The Tale of the Wicked

I’m currently rereading Dune, and it’s even more amazing than I remember, probably because I am not 12 years-old anymore, and I can appreciate things now that I didn’t even know existed, then. My copy is a glorious hardback, so I can’t read it in bed after Anne has gone to sleep, on account of the “fucking light that’s so goddamn bright and why is it on after midnight”. This means that when I can’t read Dune before bed, I read something on my Kindle, so there is isn’t enough light to earn me The Wrath Of Anne Wheaton.

A few nights ago, I had finished an old Asimov Robot story that I got in a Humble Bundle, and when I went back to my homescreen, my Kindle recommended a short story from Scalzi, called The Tale of the Wicked. It is described thusly:

Captain Michael Obwije of the Confederation Armed Forces has been hunting a Tarin battle cruiser in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse. But when he orders his own ship in for the killing blow, the hot pursuit turns into a potentially more dangerous situation. One with implications for the entire Confederation.

That’s more than I knew when I bought it. In fact, all I knew when I bought it was that it was a short Scalzi story that cost 99 cents. For the record, that’s typically all I need to know to go ahead and make that kind of purchase.

It’s short and I think even that official description tells you more than you need to know, so I won’t spoil anything for you by adding my own details. I will say that I rated it 5 out of 5, and I would like very much to adapt it into a screenplay, if John hasn’t already made a deal to do that.

You can read it in under an hour, and if you’re like me, and thought that Zachary Quinto did the audio version of it, you can hear it in his voice while you read it, which is pretty nice. Or you could imagine that it’s me, which is not as nice, but is still kinda nice.

15 thoughts on “The Tale of the Wicked”

  1. Ahhhh…I wish you all the joy of your reread. 🙂

    Sounds like the kindle alternative is working for you, but if you ever get to a point where you DO want to read Dune late in bed, my whole family is very happy with these clip-on booklights. My wife actually prefers hers to her bedside lamp.

    Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Book Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/1933622717/

  2. I absolutely love the Dune books, and it’s high time I reread them myself. As for the Isaac Asimov Robot books, I practically grew up on those, and still have all of them in my library (all hard bound). It’s wonderful to read new books, but it’s even better to go back and reread a book that gave you so much pleasure years ago, and relive that pleasure today. Thanks for the prod, now I’ll have to get busy reading…

  3. Hey Wil, where can you find that audiobook? I looked on audible and it’s not there. Quinto did do Scalzi’s “The Dispatcher”… is it part of an anthology or something? Thanks.

    1. No, I don’t think that there is an audio version of this book at the moment. My mistake was in thinking that Quinton did this one, not the Dispatcher.

  5. Thank you for introducing me to Scalzi’s writing via “Tabletop”. I read his novel “Locked In” and really enjoyed it. And I am re- reading “Dune” myself. “fear is the mind killer” is coming in handy these days.

    1. Definitely my favorite! It’s definitely the most internalized and philosophical in the series, which I appreciated. Very thought provoking

  8. After hearing you in other audiobooks, I find myself “hearing” you read to me as I’m listening to other audiobooks or even reading to myself. I like your reading voice. Don’t sell yourself short on that account. And thanks for the review. I keep waiting for my book budget to recharge to pick up some Scalzi on your recommendations.

  11. If you like reading paper books past when Anne falls asleep I find a headlamp with a red LED (easily findable on Amazon for $20) is perfect. The red LED doesn’t wake sleeping people and doesn’t screw with your body’s reaction to blue lights at night and keep you up forever. Being a headlamp it’s also hands free, which is super handy (badum-tssh) for when you need a light around the house but need both hands, too.

  12. My Dad had Dune on vhs. It was a horrible copy. There were points in the movie that were impossible to hear and other points that were snowed out. I watched it multiple times, but never read the book (s). Until now. I am kinda happy that I wired, and have started with the prequels. Is there anything g better than knowing there is a full series ahead of you?

    I have read all of Mr. Scalzi’s books and have to say that the books were some of the best fun I have ever had while reading. I cannot wait for more.

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“The library is a safe place.”

In order to survive, I disassociated for much of my childhood, but I clearly remember the books. That's where I found comfort, companionship, inspiration and validation. It's where the imagination that powers everything I do creatively in my life today was born. And it all started in that library, with that librarian. She was one of the first people I can remember asking me, "What do you like? What's important to you? What do you want to know more about? How can I help you find it?"

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