The Last Colony by John Scalzi
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Book Reviews of The Last Colony
Book Review: The Last Colony
Summary: 5 Stars
The Last Colony
This book is the latest in John Scalzi's series of super humans, and while many have considered him the next Heinlein, that bit gets bandied around way too much. He is not the next Heinlein but he is an phenomenal writer. The Old Man's war series (This is book 3 of the series) is some of the best writing to come out of the "brat pack" of authors (Sagan, Scalzi, and Doctorow) that are setting down some of the newer riffs in modern science fiction writing.
The last colony is a book about love, hope, betrayal, and stubbornness, and how all of that will overcome the best laid machinations of government and military. When you promote someone and give them freedom of action to do something, never be surprised that they will work on their own agenda rather than yours.
The story starts off with the Hero John Perry and his wife Sagan are talked into leading a colony after the events in Old Mans War and Sagan's story in the Ghost Brigades. We also learn how Zoe (adopted daughter) has become the icon of an alien race without emotions, and how the starting to be teenage daughter deals with that, along with colonizing a new planet. Of course everything also goes wrong, the combined space races have declared a moratorium on new colonies without approval of the interstellar alliance. If you do they wipe out your colony from orbit, which is not the way that you want to end your day. The interesting part about this is the colonial defense group does not want to be part of the alliance, but along comes Perry and Sagan. And things do not end up the way that anyone expected them to be. While there is no planned follow up and Zoe's Tale is not yet available, this is one universe that is worth exploring, and hopefully Scalzi will continue the story because it is compelling, interesting, and just plain fun to read science fiction.
Rated this book 5 stars, this is a must purchase, but get the whole series, this is the 3rd in the series, and you will really want the background information.
Book Review: Twenty-five hundred pawns to king four
Summary: 5 Stars
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
Book Review: Plots and hazards on a New Colony
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: Robert Heinlein would be proud...
Summary: 5 Stars
I almost put the first book in the series down, thinking it would be endless old person "got to pee" references. The characters were a little slow to build up an empathy with, but after the first few chapters things worked out. I'm really glad I didn't put it down.
Scalzi has done a superb job with the technology, both the space flight and the bioengineering. Both were plausible and the author knew when and how much to explain; it fit the narative seamlessly. Once the characters were developed, empathy kicked in like gangbusters. And in the tradition of Heinlein, just when things seem smooth, the crewman in the red jumper goes out to dump the trash and...
One thing I really appreciated in the Last Colony was the point of view of the other alien races in the Conclave. Scalzi has done some very sophisticated thinking about the interactions of humans and "alien" races.
These three books are well-crafted and well-paced. The author has constructed a very realistic universe socially, politically, and technologically. The aliens (species and individuals) are well thought out: the reader becomes invested in the plot and characters. The military
parts are realistic and not romanticized. The only complaint in this area is that the character of the Drill Sergeant (MSGT Ruiz) is a little over the top; if this is based on Sergeant Zim in Starship Troopers then it's not quite there.
Looking back on the experience, I see how the various story arcs and plot fit into the uber-plot and it's just amazing. I'm SO glad I didn't put it down in volume one.
Highly recommended.
Book Review: He's Got To Be Kidding!
Summary: 5 Stars
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!