Earth's Last Encore has a strong premise—super-soldiers, alien diplomacy, and a dying sun—but the execution doesn't always live up to the scope. Lieutenant "Duck" Diaz is a compelling, if occasionally underdeveloped, lead, and his dynamic with Hannily brings some much-needed emotional grounding. The worldbuilding is ambitious, but the pacing stumbles in places, and some of the secondary characters blur together. A decent read for fans of military sci-fi with a diplomatic twist, though it doesn’t quite hit the emotional or thematic depth it reaches for.