The Last Colony
by John Scalzi
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Book Reviews of The Last Colony
Book Review: Disappointing!
Summary: 2 Stars
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.
Book Review: What happened to the werewolves?
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Book Review: A great finally to a great series
Summary: 4 Stars
This is John Scalzi's third book in the series and just like the previous two this is something special - but I guess all his works are. Once more we're allowed into the realm of John Perry and Jane Sagan, but unlike the previous works, this time they are retired - and yes, it does change the overall feel of the story. The only knock against this book (and I'm reaching here) The ending was a bit stretched and the book focuses more on intrigue than sci-fi. Overall, this is an excellent finally to a political/sci-fi series that many will be disappointed that a fourth book is not in the works.
For those who may have missed the first book, don't miss Old Man's War
Book Review: A Solid Sequel, Worth Reading!
Summary: 4 Stars
I really enjoyed John Scalzi's first two books in the series, ("Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigades") and think that "The Last Colony" was a worthy third book.
This story follows the leads from the the other two books (Jane and John) as they take over the roles as the leaders of an aptly named new colony (no spoilers from me :-) There are plenty of new twists in this story and a lot of loose ends are wrapped up. My only real criticism is that other than the Obin, the aliens are getting very "human" personalities (I like my aliens...well, alien). Still, this was an enjoyable read and I finished it in one (long) sitting.
Highly recommended if you enjoyed "Old Man's War" and "The Ghost Brigade".
Book Review: The Last Colony
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm 3/4 of the way through and it's a lot of fun. I just loved "Old Man's War" and the closest thing I had ever read to science fiction before was "Jurasic Park" many years ago (before the movie). A friend recommended it and I read it faster than any other book in a very long time.
"The Last Colony" is much closer to the style of "Old Man's War" and I'm enjoying it immensely. It includes John Perry who I came to love in the first of the novels.
"Ghost Brigades" was good, but not in the same vein as the first and now this third installment. "The Last Colony" is also written in first person (like "Old Man's War) and I like that, too.
Get it!