John Scalzi is not what I would call a “shock and awe” science fiction writer. He doesn’t try to stun readers into quiet reverence with the description of gigantic, terrifying laser guns or extremely manly and impressive robots or space marines.
Oh, these things definitely factor into his books, but they aren’t the totality of them. No, Scalzi’s books are the sum of their characters, and it’s their lives that make his books great.
THE LAST COLONY is the third and (as of now) final book in a trilogy that started with 2005′s OLD MAN’S WAR and 2006′s THE GHOST BRIGADES. Our hero, John Perry, has finally settled down with his wife and adopted daughter, learning the civilian life and becoming quite accustomed to it. But, like in all good fiction, the status quo is almost immediately upset and Perry is tasked to lead a group of colonists into a new and mysterious world that becomes the center of a galactic upheaval.
As his colony struggles to survive, outside forces and previously unknown threats conspire to destroy it, and Perry must make the transition from soldier to politician and back again if he and his people are to survive.
Scalzi’s easygoing writing style serves him well here, as it has in his previous books, putting the focus on the characters and concepts of colonization. He explains the science and practice of colonization well, with just enough technical know-how to make everything seem feasible. I’m a big fan of THE LAST COLONY’s well-realized future: This is no utopian ideal; people still fight and scheme and play politics and stubbornly argue at city council meetings just as they do now and probably always will. Even the minor characters have dimensionality, and it’s a credit to the author’s vision that he sees them as people and not mere set dressing or cannon fodder.
Many critics compare Scalzi’s work to Robert Heinlein, and I think there are similarities – especially when it comes to word choice and easy humor – but this trilogy of books evokes Joe Haldeman for me more than Heinlein, and THE LAST COLONY provides a counterpoint to FOREVER FREE much in the way OLD MAN’S WAR reminded me of THE FOREVER WAR. There’s more than enough room on the bookshelves for both, to say the least, and it’ll be exciting to see what John Scalzi dreams up next. –Ryun Patterson
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE ANDROID’S DREAM by John Scalzi
• OLD MAN’S WAR by John Scalzi
Related posts:
- Old Man’s War
- Variable Star
- The Android’s Dream
- Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein
- Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Your comparison to Haldeman is interesting. I find Scalzi a lot more similar to Heinlein than Haldeman. It’s just an easy going novel, great characters you can really get attached to plus just enough focus on world building to make sense but not enough to seem outdated in two years. Haldeman was just not as much… “fun”. Not sure if that’s the right word but I never found Forever War to be as easy to read as some of Heinlein’s books, while Scalzi is always fun.
GJ
http://www.60in3.com
What you say about the “fun” of Scalzi’s prose is very true. I just couldn’t shake the comparison with Haldeman from my head, and I’ve been thinking about it on and off since I wrote the review.
In my head, books like the OLD MAN’S WAR trilogy get held up against Heinlen, Haldeman, and Alfred Bester, and I really think Scalzi’s stuff is just as “serious” as Haldeman’s, it’s just not presented with Haldeman’s gravitas (THE ANDROID’S DREAM, however, is totally Heinlen-esque to me, with the best aspects of Robert Ludlum thrown in to boot).
There’s also some thematic resonance between John Perry’s life and William Mandela’s that’s easy to spot, and I think the demobilization of the troops who do society’s dirty work will always create problems for humanity. Thanks for the insight!
I haven’t read THE ANDROID’S DREAM yet so I can’t comment on it. However, I remember reading Starship Troopers when I was about 8 years old (my dad and older brother were big sci fi fans so I started early). Most of it sailed over my head but I loved his style. It was like reading a grand adventure. Years later I picked up the books again and saw the political and social commentary.
To me Scalzi is like that. You can read it for fun but you can also read it for more serious commentary. Where as FOREVER WAR wasn’t fun for me when I was young. It couldn’t get through it. As an adult, I can appreciate it and it has its place in my library, but as a kid, it was too depressing I guess.
Oh well, we’re arguing about trivia here. These are all great authors and good books
Have you read Armour by John Steakley?
GJ
http://www.60in3.com
Gal, compared to most of the discourse on the Internets these days, I wouldn’t even say we’re arguing–I think we’re really just discussing something we care about.
I have never read ARMOR, though I have to say I’ve considered it hundreds of times because Vampire$ is one of my favorite books. Should I finally pick it up?
Heck yah! Armor is a little different from Vampire$ in that it’s basically two stories in one book. That makes it a bit harder to read because you keep switching back and forth between very different settings and plots.
The two stories are very different but I loved them both. There’s that same humor that you had in Vampire$ but it’s a little more subdued. It’s not as political though as FOREVER WAR or STARSHIP TROOPERS, nor does it care as much about a message. It’s more of a personal story about the characters and how they cope in their respective situations.
By the way, the two main characters are called Felix and Jack Crow but they are in no way connected to the similarly named characters in Vampire$. I guess the author just liked the name. Also, you’ll finally know why Felix’s bar was named The Antwar Saloon in Vampire$ if you read ARMOR.
GJ
http://www.60in3.com
I’ll add it to my reading list!