they were also pretty fun and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better in the follow-up novel. that can be annoying, but fortunately in this one he has a couple that don't: Hickory and Dickory. because Scalzi is more interested in the human condition than anything else, his aliens often act just like humans. overall this novel is fast-paced fun, full of adventure and politics and battles and aliens. the end result is that it comes across as a bit plastic and characters sound a lot like each other. it's always snappy and sarcastic and everyone responds with perfect timing it's like a sitcom minus the laugh track. what's rather aggravating is the on-the-nose quality of the dialogue. there's the name of the colony itself, 'Roanoke', which of course has all sorts of resonance. I did notice an increasing tendency to make things a bit too much on the nose. stupid fucking Colonial Union, they've been long overdue for a knock-out.Īs usual the writing is pleasant and also generic. this is the third book in the series and the preceding books almost function as a wind-up to what turns out to be a mean right hook. but he also finally gets to openly slam the Colonial Union and their war-mongering, secretive, tunnel-visioned ways. sympathetic characters because Scalzi is a sympathetic sort of author.

his love of people is on display as ever, and although his characters often lack depth and aren't particularly interesting, they are still warmly characterized and pleasant to be around. so he gets to have his cake and eat it too.

he's a humanist who loves the individual as well as a scornful critic who slams systems, systematized secrecy, imperialism, and the use of conflict as a way to achieve goals. John Scalzi sort of agrees but sort of doesn't. Stupid fucking humans, you are the worst! always getting shit wrong and not caring!

The Last Colony by John Scalzi