 Cover of first edition (hardcover) | |
| Author | John Scalzi |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Old Man's War series |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
Publication date | April 17, 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 336 [1] |
| ISBN | 978-0-7653-1697-4 |
| Preceded by | The Ghost Brigades |
| Followed by | Zoe's Tale |
The Last Colony is a science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi, the third set in his Old Man's War universe.[1] It was nominated for a 2008 Hugo Award in the Best Novel category.
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The Lost Roanoke Colony
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Transcription
Hey guys and welcome back to That Was History. Today we're going to take a look at the story of the Lost Roanoke colony. I was watching a video titled, "History's 10 Most Mysterious Disappearances" by Hybrid Librarian recently, and quickly became intrigued by the Roanoke piece that was discussed. I took it upon myself to research a little more and stumbled across some recent leads as to what may have happened to this colony. Since you may be unfamiliar with the lost Roanoke colony, let's recap! In the late 16th century, Queen Elizabeth the 1st was looking to make a permanent settlement in North America. Therefore, in 1587, 116 English settlers landed on Roanoke Island led by explorer John White. This came after White had visited the island himself two years earlier in 1585 to map everything out. After the initial settlement was established, John White took his ship and headed back to England for more supplies, leaving the colonists and his newly born granddaughter behind. Unfortunately for him, the Anglo-Spanish war would break out, and White would not be able to return to the Roanoke colony until 1590. When he finally arrived, there was no trace of the colony he had left year's before. The only clues that White had where a carving of the word "Croatoan" and the fact that none of the buildings remained. Since the buildings had been completely dismantled, White knew that the departure had not been rushed in any way. The colonists had taken their time to dismantle and took their resources with them. The word "Croatoan" that was carved into a post made White think the colony had possibly moved south to the modern day Hatteras Island, but storms prevented him from conducting a search. There are quite a few theories as to what happened to the colonists. Many believe that they simply integrated with the peaceful, local tribes of the time period, others believe that either the Spanish or violent tribes killed them and destroyed their settlements, and still other theories exist that suggest that they tried to sail home but ended up drowning or starving. Research by the First Colony Foundation in recent years suggest that the colony may have moved to an area that is now known as Salmon Creek which is in the Bertie County community of Merry Hill. This hypothesis comes after the discovery of two patches on a map that was made by John White in 1585. The patches are believed to be attempts to correct the map, with one of them containing a symbol resembling a fort at the location of modern day Salmon Creek. This symbol can only be seen when placed underneath a lightbox, which leads researchers to believe that it was a means of protecting the colony's location. The fact that a modern day neighborhood and golf course sit on top of the proposed site prevents teams from excavating the land. It may be a long time before this hypothesis is ever proven plausible or not. Considering all the options i've presented to you today, which theory do you believe is the most accurate? Why not leave us a comment in the comment section down below. As always, thanks for watching this episode of That Was History. Be sure to give us a thumbs up and share us around on your favorite social media sites! Also, hit that subscribe button if you want to keep up with the latest from all of us here at That Was History. It's been a pleasure, and I'll see you next time!
Plot synopsis
John Perry and Jane Sagan, the former Ghost Brigade clone of Perry's dead wife, are offered positions as leaders for the new colony of Roanoke, which will comprise human settlers from the first ten established human colonies. After deliberating, they decide to accept and go 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 consciousness.
Upon arriving, the colonists quickly realize they are not at Roanoke. They are approached by a 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 (a group that wants to stop humanity's expansion) 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 the large amount of basic machinery that the CDF had given the colonists.
The colony proceeds with surprisingly little initial 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, General Gau, begs John to either give up the colony or secede from the Union and join the Conclave. John refuses, and asks General Gau to surrender. Baffled, the General tells John to make his peace, and orders the Conclave fleet to open fire. Almost immediately, the entire fleet is annihilated. Special Forces members, during the prior year, had methodically tracked down every ship in the Conclave fleet and attached an antimatter bomb to the hull. The officer who accompanied the erstwhile Roanoke colonists then waited for every Conclave 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. Jane staves off an attempted attack from one faction, remotely controlling the colony's defense lasers, although some people are killed.
After the attack, John is arrested for almost ruining the plan to destroy the enemy fleet by asking General Gau to surrender. He is eventually released, and after speaking with Special Forces again, returns to New-Roanoke. He realizes that New-Roanoke is a sacrificial pawn. If New-Roanoke is destroyed, enlistment in the CDF will spike using the destruction of the colony as a rally cry, allowing for a more aggressive campaign against the other alien races. This however will cause humanity's eventual extinction through a war of attrition.
John abdicates the leadership of New-Roanoke and joins the Conclave, after being awarded a ship by them as his sovereign domain, with help from the Obin. Together with the other members of the Conclave, he visits (forbidden, isolated) Earth to reveal what has been occurring in the rest of the universe and to update them on the Conclave's level of technology.
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 species.
References
- ^ a b "The Last Colony". Powell's Books. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
External links
- John Scalzi's blog
- About The Last Colony and John Scalzi at the publisher's official website
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This page was last edited on 30 June 2022, at 20:13