After the politically charged culmination of The End of All Things, The Shattering Peace arrives a decade later as a welcome evolution in the Old Man’s War saga—as well as, surprisingly, a spiritual successor to Zoe’s Tale. The book itself is set roughly a decade after the events of The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale, and it once again finds itself examining the intricacies of diplomacy, identity, and interspecies politics—but this time, it does so through the eyes of Gretchen Trujillo, a character who once lived in the shadow of galactic legends, but now finds herself a legend in her own right.

Gretchen is no longer just Zoe’s clever, sardonic best friend—she’s a full-fledged Colonial Union diplomat, equal parts charming and unflinching, whose reputation precedes her (thanks in no small part to Roanoke, a fictionalized movie version of the events of The Last Colony). But where Zoe’s Tale explored adolescence, The Shattering Peace deals with adulthood in all its fractured expectations: estranged friendships, failed relationships, familial guilt, and the burdens of legacy.

And then there’s Ran—Gretchen’s Obin assistant attempting to understand human humor—and it is almost certainly the best side character in the series since Hickory and Dickory. Its dry commentary and earnest attempts at levity provide a wonderful counterbalance to Gretchen’s fierce pragmatism, and their bond becomes one of the major emotional pillars of the story.

Plot-wise, the book is propelled by the disappearance of Unity, a symbolic joint colony aboard an abandoned Obin space station in a hollowed-out asteroid founded by the Tripartite Agreement (which consists of the Colonial Union, Earth, and the Conclave). The mystery of Unity’s vanishing offers a perfect Scalzi hook: it’s high-stakes but grounded in character; it’s speculative but never too terribly abstract. As always, Scalzi uses familiar sci-fi tropes like lost colonies, far-future tech, vast interstellar distances, and utterly alien creatures to explore very human ideas. The story feels intimate, even when brushing against the unknowable motives of the Consu, the theologically unhinged and wildly advanced antagonists whose reappearance in this book is both menacingly unsettling and, somewhat paradoxically, comfortingly familiar for those of us who are all caught up on the series.

Scalzi’s prose remains his signature blend of brisk pacing, snappy dialogue, and well-deployed emotional sucker punches. The opening scene—where Gretchen simulates a surprise massacre of trainees—perfectly captures the book’s tone: as brutal as it is quirky, and as smart as it is wacky. War, peace, trust, and control—these are the tensions beneath the surface, and Scalzi never lets us forget that diplomacy in this universe is often just war by other means.

One small but notable improvement is his dialogue tagging: Scalzi’s usual compulsion to positively litter exchanges with “said”—no matter how unnecessary—has been mercifully toned way down here. This is an authorial tick that, for me, was both noticeably and thankfully absent in this novel.

While not every element of the mystery lands with seismic force, and while longtime readers may yearn for the presence of series stalwarts like John Perry and Jane Sagan (whose brief mention is still admittedly a delight), The Shattering Peace more than earns its place in the Old Man’s War canon. In fact, it might be Scalzi’s most emotionally intelligent book in the series—less about soldiers or colonies, and more about the fragile work of holding disparate people (and species) together in the aftermath of survival.

Ultimately, The Shattering Peace is a story about the fine line between triumph and sacrifice, the cost of intelligence and strategy, and the weight of responsibility that comes with unparalleled power. Scalzi manages to balance high-stakes action with philosophical reflection, exploring what it means to protect life and civilization even when doing so demands enormous personal loss. The novel closes on a note that is at once bittersweet and hopeful: victories are achieved, but they are never free, and the universe remains a place of infinite possibility, danger, and moral complexity. Gretchen’s Tale is one of heroism, and how it so often comes with quiet, enduring duties rather than glory.

Highly recommended.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and TOR for the eARC.

Another fun Scalzi book — they don’t come any other way! Starts off fast and keeps up the pace. Plenty of humorous snark coupled with characters of strong principles who don’t shy away from getting into the tangle and making (good) things happen. Some pretty cool aliens with thought-provoking characteristics and some explorations of the kind of physics that might be uncovered when a superior race has had millenia to develop *really* advanced technology. I liked the fact that a lot of the story focussed on getting different species with wildly different characteristics and values to get along with each other. Humans were not the easiest. This is book seven in the Old Man’s War universe and I had to look up a few character and plot points that I didn’t remember (it’s been over a decade and how many brain cells can I keep devoted to the plot of every book I’ve read??). However, you can easily enjoy this book without having read the others.

The Shattering Peace is the latest installment in the Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi. Honestly, if you like the series, you’ll feel right at home here.
Gretchen Trujillo is an unimportant diplomat working in a largely unimportant position. That is, until she gets drafted for a secret mission that could change the balance of power in space.
Told with Scalzi’s unique style and tone, the book moves along at a rapid pace. Never dull. Never uninteresting. The Shattering Peace is a great addition to his long running series.

"After a decade, acclaimed science fiction master John Scalzi returns to the galaxy of the Old Man's War series with the long awaited seventh book, The Shattering Peace.

THE PEACE IS SHATTERING

For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed - and have even championed unity.

But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions...but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them. The Colonial Union, the Earth and the Conclave have been unwillingly dragged into the conflict, in the most surprising of ways.

Gretchen Trujillo is a mid-level diplomat, working in an unimportant part of the Colonial Union bureaucracy. But when she is called to take part in a secret mission involving representatives from every powerful faction in space, what she finds there has the chance to redefine the destinies of humans and aliens alike...or destroy them forever."

I'm here for ALL the John Scalzi content I can take. And it's A LOT.

Oh my gosh, I loved this book! I was so happy to learn that Scalzi decided to return to the Old Man’s War universe and get back to his space opera-style stories, which are my favorite of his.

This story centers on Gretchen Trujillo, who was Zoe’s best friend in the series. She’s gritty and tough and her Obin assistant, Ran, is such a fun and endearing character as well.

This story has an epic scope and interesting pseudoscience as well as satisfying conflict and resolution. The pacing is fast and the plotting is smart. Thanks to Tor and NetGalley I was able to read an ARC of this book, but I’ll probably buy the audiobook and ebook version when it comes out—both to complete my Old Man’s War series and for the re-read and re-listening pleasure.

I would recommend this book to fans of Andy Weir, Ernest Cline, and Dennis E Taylor. And of course, folks who love Scalzi’s other books, too.

So exciting to be back in the world of Old Man's War.And getting to see Gretchen again, and find out what an awesome, kick-ass woman she's become was great!

The opening scene is just perfection.

Scalzi gives us the perfect mix of high-stakes, fast-pace, and emotional moments mixed with witty humor and cutting sarcasm. What's NOT to love??

I was very excited to see that Scalzi wrote another book in the Old Man’s War series. I was even more excited to get an ARC from NetGalley (thank you!) to read before it was officially released. And the. I was again excited to read and finish the book. It’s a good one and one that is sort of on the outside of the series looking in. It is about the peace between species in the world that Scalzi built. There are new characters and very cool relationships between the species. Gretchen is a super protagonist and Ran is a perfect sidekick.

If you’ve read the series you’re going to read this book, no doubt. Enjoy it. It’s fun and exciting and puts more pieces together for the world built here. It’s a great read and you’ll love it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advance copy of the seventh book in a science fiction series dealing with the fraught relations of a group of races brought together after decades of war, a peace that is starting to fray at the seams..

I have always loved science fiction for the bright futures that it shows. Star Trek, at least the one's I watched as a kid filled me with hope. We made it to the future, we seem a little smarter, maybe everything will be ok. The historian and current person occupying space and trying to get through this thing we call "life", to quote Prince, in me wonders if we will see next year. John Scalzi understands this. As a writer Scalzi has always been ahead of things, reflecting much of what fans, people and the world has been thinking, and presenting it in science fiction. The future is bright and shiny, but humans, actually all living things, are close to letting it go bad, just because. Which is why I love his books so much. The Shattering Peace is the seventh book in the Old Man's War series, detailing with a future loaded with possibilities, but finds the species that share it all have their own agendas, even the most eldest species of all.

Gretchen Trujillo is a diplomat in the State Department for the Colonial Union. Trujillo is daughter of a minor hero, and best friend of a major hero to many races, which makes Trujillo quite busy. Until her father tasks her with a very important mission. Colonizing had been forbidden in a peace between alien and human races, but a new one has been set up secretly to see if aliens and humans can get along. The station called Unity is not communicating and probes sent there are not reporting back. Trujillo is also told that an old flame is on the colony, one that Trujillo thought she was over, but maybe not. Arriving at where Unity should be the expedition finds nothing, no colony, no debris, and no answers. Or so it seems. Hidden deep is something that might change the power structures in the galaxy. Something that the oldest, snobbiest species in the universe might do anything to get back. Including interstellar war.

Reading this made me realize that I have missed some stories in this series, so I will have to catch up. I am familiar with the series, but it has been awhile. That said I had no problems figuring out the story, the world and its alliances. Scalzi is good at giving information, bringing readers both new and old in, and keeping that narrative flowing. Scalzi creates characters that seem real. And species that seem to be waiting for us to find them. The characters all seem real. Trujillo and her feelings for people, along with her brains makes for a winning character to narrate and follow along with. The various races are unique, and one wants to know about them. The technology is really well developed and again make one want to know more. In fact there are a lot of different ways this series can continue now. Which is exciting.

I enjoy Scalzi's in all forms, from Tweets to nonfiction to his series and stand-alone stories. A rare mix of writer who hasn't given up on humans, and yet understands their fallacys, and prejudices, even in the far future. Another great entry, and I look forward to more by Scalzi, in any way he presents it.

Thank you to Tor for the eARC!!!

I read all of the Old Man's War series a few years ago and had no idea that Scalzi planned to eventually release a 7th book, so I was super excited when I saw that The Shattering Peace was coming out this year. And I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed it! I've read a bunch of Scalzi's other books now, and this was fun, fast-paced, classic Scalzi. We open up with Gretchen Trujillo, daughter of Manfred Trujillo, former resident of Roanoke Colony and best friend of Zoe Boutin Perry (all of whom we spent time with in the earlier OMW books), who's just found out that Unity Colony and the asteroid it's on have disappeared without a trace and she's being sent to investigate what happened. Are our old friends the Consu to blame? We'll find out...

Gretchen Trujillo was a great main character - She's strong, she's feisty, she's witty, and I really enjoyed spending time inside her head. I also loved Ran - Non-human characters in speculative fiction always get me, and Ran's humor and personality (or, sometimes, lack there of) were lovely. The science was fun - I'm no physicist, but I enjoyed reading about skip drives. While there are references to earlier in the series, I liked that it could likely also work as a standalone. I'd forgotten a lot of the details from Old Man's War, but it didn't impact my reading experience at all. Overall, I loved this latest (last?) installment of the Old Man's War saga, and will be recommending it to all my sci-fi friends!

I had high hopes for revisiting this series, and I was not disappointed. John Scalzi knows how to construct a story and keep it moving. I look forward to sharing this when it is published!

Excellent read. Fast paced for the most part. Not overly technical. layered and exciting. Ending was anticlimactic and unsatisfactory.

I haven't always liked Scalzi's stand alone novels, but I deeply enjoyed this series and this is a lovely addition. Fun, exciting, interesting world building - all that jazz.

Readers of Scalzi's Old Man's War series will be happy to hear that The Shattering Peace is a worthy continuation of the saga, one which focuses on the mysterious disappearance of a secret joint colony project that threatens to break the fragile peace between most of the major powers in the galaxy. When tough-as-nails diplomat Gretchen Trujillo is tapped to lead a multinational investigation into the matter, she quickly discovers that the problem is going to be not only politically and scientifically difficult to solve, but may very well herald an existential threat which no one saw coming. Expect fun characters, sci-fi spacefaring action, expertly executed space opera staples (romance, intrigue, fun technobabble, hail-Mary gambits, etc.), and the classic Scalzi wit to happily carry readers from start to finish. This is a blast to read.

As an additional positive, while this is a late addition to an already fairly lengthy series and the book assumes readers to be somewhat familiar with the major events that happened in the previous books, they are not expected to have read every short story collection or be fresh off a reread to enjoy this entry.

So if you are a fan of Scalzi and the Old Man's War series, you'll like or love this book. Well written, with the usually humorous bits, it's an excellent return to the universe that Scalzi created. Set 20-ish years post Zoe's Tale, it follows Zoe's friend Gretchen Trujilo, who is now a diplomat. Aliens and oddities are a given in this universe, and Scalzi doesn't disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's a good story, with characters you can get in to, with a good story arc with fun twists and turns. I recommend it to anyone that like science fiction, even casually.

Unity has disappeared and a twenty-year interstellar peace between the Colonial Union, Earth, and the Conclave has been shattered. But why and by whom? Maybe Gretchen Trujillo from the Obin Embassy will know. Her background with colonization, combat, and the Conclave draws her into a high-stakes secret mission to find the Unity Colony.

Returning after a decade long absence, this is the seventh book in the Old Man’s War universe that is set about twenty years after, “The End of All Things”. This book focuses on Gretchen, the childhood best friend of Zoë Boutin Perry from when they both lived in the Roanoke Colony (“The Last Colony”). One could probably read this book without the previous installments of the series but would suggest at least reading ‘The Last Colony”.

Shattering Peace by John Scalzi is the 7th book in the Old Man's War series. The first four books centered on the Colonial Union & colonial defense forces expanding human presence in the galaxy mostly ftom the prespective of John Perry and his family (Jane Sagan & adopted daughter Zoe). The next two dealt with the aftermath of Earth moving out of the shadow of the colonial union and the place of humans in the galactic network. This book jumps ahead about 20 years after the events in the fourth novel.

The main protagonist is Gretchen Truillo who was first introduced as the teenage friend of Zoe who has since become a liaison to the Obin (alien race given consciousness by Zoe's biological father).

The problem is that the first space colony jointly settled by humans and the Conclave (a group of alien species who had formed a coalition against humanity) has disappeared and Gretchen is the one they tap to find out what has happened.

This book is a welcome return to the Sagan-verse that first brought Scalzi to my attention. It was great to revisit old ideas and characters… although it is worth noting that NONE of the main characters from previous novels makes any appearance. 

The writing was of the high quality you would expect from Scalzi. The story was fun and fast-paced. Definitely worth the read. 

All that being said, it was not a good ad previous installments. Part of the reason was how much heavy lifting Gretchen had to do as a character. Since she is the protagonist, of course she will be the fulcrum for many of the plot points. However, Scalzi initially sets her as very much NOT the one in charge of the mission & not the expert in many of the specialized fields she encounters. They introduce the leaders of the expedition and several scientists, who then proceed to seemingly run every decision, idea,  fight, etc through Gretchen and frankly make her the defacto leader. 

The ending (no spoilers from me) does redeem the book somewhat,  but had a couple holes of its own given information you have earlier in the story. 

If you have read the rest of the Old Man's War series, you will, of course, enjoy this book & I would recommend it just to have more time in this wonderful universe the Scalzi has created. It is a quick read and will keep you wanting to turn the page. 
*a 3.75 book*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a pre-release copy of this book.

I got on a HUGE John Scalzi kick several years ago. I quickly devoured many of his books including his Old Man’s War series. I love Science Fiction; however, hard sci-fi and I don’t get along very well. Scalzi is quite skilled at balancing comedy, drama, romance, science, and action in every book of his I’ve read.

I was under the impression that 2015’s The End Of All Things would be the final chapter of Old Man’s War. I mean, it says “The End” right there in the title. I was pleasantly surprised to find an email in my inbox a few days ago offering me the opportunity to review the forthcoming new entry in the series, The Shattering Peace, which will officially release in September. I quickly accepted the mission.

Set ten years after The End of All Things, The Shattering Peace follows Gretchen Trujillo through an interesting point in her career as a Colonial Union diplomate. Early in the story she learns from her father that the CU is attempting to colonize once again. That attempt – the “Unity Colony” – seems to have failed. Said colony, whose population included Gretchen’s former love interest, has vanished without a trace. She, along with an interspecies team of investigators, are sent to figure out exactly what happened. I’ll end up description there to avoid spoiling anything.

The Shattering Peace successfully combines many of my favorite genres. Scalzi, as I mentioned, deftly combines comedy, drama, action, romance, and science in his previous work. That’s all done here along with a healthy dose of spy novel-esque intrigue. I loved this book, though I can’t say it fully works as an entry point for the series. Some may enjoy it without previous exposure to Old Man’s War; however, to maximize that enjoyment, it’s recommended to blast through the previous six books. You’ll be glad you did.

It’s been a decade since the last Old Man’s War novel, and eight years since I first read it. I knew that Scalzi’s 2015 book deal with Tor required at least one more installment in the series, and finally, here in 2025 it arrives. The title feels like an OMW novel, John Harris is back with a new cover that looks like an OMW novel. Having an honest to god, painted book cover in 2025 is a gift in and of itself. Thank you for springing for John Harris on this one TOR.

The Shattering Peace is a delightful return to the universe of the Colonial Union, the Obin, the Consu, and The Conclave, and contains a clever mechanism that works as a setting expansion for what I can only assume will be more OMW novels to follow. This is definitely a sequel, particularly to The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale, and it’s a clear continuation of the story and themes from The End of All Things as well, but it accomplishes a lot of the same work that a soft reboot does, without being a reboot at all.

I am excited about the implications of this novel, and what they hold for future OMW stories.

An entire inter-species colony has disappeared. The asteroid housing it, gone. Our main character, Gretchen Trujillo sets out with a mixed group of scientists, diplomats, and warriors to find it.

The Shattering Peace continues Scalzi's Old Man’s War Series. Followers of the series may recognize our hero from The Last Colony and Zoe’s Tale. Now she takes center stage. She's a slightly wild and unorthodox diplomat with a history and some carefully honed fighting skills. And she's going to need all her skills and a few new tricks. She transitions from a strong supporting character to a fully realized lead. She and her non-human assistant/body guard slip through the cracks of the universe to find the missing colony.

This book especially harkens back to book 3, The Last Colony. If you haven't read the earlier books in the series, this book still works. But followers of the series will be able to tap into a larger storyline. The author does a good job trying to bring the reader up to speed (or remind the reader) about past events. But there will be times when you might not fully understand the deeper relationships.

This latest tale in the Old Man's War universe brings us the story of Gretchen Trujillo, friend to Zoe from the Roanoke colony experience. She is a Colonial Union diplomatic analyst with an Obin assistant, yet her experience and background make her perfect as an investigator when a non-sanctioned colony planet goes completely missing from space. It's a good story with trademark Scalzi dead-pan humor - fans of this universe will enjoy this tale and the surprise twist at the end that gives more insight into this universe's greatest threats.

Many thanks to Tor Publishing group through NetGalley for providing an ARC in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.