The Last: The post-apocalyptic thriller that will keep you up all night

by Hanna Jameson

ONE HOTEL. TWENTY SURVIVORS. ONE OF YOU IS A KILLER.

'BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED...HAUNTING...EXTRAORDINARY' EMILY ST JOHN MANDEL

'A CLEVER, ORIGINAL, SCARILY PLAUSIBLE WHITE-KNUCKLE READ' ERIN KELLY

The most exciting literary thriller of 2019, you won't be able to put THE LAST down.
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BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington

Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. As the lights go out on civilisation, he wishes he had a way of knowing whether his wife, Nadia, and their two daughters are still alive. More than anything, Jon wishes he hadn't ignored Nadia's last message.

Twenty people remain in Jon's hotel. Far from the nearest city and walled in by towering trees, they wait, they survive.

Then one day, the body of a young girl is found. It's clear she has been murdered. Which means that someone in the hotel is a killer.

As paranoia descends, Jon decides to investigate. But how far is he willing to go in pursuit of justice? And what kind of justice can he hope for, when society as he knows it no longer exists?
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'GRIPPING, AND THOROUGHLY AND FRIGHTENINGLY BELIEVABLE. I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN' JENNIE MELAMED

'DARK, ORIGINAL, COMPELLING' CJ TUDOR

'IT IS JAMESON'S PORTRAYAL, BOTH IMAGINATIVE AND PLAUSIBLE, OF HOW HER CHARACTERS ADAPT TO THEIR NEW LIFE THAT MAKES HER NOVEL SUCH COMPULSIVE READING' TELEGRAPH

'JAMESON DOES AN EXCELLENT JOB OF EXPLORING WHAT NUCLEAR WAR WOULD MEAN FOR US . . . AND WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO LIVE IN A PLACE WHERE CONSEQUENCES NO LONGER EXISTED' OBSERVER

'STEPHEN KING MEETS AGATHA CHRISTIE IN THIS FANTASTIC AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL NOVEL . . . I LOVED EVERY SECOND . . . THIS IS THE BOOK OF 2019' LUCA VESTE

'A POST-APOCALYPTIC VERSION OF AGATHA CHRISTIE'S AND THEN THERE WERE NONE . . . THE LAST DELIVERS ON ITS INTRIGUING PREMISE AS THE VENEER OF CIVILISATION WEARS AWAY AND A COLLECTIVE SAVAGERY STARTS TO TAKE HOLD' IRISH TIMES

'CHILLINGLY NIGHTMARISH - A GRIPPING READ' SOPHIA TOBIN

'A FANTASTIC SETTING, GREAT CHARACTERS AND A SLOW BUILDING TENSION MAKES THE LAST ONE TO WATCH' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'WE DEFY YOU TO PICK UP THE LAST, READ THE FIRST PAGE, THEN PUT IT BACK DOWN AGAIN' STYLIST

'DARK AND COMPELLING' CLOSER 'MUST READS'

'MOVES LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN WITH NO BRAKES ON AND RACES TOWARDS AN EXPLOSIVE SET OF REVELATIONS' CRIME TIME

'SHOCKING, INTRIGUING AND RAWLY HUMAN. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK' ONE EMPTY SHELF

• ISBN10: 0241349176
• ISBN13: 9780241349175
• Publish Date: 31 January 2019 (first published 24 January 2019)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 7 April 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Imprint: Viking
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

DNF @ 50%

I don't remember precisely how I came across The Last, but I was hooked after reading the description! I absolutely adore post apocalyptic fiction and I loved Annihilation, so I knew this would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, this book failed to deliver in almost every aspect.

The Last is a book that really doesn't seem to know what it's doing. At the very start, Jon finds himself stranded in a Swiss hotel as the world around him and everyone he loves ceases to exist. It's spectacular. But once the initial action ends, things begin to meander and get lost. This book quickly became a story about watching random people go throughout their days with no purpose other than getting high and having sex. Which, I mean, sure. If the world is ending, why not? But why is this marketed as a dystopian thriller?

There were also several plot lines that literally went nowhere. One character sees ghosts, but nothing ever comes of it. The main character briefly mentions that he doesn't think they're alone in the hotel, but that is never mentioned again either. There's also a pointless murder mystery that, although I didn't finish the book, I did see had a very unsatisfactory outcome.

I fully expected to be blown away by this book that compares itself to Annihilation, but it was one of the biggest letdowns I've had recently. There was SO much potential here for a great story. If you're looking for a post apocalyptic thrill ride, this is not the one for you. There's no tension here. If you want to read a story about a few people going through the motions in a remote hotel, maybe you'll enjoy it.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Caffeinated Aspects:

• The mystery. I was curious to know what happened to the little girl. for Jon it gave him a sense of purpose and a chance to avoid the feelings about his wife and stepchildren.
• The characters back stories, particularly that of Nathan who has ties to the hotel. Jon is a historian and it felt natural for him to keep a journal and investigate.
• The interactions and reactions of the twenty hotel guests as they spend time in isolation, make runs for supplies and establish rules. It is always fascinating to watch people who normally wouldn't interact on a daily basis form alliances, friendships and engage. Lines formed based on lifestyle, political views and more. It was interesting viewing all of this from Jon's perspective. For me this was one of the strongest points of this novel.
• The hotel L’Hotel Sixieme, surrounded by woods and set far from the outskirts of the nearest town has a rich, bizarre history.

Decaffeinated Aspects:.

• This was marketed as a dystopian psychological thriller. I expected a much faster pace, danger and plenty of action. While we had moments this fell short of my expectations.
• The pacing was off and some parts dragged. This I think resulted in the combination of genres. Dystopian and Murder-Mystery. I think both suffered for it. I understand the unique setting the catastrophic event caused, but it didn't have enough of the action, suspense and near death moments typically found within the dystopian genre
• I didn't really care for Jon. I am not sure if it was the narration or his personality. He felt whiney and I struggled in sharing his emotions and thoughts. Perhaps socially awkward is a good word to describe him.
• The murder didn't create enough of a sense of danger. Sure a murderer could be living among them, but the tension wasn't there.
• I wanted more of some threads. Like the people in the woods and the small town. All of these were dystopian aspects of the story and created that rush one feels when reading the genre.

Anthony Starke provided the narration for The Last. I thought he did an excellent job with Jon's Mississippi accent. He gave both male and female characters their own unique voice and beautifully handled accents. This was not a favorite narration for me, and after a few chapters I increased the listening speed to 1.5x. I did this because Jon's voice was slow..so very slow and drab without much inflection. I highly suspect this was a personality trait of Jon's but it affected my listening pleasure. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[zooloo1983]

Woah this story is such a harrowing and mysterious end of days read. I will not be able to convert how amazing this book is. All I know in January I have read two books and that are contenders for book of the year..this is the 2nd.

I have a serious hangover with this book. It has let me think about my actions and reactions if I saw the headlines that there had been a nuclear attack on the world. It reminded me of conversations of old I use to have with my Dad when we would watch Terminator 2 for the umpteenth time and the scene where there was a nuclear explosion which looked to wipe out the world would be our discussion point. I still wouldn’t know what to do if I survived and experienced this, but I know I would probably have to keep fighting to survive like Jon the MC.

I have read a review by Janel over at Keeper of the Pages where this book she said this book was a bit like The Walking Dead without the zombies and I have to completely agree, also the Agatha Christie twist when a body of a young girl is found in the water tanks. Jon sets off trying to solve this mystery mainly to stay sane but because something just does not sit right with him as she is murdered BEFORE the attack.

The chapters are named the number of days after THE DAY and we meet Jon on day 3, trying to recount what has happened and how he feels. Trying to tell us about the last few people he knows who exist in the hotel and all the different reasons that they are in the hotel. The hotel feels so enormous when reading this at least five floors full of rooms, all slowly becoming inhabitable as there is little to no electricity so the door locks fail, moving down the levels of the building. Like I said this book is harrowing, reading how these people are living and the death of a girl. Learning slowly how people came to the hotel and the touchings of the supernatural. There were many times where I was on bated breath and wrapped up in a tight coil when they leave the hotel looking for food and going on scavenger hunts, it was so nerve-wracking, who would they meet if anyone? I am not sure what would be worse, meeting someone or meeting no one?!

Whilst the search for the “killer” is at the forefront of Jon’s mind, it is mainly to keep their minds active as there is literally nothing else to focus on. His laptop had died weeks ago so no access to the outside world, and he is wondering if the killer is still with them, but could that just be the paranoia as nothingness sets in?

I cannot fathom how much I have been affected by this book. It has shocked me to the core and with an ending such as that, I don’t think I will be able to rest easy at any rate. This is a first class book, I was hooked wanting to know what the hell was going on, who had done what and why, and would anyone make it out alive?

This is my first writing with Ms Jameson and her writing is exquisite, she knows exactly how much and how little to say things to either you sated for awhile or to get the heart pumping with bewilderment or fear. This will take me a long time to get over this book as it’s very now, this thing could happen at any time and it has always worried me to the core. It is such a fantastic piece of writing and it hits home a few things for the reader, it has made me want to reevaluate a few things in my life. Seriously this book needs a chance to be under your skin and fester for a while and stay there. I can not recommend this highly enough.