Storyline: 3/5 
 Characters: 3/5 
 Writing Style: 3/5 
 World: 3/5 
 This was a stand-in book for the series. Thus, the Last Colony wasn't outstanding or remarkable in any way, but it did shelve adequately into the Old Man War and permit it to progress. Satisfaction largely comes from getting to follow-up on characters from previous books, and we also get more on developments previously hinted at in the Ghost Brigades. A slow-paced action and political thriller, it was simple and uninspired but full of embarrassingly gratifying (if not cloying) one-liners and small victories. Scalzi appears to have written this so that it could be read as a stand-alone novel, but I cannot imagine why anyone other than fans of the series would be interested in it.