The Last Colony
Encyclopedia
The Last Colony is the third science fiction novel by John Scalzi
set in the Old Man's War
universe. It was nominated for a 2008 Hugo Award
in the Best Novel
category.
Upon arriving, the colonists quickly realize they are not at Roanoke. They are approached by another member of the Special Forces of the CDF, adapted to live in space, who had attached himself to the exterior of their craft. He informs them they have no option but to land and begin the colony anyway. The ship has been irreparably damaged to prevent the craft from leaving orbit, and all the colonists are considered quarantined from the rest of the Colonial Union. The Conclave was aware of the original position of Roanoke, and therefore was waiting to annihilate them. He further tells them that to isolate them fully, they are forbidden from using any advanced technology. This is offset by the presence of the Mennonites, an Amish-like group of colonists who are familiar with more basic machinery they had brought with them.
The colony is founded with surprisingly little difficulty. Several colonists are killed by stone age level werewolf-like creatures who view them as potential prey, but otherwise begin to settle into the colony. After a certain length of time, they are again visited by Special Forces, who inform them that the plan has partially succeeded, and the initial restrictions on technology have been lifted. The Union attempted to destabilize the Conclave by making them appear incompetent, due to their inability to find a single colony despite a year's worth of searching.
After a brief interlude when their location is leaked to the Conclave, they are visited by the Conclave fleet, consisting of a single ship from every member race of the Conclave. The Conclave leader begs John to either give up the colony or secede from the Union and join the Conclave. John refuses, and begs General Gao to give up and leave. Baffled, the leader tells him to make his peace, and orders the fleet to open fire. Almost immediately, the entire fleet is annihilated. Special Forces members, during the prior year, had methodically tracked down every ship that participates in the conclave fleet, and attached an antimatter bomb to the hull. The officer who accompanied the Roanoke colonists then waited for every ship to arrive before detonating the explosives, save the leader's craft. This shatters the Conclave into multiple factions, several of which swear vengeance on the Union. An attempted attack is held off by Jane, remotely controlling the colony's defense lasers, though they are destroyed in the process.
After the attack, John is nearly arrested for almost ruining the plan to destroy the enemy fleet by asking the leader to surrender. He is eventually released, and after speaking with the Special Forces again, returns to Roanoke. He realizes that Roanoke is a sacrificial pawn. If Roanoke is destroyed, enlistment in the CDF will spike, allowing for a more aggressive campaign against the other alien races. This however will cause humanity's eventual extinction due to raw attrition.
Realizing they are an expendable pawn for the Union, John abdicates the leadership of Roanoke, and joins the Conclave after being awarded a ship by them as his sovereign domain, with help from the Obin. Together with a majority of the other members of the Conclave, he visits Earth to reveal what has been occurring in the rest of the universe.
The Colonial Union is thrown into disarray, with enlistment plummeting and potential colonists demurring, but the end of the book suggests that bringing Earth into the Union properly will allow for more diplomatic solutions and cooperation between the races.
John Scalzi
John Michael Scalzi II is an American author and online writer, and president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his Hugo Award-nominated science fiction novel Old Man's War, released by Tor Books in January 2005, and for his blog , at which he has written...
set in the Old Man's War
Old Man's War
Old Man's War is a science fiction novel by John Scalzi published in 2005. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006. It was optioned by Paramount Pictures in 2011...
universe. It was nominated for a 2008 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in the Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
category.
Plot synopsis
John Perry and Jane Sagan, the former Ghost Brigade clone of Perry's dead wife, are offered a position as leaders for the new colony of Roanoke, which will be inhabited by human settlers from ten established (possibly the original) current human colonies. After deliberating it, they decide to accept, and are sent along with Zoe, to the new colony. In tow are Zoe's Obin protectors, named Hickory and Dickory, who view her with almost religious awe due to her father's success in giving the Obin emotion/consciousness.Upon arriving, the colonists quickly realize they are not at Roanoke. They are approached by another member of the Special Forces of the CDF, adapted to live in space, who had attached himself to the exterior of their craft. He informs them they have no option but to land and begin the colony anyway. The ship has been irreparably damaged to prevent the craft from leaving orbit, and all the colonists are considered quarantined from the rest of the Colonial Union. The Conclave was aware of the original position of Roanoke, and therefore was waiting to annihilate them. He further tells them that to isolate them fully, they are forbidden from using any advanced technology. This is offset by the presence of the Mennonites, an Amish-like group of colonists who are familiar with more basic machinery they had brought with them.
The colony is founded with surprisingly little difficulty. Several colonists are killed by stone age level werewolf-like creatures who view them as potential prey, but otherwise begin to settle into the colony. After a certain length of time, they are again visited by Special Forces, who inform them that the plan has partially succeeded, and the initial restrictions on technology have been lifted. The Union attempted to destabilize the Conclave by making them appear incompetent, due to their inability to find a single colony despite a year's worth of searching.
After a brief interlude when their location is leaked to the Conclave, they are visited by the Conclave fleet, consisting of a single ship from every member race of the Conclave. The Conclave leader begs John to either give up the colony or secede from the Union and join the Conclave. John refuses, and begs General Gao to give up and leave. Baffled, the leader tells him to make his peace, and orders the fleet to open fire. Almost immediately, the entire fleet is annihilated. Special Forces members, during the prior year, had methodically tracked down every ship that participates in the conclave fleet, and attached an antimatter bomb to the hull. The officer who accompanied the Roanoke colonists then waited for every ship to arrive before detonating the explosives, save the leader's craft. This shatters the Conclave into multiple factions, several of which swear vengeance on the Union. An attempted attack is held off by Jane, remotely controlling the colony's defense lasers, though they are destroyed in the process.
After the attack, John is nearly arrested for almost ruining the plan to destroy the enemy fleet by asking the leader to surrender. He is eventually released, and after speaking with the Special Forces again, returns to Roanoke. He realizes that Roanoke is a sacrificial pawn. If Roanoke is destroyed, enlistment in the CDF will spike, allowing for a more aggressive campaign against the other alien races. This however will cause humanity's eventual extinction due to raw attrition.
Realizing they are an expendable pawn for the Union, John abdicates the leadership of Roanoke, and joins the Conclave after being awarded a ship by them as his sovereign domain, with help from the Obin. Together with a majority of the other members of the Conclave, he visits Earth to reveal what has been occurring in the rest of the universe.
The Colonial Union is thrown into disarray, with enlistment plummeting and potential colonists demurring, but the end of the book suggests that bringing Earth into the Union properly will allow for more diplomatic solutions and cooperation between the races.
External links
- John Scalzi's blog
- About The Last Colony and John Scalzi at the publisher's official website