The Last Colony (Old Man's War)

Unless you read the other two in the series you wouldn't truly understand "The Last Colony" so I recommend reading "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades" first. Give his books a few chapters before you make a decision.

A formidable author pens a fantastic story! Well worth your time, one taste will leave you addicted! A fresh new take on a classic scfi stand-by! If you liked Old Man's War, you won't be able to put this down!

I enjoyed all three books quite a lot, and I'm sure I'll return to the series often (as I do with favoured authors and stories). Congratulations to Mr. Scalzi on completing an excellent trilogy with style.

While this book wasn't quite as amazing as the first two in the trilogy, it was excellent. There were a couple parts that were a bit slow, but it definitely satisfied as a completion (sort of) for the story started in Old Man's War.

Good characters, well drawn plot. Like a lot of modern stories, too many dry asides. When did we decide that was good writing? Are we really that way in real life? None the less, I loved the ending the the return to where it all started.

The Last Colony is a fantastic ending to the Old Man's War series. Scalzi saves the best for last, and we finally get an entire book where John Perry and Jane Sagan play their roles together. They are two wonderful characters and the setting is incredible.

Scalzi's style is great. He paints a picture with words and has novel ideas for science fiction that show originallity.
I'm 76 and have always enjoyed science fiction, his use of old men and women adds a touch that should appeal to all seniors.

Story is same one as in "Zoe's Tale" but from different point of view, an almost ninety year old man vs. a fifteen year old girl. Book itself hard to find in hard cover, good price, great condition and arrived earlier than expected.

Very good story line. This Author is one to keep an eye on. He has taken the Heinlein Starship Troopers novel and made a series out of it with a few twists. Very nice universe/multiverse he has made (also a Heinlein idea).

I liked this novel a lot, although I did not think that it was as good as "Old Man's War." Here, the scenario is simple (no spoilers here). John Perry and Jane Sagan have settled on a colony world and are generally happy with their lives. The Colonial Union then taps them to lead the colonization of a new world. More would be telling, but be assured that there are plenty of surprises.

This novel turns on some very imaginative speculations about interstellar politics in the context of the "Old Man's War" universe. These did hold my interest. As always, I enjoyed reading about John Perry and Jane Sagan. Here I found the characterizations and speculations about the aliens to be a little disappointing--not nearly as interesting as in "Old Man's War." The aliens are all-too-humanlike in their behavior, and this was a bit of a disappointment to me. The Consu connection (no spoiler here) is never adequately explained. I found the ending to be a little disappointing, and frankly, it is not conclusive. A fourth novel in the series is necessary to clean it up, but Scalzi says that there will be no fourth novel. I am betting that this turns out not to be the case. (Remember Asimov's Robot novels?)

This is a fast and interesting read, and if you liked the previous two novels in the series ("Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades") you will like this one too. Recommended.

Scalzi is fast approaching the status of Dan Simmons... He's that freakin' good! The Old Man's War series is nothing short of brilliant. A great deal of his vision WILL become real. The concept if Brainpals is pure genius and I voulg go on and on!

I found the first two books intriguing, capable of captivating my imagination. The Last Colony felt as if it was a bit of a fall off from the previous two books, a little bit too much deus ex machina, considering how very well the author painted the picture of his universe in the first two books. Overall, I would say the trilogy was a fun read, and for consumers of extensive science fiction, worthy of a read.

I truly enjoyed the final book of the Trilogy. My favorite aspects of John Scalzi's writing is the unexpected twists and turns in every plot that allow the underdog to escape certain doom and the delightfully dry sense of humor of the characters. A fun read!

This is a sequel to OLD MAN"S WAR and THE GHOST BRIGADES. Unfortunately, the author claims that it is the end of this story line and I, for one, am disappointed.

John Perry has been a soldier and an officer of the human army tasked with defending humanity's colonies from a very nasty universe. Now he is retired and living with the wife and child he loves, He is surprised when he is selected to go with his wife to manage a new colony but packs up the family and takes the job. No sooner does he arrive when he and all the other colonists learn that they have been hoodwinked by the bureaucracy. They are pawns in an ongoing stellar war and in the attempts of the bureaucracy to maintain power over all humans.

John manages to hack off just about everyone when he manages to keep his colony from being wiped out. He saves his people and then embarks upon a grand scheme to see that such things cannot happen again. It is very surprising.

It is entertaining and very quick to read. I wish there would be more.

The Book sucks, covered this in my refunded book 5 review but it's unbelievable how bad this writer has gotten later on in the series. Highly recommend not wasting your money and find another author/series. Boring, boring, boring.....,,,... I'm just pissed at how this series turned out, stop now is all I recommend.

I read both of the previous books: Old Man's War and Ghost Brigades and this Last Colony was a huge let-down.
There are several brief part of this book that got me somewhat interested, but overall it is rather boring.
Writing is down right bad. Scalzi's characters all talk as if it was the same person. John Perry, who in the first book was wisecrack, here becomes just a guy who has to be the one to finish the already annoying conversations.
Almost no new ideas or technology were introduced - although some were stolen from, for example, The Forever War.
If Old Men's War was an "A-", Ghost Brigades was a solid "B", this barely scrapes by with a "C-"
Don't read it, just stop at Ghost Brigades.

Not too bad to read on a plane - which is where I read it - but definitely not as good a read as the two Scalzi books that preceded it. Too much talking, not enough action, and a less compelling story line.

A nice folow up to Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony pulled me right back into the Colonial Union universe. I listen to the book on the way to work and back since my commute is an hour each way, and time just flies away. For me that's the mark of a good book! Thanks again John Scalzi!

For those who have read the previous two novels in the series (Old Mans War and The Ghost Brigades), it seems likely you will wish to complete the trilogy and dig immediately into The Last Colony.

Don't.

It possesses none of the energy and charm of the previous books. It is instead a story in which we are TOLD a lot is happening, without actually experiencing much of it.

At the end of the previous novel we are introduced to the 'Conclave', a huge assemblage of unified species who are not at all comfortable with the aggressive role that humanity is playing in the universe. This Conclave is, in effect, the focus of TLC. John Perry, his wife Jane, and his adopted daughter Zoe (the genetic daughter of Charles Boutin, traitor from the Ghost Brigades) are puppets on a stage in which supposed intrigues and counter-intrigues unfold, but none of the plotting feels tense or interesting.

Our protagonists are always located in the colony of Roanoke, and all of the plot progression simply comes in the form of dialogue in which an outside force character or faction tells John and Jane what is occurring. I completed the novel only because I enjoyed OMW and TGH so much.

In my mind, the only redeemable aspect of this book is its originality. Scalzi has a plenty nice idea here for a book, it just never seems to come together or provide any sense of tension. I found myself becoming completely unconcerned with what happened to the characters, the colony of Roanoke, the CDF or the Conclave.

This is not an objectively terrible novel. Rather, it is subjectively terrible due to the books it is succeeding. I cannot understand why it would be recommended for a Hugo and I do not recommend you pick it up.

The Last Colony is Scalzi’s last sequel in the Old Man’s War trilogy.

This closes out and brings clarity not only the grand schemes but also a number of bits of subterfuge created along the way for dramatic effect. Unfortunately, there is little fresh discovery of exotic technology, marginal adventure, nor new creatures; that is except for the purple people eating werewolves popularized perhaps by Scalzi and now so ubiquitous in film and TV.

The majority of the book is predominantly politics and politics is chatter with little action. Some gunplay and gore but mostly chatter.

It is good to discover that the bedrock ‘we have met the enemy and the enemy is us’ meme of new age mantra is deftly exercised here. And that our now endeared three main characters single handedly save the entire cosmos from pesky perennial warhood predominantly using only cutlery, flame and skullduggery. More so and of particular interest to any man woman and child, saving the cosmos includes the saving of the entirety of humanity including Earth from certain annihilation. So the storyline ends with all good things.

But somehow the space elevators, green skin, zippering around, even ninja turtles of the ethers seemed a lot more within the realm of imagined possibility than the last of this last.

One senses during the read that since all the good juice has already been squeezed out that the nice ripe orange it is gradually turning into a lemon. But as with any good squeezing, one must be sure to get every last bit of pulp out of it, for which the author must be commended.

Four stars for effort.

John Perry is back, along with his wife Jane Sagan and their adopted daughter Zoe Boutin-Perry. Oh, and they are joined by Zoe's two Obin bodyguards and recorders of her life, Hickory and Dickery. Asked to head a new colony made up of, not earthlings, but people from ten different colonies. Everything seems straight forward. John, Jane and Zoe have been living on the colony Huckleberry for eight years, maybe a move isn't so bad?

The colony is called Roanoke, for reasons which will become obvious early in the novel. John, in his understated humor, names the camp/town Croatoan. (This was an island near the original Roanoke colony of 1580s earth where the settlers presumably ran to; they'd left a carving on a tree as prearranged, but they were never found).

The plot centers around the Colonial Union's desire to continue colonizing worlds and a confederacy of races who don't want anymore "unauthorized" colonization. The CU uses Roanoke as a pawn in an end game that doesn't bode well for the survival of Roanoke. Never trust your government, folks.

John Perry, threatened with inquiry, treason and just being a bad administrator weaves his way through an impossible web and comes out, well, I'll let you read it for yourself. But it's HUGE.

My only criticism, in part because I've already read the next book, is that so much of what Zoe experiences is off stage. This can't be helped as the first person narrator is John, and teenager daughters rarely tell you everything. It seems that this and Zoe's Tale could have been combined somehow, even if in two volumes. What happens with Zoe off stage, with the planet's other inhabitants, with the Obin and others, is extremely important to the resolution of the plot.

Having said that, I hadn't noticed how much so until I read the follow up. So, is this book, The Last Colony, enjoyable and a great addition to the series? Absolutley. The author makes choices in how he's going to tell the story, and I think it worked.

Still loving this series.

Mr. Scalzi has done something here that I have not seen since Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" and Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer". "The Last Colony" and "Zoe's Tale" are Cubic novels, each reflects the same events from separate perspectives. The first novel tells the story of planetary colonization from the adult viewpoint while the second does it from that of the colony's leaders' teenage daughter's skewed outlook. Both novels are engagingly fun and can be read independently and do not require any knowledge of the rest of the "Old Man's War" series.

"The Last Colony" is Scalzi's pastiche of Oscar Scott Card's "Speaker for the Dead". "Zoe's Tale", however, is not a homage to "Ender's Game" but rather the author's first foray into the ever present SF juvenile literature that is grabbing the attention and the dollars of Hollywood's film industry. Despite the pun in the title Little Zoe's tail is only active "offstage" like violence in a Greek tragedy or Harry Potter and crew's love life. In all of these novels Scalzi has safely navigated between the sexual Charybdis and Scylla that is haunting the traditional science fiction and fantasy communities today.

Scalzi is still best when being a humorist but he is also a master of mimicking the great sci-fi authors that has driven his fandom love of the genre. These novels are fun not heavy, entertaining not obscure.

Oh my. Exciting and fun! It was a good read. I felt as if I was consuming a tasty bag of movie popcorn, full of buttery salt, in the two days it took to finish the book, the end of the John Perry trilogy.

However, it should have been better. I kinda thought it was the $5 bag instead of the $10 one I was expecting.

Perry and his wife, Jane, along with his adopted daughter Zoe, are transferred to a new human colony to be built on the barely mapped planet Roanoke. They are appointed administrators of 2500 colonists comprised of ten culturally different groups of 250, each created from the ten most populated older colonies of humans. Coming with are two Obin, aliens attached to Zoe because she is the daughter of their god, a human scientist from the previous book, 'The Ghost Brigades' (it is a fantastic idea/adventure trilogy - despite my mild disappointment in the somewhat flabby final book).

Suspicious because of their previous association with the Colonial Union as soldiers, they hesitantly accept the job as leader and constable of the politically scrapping colonists. The Colonial Union, a thoroughly devious and sly secretive military organization, willing to sacrifice anyone in the service of Humanity, swears it's all aboveboard and on the level, so the Perry's, both restored into normal human bodies after leaving the military, reluctantly take the jobs.

Of course the Union is lying about everything. The planet was named Roanoke as a warning as well as a dark joke, not for commemorative purposes after all. Heroism loses its luster when medals might be given posthumously and under secrecy acts. Perry and Jane are going to need a bit of luck along with their military expertise to escape the political machinations of the Union and their enemies, The Conclave, an organization of non-human aliens determined to box humans into a small bit of space, unless humans concede power and authority to the Conclave.

Roanoke has no defenses to speak of, naturally. Is it possible that this is the last stand of John Perry?

Spoilers and bricks:

What the hell happened to the werewolves? They were there for five pages and then disappeared from the plot!?!?!? What was the point of them? And the colonists were lightweight drawings, sketched in with broad strokes accenting their backdrop status. Much of the character and plot details in this book were quickly designed stage props. Only the political mayhem had any real juice.

First of all, I will say there is a lot to agree with in some of the criticisms of this third book in the "Old Man's War" trilogy - specifically around it losing its edginess and tying a bow. What I loved about "Old Man's War" was the harshness of worlds where, even with super bodies, death could come at you from any direction at almost any moment. Basically, anyone could be a "red shirt". And the idea of an amoral universe where it was all about trying to claim territory before you become hemmed in - essentially Galactic Go - also struck me as very refreshing. I especially loved the Conshu, who were the most advanced species who loved to play games with other species and found us so disgusting that anyone forced to speak to humans relished the idea of ritual suicide afterwards! That's awesome!

In the second novel, "The Lost Brigade", we started learning about the Conclave, the other alliance that threatened us and species banding together. Morality started to come into play with moral outrage by a human against the way humans manipulated each other and other species on behalf of the Colonial Union. It was an interesting novel, but not as much action and becoming a bit moralistic.

So now we come back to John Perry from "Old Man's War". He's our old man and we grew to appreciate him. I was very much reminded of Starship Troopers and Johnny Ringo, except Perry strikes me as both more worldly wise (naturally, since he was in his seventies) and more frightened by the world he'd joined and realized his own fragile place in it. Now, in "The Lost Colony", Perry and his wife and adopted daughter Zoe and her protectors are manipulated into taking on a colony and inflaming a Galactic conflict. For me, I found the plot uneven, especially around his wife, who becomes an the store warrior (better than Wonder Woman) again and Perry is placed in one uncomfortable position after another - from handling colonists you'd want to space and Colonial Union manipulations the likes of which would make Machiavelli feel like Forest Gump. Sad to say, Perry comes off as chronically off-balanced and weaker than I like. Essentially, he becomes a constantly confused, often sarcastic mediator - almost as if Daniel was telling jokes to distract the lions to buy time. Well, not that bad...

So, with all that, why would I give it four out of five stars. First of all, I really like the characters - particularly John Perry and Zoe. They together are a great father-daughter team and are fun to spend time with. As far as his wife goes... eh... She is supposed to be younger in terms of years than Zoe, and that shows, but she spends a bit too much time wanting to kill a colonist and being calmed down or actually killing to protect the same colonists. And the aliens are generally interesting, even though holding such a Conclave together really goes against the premise as offered in the first book. However, I can see how the tone of "Old Man's War" was necessarily colored by the very natural terror Perry felt as well as the paranoia-induced training he received from the Colonial Union.

So, if you enjoyed the first two books, I think it is essential to read this book to get some closure on the story in the trilogy. You will find it a satisfactory read. John Perry and Zoe are worth it!

Would this be a good first book? No. Start off with "Old Man's War" and then "Ghost Brigade"

Originally published at FanLit.

The Last Colony, the third book in John Scalzi's OLD MAN'S WAR series, returns us to the perspective of John Perry, the "old man" hero of the first novel in the series, Old Man's War. John Perry is only mentioned in the second novel, The Ghost Brigades, which told the story of how the cyborg Special Forces soldiers found and defeated the scientist Charles Boutin, a traitor to the Colonial Union. On that mission they also found Zoe, Boutin's young daughter. Zoe has been adopted by Jane Sagan and John Perry and the little family has been farming on one of Earth's colonies where John and Jane are the leaders.

Life is easy for them until the Colonial Union comes calling -- they need leaders for a new colonization effort and John and Jane have been selected. This new colony (named Roanoke.... hmmmm... I think I wouldn't have signed up for that) will be comprised of people from several different human worlds and John and Jane are responsible for its success. However, the Colonial Union hasn't been completely honest with them. It will be a lot more dangerous than the members of Roanoke have been led to believe. They are being played as political pawns and they don't realize it until it's too late. And it's not just Roanoke that's in danger, but the entire human race.

The Last Colony (I keep wanting to write "The Lost Colony") has a different tone than Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades. It takes place mainly on a planet, rather than in space, and deals mostly with domestic and political matters rather than space battles and espionage. Some of the political dialogue between characters we don't know is dull, especially if you're hoping for lasers and explosions, but Scalzi continues to explore the interesting theme of access to information and the problems that occur when the government controls the press. When and how should governments control information? That's always a relevant topic, isn't it?

Like its predecessors, The Last Colony features John Scalzi's engaging writing style and ultra-competent well-developed characters. Some of these are characters we already know and love (John and Jane) one is a character we are happy we're getting to know (Zoe) and some are new characters that Scalzi makes it easy for us to love (e.g., the Mennonite leader, Hickory and Dickory) or hate (e.g., the journalists). And some are there to show us that our first impressions aren't always correct.

I mentioned in my review of The Ghost Brigades that the political situation was getting murky and it gets even murkier here. It is not clear to us (or to many of the characters) whose side we should be on. Readers may find it discomfiting to realize they are having trouble sympathizing with their home planet. It may be even more discomfiting to realize that Scalzi's story doesn't have to stretch the imagination too far. Sometimes "human nature" is not a pretty thing, but it's what we know. What if someday we find ourselves needing to interact with beings who have a non-human nature?

You can probably read The Last Colony without having read the previous books, Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades, but you'll have some catching up to do. It would be better to wait on this one until you've read its predecessors. They're both great books, anyway. The fourth book in the OLD MAN'S WAR series is Zoe's Tale which tells the story of Roanoke colony from Zoe's perspective. It's mostly the exact same plot as The Last Colony with a few side adventures for Zoe. If you're only interested in the plot progression, you can skip Zoe's Tale. If you're interested in getting to know Zoe, you should read it.

I'm listening to William Dufris narrate OLD MAN'S WAR. I think he's amazing. Macmillan Audio produced this installment.

This is the last of the three "Old Man's War" series, and it does a great job of ending the tale. As with the other books, this one is based on war between species who all want to colonize the universe and keep others from doing the same. Where the first book primarily centered on John Perry, the old man from Earth who, at 75 years old, enlists in the Colonial Defense Force to become young again, the second one was about Jane Sagan, a Ghost Squad soldier whose DNA was from John's deceased wife and who becomes connected to John. This final book tells of the two of them becoming human and marrying and becoming settlers, only to become leaders of a new colony that gets caught in a struggle between the Colonial Union and the Conclave.

I really liked this book even more than the first two. I saw more depth in the characters and in the relationships between them. But I would recommend that you read the first two books in the series before you read this one. Even though it might stand on its own, you would really miss how the first two stories are important to this one.

John Scalzi has become one of my favorite authors of science fiction.

This is one of the few books that if the store had more than five stars, I'd click somewhere about 8 of 5. This book kept me reading when I really should have been putting it down to take care of a few other things. I don't do that often.

Having read "Old Man's War", "The Ghost Brigades", and "The Last Colony" for the first time over just the last few days, I thought that this book was a perfect way to wrap up the overarching political story line ... not to mention some of the personal ones as well. This book essentially has three political viewpoints wrangling with each other, and as the author moves from one to the other, each time he speaks with the voice of that political faction, the reader has to reevaluate which one might be "right" all over again. LOL It's just brilliant plotting and writing.

Critics of the book have one valid point. Through the middle portion of the book our intrepid colonists encounter an intelligent indigenous life form which might be a considerable threat, and at a certain point those natives do just disappear from the narrative ... in fact at a point where their involvement has reached a seeming climax. The story moves at that point from the more mundane survival concerns of the colony to the broader political story. There is an event in the story that could legitimately have made this threat of little future concern, and the author should probably have devoted a page of so of dialogue to wrap that up. Perhaps more existed originally on that plot line, but inadvertently got dumped in the editing process.

However, that minor quibble doesn't stop me from recommending this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Personalities were rich and often at odds. Tactics were clever and surprising. The politics were intricate and fascinating. The ending is at once spunky and sensible.

Read and enjoy.

This is a great book. I don't really know why, but I love the way Scalzi writes. It's so easy to read and the witty banter between his characters always makes me laugh. One of the reasons I really like this trilogy is because each book is so different. The Last Colony separates itself by having hardly any action which, you would think, would be a detracting factor but with the great writing style of the author and a gripping plot with characters that you genuinely care for, it all comes together quite nicely. This book is more of a political manifesto for a colony founded on the basis of false precedence and rather malevolent intentions whereas the others were kind of a soldier's handbook for interstellar warfare. This book is suspenseful, enigmatic, and I found it to even be a little profound. The only bad thing I can find to say is that the ending left me a little wanting. After going through so much with John and Jane, the last few pages were sort of anticlimactic and a little dry for my tastes.
All in all, this is a very solid book. I really enjoyed it. It won't blow you away, but it is compelling throughout and presents some very interesting predicaments.

This is essentially the same story as told in `The Last Colony' but from a different point of view. So why would I give it five stars? Simply because it is done so well. It caught my interest, made me smile, jerked my emotions, and reintroduced me to people and places that I became well acquainted with in Scalzi's other `An Old Man's War' books.
Technically, this should probably be considered a Young Adult novel because of the teenage protagonist. There is nothing wrong with this. Other authors (myself included) have written YA spinoffs set in the same world and with overlapping characters from their adult novels. This, however, is not a spinoff. This is the same story related in `The Last Colony' but from the perspective of John's and Jane's adopted daughter, Zoe. She was a great minor character in previous books and an exceptional protagonist in this one, which is told in first person, giving us insights into how she deals with being an orphan, the adopted daughter of the colony leaders of the planet Roanoke, and something like a goddess to the alien species known as the Obin.
The aspect of the book that feels a bit unnatural is some of the dialogue between Zoe and her friends. They are almost too witty, and Zoe and her friend Gretchen have more self-confidence than seems likely for two teenage girls. Of course, they are not normal teenagers. After all, who wants to read about hormonally powered, angst driven, girls whose major concern is how to attract a boyfriend? ... Oh, right. Those. Do yourself a favor and read this instead. Zoe has angst, she has hormones, she even has a boyfriend, but she also has intelligence, common sense, and wisdom beyond her years.
Scalzi has become one of my favorite authors, and I would love to see more stories set in this universe he has created. How does Roanoke fare? How does the Colonial Union deal with the Conclave? Do they join them? Do they oppose them? Is the C.U. overthrown? And what about Earth? It's an interesting world and there are many more story possibilities here. If he does continue with this thread, though, it will leave him with less time for his other writing, which would be a shame. Perhaps he could be cloned...

John Scalzi wraps up the Old Man's Universe with the last possible tale to tell. We're out in deep space with the army and special forces defending new colonies. We've told the army's story. We've told the Special Forces's story. Who's left? The colonists.

It's not an examination of colony life, although those glimpses are present and interesting. It's more about how the how the watershed conflict between the humans and the rest of the universe takes place. It's about war, it's about peace, and it's about the distance between people and government.

Scalzi is the guy that writers want to be. I don't how the guy can keep the plot moving when nearly 90% of his writing is dialogue, 9% is infodumping (but done in an entertaining way), and 1% is the gunfight at the climax, but he does it. I think it's because he doesn't just give a narration of what happened, he teases and toys. He's standing on a stage with a bunch of upside-down boxes, and he delights in turning them over in just the right order to keep you intrigued.

It's the best book I read this year, and the most memorable. My top pick for Satisfying Reader Experience(tm) of the year.

Our hero John Perry is back and after having served his term in the CDF, has finally settled down with his wife Jane and adopted daughter Zoe. Life is good, but after a while John and Jane get a seemingly innocuous request to lead the colonization of a new world and accept the chance to explore more of the galaxies once more. However, John and Jane are unwittingly pawns of the Colonial Union against the new alliance of alien races collectively known as The Conclave. Consequently, The Conclave are not playing nice and wish to rather abruptly end the existence of humanity. With all of this taking place, John must still protect and lead this new human colony while figuring out just what the Colonial Union has planned for the new colony of Roanoke.

The overall story of The Last Colony is well-paced and not bogged down with many useless subplots that normally end up adding nothing to a book or to simply distract a reader from the main plot lines. Scalzi did a pretty good job of accomplishing this and stuck to the main plots very nicely. It's sad to see the end of a series like this one. Then again, the mark of a good series is having the reader want more of it and mission accomplished in regards to that. I went through all three books (minus Zoe's Tale, which isn't really part of the series in terms of sequential story telling/plot elements) in a little under a week and was definitely entertained by them all. If you enjoyed Starship Troopers, The Halo Series, or just like science fiction in general - you definitely owe it to yourself to check out this book and the 2 books that preceded it in Old Man's War (Book 1) and The Ghost Brigades (Book 2).

The only other thing I'll add to this review is that I disagree with other reviews who say you don't necessarily have to read the other books in the series to grasp this one. That's partly true. You really don't need to read the Ghost Brigades to understand too much of this as its explained at fair detail in the beginning chapters, but you're doing yourself an injustice if you don't at least read John Perry and Jane's back-story/main story from Old Man's War.

-Travis S.

As a sci-fi novelist, John Scalzi has come a long way in a very short time. No, he doesn't yet have a lot of novels under his belt, having just had his debut book OLD MAN'S WAR published in 2005. But he's already amassed serious cred and clout and an enviable fan following. Personally I count Scalzi as an author just one tier below Bujold, Cherryh, and Weber. But he's climbing fast. The man just keeps on churning out the good books. Case in point: With the very good THE LAST COLONY, John Scalzi closes out his excellent trilogy begun with Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades and reacquaints us with that old fogey John Perry and his arse-kicking ex-Special Forces sweetheart Jane Sagan.

The setting: THE LAST COLONY returns us to a far future in which intelligent alien races are many, habitable planets are few, and competition for colonization is fierce and downright ugly. So when humanity throws in its two cents, well, extraterrestrial noses (or whatever) get bent out of shape and things get fractious.

Plot SPOILERS begin.

The plot: Years ago John Perry and Jane Sagan gave up their super-augmented bodies and retired from the CDF (Colony Defense Forces). Their consciousness having been transferred to more human forms, they've since gotten married, adopted the daughter of a treasonous genius scientist, and have settled on the backwater planet of Huckleberry. It's a humdrum farming existence which would last for 8 peaceful, contented years. This ends when John and Jane are asked by the CDF to act as leaders of the colonization of the planet Roanoke (history buffs will know that naming a venture like this "Roanoke" isn't exactly good karma).

John and Jane don't say no, and soon they find themselves travelling in a colony ship with their teenaged daughter Zoe, her two Obin minders, and a seed population of twenty-five hundred colonists hailing from ten long-established human worlds. But things shockingy go wrong when the colony ship is sabotaged and ends up orbiting an unfamiliar and hostile planet. Wait - it gets worse. It's not enough that the lost colony is now forced to eke out a desperate survival on a strange planet, having to make do with primitive equipment and with the colonists suddenly being hunted by frightening monsters. It's not enough that the colony then finds itself the object of an all-out manhunt (colony hunt?) by the Conclave, a powerful consortium of alien worlds which had banned colonizing by non-members. On top of that, the Perrys are further rocked by the realization that the Roanoke colony may actually be nothing more than a soon-to-be-discarded pawn in some long range scheme of the Colonial Defense Forces.

Scalzi weaves in a lot of dirty, holier-than-thou politics and worldview manipulation in this series, and he makes it all compelling and key to the story arc. The CDF - in its worthwhile goal of furthering humanity to the stars - has overreached itself. It dawns on John and Jane that their worst enemies just might be lurking from somewhere on their side. And when John Perry finally has had enough of being manipulated and effed with and decides to do something about the dirty laundry, well, what he comes up with is a thing of beauty.

SPOILERS end.

John Scalzi has stated that, while he may return to this particular universe, this is the last he'll write of John Perry and Jane Sagan. If that's true (and you never know), then it's a very good send-off indeed. THE LAST COLONY isn't as action-packed as OLD MAN'S WAR and THE GHOST BRIGADES, but it's thought-provoking and thrilling and it draws you in. And, when called for, it's certainly action-packed enough. A familiarity with the two prior books isn't necessary as Scalzi does a good job of filling in the blanks for new readers. But if you've read the other books, this one will resonate even more.

The thing about this book (and this trilogy, really) is that, underneath all the hard hitting special effects and gut-churning action and well-fleshed-out world building, it's still all about the characters. THE LAST COLONY may take place in the far future and involve sundry alien races and jaw-dropping technological advances, but Scalzi populates this universe with characters who are recognizable and all too human. And complex. In the beginning of the book, I made ready assumptions regarding Perry's very political chief rival, and that character arc didn't at all go the way I expected. Same goes for the leader of the alien Conclave. And so it goes with other characters. The awesome Jane Sagan, who appears in all three books, is a fascinating character, a clone forever questioning her humanity even as she kicks righteous booty. Zoe, John and Jane's fiercely loyal adopted teen, is simply marvelous. The snarky Savitri, John and Jane's right hand woman, also got to me. As for John Perry, I loved him in OLD MAN'S WAR and he doesn't let me down here. A superb protagonist in possession of insight, a dry wit, a moral compass, and a great humanity. If I were caught up in the dire crappola in which the Roanoke colonists found themselves, I would want someone like Perry to call the shots. And someone like Jane Sagan to back him up.

If you happen to enjoy these three books and if you aren't aware of this yet, you might want to also look up The Sagan Diary, a novella which is sort of a cousin to this trilogy. Although, truth to tell, THE SAGAN DIARY isn't as much a novella as it is a series of diary entries written by Jane Sagan as she makes personal observations regarding war, humanity, love, etc. It's interesting stuff. Another book to look forward to is the upcoming Zoe's Tale (I'm assuming this one's about Zoe Perry). Lastly, the only disgruntlement worth mentioning about THE LAST COLONY is that Scalzi seems to have forgetten (or forsaken?) the original and quite scary Roanoke natives. What happened to them?

"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

This is the third (and final) book in Scalzi's trilogy which included his debut novel, Old Man's War and it's sequel, The Ghost Brigades. While I do agree with some of the other reviewers that this one felt a little rushed, and perhaps was published in an abridged form, it is still quality writing and satisfying action-adventure reading.

In The Last Colony, John Perry and Jane Sagan (the main character of Old Man's War and one of the major characters of The Ghost Brigades, respectively) are recruited out of retirement to lead a "seed" colony. A seed colony is a 2500-person strong, government-authorized colony (as opposed to illegal, "wildcat" colonies) whose primary mission is to settle on a new planet, survive the first few years there, and prepare the way for the next, much larger wave of colonists. Previously, the Colonial Union only accepted colonists from Mother Earth, in the rationale that Earth was overpopulated, while the various colonized worlds still needed the colonists to stick around and breed more of their kind. However, many of the older colonized worlds wanted to be allowed to colonize, and finally, their wish is granted, albeit in the form of a seed colony in which ten separate colonized worlds are represented. It seems like a recipe for discord and disaster, and Perry and Sagan are (somewhat unwittingly) recruited to lead it.

The colony is established, but unbeknownst to most of the colonists, they are merely pawns in a huge interstellar political chess match. To find out more, you'll have to read it. I felt that this book was much lighter on the action sequences and the science-fiction gadgetry and technology, but deeper in the character dynamics and plot machinations. Overall, I was pleased with it, and certainly hope Scalzi's next batch of books are as good as his first trilogy.

John Perry, the main character of the excellent _Old Man's War_, which kicks off this trilogy, has left the Colonial Defense Forces and is a colonial administrator (ombudsman) on a quiet farming colony with his wife, Jane Sagan (formerly of the Special Forces), and their adopted 13 year old daughter Zoe. General Rybicki, a man from Perry's past, arrives with a proposal that he and Jane lead a new colony that is being planned. After eight years of peaceful predictability, he's ready for a change.

Unfortunately, the new colony of Roanoke lives up to its namesake. Things go bizarrely wrong from the start, with hidden conditions and plans imposed on them by the Colonial Union. Hints about the way the Colonial Union controls information and has too much power over all of humanity point to problems that come to fruition in this book. Intrigues and plots have placed John in the position of both fall-guy and possibly the only savior in a situation that could lead down the road to the failure of mankind in space.

This book covers, briefly, life on an established colony, the planning and politics involved in a the colonization of a new world and the dangers from enemies in space (and betrayal by their own government) and natural hazards on the ground. Then there are the tricky decisions and maneuvers in order to deal with the huge threat to the entire Colonial Union.

These books can be read as stand-alones even though they have common characters, but why not start at the beginning, since they are all excellent books full of adventure and suspense? This is a universe with exciting tales that one wish would never end.

Scalzi's third book, at least to start, moves at an easier pace than the ones before. The protagonists of the last books have retired from the military and cast off their olive drab (skin that is). They've settled down to farming, quieting petty feuds in their community, and raising a daughter. Then comes the offer: to lead colonization of a new world. Uprooting their family hurts a bit, but they agree. They and settlers from ten planets set out for their new home on Roanoke, named for a colony from American history.

When they arrive at Roanoke, it isn't - it's a different planet, not the one they prepared for. The Union has sabotaged their starship, stranding them. The settlers haven't been told the real purpose of their colony, as an expendable chip in a high-stakes political gamble. That's when Scalzi's writing hits its stride, unwrapping layer after layer of plots, secrets, and alien motivations. Despite the threat of planetary annihilation, the biggest threat comes from their own kind - who they can't trust and can't bring themselves to betray.

Old Man's War, the first in this series, had much in common with Haldeman's Forever War, but lacked Haldeman's bitter tone. Similarly, this volume echoes Forever Free. Instead of the benign neglect given to Haldeman's little colony, though, Scalzi drives deep into the territory where power corrupts, and where innocent civilians are expected to pay the price for that corruption. It's been a long time since I've read much SF, but Scalzi has me at it again.

-- wiredweird

According to the author's note at the back, this is meant to be the last book in the "Colonial Union" universe. He wants to turn his hand to other topics for awhile, which is probably a good thing -- because, while this is an enjoyable read, it's nothing like as multilayered or brimming with telling detail as the two novels that preceded it. John Perry, protagonist of the first book, and his wife, Jane Sagan, ditto of the second one, have left the Colonial Defense Forces for the pleasantly boring job of managing a community on one of the colony worlds. Then a couple of high-ranking figures from their mutual pasts talk them into taking on the much more responsible position of administrators to a whole new planetary colony. But when they get there, together with their adopted teenage daughter, it turns out not to be where they thought they were going. They've been set up by the CU as stalking horses in the struggle with the Conclave, a confederation of more than four hundred worlds that are trying to bring about interstellar peace by controlling further colonization by anyone. But, as John and Jane find out, the Bad Guys aren't necessarily, and the Good Guys definitely aren't. Behind the political plot are a number of thoroughly cynical points the author wants to make about where one's loyalties ought to lie, and what honor means in considering one's enemy, and why you shouldn't trust the Government to do anything but lie to you for its own ends. Things get sorted out satisfactorily, though, and the sometimes oddball characterizations and Scalzi's wry dialogue keep things moving right along. I'll definitely be watching to see what he has up his sleeve for his next novel.

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!

"The Last Colony" is the third book of the "Old Man's War" trilogy by John Scalzi. It's as much a political thriller as the military sci-fi of the previous books; it follows Jane Sagan and John Perry as they are picked to lead the planetary colony of Roanoke, the first colony to be picked from existing colonies rather than Earth itself. But Roanoke is important in a different way - it's being used as a pawn by the Colonial Union (leader of all the human colonies) in their opposition to the Conclave, a group of alien races that are attempting to regulate the unchecked expansion and war in the universe.

I liked "The Last Colony" both more and less than the earlier books. The philosophical questions around the CDF and the Special Forces aren't really a large part of the whole thing, which is slightly disappointing. Working better, however, is that Scalzi doesn't spend so much time in the area of competent but dull mil-sf like he did in the last two. Much of this book is the raising of the colony, which Scalzi handles well (although it is somewhat understandably shunted aside by developments later in the book) - it's nice to watch as Perry and Sagan try to keep the colony under control and safe under the constraints they're stuck with.

The book picks up steam as things turn more political, and the balancing act Perry has to strike is engaging. Scalzi keeps the situation tense and interesting, although some events are disappointingly offscreen. It's a satisfying finish to the Old Man's War series, and the best of the three books.

While this is the last of the trilogy that includes "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades," it is not necessary to have read the others to follow and enjoy "The Last Colony."

Scalzi seamlessly supplies the background as protagonist and narrator John Perry describes the bucolic retirement he and his wife, Jane Sagan, and adopted daughter, Zoe, are about to leave behind.

Perry and Sagan are both retired soldiers who gave up their highly modified bodies for ordinary human ones. Or so they believe until the Colonial Union offers them a challenging post establishing up a new planetary colony, Roanoke. New colonies are always a challenge since the heavens are filled with carbon-based species who covet each other's finds.

And that is about the only true thing the Colonial Union has told them. Even the planet they're sent to is not the one they prepped for. And Sagan soon realizes she is still very much Special Forces enhanced. And it's not just any rag-tag alien army that's after them. Instead, they are pawns in an interstellar battle of empires.

With wry humor and plenty of twists and turns that rely more on mental agility than military might - though there's a sufficiency of battles - Scalzi explores the pitfalls of government duplicity on a grand scale, censorship, ego, xenophobia and more. Never heavy handed, Scalzi provides well-written entertainment that can be enjoyed beyond the boundaries of the genre.

THE LAST COLONY(2007) is the third book from the OLD MAN'S WAR series. It keeps up a good pace, with lots of twists, turns, unravelings, and a few good battle scenarios. It is quite enjoyable throughout, but the story never seems to reach full crescendo.

The main characters John Perry and his wife Jane are likeable enough, as are the secondary characters (Secretary Savitri and "daughter" Zoe), who are assigned to lead up a Human Colony of about 1500 people from various planets, among ever stranger circumstances.

The bad guys in the story turn out mostly to be from the Colonial Union itself, and some of the good guys end up coming from the "enemy" Conclave (a Galactic Power made up of 412 races).

I never got a good feel for the character of the Perry's Odin alien compatriots Hickory and Dickory. I suppose they are described in the previous book from the series THE GHOST BRIGADES, which apparently is a bit of a prerequisite if you want to fully understand all the players in the story. I read the first book in the series OLD MAN'S WAR, and it offers some insight into the main character's background.

In an afterward, the author says that this is probably the last book in the John & Jane Perry series. I've read one other book from this fairly new author, THE ANDROID'S DREAM... I've found all of Scalzi's books to be enjoyable, but none have yet reached top-notch status.

...by adding my voice to it. I discovered John Scalzi via word of web right here on the store and took a chance on the first in this series "Old Man's War".
I loved it so much I went right for "Ghost Brigades" and got all Summer of '67 on that one, too.
So, "The Last Colony" was next in the deck and, surprisingly, turned out to be my favorite of the trio.
Now I'd give all three books four stars but Scalizi's Zelazny-esque wicked sense of humor and lean but bomb-pumped prose really shines on this, the latest in the series.
I was going to say "last" (seeing as how he alluded to it being so in his acknowledgments) but I see (Yay!) that another book "Zoe's Tale" is scheduled to be published in August of this year.
Happy, that makes me.

If you love Military SF with heart, soul and humor you will love all three of the books in this series.
An aside, you might wonder why I didn't give them five stars? Well, as wonderful as they are I tend to save that fifth shiner for books that I will read a billion times over a lifetime. Books like "Lord of Light", "Neuromancer" and "Dune" get my cinco de starro ratings, but it doesn't mean that Scalzi's books aren't superb reads...because trust me, they are.

John Scalzi's trilogy (Old Man's War, etc.) has finally come to an end with The Last Colony. The characters are alive, in the way that we've come to expect from Scalzi. The banter between "90-year-old dad" and "teenage daughter" is cute and funny, and if you have a teenaged daughter it rings true, especially if your daughter is smart and funny and quick. Scalzi's politics makes sense too, and his description of the galaxy can be read as an interesting discussion of the way the rest of the world views the United States at the end of the first decade of the 21st century. And maybe not. You can read the book and ignore the political subtext, and the book reads like a good old fashioned space yarn in the tradition of RAH, whose centennial is this year.

Scalzi's writing and his book is a far better memorial to Heinlein than the book Spider Robinson wrote last year, from material found by the Heinlein Estate.

You should buy Scalzi and read Scalzi because he is a terrific writer, and is one of the most direct literary inheritors of the Master, Robert A. Heinlein.

Walt Boyes
Associate Editor
Jim Baen's Universe magazine
[...]

To get the most out of THE LAST COLONY, you should read Old Man's War first, and then THE GHOST BRIGADES, both very excellent novels, and which, between them, introduce you to Scalzi's universe and bring you up to date in it. This is important, because unlike the relatively static universes of other series, such as that of Asimov's FOUNDATION or Weber's Honorverse, Scalzi's universe continues to develop with each novel. (It may not in the next one, ZOE'S TALE which I am looking forward to reading soon.)

John Perry returns from OMW and Jane Sagan from OMW and GB, and Zoe from GB, along with several other old friends and some new ones. Like the other two before it, LC is a real page-turner, difficult to put down and leaving you eager to read more Scalzi.

But since John Scalzi can't write them as fast as we can read them, I can recommend another, and very different 'Last Colony.' David Weber has given us OFF ARMAGEDDON REEF and its sequels, BY SCHISM RENT ASUNDER and BY HERESIES DISTRESSED which are also great fun. Buy them all, and enjoy!

[...]

I'd like to add my own 5 stars to this amazing series that started in Old Man's War. I have to say I didn't expect the story to work it's magic on me the way it had. I thought it would be like the space operas of Peter F. Hamilton (who, btw, also writes great space operas and is one of my long favorites). I was wrong. It was profoundly more human - the plot is truly driven by the characters. While the writing style is relaxed and flows easily and beautifully. I read each of the books in only short periods of time, neither getting confused nor getting tired (because I didn't need to access the deepest branches of my BrainPal often). Yet despite that, the books provided a rich experience. The twists and plots were not convoluted as to lose the reader, but are nonetheless as exciting and surprising. The characters come alive with their own philosophical dilemmas not far from what we might experience.

I'll definitely miss John Perry and Jane Sagan, but I'll look forward to reading more about Zoe in the upcoming "Zoe's Tale".

This is a great series, and John Scalzi is a great writer. They come highly recommended.

Get all the info before you move to a new place.

At the end of The Ghost Brigades Jane Sagan is offered retirement because she has information that Colonial Union wold rather she not share around via Brainpal, so they cut her a deal to get her, John Perry, and the kid they acquired a nice new colony home.

That lasts for awhile until the mlitary again comes calling, wanting their help for a new colony. Because of their daughter's alien minders and their own backgrounds they don't quite trust everything that is going on, but decide to go anyway.

Eventually, this drops them in the middle of a rather large political and military disagreement.

Not sure if Charles Stross is a Mystery Science Theatre fan, but Lieutenant Stross is their space adapted human contact, from a branch of the Special Forces known as the 'Gamerans', for some rather visual reasons.

Quite a bit more involved, this book, being basically about politics, and rather well done as 'J&J' face some tough decisions about their new home and the Colonial Union.

With The Last Colony John Scalzi brings his loose Old Man's War trilogy to a close. This is the story of John Perry and Jane Sagan hoping to do nothing more than continue their lives on the colonial planet of Huckleberry. They have a good quiet life together. Perry is the ombudsman of Huckleberry his wife, Sagan, is the town constable. They have an adopted daughter, Zoe, and two aliens which hold Zoe in great reverence because of who her birth father was. This idyllic life is perfect for John Perry and Jane Sagan, but it would make a fairly crappy science fiction novel.

A representative from the Colonial Union pays a visit to Perry and Sagan to request that they lead a new colony, this one the new colony of Roanoke. Unfortunately for Roanoke, there is a four hundred and twelve member collection of alien races called the Conclave. The Conclave has ordered that there will be no more colonies on any planet unless specified by the Conclave, and then only by Conclave member nations. If the Conclave can find Roanoke, the fledgling colony may be destroyed. With conflict within the colony as it struggles to survive, political maneuvering from the Colonial Union about the future of Roanoke, and the threat of alien destruction, there is quite a bit going on behind the scenes and the very future of humanity is at stake.

There is a very real question on whether or not any human colony would ever be named Roanoke. The lost colony which existed for three years in 1500's Virginia before disappearing utterly. While a government would not necessarily be superstitious, there would be no reason to name a colony after a failed colony, so right from the start Scalzi is telling his readers something about what is going on: it isn't what we first know, and that Scalzi's Roanoke faces the same danger of disappearing as the original Roanoke did.

Rather than an action filled story, like Old Man's War and The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony is a novel about survival. There is far less action, but still The Last Colony tells a good story about the threats to Roanoke and how Perry and Sagan respond to those threats.

Perhaps the largest trademark of a Scalzi novel is the wise cracking sense of humor each novel is laced with. The bottom line is that a Scalzi novel is fun to read. Pure pleasure. Scalzi novels read quickly with a sense of joy in the storytelling. Even being more of a political novel than the military action of the previous two OMW stories, The Last Colony is chock full of fast paced storytelling and with this volume, the story is closed on John Perry and Jane Sagan. The fan in me wishes that Scalzi would write more OMW stories, but the realist says that this chapter is closed and that the stories have been told. Scalzi leaves his readers wanting more, and that's a major mark in the favor of Scalzi. Scalzi is a talented storyteller and worth spending the time to read.

- Joe Sherry

Rounding out a trilogy started with "Old Man's War", Scalzi takes on political questions. Sent by the Colonial Union to head a colony, our narrator John Perry, his wife Jane Sagan, and their adopted daughter Zoe find that they've been given incomplete and inaccurate information about both the new colony and the circumstances surrounding it. The politics are both local, as Perry's work to maintain fairness angers some of his colonists, and universal, as Perry does everything that he can to keep his colonists safe and this angers most of the Colonial Union.

The plot moves quickly. It was hard to put down, and was a great end to the trilogy. There's a young-adult novel, "Zoe's Tale", that tells the story from his daughter's perspective; I'm sure I'll pick it up in the future.

“The Last Colony” is another great sci-fi book in the Old Man’s War series. This book takes us out of space and follows the John and Jane as they move from their settled life now that they are both out of the CFD to a new colony (at the title suggests). Due to the story line some of the crazy tech and ideas that are more up front in the other books are missing in this one which is a little disappointing but the story line and new situations popping up in the universe still make it a fun read. The quips by John Perry in this book are as good as any, making him a fun character to follow!

The Last Colony (2007) is the third SF novel in the Old Man's War series, following The Ghost Brigades. In the previous volume, John Perry and Jane Sagan are discharged from the Colonial Defense Forces and gain custody of Zoe Boutin. When they return to Phoenix, Jane takes Zoe to visit her family gravesite. Although the names of both her parents and Zoe's own name are on the headstone, only her mother is actually buried in the grave.

In this novel, Perry is now a farmer on Huckleberry as well as the ombudsman for New Goa village. His wife Jane is the local constable. Zoe and her two Obin observers -- Hickory and Dickory -- live with them on the farm.

Somehow Perry has also become the person to whom everybody brings their problems. When he comes back from lunch, his assistant -- Savitri Guntupalli -- informs him that the Chengelper brothers and a goat are waiting in his office. If it wasn't for the Chengelper brothers, life would be rather tame in New Goa.

After taking care of the latest dispute between the brothers, Perry returns home to find that another visitor is waiting in the house. This one has green skin. CDF General Rybicki has dropped by while he is in the vicinity to offer Perry another job: head of a new colony.

Roanoke will be a starter colony with only 2500 colonists. Perry is not the first to be asked to head this colony, but everybody else declined. Probably because the Conclave -- a union of 400 alien species -- has forbidden any new colonization except through their organization. The Roanoke colony will clearly defy this edict.

In this story, Perry and his wife undergo some accelerated training to cover their deficiencies as colony managers. Then they join the colony leaders in a sneak preview of the new world. Later, the whole colony is loaded on the Magellan and transported to the new planet. But the ship does not arrive at the proper location.

While the crew and passengers are trying to discover what went wrong, Lieutenant Stross contacts the ship. Stross is a Gameran, a special forces adaptation of the CDF combat body that is capable of living in a space environment. He has been riding on the ship's hull for ten days waiting for them to skip to Roanoke. But the ship's computer has been hacked so that they go to a planet other than their target world.

The Colonial Union has deliberately sent them elsewhere than the declared colony planet. They are ordered to hide all trace of modern civilization, including all radiating devices. At least the new world has vegetation and animals compatible with human bodies. They will need the extra food since the ship is not returning to base and the crew will have to live with the colonists.

This story tells more about the Conclave and the Colonial Union. Perry learns much more from the Obin than had been previously available to him. Then he has a video provided by the CU analyzed and learns more about the Conclave leader. The CU is defying the Conclave and Roanoke is the helpless pawn in the middle of it all.

Highly recommended for Scalzi fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of settling new worlds, alien psychology, and political intrigue.

-Arthur W. Jordin

You know, I've been reading genre fiction for so many years that I was glad to hear that Scalzi was putting the hammer down on this franchise. Too many series of books have morphed into gradually withering franchises. Let me click off a few names for you: Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony... groaning yet? You should be. Remember those untold weekends and nights spent delving into yet another installment that does nothing and goes nowhere, finding yourself hoping for an entire *novel* that gives you some sense of overall narrative progression? I sure do. And it sounds like Scalzi does too.

I think what he does best in TLC is weave a dense, twisting plot that is nevertheless pretty easy to follow and enjoy. There may be a few too many "You need to take a look at this, Bob" moments, but such are the trappings of the page-turner style, which Scalzi has nailed. I also like the multi-cultural nature of it, and the struggle of honest people against a sometimes cold bureaucracy.

The dialog is also some of the snappiest I've ever read -- sometimes *too* snappy, in my personal opinion. Oftentimes the characters sound too glib for the circumstances. He doesn't quite nail the tone of gallows humor, and it can be a little jarring in the often grim circumstances that surround these people. Sometimes I felt that he was slipping in humorous exchanges for their own sake, and our protagonist sometimes came off like a riffing Tim Allen. It's good to see a writer obviously enjoying his work and his life, but the lightness granted by some of the exchanges killed the tension a few times. The snappy retorts and and dry sarcasm are entertaining, but they're also at odds with a grounded, serious conflict.

Nevertheless, I recommend it. At the least, it's a skillful reminder of the importance of questioning authority and sometimes going against it in favor of moral obligation.

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.

John Scalzi's The Last Colony completes the trilogy begun by his award-winning Old Man's War. In this book, we return to John Perry's 1st person perspective, which is quite nice, since that's where the story began.

The Last Colony finds Perry married to Jane Sagan, the former Special Forces soldier, and living on a newish colony. They have adopted Zoe Boutin, the little girl from Ghost Brigades and they are working as the administrators etc. of the colony where they live. Living with them are two Obin, Hickory and Dickory, who are essentially bodyguards for Zoe due to the fact that her biological father gave the Obin consciousness and they revere Zoe like a goddess. Perry and Sagan's life is good and things feel more or less like home. More or less. Remember that these two are privy to some of the more secret knowledge that the Colonial Union has seen fit to keep from the rest of humanity.

John and Jane are approached and asked to head up a new colony on a planet called Roanoke. If you know the story of the historical Roanoke, you can be sure that Scalzi did not just pull this name out of a hat. This new colony, they are told, is an attempt to satisfy some political machinations as well as avoid the notice of the Conclave, a union of multiple alien peoples.

The problem is that John and Jane are not given all of the information, and as the story unfolds, it becomes clear to them that they and the colonists in their charge are being used as tools by the Colonial Union. With the Conclave presented as the apparent baddy, the Colonial Union as the secretive and murky but more or less good guys, and the colonists at the center of a nasty conflict, the story trucks along just fine.

Scalzi does a nice job showing how colonies in his world work. A nice twist comes when the colonists must depend on Mennonites and their particular skill set to survive their first year. The colonists are real people and Scalzi is at his best fleshing out these people and letting a nice brew boil as motivations and goals come into conflict. The conflicts between the colonists feel authentic and are very compelling.

But then along comes the question: Who's really the bad guy? And another question: Just how far is the Colonial Union willing to go to protect its interests? And then: Will the Conclave wage total war on humanity now? And then: Exactly how are the colonists of Roanoke, with John and Jane at the helm, going to get out of their nasty fix?

Scalzi's a smart guy. It's quite nice when the end of a book has action that is more than just shooting and explosions but has the winners coming out ahead because of intelligence, creativity, and compassion. This book ends not unpredictably, but in a very satisfying manner, the story that Scalzi began with Old Man's War.

I felt that the one area that needed work was (spoiler alert!) the discovery of indigenous intelligent life on the planet of Roanoke. This was treated briefly, but then seemed to be forgotten.

All in all, however, the book is excellent. Engaging as always and startling in its robust world and fascinating characters and aliens. And all that combined with a keen eye for deeper questions and true humanity. Solid stuff, my friends.

I give it 5 out of 5 pens.

I started the Old Man's War series not knowing what to expect. I finish the initial trilogy with a deep appreciation for the people, the storytelling and the obvious thought behind the story. This was the experience I long for and all too rarely find -- a transporting tale of human adversity and survival, smart thinking and deep relationships, new ideas and hope in the face of overwhelming threat. I recommend the series without reservation or qualification.

In The Last Colony, readers of Scalzi's Old Man's War series become re-acquainted with John Perry. The widower Perry, now with his new wife - herself formerly of Special Forces - and their adopted daughter Zoe live on an human colony when they receive a very surprising offer from the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces): Become the leaders of a new colony. But - it turns out - there's a lot more to the CDF's request than meets the eye.

Last Colony is the most political of Scalzi's books in this series and explores the wisdom - or lack thereof - of CDF policy. We also learn quite a bit more about The Conclave, perceived to be the CDF's greatest enemy. Scalzi tells a fascinating tale combining both small town and inter-galactic politics, in addition to family dynamics. Highly recommended.

The third in the Old Man’s War series, this book focuses on the main characters of the first two books, now married and having adopted a new member to the family (plus bodyguards). Lost Colony has a different tone and style; John Perry already knows how to use his “new” body. We know how lethal Jane is. This is more about politics and nation building.

Scalzi spins a good yarn. Even if you don't like space sagas and aliens you'd like his books. Like the others in the series, this Book 3 is thoughtful, clever, and keeps you reading. The characters are great too.

Again Scalzi has produced a great read, returning to characters who are believable and entertaining. Nothing is happening for the reasons it seems and the semi-omnipotent narrator (John Perry) walks us through the whys. Lots of political action and a sprinkling of physical action that is reminiscent of Heinlein (with a different political view).

The only complaint I have is that most of the main characters are sarcastic throughout this novel. I love sarcasm, I use it often, but it led to little diversity in speech pattern amongst the main characters (Jane being an exception).

The Last Colony purports to be the final chapter in the 'Old Man's War' Trilogy (would the Sagan Trilogy be a better name?), and it certainly lives up to the task. As always, I found this Scalzi venture a fun read, as well as action packed. This time, John Perry and Jane Sagan are husband and wife, living with an adopted daughter and her bodyguards on a colony, peacefully living their lives, when they get asked to be the leaders of a new colony. That gets them thrown into a whole new world of trouble (literally!).

The characterizations are pretty spot on, and I am sad to see the main characters go. I am not sure we got inside Perry's head as much as we did during OMW, or Jane's during TGB, but nonetheless we get a good sense of who these people are.

The book is a quick read at 300 pages, and frankly, it could have been twice as long, or even split into two books. I say that because sometimes it feels rushed. Months pass by in a couple of pages, and I would have liked to see life on the new colony unfold in a little more detailed manner. There's enough action to satisfy the Saganverse fan, but I felt the strength of the book was in the parts that focused on the life on the colony and the interaction between the other colonists besides the Perry household.

Brevity besides, The Last Colony is a great read, and has some real plot twists I couldn't figure out, which is rare for most Sci-Fi books I come across. There was one character that reminded me of a certain starship captain (or maybe a close parody of him), and I'm not sure that was intentional or not, it could just be my brain playing into that archetype.

All in all, if you've read the first two parts of the trilogy, The Last Colony is well worth it. And if you haven't, the Old Man's War mass market paperback is out now, and so is the one for The Ghost Brigades. Money well spent for any Sci-Fi fan.

Lots of twists and turns in the plot. You never know who the real villains are until the end. It i nice to see the continuation of characters from book to book in the series. Just enough review of prior happenings to allow you to properly place the characters and plot from previous books without an over regurgitation of past writing.

Great storytelling, but less-than-stellar editing. While neatly resolving all the interstellar crises, Scalzi seems to forget all about the intelligent "werewolves" introduced toward the middle of the book. I really thought he was going somewhere with these creatures, but they just disappeared from the narrative. In the acknowledgments, Scalzi credits his editors for helpfully ripping entire chapters out of the book. Presumably, that's what happened to the werewolves. I also saw more typos than I'm accustomed to in a finished book.

This is the first book I've read by Scalzi; I enjoyed it well enough that I'll pick up the earlier volumes, but I sense this book could have been better. The four stars are for the story; for editing, I'd give it a two.

Old mans war is excellent - the best sci fi to come along in a long time, everyone should read it, it's packed with wonderfully rich ideas that stay with you.
Book 2 is great, full of engaging ideas, good characters, I loved it.

The last colony is the first two without the editors flogging John into superior fiction, and it really does show. The book is engaging, entertaining, without a doubt a solid read and you won't regret the time you spent. That being said there was a great deal of odd grammar, misspellings, and plot lines that truncate unexpectedly, which is very unlike the other two books. There is even a magical element that gets our heros out of their scrape. Doh. And the ending is an artificial wrap up I just couldn't get on board with - their universe is modeled on our world, CU=USA, Conclave=UN and through both previous books he stuck to a complex love/hate, power struggle that felt very believable.

*SPOILER ALERT*
He drops it in favor of a too nice ending. Someone should have stopped him from writing so far out of character, I just can't honestly see the series ending that way. "we group of aliens so willing to eradicate you that we use a useless reason to attack now welcome you into our brotherhood. Cmon gang, lets all hold hands, harmony through diversity." Its to cute, to nice, and too forced. But having said that this book was worth every penny to buy and every minute to read.

John Perry is back with his sarcastic humor, and his adopted daughter, Zoe joins him together with Jane. It's like meeting with old friends.
In this book - as in other Scalzi books - there is always something bigger going on in the background. The CU lies to Perry about its real purposes, but he is smart enough not only to play along but to turn the whole situation to his advantage - saving thousands of lives in the meantime.
Scalzi have put a little more than the usual twists and turns into this story right until the end.
If you want ten hours of entertainment, read this book.

This is one of my all time favorite series now. I know it was the last book for Mr. Scalzi's trilogy but he indicated that he wasn't totally done with this universe and I certainly hope there is much more to come. I have not read the Human Divisions yet which is his most recent OMW offering but will be getting to it soon. With such a vast number of alien races, the possibilities are boundless.

As in book 2, the characters are familiar while the plot is new. And it is stacked very nicely on top of things from the first two books. A great series!

I gave this a 3, it was an enjoyable read but not up to the quality of the first or 2nd book. Still, Scalazi is a great writer so if you enjoyed the first 2 books I would recommend this. This books attempts to wrap up some of the major problems facing Humanity and surprisingly our leads play a big role in this. It focuses on John & Jane Perry, the protag's of the first 2 novels.

Something I would have liked to have seen is the reunion of John & Jane. In the first book they "meet" and she turns out to be a clone of his former wife. They begin a relationship that is sidelined due to their service in the war - understandable. And there was some remorse there, the chance of them both living thru the war was very very slim. So it was bittersweet for them to have met and not "be together" At the end of the 2nd book Jane is discharged as a reward for service and she gets to adopt a daughter and also gets to have John discharged early also. Great! But we don't get to SEE that. The CU says its happening and then this book takes places many years later - 8 years? So they are a happily married couple with their teenage adopted daughter. Awesome - but they would have been great to SEE! Its the old "show us" don't "tell us" rule of writing.

Complaints: the books veers wildly from 1 plot to another. First its about the Perry's being drafted to lead a new colony and thats starts getting "good." Then its about a Galactic Federations' attempt to squash Humanity and the Colony issues are sidelined. Then its about Earth being kept in the dark about all the above machinations and John Perry attempts to do something about all this. Jane Perry is in the book a lot, but is sidelined to supporting role. She was really the more interesting of the 2 IMHO.

So, its good fun read if you like the first 2 but its very different. There is a lot of talk in the book, especially at the beginning and it takes a long time for any action to kick in. I don't mean to sound like I hated it but it could have been a much much better book.

I enjoyed reading all three books in this trilogy in the sequence they were published. It had the three most important aspects I need in a sci fi book; spaceships, love interests, and war. If you like those things too, start with "Old Man's War". It's the best ride since Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". Take my word for it and I've been reading sci fi for forty seven years. Scalia gets my first made-up award: The GDGR. ( Goddam Good Read).

Filled with lots of wry humour and with plans that almost never worked out as intended, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, which gave me many a chuckle. While the book harks back mainly to the first book in the trilogy (which is appropriate, given the story is told from the perspective of the same main character in both books), it can be enjoyed equally as a stand alone book or as a fitting end to a great trilogy. Do yourself a favour though and read ALL the books in the series.

I only have one question - what ever happened to the werewolves?

Unusually for a newer author, Scalzi has written an unbroken line of winners.

I've read almost everything he's written, and every one was a winner.
"The Last Colony" is a fitting and quite good end to the trilogy he started with "Old Man's War".
Unlike too many authors, Scalzi ends this trilogy properly, with a bang-up finish, and none of the usual drifting way out into left field as so many others do.

"The Old Man" of the trilogy is an entirely believable and likable protagonist, and the story finishes up with a most satisfying conclusion.
There are few loose ends left unaddressed, and you can say goodbye to some interesting people with no regrets.

I look forward to more from Scalzi. He's on a run of writing stories that are full of fresh ideas, interesting people, and interesting situations.

This book represents a missed opportunity. When I read that the main characters were going to colonize a world, I hoped that this book would be a homage to Heinlein's Time Enough for Love. Old Man's War serves as an excellent tribute to his Starship Troopers. Perry even brings along an adopted daughter. Alas, there is no hint of New Beginnings, or Happy Valley in Perry's colony of Roanoke. The colonizing sections of the story feel very rushed. It's as if the author just couldn't wait to get to the surprise ending. (Spoiler Alert) Perry betrays humanity to a fleet of mass murdering aliens, because he prefers their collectivism to humanity's love of independence.

I think Scalzi realized that he had given Roanoke short shrift. He wrote another whole book covering the same story, from another perspective.

I listened to the audio version. The narrator was excellent, and delivered Perry's wry sense of humor perfectly. It's for his sake that I gave this novel it's second star.

The story continues from Old Mans War and The Ghost Brigades and proceeds in the same gripping story style. The finale is quite Feel Good.

But I seriously find some characters still under developed. Jane Sagan/Perry being the most under developed one.

Also Aliens are not really described physically. Not that it takes anything away from the story but if we really are talking about 1000 + species compatible to Humans in breathing oxygen/nitrogen combination, how could there be so much biodiversity? Strikes you as being a bit far fetched.

But then that is science fiction...

The Last Colony by John Scalzi is the third and last book in a trilogy that began with Old Man's War and continued with The Ghost Brigades. John Perry and his beloved second wife are now administrators of a human colony. Because of their military and administrative backgrounds they are picked to start up a new colony - but they are not told that the real purpose of the colonists is to be bait in a deadly trap for enemy alien species. But are those aliens truly enemies? Is there any way for humanity to peacefully coexist in a galaxy filled with other intelligent life forms? Who are the real enemies of mankind? John Perry is put in a terrible place - where he must decide the future and fate of his entire species. A fitting end to one of the best science fiction trilogies I have read in a long time! Bravo to John Scalzi!

The tone of "The Last Colony" (2007) is somewhat gentler than the first two books in this series "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades." That allows Scalzi to cover fresh ground with his characters John Perry and Jane Sagan, as well as their adopted daughter Zoe. There are a few surprises in store, especially for Jane, but all the apparent loose ends are tied up nicely by the novel's end.

As usual, Scalzi's journalistic experience is evident to *this* TV reporter's eye and ear, in both his narrative and dialogue. I found myself saying, "I've had conversations like that with *real* people!" There's notably less profanity and "extracurricular activity" than the first two books in this series. I'm also looking forward to the next volume in the series, entitled "Zoe's Tale" (2008).

I love science fiction. However, I don't think I have ever read any science fiction which does such a great job of mixing the fantasy of space travel with the humanity of the characters. Maybe Heinlein, but no one else.

I enjoyed this book.

At first I thought it was going to be a fight to the death with the natives, or something like it, a la Frank Herbert and "The Jesus Incident". Then that scenario's whisked away for something else (BTW, whatever did happen to the werewolves?), which is quickly replaced by something else, etc.

There are a couple of moments when you go "Well, isn't that convenient!", particularly when the special forces do their thing to the fleet, and the Consu technology shows up out of nowhere, but hell, that's just picking nits. The bottom line is that I was hooked enough to read the whole thing in a couple of sessions over the weekend.

It's an enjoyable book where, in the end, all turns out well among honorable foes.

While this isn't technically the last book of The Old Man's War series, it really felt like the end. The 4th book (Zoe's Tale) from other reviews is basically a retelling of this story, so this felt like a good stopping point. I really did enjoy the books, but perhaps will come back to them at a later date. I recommend the first three books without hesitation.

I actually read the companion novel Zoe's Tale, which is to The Last Colony as Ender's Shadow is to Ender's Game, before I read The Last Colony. It makes little difference which one reads first. Both are very welcome continuations of the story Scalzi began in Old Man's War. I read both books in hasty gulps, and then went back to savor the details I'd hardly had time to absorb. I always appreciate the emotional depth Scalzi brings to his science fiction.

This book was great. Awesome story, strong character, and solid sci-fi elements. Being the 3rd book in the series, Scalzi's personal writing voice begins to overshadow character voices one you get use to his style. While not a bad thing in itself, it does downplay a few key reveals in the story where you could imagine it's just one person talking to themselves. However this is a very small complaint and I'd 4.5 if I could. Highly recommended read overall!

If you plan to read the this book, then start with the first book OLD MANS WAR. Last Colony stands alone well as a critical analysis of humanity and a fun look at a possible future, but I think it is best when read where it belongs as the last in the series.

Last Colony catches up to John Perry, a 90 year old man in his remade body of a 30 year old, when he has retired from the Colonial Union army. He was recruited from earth, where they only accept you to travel offworld at the age of 75 and promise that your body will be rejuvenated as long as you serve a term of 2 years defending the earth colonies. But things aren't always as they seem and John served much longer, meeting Jane Sagan, a special forces soldier as in THE GHOST BRIGADES, the second in the series.

John and Jane are happy in their retirement from army life on a colony when they are tricked into serving as the administrators of a new colony that is called Roanoke--like the lost colony of America.

the book takes off fast and travels furious from there and ends on a satisfying note, which is why I like Scalzi's books.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great. The book itself is awesome, I was glad the writer brought John Perry from the first book back, his wit and humor really make this so much fun to read. Defenitly read the first two books before this one. A fun and satisfying Science Fiction book!

I thoroughly enjoyed Old Man's War and mostly enjoyed The Ghost Brigades (I thought it was weaker than Old Man, but enjoyable in its own right), but The Last Colony was just okay.

* Small spoilers *

The story revolves around Zoe, now a teenager, who is just too perfect to be believable (at least as an adult reader). That a teenage girl saves the entire universe from civil war when no one else can (not to mention, makes friends with the werewolves that have been eating the other colonists) stretches the bounds of credulity. The book reminded me of the Eclipse series in tone and depth of character (which is to say, pretty much none), especially for the characters from the previous books.

Jane was reduced to June Cleaver in her calm, reasoned interactions with Zoe (come on, what kind of mother of a teenage girl never raises her voice?)--an emotional capability you have to question given that she's not much older, chronologically and emotionally, than Zoe herself. She's still, apparently, the super-soldier, but all of that action takes place off-stage.

Overall, I'd say the book is nominally worth reading, but I'm annoyed that I paid the same amount for this one as I did for the previous two.

I just finished reading this book, and I am suffering from "book hangover." The author flawlessly creates another world, and I do not want it to end. I read the first two books in this series, and I have found each to be very different in tone, content, and level of action. Nevertheless, I loved all three, individually. I was engaged by the characters, John Perry and Jane Sagan. The plots are very clever, with many unexpected twists. The action is riveting. There is always some great humorous passages and relationships that are moving. The science fiction is engrossing. I hope John Scalzi reconsiders his decision to end this series and instead brings these characters back in many more books.

This book was a fun, quick read. It it better than the second in the series. The author seems to have found his stride in this universe without as much reminiscences of other stories as it felt in the first book. It could likely stand alone, but I think I enjoyed it more for its continued storyline of evolving, known characters. Don't expect characters to have nuanced depth, as it is the action and plot that drives the story.

I enjoyed the book. It was a good read but it only afforded a couple of twists which seemed too convenient for our heroes. Then again, I wouldn't have had it any other way because the heroes are supposed to succeed.

I've just finished reading `The Last Colony` by John Scalzi and although it's very early in the year I can honestly say this is going to be one of the best reads of 2009. John Perry, the hero of John Scalzi's Hugo-nominated debut novel, Old Man's War, has found peace in a violent universe. When him and his wife, Jane, are asked to lead a new colony world, he jumps at the chance to explore the universe. Him and his new colony are pawns in an interstellar game of diplomacy and war between humanity's Colonial Union and a new, seemingly unstoppable alien alliance that has ordered an end to all human colonization.

This is a great read. Scalzi characters are believable, his plots are adventurous and engaging without running the risk of being primarily action-driven. What Scalzi also achieves to make the world of Roanoke, the last colony in the novel, truly shine is the level of detail. He presents the planet as a microcosm in a larger geo-political empire. Scalzi's novel reads simple on the surface but what you take away from the novel is something more complex. What he also achieves is showing the reader the grand scale of galactic empires without reading like some of the daunting space opera epics (i.e. Alaistar Reynolds, Ian M. Banks). If you're a seasoned science fiction aficionado or just want an enjoyable read. This is the book for you!

[...]

I was looking forward to reading more by this author after reading "Old Man's War". I waited for the price on this book to drop, and I can't imagine why it took so long. I was excited when it finally arrived, but got halfway into it and gave up. What a disappointment!

The story might have been fun to read when I was a teenager. It certainly reads like young adult fiction, with alien bad guys that look like werewolves, a host of one dimensional characters, and a few just plain silly plot constructions. Scalzi also spends entirely too much time walking the reader through all he mundane politics and logistics of colonizing a new world with a bunch of amateurs. All of it's simply too unlikely, to the point of being irritating.

Not everybody can be Michael Crichton or Richard K Morgan, obviously, but with this poor effort, Scalzi doesn't even try.

This is a great mash-up of sci-fi thriller and frontier living, with plenty of strategizing against intrigue.
If you like the first 2 books of the "Old Man's War" trilogy, you will be very pleased with how this one ends (as well as the "alternate perspective" book, "Zoe's Tale").

Throughly enjoyable and made a lifelong Scalzi fan out of me.

Interesting story with good characters. A bit difficult to follow since I hadn't read the previous books in the series. Part of me wants to go back and read them just for that, but I probably won't. It really didn't grab me like some other authors do. Younger readers would probably really enjoy it.

After reading the first 2 novels, I was a bit disappointed in the conclusion to John Scalzi's trilogy. He brings together John Perry, Jane, and their daughter Zoe - but it doesn't really add any depth to their characters. The story itself was OK, but it didn't seem to build off of the previous 2 novels. It feels like the characterization was left behind in this story, and it didn't really feel like the personality of John Perry and Jane were captured. I'll definitely read the 4th novel (Zoe's Tale), and am hoping for some of the magic from before.

I'm sure die-hard Scalzi fans will burn me at the stake for this and maybe I've just been spoiled by Old Man's War and the Ghost Brigades, but I have to say that I was dissatisfied with the final book in this series.

The banter between the characters, per the author's usual style, is entertaining but fails to compensate for an underdone, flimsy storyline. Add in an uneven pace, a linear supporting character here and there, and clumsy, forced sequence of events and out pops The Last Colony.

I think Mr. Scalzi was ready to move on to another project and pushed out the book simply to close out the trilogy. Simply put The Last Colony is an awkward, disappointing ending to an otherwise fantastic trilogy.

The first two books in the the Old Man's War series were interesting, but this is the first one I found to be compelling. There were times I didn't want to put it down. It's been a long time since that has been true.

John Scalzi always does a nice job in writing a story that flows very easily. Many times Sci-fi seems to written in a dumbed down manner. what I liked most is that the characters react in a way that make sense. It seems true to life.

I agree with some that have said this book feels like a rush job. But it was still enjoyable. Probable another 100 pages could have added depth to the book. I wanted to know more about the "werewolf" natives and the overall colonization process. Lots of stuff was just skimmed over. And I still do not know what an Obin looks like. It was a breezy, enjoyable book that could have been a better finale to a terrific trilogy. Scalzi is still great but this is not up to par with Old Man's War and Ghost Brigades.

This is definitely Scalzi's best work. I never thought I'd say this, but his work is on par with Frank Herbert's Dune universe and with a great sense of humor as an added bonus. He proved that he can write a great story without resorting to casual sex to sell it as in the other books of this series. I have read all his scifi works and will be on the lookout for his next

If you like Sci-Fi, if you like classic Sci-Fi, if you like Heinlein, if you enjoy militaria, plot twists and a heaping dash of humor - you will love this book. It's a fitting end to the story cycle and (thankfully) he goes out on top before wearing out his welcome.