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pascalibrary's review against another edition
2.0
1.5/5. What a letdown. Ugh.
Pines had the mystery. Wayward had the compelling human drama. What does The Last Town have? An extended snorefest of an action scene and pathetic attempts at drama and mystique.
The first half of this book is basically one long action scene, and it was so incredibly boring. The Abbies are loose in the town, and people are dropping like flies. Who dies? Lots of people but nobody important. Tension comes from concern, and I found it very hard to care for the faceless, nameless townspeople. Even when Blake Crouch tried to introduce someone, it never felt real. The extent of the depth in these characters was just a name and maybe a couple of lines. Hardly enough.
Obviously, we are supposed to care for Ethan, and we do. I do. And I know Blake Crouch can write a tense action scene, like his Ethan's previous bouts against Pope and Pam. Those were completely uncertain, he could win or lose and whatever happened would have huge effects on the story. Plus, they weren't life or death, and this is important because I never feel any tension when a book tries to make me think that the main protagonist will die before the story is over. Much less in the first book of a trilogy, or at the beginning of a book where his death would spell a quick end for everyone else. That's exactly what this book tries to do.
Plus, Blake Crouch kind of wrote himself into a corner, here. He made the Abbies too dangerous up close. They are so violent and lethal that any hand to hand encounter with one is basically a death sentence. So, he gave Ethan a gun, which makes the Abbies a complete pushover. This is probably why he tried to insert the scenes with other minor characters, and to be fair, some were effective, but they mostly fell completely flat. So, we have an enemy which is theoretically dangerous but harmless in practice, along with a main character that isn't going to die no matter how much Crouch tries to convince us he might. What does this create? Many hours of sheer boredom.
I only continued because I wanted to see the end, and hear what Tobias (Hassler) knew to save the human race. This was so incredibly important that Blake even set it up in the second book. Hassler says that he is THE ONLY ONE who knows this piece of information. So, what is it? Something that literally every person who has seen the Abbies knows. That humanity is screwed. The Abbies control the world now. I can see what he was going for here, a subversion and something profound, and it was close. Close, but the way he set up the mystery totally destroys the effect. I mean, what person with that knowledge would EVER think something like that. If you haven't read the book, this probably doesn't make much sense, but trust me, it's stupid.
The series also teased a lot with Margaret and the intelligence of the Abbies, but NOTHING is ever done with this thread. Seriously, it never goes anywhere. Presumably, this is where the sequel series would go, but that doesn't exist yet and I have no clue if it ever will, so right now, it's dumb and is a huge lost opportunity.
The endings of the story and different character arcs are actually mostly fine. There is certainly room for a sequel which is probably going to happen at some point (imo). The only thing I disagree with is how Pilcher was portrayed. Crouch made him into someone with a very annoying and cringe worthy God complex. I can understand that he would have a savior complex, and that could have been done well, but its stupid when it ditches any kind of subtlety and amounts to Pilcher shouting about God and Paradise and how Ethan is Satan or something. Pitcher was interesting because he was ambitious, driven, intelligent, and philosophical. To turn that into the generic mess he is in this book is one of the worst sins Blake commits with this last one.
The Last Town is incredibly disappointing. I'd probably read a sequel if one ever came out, but it really sucks how much of a letdown this was. Nearly every single aspect of this was a failure, except for the actual plot ending and the resolution to most of the character arcs.
Pines had the mystery. Wayward had the compelling human drama. What does The Last Town have? An extended snorefest of an action scene and pathetic attempts at drama and mystique.
The first half of this book is basically one long action scene, and it was so incredibly boring. The Abbies are loose in the town, and people are dropping like flies. Who dies? Lots of people but nobody important. Tension comes from concern, and I found it very hard to care for the faceless, nameless townspeople. Even when Blake Crouch tried to introduce someone, it never felt real. The extent of the depth in these characters was just a name and maybe a couple of lines. Hardly enough.
Obviously, we are supposed to care for Ethan, and we do. I do. And I know Blake Crouch can write a tense action scene, like his Ethan's previous bouts against Pope and Pam. Those were completely uncertain, he could win or lose and whatever happened would have huge effects on the story. Plus, they weren't life or death, and this is important because I never feel any tension when a book tries to make me think that the main protagonist will die before the story is over. Much less in the first book of a trilogy, or at the beginning of a book where his death would spell a quick end for everyone else. That's exactly what this book tries to do.
Plus, Blake Crouch kind of wrote himself into a corner, here. He made the Abbies too dangerous up close. They are so violent and lethal that any hand to hand encounter with one is basically a death sentence. So, he gave Ethan a gun, which makes the Abbies a complete pushover. This is probably why he tried to insert the scenes with other minor characters, and to be fair, some were effective, but they mostly fell completely flat. So, we have an enemy which is theoretically dangerous but harmless in practice, along with a main character that isn't going to die no matter how much Crouch tries to convince us he might. What does this create? Many hours of sheer boredom.
I only continued because I wanted to see the end, and hear what Tobias (Hassler) knew to save the human race. This was so incredibly important that Blake even set it up in the second book. Hassler says that he is THE ONLY ONE who knows this piece of information. So, what is it? Something that literally every person who has seen the Abbies knows. That humanity is screwed. The Abbies control the world now. I can see what he was going for here, a subversion and something profound, and it was close. Close, but the way he set up the mystery totally destroys the effect. I mean, what person with that knowledge would EVER think something like that. If you haven't read the book, this probably doesn't make much sense, but trust me, it's stupid.
The series also teased a lot with Margaret and the intelligence of the Abbies, but NOTHING is ever done with this thread. Seriously, it never goes anywhere. Presumably, this is where the sequel series would go, but that doesn't exist yet and I have no clue if it ever will, so right now, it's dumb and is a huge lost opportunity.
The endings of the story and different character arcs are actually mostly fine. There is certainly room for a sequel which is probably going to happen at some point (imo). The only thing I disagree with is how Pilcher was portrayed. Crouch made him into someone with a very annoying and cringe worthy God complex. I can understand that he would have a savior complex, and that could have been done well, but its stupid when it ditches any kind of subtlety and amounts to Pilcher shouting about God and Paradise and how Ethan is Satan or something. Pitcher was interesting because he was ambitious, driven, intelligent, and philosophical. To turn that into the generic mess he is in this book is one of the worst sins Blake commits with this last one.
The Last Town is incredibly disappointing. I'd probably read a sequel if one ever came out, but it really sucks how much of a letdown this was. Nearly every single aspect of this was a failure, except for the actual plot ending and the resolution to most of the character arcs.
reading_inthe_woods's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
mstorr9's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
blameitonthebook's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A series doesn't always end strongly, but this 3rd book had a great pace and kept you guessing throughout!
The entire series is a very strong 4/5
The entire series is a very strong 4/5
heatherfeather18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
hello_sweetie11's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an amazing trilogy! I found it at the right time for me and it was just perfect.
veronicaweinstein's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
samanthajpina's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Just WOW. Truly incredible series. Crouch really left his heart and soul in this series and it was so amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a book in 12 hours but I couldn’t put this down. The way he builds anticipation throughout the series is brilliant and to let it all come out in The Last Town was truly some of the best writing I’ve seen.
I went into this series blind and relatively unknown and that’s what I’d recommend here too. You have an idea of what Ethan’s plan is but the execution is going to keep you on your feet.
I went into this series blind and relatively unknown and that’s what I’d recommend here too. You have an idea of what Ethan’s plan is but the execution is going to keep you on your feet.