Whoever did the cover art for John Scalzi’s Constituent Service did a wonderful job illustrating the various species that are in the book. I’m grateful for Jeff Meyerson who mentioned this amusing novella by Scalzi. Of course, his books always have serious undertones, but you can read them just for the humor.
Fresh out of college, Ashley Perrin is hired for the community-liaison position in the Third District. That district has the only human-minority in the entire city. Ashley’s job consists of answering questions, complaints, and concerns from citizens of every species. She also has to tactfully fend off constituents who want to touch her hair since human hair is interesting to them. One complaint comes from someone with concerns about noise from an upcoming parade. Another resident complains that city buses are trying to kill her pet chicken. The third involves the city’s sewer system. Ashley teams up with a man from Animal Control to investigate the horrible smell coming from a backyard where there are animals that are illegal to own. But, she takes her job seriously, and it isn’t long before she has an idea how all of these problems are connected. And, that’s just in her first week on the job.
As Jeff said, this is a story that made me smile throughout the book, and the images Scalzi evokes are entertaining. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I downloaded An Election, the story that introduces a human who runs for council in the Third District. I enjoy Scalzi’s humor and his characters.
John Scalzi’s website is https://whatever.scalzi.com/
Constituent Service by John Scalzi. Subterranean Press, 2025. 152p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I bought a copy of the eBook.
I like most Scalzi books, and you make this sound great. I’ll get it!
It’s a fun one, Kim.
Glad you liked it, Lesa. I knew that you would. We could all use more things to smile at these days, and this is definitely one of them.
You are so right, Jeff. A few smiles do come with this story.
I downloaded and read “An Election,” which was silly but fun. But CONSTITUENT SERVICE is the one to get.
John Scalzi takes such care with his characters. I’ll read “An Election” soon. My next review is for Jackie.
I loved Starter Villain. I want to read again someday.
Wasn’t it good, Kathleen? I love John Scalzi’s books.