John Scalzi’s The Last Colony is a worthy conclusion to the trilogy that started with Old Man’s War and continued with The Ghost Brigades. Exceedingly jam packed with plot turns and twists, maybe to a fault, Scalzi brings John Perry’s tale to a fittingly circular end.
Perry has retired from active duty and is now a petty bureaucrat on some backwater planet. Instead of gunning down aliens, he’s now settling disputes over pregnant farm animals. Along with his wife Jane Sagan (retired Special Forces carrying Perry’s ex-wife’s DNA) Perry’s adopted Zoe Boutin, the daughter of the traitorous Charles Boutin from The Ghost Brigades.
The Colonial Union comes calling to this idyllic scene, asking John and Jane to start a new colony, one unusually populated by citizens from a number of existing colonies. The new colony is promoted as a means to pacify agitating colonies, but is also part of a plot to fend off the league of hostile races known as the Conclave. Anymore detail and I could rightfully be accused of spoiling the story.
While The Last Colony is chock full of action, there’s definitely an emphasis on politics and relationships. My only complaint is that I wanted way more of the Consu, the god like alien race from the climax of Old Man’s War. A quick and easy read, in top fashion The Last Colony leaves you wanting more.
Bonus: Since Scalzi is a longtime, prolific blogger, you can catch some of his thoughts right after completing The Last Colony.