“I know shit about politics, but I don’t think anyone’s manifesto was ‘Nuclear war on Tuesday.”
We all know the end of the world would suck. Most people generally view nuclear warheads falling overhead signalling the end of days to, generally, be a bad thing to happen. But, surviving this nightmarish scenario and having to live in the fallout is something that isn’t always as the thought of as much. It’s that very reality Hanna Jameson masterfully taps into with her chilling thriller, The Last. A gripping part murder mystery and part post-apocalyptic thriller that deals with the idea of surviving sometimes being harder than dying, check out our The Last book review here at What We Reading!
Date Published: 2019
Author: Hanna Jameson
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 340
GoodReads Rating: 3.53/5
Premise
The story follows protagonist Jon Keller, an American academic staying in the luxurious L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland for a work conference when a nuclear apocalypse breaks out. With the end of the world unfolding and hundreds of thousands being killed, he and twenty other survivors choose to hunker down in the relative safety of the hotel, fashioning together something of a routine with the limited supplies they have in reserve.
That is the situation readers are thrown into when they first open the book. Jon’s background as a historian has led to him detailing his day-to-day routine and interviews with the other survivors, but, during an inspection of the water tanks, a discovery casts a sinister shadow over all the hotel’s occupants.
The body of a young girl, drowned in nefarious circumstances, leads to an investigation that throws suspicion on everybody present, and gradually begins to wear on Jon’s own sanity. And, with rations starting to run low, the group are forced to send out on expeditions which carry altogether different dangers in this post-apocalyptic world.
What Worked
Hands down, the best part of The Last is just how darn believable it is. Readers are immersed into the routines and lives the hotel residents are forced to live, see the sacrifices they’ve had to make and the ways in which they pass the time so effortlessly you can imagine themselves in their shoes. Spoiler alert: it would suck.
The wide range of emotions and responses to the end of the world is always something to marvel at when reading through The Last. Everyone in the hotel has different coping mechanisms and ways of staying sane, and even their responses to the challenges they face as a group are varied, but all are shown to be valid in their own right.
Jameson’s writing is an absolute joy to read, creating an enthralling dystopian story that really manages to nail its thought-provoking messages. I actually really liked how no political group or party is ever named as being behind the outbreak of the nuclear war, despite the differences in political opinion being crucial to some of the group’s dynamics. Not only does it not alienate any readers, but it makes the message of shared responsibility for humanity feel that much more potent.
This sort of social commentary was something I thought James Han Mattson did well in our Reprieve book review, but it is incredibly well done here.
The pacing also manages to feel extremely measured. Jameson has this superb ability to keep things pulsating, even if most of the book is centred around the tension building around the guests.
What Didn’t
The Last was a pulsating and thrilling read without too much to strike against it honestly.
I did, however, find Jon to be a slightly limp protagonist at times; the characters around him were more nuanced, more charismatic and more interesting than Jon’s wooden deliveries. The trope of the main character working everything out, being told every bit of useful information is used as a way of keeping the plot ticking, and the whole relationship with Tomi was never one that felt especially natural.
Verdict
As we’ve already mentioned above, the magic of The Last is just how believable it is in concept and execution. Through Jameson’s superb writing style, she is able to construct a setting that feels like it could play centre-stage to a real-life crisis happening tomorrow.
The characters are all genuinely likeable and complex enough for the mystery elements in the book to feel like they have a decent array of suspects to bounce off, similar to a book like The Chalk Man. The dynamics and relationships these characters form are what I found to be the most compelling aspect of the book, however, which is what ultimately provides a great deal of the thought-provoking elements in this dystopian thriller.
This really is a special book and one we’re not going to forget in a hurry.
Our Rating: 5/5
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
