# John Scalzi's Old Man's War: The Last Colony. Worth it to keep reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 18, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262 "2013-03-18T15:02:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/1 "2013-03-18T15:02:33Z")
I like to find an author or series I enjoy and just burn through their work. I’ve really gotten into John Scalzi lately and had a great time with **Redshirts** , **Agent to the Stars** , and **Fuzzy Nation**. I read **Old Man’s War** and it’s sequel **The Ghost Brigades** and found them interesting, like Heinlein without all the weird sex and libertarian stuff. However, I am exactly half way through **The Last Colony** and am bored, bored, bored. I heard the following books depend upon reading everything in order, so I was wondering: Is it worth it to power through **The Last Colony**? Does it get better? Or are the follow up books worth powering through this one? HALP! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/2 "2013-03-18T15:39:34Z")
> [@Little\_Bird](#): > > However, I am exactly half way through **The Last Colony** and am bored, bored, bored. I heard the following books depend upon reading everything in order, so I was wondering: Is it worth it to power through **The Last Colony**? Does it get better? Or are the follow up books worth powering through this one? There’s only one followup book, **Zoe’s Tale** , and all it does is retell the events of **The Last Colony** from the perspective of Zoe. I enjoyed both, but if you already dislike **The Last Colony** , I can’t imagine there’s anything in **Zoe’s Tale** that’ll thrill you. The next book in the series, **The Human Division** , will be out in May or June and is unconnected to the rest of the series. It just takes place in the same universe. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/3 "2013-03-18T18:12:20Z")
The Human Division is actually being published in weekly instalments on Kindle at present. I read the first three chapters, which I enjoyed, but I’ll leave the rest until it’s all available in one “volume”. I just don’t like the stop start nature of weekly episodes when I’m reading. It’s much more like Old Man’s War than The Last Colony or Zoe’s Tale. ---
**Author:** ![Galwegian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galwegian/32/3426_2.png) [@Galwegian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galwegian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/4 "2013-03-18T18:14:05Z")
Sorry, can’t edit on phone. Just wanted to add that you don’t need to have read anything from The Last Colony to just jump in to The Human Division. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/5 "2013-03-18T18:15:26Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > There’s only one followup book, **Zoe’s Tale** , and all it does is retell the events of **The Last Colony** from the perspective of Zoe. I enjoyed both, but if you already dislike **The Last Colony** , I can’t imagine there’s anything in **Zoe’s Tale** that’ll thrill you… Exactly what I would’ve said. Didn’t know about _The Human Division_ - hooray! I loves me some Scalzi. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/6 "2013-03-18T18:22:00Z")
I didn’t really enjoy _The Last Colony_ or _Zoe’s Tale_, even though I normally love me some Scalzi. Actually, I didn’t like _Redshirts_ either, so maybe I just don’t like where Scalzi’s going lately. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/7 "2013-03-18T18:33:45Z")
By the numbers, Scalzi’s work should be something I’m crazy about. On the page, I find it unreadably disinteresting. There’s just a touch of recognizing way too many old friends in there; his strength seems to be writing New and Exciting versions of classic sf works. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/8 "2013-03-18T19:01:18Z")
Yeah. I think he’s suffering from the urge to take a good idea and run it into the ground. (See also Ender’s Game) The first couple of books were great. But there just aren’t enough really great ideas there to justify returning to the same material over and over again like he’s doing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/9 "2013-03-18T19:01:19Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > By the numbers, Scalzi’s work should be something I’m crazy about. On the page, I find it unreadably **disinteresting**. There’s just a touch of recognizing way too many old friends in there; his strength seems to be writing New and Exciting versions of classic sf works. Nitpick: “uninteresting” > **["Disinterested" Not the Same as "Uninterested" - DAILY WRITING TIPS](https://www.dailywritingtips.com/disinterested-not-the-same-as-uninterested/)** > > The constant misuse of disinterested for uninterested is breaking down a very useful distinction of meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/10 "2013-03-18T19:41:41Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Nitpick: “uninteresting” I have a license to bend words as I see fit. “Un” =/= “Dis.” ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/11 "2013-03-18T21:03:27Z")
I read the first three books and I’ve decided that I’m done with the series. After _The Last Colony,_ which I enjoyed, I just didn’t feel like there was anything else to say in that particular universe. I kind of liked the relationship between the Colonial Union and Earth and how things played out with the Conclave at the end of the book. But, no, no more books set in the same universe. Move on to something else. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-scalzis-old-mans-war-the-last-colony-worth-it-to-keep-reading/653262/12 "2013-03-18T22:45:14Z")
I personally thought that the ending of The Last Colony was absolutely fantastic… one of the best endings to a series I’ve ever read. For what that’s worth…