The Last Colony - John Scalzi

The Last Colony

This is third installment of the "Old Man's War" trilogy. John, Jane, Zoe (along with her two Obin nannies and protectors), leave for a new planet to colonize. But they end up at a different planet than what they were expecting. They find themselves as pawns in a diplomatic war between the human Colonial Union and the alien Conclave led by General Gau, who is an honorable being. They wind up as "victors" over both groups by thinking out of the box. This was supposed to be the last book in this universe, but "Zoe's Tale" should be out now in hardback.

He's Got To Be Kidding!

Even after I had closed this book on the satisfying last page, I had to think hard. There are a lot of adjectives one can use about this novel: audacious, funny, moving, wise and crazy. I had to give it 5 stars because I loved the characters and the mad twists of the plot kept me riveted.

John Perry, hero of Old Man's War, is back in a human body, happily retired on an agricultural world as a village ombudsman with Jane Sagan, the second reincarnation of his first wife and Zoe, the orphaned daughter of a traitor to humanity (The Ghost Brigades). His old commanding officer shows up with an offer he can't refuse: to lead a new colony composed of settlers from ten other frontier worlds. Only after the ship arrives at its new destination does John learn the "catch". There's more twists in this plot than a second hand corkscrew caught in a trash compacter.

About three-quarters of the way through the book, I finally questioned some of the political angles of this thriller plot. There is an inherent defect in founding a colony in order to exploit it for propaganda purposes and then keeping the existence of the colony secret. Illogical? Yes, but then I looked at the universe I currently live in. Scalzi's whole logical tangle reaches such a pitch of perfection that I could not take away a single star. Scalzi is NOT Heinlein. He's too cheeky, too tongue-in-cheek and rips out too many jokes about expelling gas. I love his stuff. More. More!

A great finally to a great series

This is John Scalzi's third book in the series and just like the previous two this is something special - but I guess all his works are. Once more we're allowed into the realm of John Perry and Jane Sagan, but unlike the previous works, this time they are retired - and yes, it does change the overall feel of the story. The only knock against this book (and I'm reaching here) The ending was a bit stretched and the book focuses more on intrigue than sci-fi. Overall, this is an excellent finally to a political/sci-fi series that many will be disappointed that a fourth book is not in the works.

For those who may have missed the first book, don't miss Old Man's War

Fantastic read for even the casual reader

Granted, I'm speaking from the position of a total sci-fi nerd. Btu Scalzi manages to write so that his works are easy to read, engaging, humorous and serious, and most importantly, entertaining.

Although theres a bit of gloss over some background, the science and theory behind everything is easy to follow, and though quite a bit of it is obviously made up, the technology he creates is original and well thought out. The plans and politics are also well explained, a serious shortfall of many, many sci-fi books and TV shows. Theres no Star-Trek throwaway gobbledigook to come up with the last minute solution. Every situation is described concisely, and to be blunt, a little blandly, which helps to crystallize how brilliant the plan was.

The humor is what makes his work fantastic. Despite the dark overtones of the books, Scalzi manages to make you smile, if not laugh at some of the conversations and situations, and the Last Colony keeps up that trend magnificently.

Like reading Heinlein

This is the 3rd installment in the Old Man's War series. The story is unfailing in its cleverness and plot twists. As a fan of Heinlein, Scalzi channels this SF master as well as anyone I've ever read. I love Heinlein and Scalzi is a worthy successor.