The Last Colony
John Harris: “As is often the case, I had a working title before any script. It was sent to me as Off Armageddon Reef. This evoked powerful memories of seafaring romances like Hornblower, which I read avidly as a child. Immediately in my mind’s eye, came the image of a floundering warship ambushed along with its frigate escort. The light I wanted had to have some of that quality of the West Indies, albeit in deep space. Hence the bright palate.”
John Scalzi: “And now the secret is out: the cover art for The Last Colony was originally commissioned as the cover for David Weber’s book Off Armageddon Reef. My understanding was that the art department decided to go another direction for Weber’s book — but then what to do with this lovely piece of work? As it happened, the action in the art lined up well with a particular scene in my novel. So it became my cover art instead. Waste not, want not.”
