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A review by obr
The Last by Hanna Jameson
3.0
What starts off as a slow slice of dystopian not-so-unbelievable future keeps the low level tension throughout. Is it a mystery? A character study? A survival story? Perhaps a little of each, though don't go into it expecting anything other than a slow, winding, musing, and downright claustrophobic tale that's pretty much "it's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (except I totally don't argharghargh oh look a dead body to investigate!)"
While I found the beginning difficult to get into (nuclear war anyone?), I ended up grimly captivated by the survivor's tale told by the narrator John. His meandering thoughts, pondering of murders, and interactions with the other weird cast of characters trapped in a hotel at the end of the world could be strangely compelling. And dark. Don't forget the dark.
Unfortunately I didn't feel the ending lived up to the beginning. Just as the ideas about survival and humanity being grim but pragmatic started to emerge, the story just... Stopped. The murder-mystery solution and hints of the uncanny also fell flat for me. I don't mind some openness to an ending, but I wasn't left with a sense of closure that I'd hoped for.
I listened tot he audiobook version, and while John's narration was fine I couldn't help but cringe at some of the accents. They could feel awkward, and sometimes didn't stick (a posh Brit suddenly goes Cockney/a Northerner goes... I wasn't sure, but it didn't always sound Northern/the Japanese couple didn't sound Japanese). It did work well as an audio though, as I'd struggled with reading the journal writing style.
Overall a good sickening slow-burn, but I wasn't a fan of how everything wrapped up.
While I found the beginning difficult to get into (nuclear war anyone?), I ended up grimly captivated by the survivor's tale told by the narrator John. His meandering thoughts, pondering of murders, and interactions with the other weird cast of characters trapped in a hotel at the end of the world could be strangely compelling. And dark. Don't forget the dark.
Unfortunately I didn't feel the ending lived up to the beginning. Just as the ideas about survival and humanity being grim but pragmatic started to emerge, the story just... Stopped. The murder-mystery solution and hints of the uncanny also fell flat for me. I don't mind some openness to an ending, but I wasn't left with a sense of closure that I'd hoped for.
I listened tot he audiobook version, and while John's narration was fine I couldn't help but cringe at some of the accents. They could feel awkward, and sometimes didn't stick (a posh Brit suddenly goes Cockney/a Northerner goes... I wasn't sure, but it didn't always sound Northern/the Japanese couple didn't sound Japanese). It did work well as an audio though, as I'd struggled with reading the journal writing style.
Overall a good sickening slow-burn, but I wasn't a fan of how everything wrapped up.