John Scalzi has since written sequels to that novel, as well as some other, unrelated novels, such as Fuzzy Nation<\/a><\/em>, which was recently released: the story of Jack Holloway who works as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As Amazon.com describes it, “He works alone for reasons he doesn\u2019t care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp\u2019s headquarters on Zarathustra, a planet 178 light-years from the corporation\u2019s headquarters on Earth, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels. Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth.<\/p>\n “But ZaraCorp\u2019s entire legal right to exploit the resources of Zarathustra is based on having certified to the authorities there are no sentient species there.<\/p>\n “Then a small furry biped\u2014trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute\u2014shows up at Jack\u2019s outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he realizes that ZaraCorp\u2019s claim to a planet\u2019s worth of wealth is gone. But ZaraCorp will stop at nothing to eliminate the ‘fuzzys’ before their existence becomes more widely known.”<\/p>\n I am a fan of John Scalzi\u2019s novels and have read them all. And very recently I was inspired to write him a letter. My middle daughter was required to read a science fiction novel for her literature class in high school. She doesn\u2019t like to read and especially didn\u2019t like science fiction. But she knew I loved the genre, so she came to me and asked me for a suggestion on what book to read. She figured it would be \u201cstupid\u201d but she needed something. So I gave her my copy of Old Man\u2019s War<\/em> to read.<\/p>\n She loved it. And she read it faster than any book she\u2019s ever read before. She was so enthusiastic that her teacher wanted to borrow the book when she was finished. And then\u2014when I told her that Scalzi had written sequels to the book\u2014she begged me to let her read them. So she read Ghost Brigades<\/a><\/em> and then started The Last Colony<\/a><\/em> after that. Even though she doesn\u2019t have to read them for a school assignment. When I told her Old Man\u2019s War<\/em> has been optioned by Paramount for a feature film, she was overjoyed.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s why I wrote John Scalzi. I wanted to let him know about my daughter\u2019s reaction to his novel, and to thank him for finally opening the joys of reading and science fiction to her. <\/p>\n That\u2019s one reason people write fan letters, I suppose. They\u2019re actually just thank you notes.<\/p>\n I\u2019m used to getting criticized. Over the years, I\u2019ve collected a rather large stack of rejection letters. I tell people that such rejections are important in the training of an author: they thicken the skin and prepare one to survive … Continue reading ![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
Send to Kindle<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"