek celebrity. But no matter what, there’s always another Whatever post to amuse and/or enrage his readers. Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded collects some of the best and most popular Whatever entries from the first ten years of the blog a decade of Whatever, presented in delightfully random form, just as it should be. Winner of the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Non Fiction Book Introduction by Star Trek actor Wil Wheaton

Agent to the Stars

The space faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity’s first interstellar friendship. There s just one problem: They re hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish.

So getting humanity s trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal.

Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He s one of Hollywood s hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it s quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he s going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

The Android’s Dream

A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth’s government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ‘The Android’s Dream‘, used in the alien race’s coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire, who with the help of Brian Javna, a childhood friend turned artificial intelligence, scours the earth looking for the rare creature. And they find it, in the unknowing form of Robin Baker, pet store owner, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA. But there are others with plans for the sheep as well: Mercenaries employed by the military. Adherents of a secret religion based on the writings of a 21st century science fiction author. And alien races, eager to start a revolution on their home world and a war on Earth. To keep our planet from being enslaved, Harry will have to pull off the greatest diplomatic coup in history, a grand gambit that will take him from the halls of power to the lava strewn battlefields of alien worlds. There’s only one chance to get it right, to save the life of Robin Baker and to protect the future of humanity.

Judge Sn Goes Golfing

John Scalzi visits the universe of his bestselling novel The Android’s Dream for this exclusive short story, featuring fan favorite character Judge Nugan Bufan Sn a brilliant alien jurist whose misanthropy and lack of social graces is matched only by his futile, unrequited for the game of golf. When he hits the links at the absymal Dulles Woods golf course, the unexpected happens: He begins to play well. But there are more hazards on the course for Sn than just sand traps and disaffected caddies Long a staple of Scalzi’s live readings, ‘Judge Sn Goes Golfing‘ has never seen print until now. Read what you’ve been missing.

Rough Guide to Money Online

PUT YOUR MONEY TO WORK ON THE INTERNET The Rough Guide to Money Online will make you an online finance whiz in the shortest possible time. In plain English, with no hint of techie jargon, it explains how to: Set up your online banking and brokerage accounts Complete your first digital transactions and trades Get the facts on the day trading phenomenon Find the best mortgage, car loan and credit card interest rates File tax returns and pay bills, easily and on time And because this is your money, author John Scalzi emphasizes how you you can feel secure and comfortable in trusting your finances to the online world. All this, plus hundreds of reviews of online banking and investment sites and a directory of the best financial news and commentary on the Web.

The Rough Guide to the Universe

Whether you re a novice or a more experienced astronomer, The Rough Guide to the Universe is indispensable. The truth may or may not be out there, but space is the place to look, and The Rough Guide to the Universe takes it all in, from our own moon to the furthest frontiers of the known universe and then speculates about what lies beyond. This fascinating guide is not meant to delve too deeply; instead it gives the reader the grounding needed to appreciate the night sky. Clue up on the basics with concise information on every planet in the solar system, and practical advice on observing the planets and stars with binoculars, telescopes and the naked eye. You ll find the latest theories about how the universe came to exist, incisive explanations of the formation of galaxies and weird concepts such a dark matter, wormholes and superstrings. The guide also provides travel based information on planetariums, observatories and ”deep sky” sites as well as listings of star clubs, space news sources and other Internet resources. With dozens of photographs and star charts of every constellation, The Rough Guide to the Universe is The Stargazer’s essential handbook

The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies

Synopsis

The Rough Guide to Sci Fi Movies is a comprehensive guide to the ‘final frontier’ of film. It explores our fascination with space exploration, time travel, fantastical worlds and alternative futures. This guide explains how everything from the philosophy of Plato to classic Victorian tales and cult comic books have helped to create one of cinema’s most engaging genres. Discover the classics from Mexico, Russia and Japan, not forgetting the Anime science fiction tradition, along with everything else you need to know from Metropolis to Star Wars, via Blade Runner, 2001 and Alien. The Rough Guide to Sci Fi Movies is your essential guide to a galaxy of film unbounded by time or space.

You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi On Writing

There are books which claim to teach you how to write. This book is about the writing life: The business of writing. The day to day existence of a professional writer. The ways writers interact with other writers. The things writers do to help themselves out and the things they do to trip themselves up. Which is to say: This book is about what it’s like to be a writer, right now. And what’s it like to be a writer, right now? Well, it’s fun. But it’s also work. Coffee Shop shows the writing life as it is, from the perspective of novelist and writer John Scalzi, who in 15 years as a professional writer has written just about everything: critically acclaimed novels, best selling humor books, nationally syndicated newspaper columns, magazine cover stories…
and ad copy, corporate brochures and Web site headlines, too. His wide range of experience informs this collection of essays on writing and the writing life, taken from his popular personal Web site, The Whatever. Whether providing practical advice, discussing writing and writers or observing the state of the writing world, Scalzi lays it out in a sharp, no nonsense way that assumes you want the lay of the land, without all the huggy squeezy hand holding. Notes on the writing life, unvarnished views of writers and books and yes even some practical advice: It’s all here. Take this to the coffee shop instead of your laptop. You’ll get more out of it and if you spill coffee on it, it’ll be cheaper to replace. See? Practical.

Little Fuzzy (By:H. Beam Piper)

H. Beam Piper was a 20th century science fiction writer. He is best known for his Terro Human Future History series and a series of Paratime alternate history tales. The theme in many of Piper’s books is best seen in Uller Uprising. Piper wrote about the past repeating itself and past events having a direct effect on the future. Little Fuzzy is considered to be Piper’s best work. In this science fiction novel a race called the Fuzzies is discovered on the planet of Zarathustra. A prospector named Jack Holloway discovers this race on a planet thought to be devoid of life. The company Holloway works for has been obtaining the planet’s resources and they will lose their right to prospect if sapient life is discovered. It is Holloway’s job to make sure the Fuzzies are not discovered.

The Other Human Race (By:H. Beam Piper)

This is the sequel to the author’s classic novel, ‘Little Fuzzy.’Originally published under the title ‘The Other human Race.’

Fuzzy Sapiens (By:H. Beam Piper)

This is the sequel to the author’s classic novel, ‘Little Fuzzy.’Originally published under the title ‘The Other human Race.’

The Complete Fuzzy (By:H. Beam Piper)

More than three decades ago, H. Beam Piper’s bestselling science fiction novel Little Fuzzy captivated readers everywhere. Now, all three of Piper’s delightful books are available for the first time in one volume: Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Sapiens and Fuzzies And Other People.