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The Long Winter #3

The Lost Colony

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Can humanity survive on a new world?

On Eos, the last survivors of the Long Winter face their greatest challenge yet--and race to unravel the deepest secrets of the grid. It's a journey across space and time and into humanity's past and future--with a twist you'll never forget.

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2019

About the author

A.G. Riddle

22 books5,392 followers
A.G. Riddle spent ten years starting internet companies before retiring to pursue his true passion: writing fiction.

His debut novel, The Atlantis Gene, is the first book in The Origin Mystery, the trilogy that has sold a million copies in the US, is being translated into 19 languages, and is in development at CBS Films to be a major motion picture. The trilogy will be in bookstores (in hardcover and paperback) around the world in 2015.

His recently released fourth novel, Departure, follows the survivors of a flight that takes off in 2014 and crash-lands in a changed world. The hardcover will be published by HarperCollins in the fall of 2015, and 20th Century Fox is developing the novel for a feature film.

Riddle grew up in a small town in the US (Boiling Springs, North Carolina) and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. During his sophomore year of college, he started his first company with a childhood friend. He currently lives in Florida with his wife, who endures his various idiosyncrasies in return for being the first to read his new novels.

No matter where he is, or what's going on, he tries his best to set aside time every day to answer emails and messages from readers. You can reach him at: ag@agriddle.com


** For a sneak peek at new novels, free stories, and more, join the email list at:
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If you don't want to miss any Riddle news, you can:

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For more, please visit:
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Community Reviews

5 stars
8,484 (44%)
4 stars
6,731 (35%)
3 stars
2,975 (15%)
2 stars
686 (3%)
1 star
241 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,042 reviews
Profile Image for Fred Barnes.
205 reviews14 followers
July 26, 2024
THE CONCLUSION TO THE SERIES IS ONE THAT WILL JUST BLOW YOUR MIND

THE LOST COLONY (THE LONG WINTER TRILOGY BOOK 3) by A.G. Riddle is well written, suspenseful, full of action, and loss that will keep you thinking that you just might know what's coming on the next page or in the next chapter. DON'T KID YOURSELF, YOU WILL NOT SEE THIS COMING!

I really enjoyed this book and series and plan to follow up and read additional books and series by A.G. Riddle. If you're into a great science fiction series, I highly recommend this series to you.
Profile Image for Pat.
2,310 reviews485 followers
February 26, 2020
2.75 stars rounded up. What a shame, this could have been a lot better. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the story, the concept and the series. What let this book down was... I have a friend who often uses movie analogies, think of it like this - someone is rescued after being held captive for some time. A joyous reunion, but I’m thinking hey, they’ve been locked up for (a long time) they would have pissed themselves and not cleaned their teeth or washed and you wouldn’t be going for the tongue kiss. Yet they look real fresh apart from a few bruises. Another really obvious one - you know how in gun battles they very rarely run out of bullets??? Or on a car chase no one ever just runs out of fuel.

It was like that, the logistics didn’t work for me. They keep making stuff and I keep wondering where are they getting the materials from. Without giving too much away, if you’re going to build a house you would need (okay, the timber is readily available) tools, nails, windows (a biggie, they’re made of glass which requires sand), hinges, and so on. Also, the timelines stretched credulity to breaking point.

It was good that we got an ending as such, and an explanation for the grid. Holy shit, that was some mind fuckery. And there were times where the technical details of quantum physics and such lofty topics were bandied around. One could have easily gotten a bit lost there. Still and all I did enjoy the book and series. Would I read more by this author? Maybe after a break. It’s all a bit ‘out there’ but that’s why we read Blake Crouch, yeah?
Profile Image for Karen.
634 reviews1 follower
November 22, 2019
I loved this series although I found the alternative reality sub-plot (that comprised a third of this book) confusing. Nonetheless, an interesting and creative sci-fi series worth reading.
December 5, 2019
I do not know where things went wrong, but at times even during the first quarter of the story it was soooo boring I literally had to force myself to carry on. Why did we need hours of E.Rex attacks and translucent scorpions when all of this had no meaning neither any effect on the story line or character development? The whole problem gets really annoying when you realise at the end that the idea is indeed good and lands a punch on your face, so why not throw the garbage away and write a proper story for a good idea? Very unfortunate.
Profile Image for Aristotle.
686 reviews73 followers
June 13, 2020
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace... oh, shut up!

This was ultimately a waste of time. Part Jurassic Park part Matrix part what the hell was that?
Let me tell you what the good was. Very short chapters, large fonts with a lot of space between the words, and many pages were half blank made this a very fast read. That's the good.
The bad? You have too read books one and two to get to a very unsatisfying, cheap, lazy, weak end.
Books 1 and 2 never happened?
What?
Skip the whole trilogy.
Profile Image for G.H. Eckel.
Author 2 books143 followers
January 11, 2020
The Lost Colony is 2.5 books between two covers. In book 1, the last of humanity, holed up on a foreign planet fight for survival with dinosaurs, transparent scorpions, the weather, and robots. In book 2, the history of man, technology and robots is revealed, which answers the question why, in Book 1, Oscar, the robot, saves our protagonist in spite of the fact that robots exterminated most living things. In book 0.5, we're back on the planet exploring what the robots left.



Book 2 is meant to blow your mind. I won't spoil the story but Riddle has big thoughts about infinity repeating itself and giving us a window into the beginning of everything.

The book works first on a numbing, non-stop, run-for-your-life tale of survival. You want to know what's going to happen next as Riddle invents one monster worse than the last. The problem is, there's no emotion. It's just running, fighting and surviving. Book 2 delivers on some interesting ideas but is 100% heady and intellectual. There's nothing to engage with emotionally in this part of the story. The last section just needs to be cut to 5 pages as people we "know" wake up from stasis and discover the meaning of the Grid and the last sphere. But most of it is just back-slapping and inconsequential arguments.

I appreciate Riddle's "big idea" that he conceived for the novel. But it reads like a lecture in a sophomore college class.

Profile Image for Kimberly .
647 reviews110 followers
February 19, 2024
Another five star reread for me of A. G. Riddle books. The Lost Colony is the third and final book in a series. One of the things I love about this author is that his science fiction is somewhat believable. He has a way of explaining difficult science in an understandable way, at least for anyone like me who has a somewhat tenuous grip on Hawking level concepts. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Michael Lever.
107 reviews4 followers
January 3, 2020
Very disappointing. The first in this trilogy made a great start. The second became mired and led me to consider in my review of it, that given the decline in writing evident, I would not be surprised were the third book to resort to a similar technique to the TV series Lost: An altogether implausible appeal to alternative realities that make previous plots largely irrelevant.

Sadly, this turns out to be the case with most of the third book spent on alternative dimensions and timelines in an attempt to make coherent and lend meaning to the chase so far. It doesn't. It just reads like a novella within a novel, and rather than invoking the sort of held-breath suspense one would hope for at the end of a trilogy, I found myself flipping pages to get through it. Meh.
Profile Image for Chase.
139 reviews
November 21, 2019
I absolutely loved the first two books in the series. This last one was a bit of a letdown after all that buildup. The characters spent the first half of the book running away from dinosaurs that they should have known all about after studying the planet for so long before landing on it. Although very well thought out the big reveal of what was happening was a bit of a letdown, I wish there was more to it than just a looping timeline driven by a set of rules that get inserted by characters only just introduced. Still, it was still an enjoyable read and a great trilogy. I just was hoping for more plot twists like the first two had.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
14 reviews1 follower
November 24, 2019
A great twist of an ending to a thrilling series

I thoroughly enjoyed this last book and did not expect the twisted ending . It’s not going to leave you disappointed though , never fear! Pretty much speechless but I really value the fact that every series or stand alone book is really smart (sometimes a little over my head) but also relatable and addictive to finish. Can’t wait to see what’s next. Sad the story of James, Emma , Oscar and “the gang�� is over. You will not be disappointed. I am sure people will find a plot hole but given that space astrophysics isn’t my specialty (ultrasound and hemodynamic physics are though ) I am giving it an A+!
Profile Image for Christie.
3 reviews
November 17, 2019
The beginning and ending were fine, but the middle was long and drawn out. I had a hard time getting through it because it gave you no clue how it was getting to the end. I have a feeling that it was mainly just to fill the pages. The ending referenced a couple things that happened in the middle to tie them together, but that could have been achieved with a much shorter middle part. I'm still not sure why the grid, with its infinite knowledge, doesn't consider the e rex to be a threat to the humans.
Profile Image for Donna .
96 reviews12 followers
November 29, 2019
As always COMPLETELY RIVETING!!

I just couldn't put the Lost Colony down. I'd be reading it in my chair, then take it with me all day long every time I had an extra 5 minutes I'd be opening the Kindle APP to read a little bit more. I even risked using the phone in the restroom AT the Gym. (Hid in the shower just to read a few pages) I especially LOVED the Arguments between Oscar and Arthur or Bob can't keep those 2 separate. I'm totally bummed NOW that it's over. I was actually hoping for more interaction with the children after being in hibernation for SO. .. Maybe the Next series Will be about the Colonial era of Aurora?( Hint, hint )
26 reviews
January 17, 2020
What a disappointing end to this series. I forced myself to finish this book after I got to the point where he starts retelling the whole series from a slightly different perspective. It all just seemed like a lazy way to fill up the book. And between this book and the 2nd book of the series it was a bit preachy on humanism, which I had to skip through the parts where Emma is teaching from this book called Birthright. The first book in the series was the best one, and they got increasingly worse. I've liked his books before, but definitely not this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
44 reviews
November 20, 2019
I loved book one! I loved book two except for the open ending with so many questions left. This has been an excellent series and book three was going to be the wonderful ending and answer all the questions. Spoiler alert: time loops in a computer? Come on this was a mixed up confused mess. The writing style change so much that I think the author was in a time loops in a computer.
10 reviews8 followers
November 30, 2019
I took a break from reading this book because it got so dark and hopeless in the middle, but I picked it up again and it got better again. Still, the situation the characters were facing never became easy and new challenges appeared for them constantly. The end was an unexpected and surprising twist that I didn't see coming. The book combines a lot of problems of technology that we are facing and the possible outcomes for us. It contains a thoughtful consideration of human ambition, folly and frailty with adventure throughout. It's good science and good fiction. It was a more difficult read than the first two books but worth the effort. It reminds me of AC Clark's Rama series.
Profile Image for Noodle The Naughty Night Owl.
2,314 reviews38 followers
November 27, 2019
6/10: Good light-weight read, well done.

Even now, our fate is linked to the grid.

OK, so it would be so easy to spoil things in this review because what I have to say is intricately woven into the story itself; the twists, the shocks, the revelations, the ending.

I didn't see it coming at first and will admit that I got a bit confused part way through when . But the beauty of the book is in the way the author kept me reading, brought all the threads together in the end, and made some kind of sense by the time I turned the last page.

It was fast-paced as previous A.G. Riddle books have been and all-in-all an intriguing read.

But the twist! Man, that made me have to think.
Profile Image for Ben McBride.
138 reviews1 follower
November 20, 2019
INCREDIBLE!!! I don't know what else to say, This series delivered on every level. I'm left in shock and awe; sad that my time in this universe has ended. An incredible trilogy ,extremely well written, With characters that I will remember for years.
Profile Image for Steve.
439 reviews39 followers
November 23, 2019
A good conclusion to the series, but it takes some crazy, fanciful turns that push even the bounds of sci-fi. I liked it... but it was a lot to pack into the last third of a book that was the last third of a trilogy.
Profile Image for Donna.
4,267 reviews124 followers
September 29, 2024
I'm conflicted. Did I like this? Did I not? Well, yes to both of those.

I liked the obstacles placed in front of the MCs. And I liked the need for the journey, but the how is what I couldn't quite get into. It's like buying an entire package of oreos just for the outside of the cookie, not the filling.

I had to hit rewind several times when I got to the middle. The back story/alternate reality insert just kind of threw me and I didn't respond as favorably as I would have liked since I enjoyed the 1st book in the series so much.

Overall, I can't say that about this one...so 2 stars is it for me.

165 reviews
Read
December 4, 2019
The ENTIRE trilogy is a non-stop must read!!!!

I loved the entire trilogy. Easy reading, as; Other authors that are in my top five now. He shall be added. You just put yourself right in the story, it
Is that descriptive, but not overly wordy. You are
not bothered by proofreading overlooks, misspellings, etc. The whole "grid" 👽 alien is
an entirely new concept, in my opinion. Traveling
thousands of light years to a new planet to
generate a new earth is so descriptive you actually feel yourself in the story. I am repeating
myself. Just read one, you will be compelled to
finish the stories.
Profile Image for Michael Slavin.
Author 8 books271 followers
April 9, 2021
This was a big surprise.
-Some good, a lot of thinking, and something different. I usually don't retell the story when I review, but this book had very different things happening.

-Book 1 and 2 were great! Book three (this one) picks up the story right where it left off and was exciting, etc. for about 1/3 of the book, then it hit a wall and slowed down with a different timeline. This was not exciting at all to include floor plans for houses. Then it got into some heavy "what if" science fiction, avoiding the universe's repetitive big bang so the androids could keep protecting their people in a "Matrix" kind of existence. But the story does not end there so I'll let you read it to find out. The Lost Colony was not the best of the three for a thriller, but it may make you think the most. I never got bored.

What I liked:
-The characters
-The unusual planet they settled on, not rotating with desert on one side and an iceball on the other with a band of livable habitat in a ring around the planet between the two extremes.
-A T-Rex type of preditor.
-The androids
-The science discussion

What I didn't like:
-Too much of the second timeline

Read the first two books in the series, very good. But then you have to read book three (this one) but be prepared it takes you on a different course about 30% into the book.
Profile Image for Evgenia.
129 reviews7 followers
January 17, 2021
Τι να πω.... Εξαιρετικός για μια ακόμη φορά ο Riddle.
Στο τελευταίο μέρος της τριλογίας, αποκαλύπτεται τι είναι ακριβώς το δίκτυο (the Grid), ποιοι το αποτελούν και ποιος ο σκοπός του.
Μου άρεσαν ιδιαίτερα οι διάλογοι του Τζέιμς με τον "γιο" του, και η επαρκής αιτιολόγηση κάποιων "περίεργων" γεγονότων. Το βιβλίο είναι αρκετά επιστημονικό σε κάποια σημεία του, χωρίς όμως να γίνεται δυσνόητο (με την ευκαιρία έψαξα περισσότερα για το "παράδοξο της πληροφορίας" που ανακάλυψε ο Hawking πριν 43 χρόνια).
Αξίζει επίσης να διαβαστεί και ο επίλογος για τη Χαμένη αποικία που βρίσκεται στην προσωπική σελίδα του συγγραφέα (https://www.agriddle.com/colony-extras).
Το μόνο σίγουρο είναι ότι θα προσθέσω στη λίστα και όλα τα υπόλοιπα βιβλία του!

5/5
Profile Image for Marika Charalambous.
604 reviews26 followers
November 27, 2019
I eagerly awaited the last book in the trilogy, so I grabbed it as soon as it came out. It was a good read, although different from what I thought it would be. Unexpected. Maybe that's why it was slightly disappointing. Still a fun read, with our favorite characters, but the resolution seemed to me a bit rushed. Also, at times I got lost in all the rocket-science speak, it went way over my head, so I found myself scrolling past paragraphs.
Profile Image for Marquita Graves.
8 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2019
Please read the first two books before you start this one. This is definitely a trilogy that needs to be read in order. I was totally engrossed in the previous books, The Winter World and The Solar War, and had thought of several possible ways the trilogy might end. They all seemed cliched and lame. However, the ending the author chose was unexpected, thought provoking, and strangely satisfying. Well worth the reading.
7 reviews
December 4, 2019
A True Rollercoaster

As always A.G. Riddle's wonderful writing style pulls you into the story and won't let you go until the end. I loved the first 2 parts of this trilogy. All the right elements are present: adventure, excitement, drama, clever solutions, humor, a bit of romance. I loved the third part as well but with so many things going wrong in the first half I was struggling to come up for air and then I lost my way for a bit in the grid. But it has a satisfying end and I can't wait to see what Mr. Riddle will come up with next. His imagination is unique! Well done.
Profile Image for ConciseAlan.
197 reviews5 followers
October 13, 2020
Sadly, after a great series start, this is little better than the awful second book. If the author could go back in time, I would recommend adding an additional chapter in the first book to summarize the important things in the next two and then leave it as a standalone. I hate giving two star ratings. Worse, I hate reading them. The concept of the series is compelling. The execution after the first book: not so much.
Not Recommended
Profile Image for Jen.
2,004 reviews157 followers
November 18, 2019
This was really interesting and a big departure from where the story began in book 1 (The Long Winter). I got to about 75% and the science got a little complicated - I don't know how Riddle came up with it but it was fascinating.

This last book brought a nice, satisfying end to the series. And Eduardo Ballerini and Amanda Leigh Cobb were expert narrators.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,042 reviews

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