Don’t look below if you don’t want to see the ending of Zoe’s Tale! Stop now! Avert your eyes!
Really, I hope it doesn’t ruin the rest of the book for you.
I FORGET WHAT EIGHT WAS FOR
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* The Thanksgiving Advent Calendar 2011 -- One thing I'm thankful for, every day in November, through Thanksgiving.
* The Big Idea -- Authors explaining the the big ideas behind their latest works, in their own words. Authors: for information on how to participate, click here.
* Clash of the Geeks -- A short story collection to benefit the Lupus Alliance of America, featuring stories by me, Wil Wheaton, Cat Valente, Patrick Rothfuss and others.
* Random Whatever -- Click this link, and you'll be taken to a random Whatever entry in the archive. Which one will you get? Got me!
Today’s Books Sent to Scalzi
- After the Fall Before the Fall During the Fall, Nancy Kress (4/1): Random-appearing kidnappings are anything but. http://t.co/XcdD9Url 3 weeks ago
- Apocalypse to Go, Katherine Kerr (2/7): A secret agent must find her kidnapped siblings in a weird(er) San Francisco. http://t.co/6nrVU9aG 3 weeks ago
- Westward Weird, Greenberg/Hughes, ed (2/7): A collection of speculative tales set in the wild west. http://t.co/o3tdQ474 3 weeks ago
- Forest Moon Rising, P.R. Frost (2/7): A fantasy writer tracks down real-life demons from another dimension. http://t.co/IoWIu0UM 3 weeks ago
- Dark Victory, Michele Lang (1/17): A young woman turns to supernatural means to fight the Nazis and their evil. http://t.co/1SJ9H4Ec 4 weeks ago
- Shadow Ops: Control Point, Myke Cole (1/31): A soldier goes underground when he manifests prohibited magical powers. http://t.co/bftIz6fe 4 weeks ago
- All Things Wicked, Karina Cooper (1/31): A woman confronts the man she loves, who also betrayed her coven. http://t.co/IHM3Bypf 4 weeks ago
- Aristeia: Revolutionary Right, Wayne Basta (out): A disillusioned smuggler must challenge the existing order . http://t.co/gCRm1XUL 1 month ago
- The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 6, Jonathan Strahan, ed (3/6): Gaiman, Link, Doctorow and more. http://t.co/hGzNrlc4 1 month ago
- Seven Princes, John R. Fultz (out): A long-peaceful land is threatened by war. First in a series. http://t.co/qZ1qukJs 1 month ago
The Blatherations of Others
- Tapetum on The Santorum Solution
- Ron Hogan on The Santorum Solution
- PolkaDot on Let’s End the Whatever Programming Day With a Picture of a Cat
- PolkaDot on Congratulations, Washington
- Fig on Congratulations, Washington
- Pat MacEwen on A Brief Biography of John Scalzi
- Greg on Agnosticism Without Pain
- Craig Ranapia on Congratulations, Washington
- Greg on The Business Case Against Karen Handel
- Craig Ranapia on Agnosticism Without Pain
- steve downey on Congratulations, Washington
- shakauvm on Agnosticism Without Pain
- romsfuulynn on Agnosticism Without Pain
- htom on The Santorum Solution
- saruby on Congratulations, Washington
Whatwitters
- I'm having an ice cream throatache. I didn't know that was possible. 4 hours ago
- "Can't stop. This is flying alligator lizard country." -- Clive, the horse 5 hours ago
- I am naming things which previously had no name. Like this horse, which I went to the desert with. His name is now "Clive." 5 hours ago
- Also, for everyone who thought I said "human" when I said "hummus": HUMANS ARE DELICIOUS. Now you know. #ScalziTMI 11 hours ago
- Just so you know, pita chips will do to your tongue what Cap'n Crunch will do to the roof of your mouth. #HurtSoGood 11 hours ago
- When I was younger I didn't like hummus. Seriously, I don't know what the hell was wrong with me. 11 hours ago
- As a side note, it's been decided that George was the coolest Beatle. You may have other favorites. But George owns the "cool Beatle" label. 12 hours ago
- To Hell with it. I'm switching back to Lynx. 12 hours ago
- As it happens, I do use Chrome. I ALSO use Firefox (and I use Safari, too, just for the hell of it). I wanted comment on FF. 12 hours ago
- This is in fact a nerd thing I hate: when you ask about something, the response of "use [different product]" with implied smugness. 12 hours ago
Recently on Whatever
- Congratulations, Washington
- The Return of Con or Bust
- Agnosticism Without Pain
- The Santorum Solution
- The Chronicle of a Super Bowl Weekend Success
- Let’s End the Whatever Programming Day With a Picture of a Cat
- Proposition 8 Overturned
- The Business Case Against Karen Handel
- The Big Idea: Saladin Ahmed
- In Which Author Nick Harkaway Sits For An Interview of a Very Specific Type, or, What Authors Use Twitter For
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Does that really count as “Writing yourself out of that corner you painted your plot into”? It seems to easy. Although, maybe more books should end like that.
D’oh!
It’s the most original ending ever. And yet so complex. Leave so many unsanswered questions…
Curses! Now I know it has 25 chapters! No reason to read it now.
I think I’m depressed now….. all the proud feelings of not allowing “The Final Countdown” to be number one in America just left as complete depression over Zoe’s death set in….
Nah, nothing could be depressing on such a fine winter day today. High should be in the mid-70s again, as it has been over the weekend.
Pssh. That was completely telegraphed when Zoe and her friend were complaining about teenaged boys. Try again.
Oh noes! Stupid spoilers! I couldn’t NOT read it, really. I gotta read the spoilers!
*Scalzi = Genius
(*Athena)
Can you write a similar ending for the ’08 presidential race? Maybe a bus wreck or national TV outage or something?
Lies and the lying liars who tell them!
Coming at the end of one of your books, John, I think that would be a great ending. Somehow I could see it all fitting.
On second thought, it would fit better for The High Castle than an OMW novel. Just think, you could re-use the ending for various books (say, the Rough Guide to the Universe, Second Edition)
Damn! And here I was expecting a song and dance number at the end.
What kind of author does this to people? You just go out of your way to blow things up, don’t you? You’re drunk with power, Scalzi! Utterly besotted, I tell you!
I can see the reviews now: “Scalzi is rarely happy with the common elements of day-to-day life. Therefore, in his madness, he makes the common elements of day-to-day life lethally explosive. What other authors do with really big, freakin’ planet-shattering bombs, Scalzi does with a rigged toothbrush.”
Sorry… I seem to have rambled off there.
Wow, sucks for those people that died horribly. Wait…does this somehow become some kind of cross cultural tie in and Zoe is the last surviving member of that planet and is sent off to another planet that has a sun of a different color and then she discovers that due to this new illumination she has super powers and becomes the leader of the CU and…I really don’t know where I was going with this.
I personally like, “And then they were eated by bears.”
But you know, I work on a smaller scale than you do.
Whee!! Now that’s my kind of ending. Can’t wait to read the rest.
Frankly I find that to be a rather unoriginal ending. It’s basically Hamlet.
Admit it, this is actually the beginning chapter of your new yet-to-be-named novel.
“Zoe’s Tale” is a ripoff of “Mostly Harmless”: CONFIRMED.
Slowly, Trixi removed her bra – and her voluptuous breasts sprang free. And then the planet blew up and everyone died horribly. The End!
[There, fixed it for ya].
“And then the planet blew up and everyone died horribly.
Passers-by we amazed at the amount of blood.
The end.”
Ooops… were amazed…
Damn brain!
Not to nitpick, but I think “The End” should go on its own line. I expect PNH will correct that..
Okay, John, I hereby challenge you to write a novel with that passage as the opener.
Does it have to be a good novel?
Yes, but WHICH planet exploded? Did they deserve it?
Whew! That relieves us from having to buy the sequel. I just read Jack Campbell’s third book in The Lost Fleet series and though I love the writing, love the space battles, it’s going to a fourth book, darn it.
I suspect we have to read chapters 1-24 in order to find out which planet exploded, and whether or not the planet deserved explosion, as well as whether or not the beings that resided on the planet deserved horrible deaths. If chapters 1-24 are as brief as chapter 25, it could make for a cool bedtime story for kids.
Then Zoe wakes up.
So, John has moved on from emulating Heinlein to emulating Vonnegut.
#25 Anne C..
R.E. Jack Campell’s books (per amazon..) says 6 books in Lost Fleet….
JohnS..So that would be a book “That in the ending the World was without form and exploding gas….” :-)
Oh, hadn’t seen that. Thanks, BlackHart!
I can’t decide whether I like this less-is-more type ending.
Um… Does this mean congratulations are in order for FINISHING???
If so, Conga Rats!!!
If not, delay implementation of this comment until appropriate.
How did you manage to finish this book without any Weird-Ass Photoshoppery™?
See, usually I just have the dinosaurs eat everybody. But that’s why you’re the guy They (and you know who They are) are trying to Shanghai you into writing something good for SciFi, and I’m just collecting nice rejection letters.
However, let me offer this critique.
Douglas Adams did it better. Try again. This isn’t your story.
damn fingers, that should have been,
“Douglas Adams did it better, it was the start of his story. Try it again. This isn’t your story.”
“Does it have to be a good novel?”
That just begs the response – Has that ever been a requirement before? or – Why start now?
Both said in jest and good fun.
“Douglas Adams did it better, it was the start of his story. Try it again. This isn’t your story.”
Steve – It’s a tie-in. Zoe’s Tale is a prequel.
Patrick M. ahhh, Consu=Vogons. Now I’ve got it. Thanks.
But where’s Zoe’s towel?
If you were going to steal an ending from Douglas Adams, I’d pick something other than Mostly Harmless.
Douglas Adams not only started his story with the earth exploding, he also ended the fifth and final book of the Hitchhikers Trilogy with the earth yet again exploding. Just goes to show how much mileage authors can get out of exploding planets!
nonono. The end of the book should have a speaker attached, and when the last page is turned, the speaker starts playing “final countdown” (just like those annoying, i mean awesome, christmas cards)
I assume Chapter 24 ends with Zoe’s escape, yes?
Ah, another alumnus of the Famous Writers’ School uses his lessons well!
What’s funny is that I don’t put it above you to do this. I mean, I imagine it’d have a complicated lead-up, and even the horrible destruction wouldn’t be so abrupt, but, I can see you just killing off everyone.
I would probably turn to the last page when I pick up the book, so this wouldn’t be any big surprise.
Excellent action-packed ending! It’s a close second to Michael O’Donoghue’s all-purpose closer, “And then everyone got run over by a truck.”
… yea… but (and how many will get this reference?) what do the astronauts do between then and meeting the All-Knowing Alien Life Force disguised as an old white guy? Hmmmm?
Rembrant @ 27
Shouldn’t that be “Then Zoe wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette”?
I like it.
Of course, I like anything that ends with explosions!
Of course, if Chapter 26 begins with
“Ben! What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know, I felt a great disturbance in the Force, it was as if an entire world cried out, and was suddenly silenced…” I’m going to be very disappointed. Just saying.
I can’t help wondering if this is the shocking conclusion to a book-length fart joke! I know we’re talking about two separate Scalziverses here, but that’s where the “shocking” comes into play. We’d never see it coming!
Hmmm, writer’s block? Zoe stale?
Which reminds me that when I saw the name of Dan Brown’s upcoming book, I immediately thought “The Solo Monkey”, an acknowledgement that he needs another 999 monkeys before he stands a chance of producing a readable line of prose.
Through the power of advanced computational reverse literary reconstruction, I can exclusively reveal the opening of Chapter 1:
There is a character named “Bennett” in the book, interestingly enough.
What about Darcy?
Sorry, JP — you have it wrong. You forgot the romantic angle. It is:
It is a truth universally aknowledged that a young man in possession of a good planet must be in want of a wife. It is also a truth, less universally aknowledged, that in general he would much prefer a good explosion. (Er.. of a sort or another.)
However little known the feelings or views of such a man on his first landing on a planet, this truth is so wel fixed in the minds of the surrounding life forms, that he is considered the rightful property of one or another of their genetic lines.
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his wife to him one day, “Have you heard that Netherworld is colonized at last? We should marry the young man to one of our daughters before he finds out about the fissionable material easilly available on the surface. Indeed, it would be most vexing to lose new genes to an explosion, before we have secured them for our family.”
Jp:
What? Must I reveal everything?
Well, presumably yes, eventually. Although having Chapter 26 in the published book read, “Something else happened, but I’m not telling and you can’t make me” might be quite fun.
I’ve always wanted to write a Very Serious Literary Work that ended with exactly that chapter. After 350 pages, our protagonist, a tormented Creative Writing professor at a small college, is finally about to confront his long-suffering mistress…
and then BAM! ASTEROID! The End.
Sarah, so would that translate to:
Single Alien Male, new to sector, seeks companion to share planet and have explosions?
Steve, explosions is an odd euphemism for it.
Hey Steve,
Remember that thing you said about going into Lurker Mode for a while?
Ur Doing It Rwong! :-)
You are evil and must be destroyed.
Taunting us with this. Oops… forgot your tag line…. Taunting the tauntable.
There were two survivors. And their names… WERE ADAM… AND EVE. And everyone in the book was really a lobster!
A Communist lobster!
This has nothing to do with the topic, and you’ve probably seen it:
Bacon Flow Chart
Jeri @ #60: BWAHAHA!!!
Har dee har har. No wait…this really DID make me laugh. Damn you John. Just when I got finished telling a friend how hard it is to get a laugh out of me.
Hey John you forgot to write in the part where Obi-Won Kenobi is inside the Millennium Falcon and has to sit down because of the thousands of voices screaming out all at once.
Dang, I just read through everyones comments and someone already said that. Snarf.
At Clarion ’77 one of the catch phrases was, “And then everyone got run over by a truck.”
Must have been an awfully big truck to blow up the planet!
Nathan, yeah. It’s the jokes, they will out, you know.
Karen @ 77 said:
>>
At Clarion ‘77 one of the catch phrases was, “And then everyone got run over by a truck.”
Must have been an awfully big truck to blow up the planet!
>>
Or one moving very, very quickly.
I can just see the truck commercials now… with typical cheesy computer graphics and uber-masculine narration: [image of space-suited dirty construction workers getting into a truck] “When these guys need to move a planet, they can’t wait all day. The new Dodge Hyper9000 with Anti-matter Hemi(tm) Goes from zero to point nine lightspeed faster than the Toyota Megaquad! Even more planet-busting power than Ford or Chevy!”
Thanks for saving me $25. Now I do not have to buy the book. I already know the ending so no need to read the middle.
The Neon Genesis Evangelion ending then.
Bennett: Whoa, that was one freaky dream.
Zoey: Did it end with everyone blowing up?
Bennett: Yes.
Zoey: Wow I think I have the same dream!
Dun dun dun!!!
One hopes you didn’t use the tack of writing the last chapter first and working backwards from there…
Shouldn’t that be “Then Zoe wakes up next to Suzanne Pleshette”?
Nah, it should be Zoe wakes up and sees Aquaman in the shower.