The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)

by John Scalzi

The story of how I left Huckleberry begins—as do all worthy stories—with a goat.

“There’s a goat in your office,” she said. “Hmmmm,” I said. “I thought we’d sprayed for those.”

any public servant is likely to tell you that just a few annoying people in their community will take up the vast majority of their time.

When I needed work done on my house I’d always picked Mennonite contractors because they would do the job right the first time, and if something didn’t turn out right, they didn’t argue with you about it; they’d just fix it. That’s a philosophy worth getting behind.

And we choose to live in the world, as the salt and the light.

“Some people are just no good at not being in charge.”

Teenagers can be idiotic and stupid, but teenagers also model their behavior from the signals they get from adults.

When you control communication, you can hide anything you want.”

Babar was the only dog in the colony who was a herding dog; he had the time to make friends. This made him both popular and chunky.

Empires of conquest don’t last, Administrator Perry. They hollow out from within, from the greed of rulers and the endless appetite for war.

“Hickory, have you ever lied to me?” I asked. “I do not believe you are aware of me or any Obin ever lying to you,” Hickory said.

But I wouldn’t really lay good odds on us finding you.” “I’m sneaky, I am,” I said.