i think its running out of gas but its still got some go juice

books:


	• The Last Colony John Scalzi Tor Books, 2007 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 63 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Excellent conclusion!

I'll keep this short. If you've already read your way through the first two books, you would be insane not to polish off the trilogy by reading "The Last Colony". The book actually moves quickly, but not as quickly as you will end up reading it. And then wishing you had taken more time.

Alas, now I wish I could read more stories in the "Old Man's War" universe, but.. we may have to wait a long time.

i think its running out of gas but its still got some go juice

While this novel didn't have the charm that old man's war did, it was entertaining to a point. the political motivations were a bit obscure and never felt real for me. A large build up in the colonization phase that never fulfills any depth it ends with too neat of a solution for my taste. I'm trying to not spoil any plot elements here but i think if the universe is a messy place its gonna have some messy endings, no?

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Different than its predecessors

"The Lasr Colony", alas, is also the last of a trilogy that began with the brilliant "Old Man's War" and was followed by the inventive "The
Ghost Brigades". The first two volumes literally crackled with excitement, very interesting future technology and reverberated with good old-fashioned space combat.

John Perry, hero of "Old Man's War" and Jane Sagan, formerly of the Colonial Special Forces, have taken up housekeeping on the colony planet Huckleberry. With their adopted teenage daughter Zoe, they live a reasonably content, if placid life. (Without ever saying so, Scalzi does lead you to think about why anyone would want to be a colonist anywhere, any time, regardless of the technology available. In a way, Scalzi describes a simple life that would drive most urbanites out of their minds in short order.)

One day General Rybicki appears on the planet to make Perry and Sagan an offer they can't refuse: take leadership of a new colony to be established by the Colonial Union. Reluctantly Perry and Sagan accept and become the leaders of Roanoke, a new colony of Earthlings.

A rather large problem looms since an (unbelievably) secret organization of more than 400 races from around the Universe have formed the Conclave which has ordered that no new single race colonies be created. (Scalzi's Universe, by the way, is not at all a peaceful place.)

Unlike the two earlier volumes, "The Last Colony" is largely a story about interstellar politics and old-fashioned diplomatic gameplaying. Sadly it is not nearly as exciting as its predecessors. There's not a whole lot of science in this fiction.

Scalzi, in earlier works, did a bang-up job of centering the story individually on Perry and then on Sagan. This time, he tries to spread the attention over Perry, Sagan, the young Zoe and her Obin bodyguards, hostile (but humane) generals, local political opponents . . . and, frankly, too many people. Scalzi doesn't fail, but he does dilute the power of his writing.

Overall, "The Last Colony" is a good read, but probably only if you've read "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades". Scalzi tries to fill in the backstory, but really can't. Standing alone, I don't think "The Last Colony" would have made a lot of sense.

Like many, I am sorry to see the end of the John Perry and Jane Sagan characters, at least in the roles we'vd become accustomed to. By the same token, Scalzi is a very strong writer and I will be interested in seeing what next springs from his imagination. (I also recommend Scalzi's The Android's Dream).

Jerry

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A fast read

This third book in the series was over too quick. This is not to say that it was too short -- just that I enjoyed it so much that I read it quickly.

An excellent novel that stands on its own merits.

Although I did not read the first two novels in this trilogy (an oversite I intend to correct), the author has created such a wonderful novel here that I found it to stand out amongst the deluge of science fiction books that have past across my desk recently. Scalzi gives you enough background on the main characters, and weaves his intricate plotline through one of the most successful excercises in "world building" that I have seen. I found myself wrapped up in the storyline, and dreaded any interruption that took me away from this book. The author has a witty, clean style of writing that is a pleasure to read, and I highly recommend another of Scalzi's novels: "The Android's Dream" which was originally published in late 2006.

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