Everything but the Squeal

Ok so objectively this story is not 5 star read. Probably solid 4 stars. But I simply don't care. And hey this rating is about my taste not literal value of the book.John Scalzi just knows how to write a story I will enjoy. I love his writing style and his humor. It's easy to read but it's not all fluff and action. In 50 pages he delivers more world building and character development then some novels with 500 and more pages.Recommended if you are looking for short and fun science fiction story.

102 - 2017

This is one of Scalzi's humorous short stories, unrelated to any of his other works. In the future arcology, everyone needs to take a job by age 20 or lose their citizenship (and thus be expelled to the wastes.) Our slacker protagonist waits till the last minute and ends up in Biological Systems Interface Manager (which the text sometimes decides is actually Biological Systems Integration Manager, but either way means pig farmer.)Bought this when recommended since I didn't recognize the title, [...]

With his usual style, John Scalzi introduces a teenaged procrastinator for whom time has finally run out. Unqualified for most of the available jobs, Benjamin finds himself taking a role he never even imagined, doing tasks he'd rather not think about and learning what being an adult actually means.I like authors - and directors, for that matter - who leave things to my imagination rather than spelling them out. I was not disappointed here, and the narrator (Alessandro Juliani did a great job of [...]

utterly enjoyed this, as is almost inevitable. A clever trick, too, having more authors set in the world, so I will have to go and track down the rest of the stories here. Solid writing, characters on point and a dash of the irreverence Scales good at.

Short and fun, classic Scalzi. I love his books, and this one has been quite enjoyable, as always :)

Interesting world, and fun story.The story is part of the first book, METAtropolis: The Dawn of Uncivilization, of a series of anthologies (currently, 3) although it is named "Utere Nihil Non Extra Quiritationem Suis" in it. I'm not generally a fan of anthologies, but I'll put it on the maybe list. It would be cool if there were full novels in the world / with the characters in the future. I'm slightly annoyed that I hadn't realized this story was part of the anthology when I bought it since it' [...]

This novella manages to make pig farming interesting. And futuristic. A spoiled child ends up with minimal options in required employment, but manages to make the best of it. In humorous ways. It's got the Scalzi humor, but the exploration of the impact of self-sustaining cities on the world around them seems a bit prescient. It's a pretty quick read (less than 45 minutes), and managed to make pigs interesting, even if it does have some questionable porcine behavior. Note - this is the same stor [...]

Amusing short story set in a world beset by ecological disaster. Citizens of one of the zero footprint ecologies are able to make do, but the "wilds" -- the rest of the country, locked out of the ecologies except for strictly controlled immigration -- aren't so lucky. Teenagers must take an aptitude test that filters them to jobs they're suited for; this is the story of one privileged teenager who doesn't take it seriously and so ends up in a job he never expected.

Oddly, this short story reads more like something by Cory Doctorow (linear story, rather didactic, and slightly preachy approach to cultural issues) rather than John Scalzi (non-stop wit and standout characterization). But hey, I like them both, and it was an interesting short read.

This short story taken from the "Metatropolis" anthology, a shared-world set of future tales by a group of writers, is long enough to tell a tale and too short to dive too deeply into. It's a good piece, a quick read, and solid all around, with a particularly nifty opening.

so so short story; the main character was well done but the plot lacked any pith.

The social arrangement is an interesting concept. I don't often read novellas because there isn't much time to develop a story.

i usually like John Scalzis work, but this did not work for me. Interesting backdrop/world building, uninteresting/clichee story, some very annyoing proofreading errors. All in all: meh!

I was not gripped at first, as the main character is such a frustratingly lazy so-and-so but as the story progressed, I became more caught up in it, and enjoyed it more than expected overall.

A quick, YA read that's good fun even if you can see the ending coming a mile away.

This [long short story] or [short novella] is part of a shared world cycle, which I have not read. The story on its own was ok, might be better in context.

A fun, short story from John Scalzi. Great example of short science fiction.

Pertinent and entertaining.

I'm not familiar with this author, but I really enjoyed this story and would be interested in seeing more of his work. Great concept.

Fantastic story. Great worldbuilding, storytelling, characters, and funny as hell.

Maybe a 3.5. Enjoyable, decently plotted, a bit fluffy but pleasant overall. I'm curious about the Metatropolis anthology, albeit not ravenously so.

Well written, a good readNice short story in the future genre, flows well, amusing, and like a typical Scalzi story, is interestingly plotted. Recommended for light reading.

A fun blend of moral questions about sharing technology across social boundaries with satisfyingly gratuitous amounts of pig shit.

A delightful novel featuring pigs, genetic engineering and a distopian eco-friendly society. I highly recommend reading it as it just files by.

3.5 stars. Good, umean?, fun. :-)

This was some classic Scalzi! The plot moves right along, and I was sorry to have the story end. I liked the voice of the main character, and he sounded like one of my friends kids in terms of how he started out in the book. This is a bit more of a novella than a book (or it seemed so to me). There are plenty of humorous elements in it, and some satisfying character growth and come-uppance.

Benjamin Washington is a 19-year-old slacker living in the mildly dystopian city of New St. Louis, where he didn't pay sufficient attention in school, and then displayed a bad attitude when he took his Aptitude test, which determines what jobs you're eligible to fill.So he ends up stuck in a job as a Biological Systems Interface Manager. Which turns out to be a nice way of saying that he's an entry-level pig farmer.This was a novella. Very short. I'd basically describe it as a sci-fi take on Dir [...]

Un relato corto que empieza con que nos van a explicar porqué un cerdo está en la foto de la boda del protagonista tiene que ser bueno, por cojones. Y este lo es. La historia va de una arcología en unos USA fragmentados, y el protagonista es un vago redomado que solo consigue un trabajo de cuidar cerdos. Una descripción muy buena de la vida en esa ciudad y los problemas que tiene, y como llega el cerdo a estar en la foto llena las páginas, que lees a toda velocidad. Me lo he pasado en grand [...]

While I thought it was going to be about BBQ pork it was still pretty awesomeI really wasn't sure what to expect from this but I have to admit that was half the fun of reading it. You are hooked pretty quickly into a near future that I'm not too sure I would want to live. Scalzi does a great job in world building as well as character development in a very short time. I found myself comparing this to some of Robert Heinlein's YA stuff, which is a very good thing indeed.