Review: We Only Need the Heads (Human Division #3) by John Scalzi

We Only Need the Heads by John Scalzi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the third of thirteen installments in The Human Division, a serial novel by John Scalzi. This wraps up some questions from the previous installments. The tie-in with the greater plot is subtle, but it is there.

In this, we find out that the colony from Walk the Plank is there in defiance of a treaty. Ambassador Abumwe is sent to negotiate a new treaty with the very race who owns the planet, while Harry Wilson is on the planet, his initial goal to clear out the unauthorized colony. Of course, it's not that simple.

The characters in the first section who decided to send Ambassador Abumwe on the sticky missions seem to contradict their decision, giving her a direct order to go against the instincts that served her so well in The B-Team. Left to her own devices, who knows whether she could've salvaged this disaster? And setting her up to use Harry's intel, then catch her in it, also seems counterproductive. I have to believe this is part of some game, but why?

I'm not one for speculating, so I'll just have to check out the next installment to see if my questions are answered, and the next, and the next. Darn.

I listened to this on audio. William Dufris's narration is seamless; it never stands out to me as a poor choice. Considering the challenge he has in narrating alien voices that are meant to sound alien, it's a feat.


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