The Last Colony

by John Scalzi

Hardcover, 320 pages

English language

Published April 17, 2007 by Tor Books.

OCLC Number:: 77504535

(148 reviews)

The Last Colony is a science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi, the third set in his Old Man's War universe. It was nominated for a 2008 Hugo Award in the Best Novel category.

4 editions

LemmiSchmoeker reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Again, quite different from the first two books

4 stars

Again, this one is quite different from the first two books: everything encountered before falls together (or at least gets a cameo) to create a monumental story that encompasses even the parts of the universe not yet explored. There are a few threads that don't seem to go very far and are mainly used to shed more light on the situation as a whole, but that is hardly noticeable among the many other events that do form a part of the larger puzzle.

Politically, Scalzi doesn't want to take a clear stance for or against the Colonial Union and what it stands for, and instead has his characters discuss both sides thoroughly and with contantly shifting sympathies. The reader will have to follow along whatever arguments seem to make the most sense.

Originally, this was meant to be the last story in the Colonial Defense Forces universe, but at the …

Originally, this was meant to be the last story in the Colonial Defense Forces universe, but at the time of writing this short review, there are already three further novels and a couple of short stories, so that idea seems to have been abandoned.

mikerickson reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

-

3 stars

You know how sometimes you don't feel like getting into anything too engrossing or mentally taxing but instead just wanna enjoy something mindless? Military sci-fi tends to be that genre for me, specifically delivered in one of those squat mass market paperbacks. Having already read the first two books in this series, this seemed like the right time to pick through the third.

Our returning main character from the first book is retired ex-military now though, and gets roped into a civilian colony project that quickly spirals into a, "what isn't our government telling us?" mystery with a series of tense backroom discussions. Which is to say this is a more political and dramatic story than I was expecting, and the sole action scene at the climax felt a little rushed and unearned. Oddly, this also didn't feel like a blatant setup for an immediate sequel neither.

All in all …

All in all it's a fine sci-fi colonization story set in a universe and with a cast of supporting characters I'm growing to enjoy but told from the perspective of a protagonist I don't really care for. This seems to be the last book in the series told from this guy's point of view however, so I'll likely continue with the next three books at some point.

Leaving_Marx@wyrmsign.org reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

The trilogies conclusions

4 stars

This was a fun conclusion to the series. Felt this mild contempt to so many characters in this series the whole time but more so to the larger government structures and politicking. Good book, would have gotten 5 stars if there were dog characters. 😜

Dah DJM reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi

End of the trilogy

4 stars

Found as EN "boxed set" and read the trilogy (with Old Man's War & The Ghost Brigades) in less than a week (nights mainly). Obvious ending, but better than #2 IMHO

Jameson reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Scalzi has a gift for handling poignant emotion as deftly as sci-fi action, world-building, and the political mechanics of alliances and enemies. All of his characters talk like each other (even the murderous, dominating Consu aliens have an insult-laden sarcastic edge), but luckily that voice is an easygoing, affable sardonic wit that (usually) doesn’t wear too thin.

bookafnd reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi

lots of murder

4 stars

i'm kinda unclear if scalzi quite realizes just how evil the colonial union is. ultimately the conclusion is all right though

ManyRoads reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A most enjoyable 'space opera'. Action, intrigue, tension, love, pretty much everything minus horses. Good guys, bad guys, loss, victory.... Yep, it's all there even the aliens.

Kibrika reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi

Review of 'The Last Colony' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I think I'm continuing to listen to these books only to find out if X happens, or not. X might be "the current government of humanity joins the conclave"; "current government of humanity gets removed and humanity joins the conclave"; "the conclave dissolves?" stuff like that.
I finished the book, a few minutes later opened this window to write what I thought about it and drew blank; I thought nothing about it. Maybe it's one of those you need to stew on?
Oh, there was one joke that made me laugh out loud towards the end of the book. "I don't have a treason problem. I can stop any time!"
But yeah, I think I only care about one character in this book - the World.

Ika Makimaki reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Closing the Old Man's War Scalzi goes out on a very smart and once again fun and superlative story. The book is full of surprises and it's best to go into it without knowing much. Just know that it involves the usual high stakes and adds a lot of layers of deception and tricks from John Perry and Jane Sagan.
It is a worthy conclusion for the trilogy and once again makes us wonder if humanity wouldn't be its own worst enemy, even when at war with alien species from all over the universe.

Lord of Candy reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Nice to catch back up with John, Jane and Zoe. A trip through political theater, isolation, colony building and more. This was a neat tale and one that actually had an ending not to be picked at again.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It had a few plodding moments where my eyes slipped around the page but for the most part I was glued to what was going to happen next, or trying to figure out exactly what the now moronic Colonial Union had in store for our family.

If you enjoyed the first few, you need to read this. It was also nice to see the author retire the characters as far as I currently know. They will not be dragged out forever but hopefully find happiness where they stay.

Yashima reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Warning: this review contains spoilers for previous books in the series!

I finished this just as quickly as [b: The Ghost Brigades|239399|The Ghost Brigades (Old Man's War, #2)|John Scalzi|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403295928s/239399.jpg|18279845]. It's the third in the series, and John Perry, the hero of [b: Old Mens War|17262511|Last of the Blue and Gray Old Men, Stolen Glory and the Mystery that Outlived the Civil War|Richard A. Serrano|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1367256556s/17262511.jpg|23859317] is back. Along with Jane Sagan the clone of his dead wife, and Zoe the daughter of the dead Charles Boutin who nearly managed to have three alien races start a war against humanity. Together with Zoe's two Obin bodyguards they live a happy life on a colony named Huckleberry. (Did I mention I love Scalzi's naming schemes?)

Of course a happy life not a good story makes, so of course they will leave the place to found a new colony along with about 2000 other humans. Roanoake. Except this book is the perfect example of the so-called try-fail cycle (writer's will know what I mean): everything that can does go wrong. More than any of the previous books this one is about interstellar politics. And more politics. Anytime someone finds a solution to a problem ... boom the problem grows a new tentacle that tries to strangle the plot from behind.

If you want to take this book as social commentary on our own politics ... it's probably quite fitting. I wouldn't say everything is quite the same as portrayed in the book but I can make out a few parallels especially in the way the Colonial Union deals with Earth and its own citizens.

I particularly enjoyed the final resolution John thinks up. You really have to read that book. If only for that. And despite the heavy politics I find this a light, and quick read.

Gerard Braad reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Story feels too unrealistic... A small colony defeating a whole army cause of something called a sapper field? Which sh got from the consu after begging the obin to help? Oh well, not a bad book... But not a favourite.

TimmyMac reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

You know, this book was not great. I'm honestly getting a little bored with Scalzi's style, where a few reasonable people just sit around and say reasonable things to each other with arch-nerd humor while being more clever than everyone else and then everything works out. I found this story to be pretty bland and implausible. 3 stars might even be generous, but I like the guy, so I'll let it go.

unsquare reviewed The Last Colony by John Scalzi (Old Man's War, #3)

Review of "The Last Colony (Old Man's War #3)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

John Scalzi hasn't failed me yet. All three books in this series so far have been gripping, stirring, exciting adventure stories with a thrilling edge of darkness. Even though he does not paint his alien characters in shades of black and white, he also does not flinch from demonstrating that some species of aliens are extremely dangerous, brutal, and willing to stop at nothing to murder and mutilate humanity. My only criticism is that an early plot-line dealing with a native threat on the colonized planet was completely dropped when the greater outside threat presented itself, and it retrospect it seems like a thread that should have been resolved or otherwise dealt with. As I understand it, his upcoming book, "Zoe's Tale", deals with the same time period but tells it from a different perspective, so that should be interesting. I look forward to reading that, and I'll definitely continue …