John Perry from Old Man’s War is enjoying his third life. He was a human on Earth until he was old and widowed, then he joined the space corps and gained a new body and many battles; finally, he retired with his new wife and their daughter. But THE LAST COLONY proves that for some people, there is never an end to strife.
Enjoying his job as village ombudsman on a new planet, Huckleberry, John is not inclined to leave. A colony about to be founded on yet another planet needs a wise leader. John, his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, and their daughter Zoe are talked into going. The author John Scalzi makes no secret of wanting to explore another arena besides endless military Sci-Fi, so his acclaimed series Old Man’s War takes a turn into how a colony is peopled, founded and equipped. Speaking of equipment, the new human colony has all initial decisions made for it by the Colonial Union, including its ominous name Roanoke, and the inventory landed turns out to include more mid-twentieth century farming implements than expected. Just as well there are Mennonites among the settlers who know how to work a blacksmithy. Now could this be coincidental? No, of course not. The eager settlers are instructed not to use advanced tech as it would give away their presence to neighbouring alien bullies. Seems the wars are not over.
Not all aliens are harmful, Hickory and Dickory are two Obin aliens who appoint themselves as young Zoe’s guards. But Roanoke is intended as a pawn in the ongoing conflict with the alien Conclave of worlds. If you have read as many Sci-Fi books as I have, you may get confused between the Ender’s Game world, this world, Forever War, and the Culture world. There are a lot of great Sci-Fi works out there, and some inevitably involve settling planets and finding enemies. There are generals galore, battleships and space-adapted warriors, communicators and enhanced bodies. There’s desperate action. There are also several scenes where people stand and talk politics, vast-reaching plots and hidden conspiracies.
The characters are what distinguish THE LAST COLONY from other works on similar themes. John has a dry wit and a sharp sense of military honour. Jane is a lady seriously not to be messed with. We also meet an ethnic Indian lady, Savitri, who has led a quiet life in the Huckleberry village and wants to see some excitement. The media crew always raises a laugh and the picky, whiny lead colonists are treated well by John, and end up respecting his actions. As does the reader. Good one, John Scalzi.
From New York Times bestselling author John Scalzi, comes The Last Colony, the third book in the Old Man's War series, now for the first time in trade paperback with a new introduction by the author.
Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up.
That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game — as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war.
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