Author John Scalzi makes no attempt to hide it; his science fiction book, Zoë's Tale, was inspired by reader feedback. His responsiveness earned him a nomination in the best novel category for the 2009 Hugo Awards to be awarded August 9. The main character has weaknesses and the plotline shows no extraordinary inventiveness, but the reading is smooth and keeps interest.

The Colonial Union, which comprises mostly human races, is fed up and doesn't want to take it anymore. The Conclave, a federation of around 400 planets and species, believe they have the authority to dictate how the universe is going to be colonized and will even annihilate outsiders who don't cooperate with its mandates. Regardless, the CU defies the Conclave to colonize another unclaimed world it calls Roanoke. Taken from the point of view of Zoë, the adopted daughter of its leader, John Perry, the colonists go into hiding when they learn the Conclave are looking for them and have to settle their new world without the benefits of electronic technology.

In Scalzi's acknowledgments, he states that Zoë's Tale is to The Last Colony as Rosencranz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to Hamlet. It's basically the same story told from the viewpoint of another character. He admits his lack of comfort in taking that perspective of teen-age girl. Although it's not a bad job, Zoë seems too sophisticated without it being remarked on by other characters. For the most part, adolescent girls can be insecure and shallow. They tend to focus on things like clothes, hair, makeup, grooming, romantic illusions of sex, hanging out with their peers, and whether or not boys like them. This shallowness can be alleviated when young ladies have their own hobbies or interests. However, Zoë reads complicated intelligence reports. While one can concede she has a vested interest in what is going on, most teenagers would still focus on something more interesting to them and let their parents worry about the heavy stuff.

This could have been overlooked if more emphasis was put on Zoë's character development. Nothing adequately explains why she would be so serious about political matters. While she is certainly significant to the legacy of this series, she would have been more interesting if she had an "overwhelming passion" to make her unique. Despite losing a loved one through the course of the plotline, her frame of mind changes little at the end of the story from the beginning. She has no pole-to-pole character growth. In this respect, she's not much different than Jim Rockford in an episode of The Rockford Files. She just goes back to her status quo.

The overall story concept comes off conventional. This is a solid science fiction novel told with a smooth style without huge explanations of the science or history it touches on. Scalzi uses the historical colonization of "the New World" as a model for exploring "the final frontier," taking the name Roanoke from an English colony that mysteriously disappeared during the 16th century. For history buffs, this can be intriguing. The plotting was competent, but the inventiveness lacks distinction. There is little here that is particularly new and refreshing.

Scalzi is definitely a popular author in the science fiction community and he has a couple of other projects in different categories nominated. He won the Hugo for best fan writer last year. The fact Scalzi responded to the criticism he received on The Last Colony may go far in how the voters express their appreciation, but Chris Garcia, one of this year's nominees for best fan writer, gave this novel 5-to-1 odds in his Hugo-nominated fanzine, The Drink Tank. Zoë's Tale definitely has some weaknesses, but it was an entertaining read. For the most part, people who enjoy spacey science fiction should like this one.

Recommended: Yes