Didn't finish The Last - I struggled with the characters and the setting, and just couldn't get into it.

The scope of THE LAST is reasonably small, and this focus on largely just the one location makes it a very personal account of one visiting American who is displaced at the time of nuclear war.  A group of people, only temporarily connected through all staying or working at the same hotel, do not necessarily make for the best collection of apocalypse buddies. Who knows where we will be or who we will be with when it all does finally go to hell and the world has to re-establish a new order that has hopefully learned from the mistakes of its past.   That’s the hope, anyway.

As a post-apocalyptic, THE LAST is not structured on a grand scale, though the incident that cuts off Jon Keller from the rest of the world is of course a global event. We don’t hear much of what is happening beyond the Swiss town where Jon is staying, but we know it’s all bad.  The rapid rearrangement of one’s priorities, the putting aside of one’s normal moral codes etc are all points examined in THE LAST.  There is little explanation of the after affects of fallout, diminishing resources and whatever anarchy we imagine would inevitable happen when people are no longer being policed or held accountable for their actions.  If you’re a stickler for the details, not finding out these particulars will definitely take away some of the punch of this book for you.

THE LAST has a terrific premise and an exciting start but it does about half way in begin to seem a bit like a high school melodrama.  It seems that Jon and his fellow survivors aren’t concentrating on the bigger issues.  Jon himself isn’t particularly likeable and doesn’t possess any qualities that make him particularly apocalypse handy. This makes him a lot easier to identify with, but not perhaps one that we are going to care too much about.  There are no real heart strings being tugged here.  

As it would seem that THE LAST is a natural progression to a clown being in the White House, this is the scariest take home from this read. We’ve all thought about that in the last few years too.  Dystopian thrillers these days only have to look to Twitter or Reddit to find a fertile source of material, and THE LAST spins a very credible tale of how our existence actually needs very little to happen in order for it to be forever altered.

Jon Keller is on a business trip in Switzerland when notifications come through his phone with breaking news that someone has finally pushed the button and a nuclear war has begun. It doesn't take long to hear that Washington, New York, London, and Berlin have all taken massive hits with millions dead and dying. The world as they knew it had ended. When the skies turn orange historian Jon Keller knows that the trees and vegetation will soon be dead too, There is a massive rush for residents at the hotel situated deep in the woods, to get to the airports and try to get home.
Within a couple of weeks, only 20 guests and employees are left at the hotel after some of the remaining ones have ended their own lives. People from different countries, speaking different languages with fingers that point blame. Questions of 'who did you vote for?' In a crisis, people need to blame someone because it can't be their fault and the real people responsible aren't around. Keller decides to make a sort of journal for anyone who may find it one day. A record of who is left at the hotel, their thoughts and how they remember what they were doing when the world as they know it ended.
The story takes on a much darker element when the body of a child is found. Keller becomes obsessed with finding out if one of the remaining twenty is a murderer. When supplies are being used and not replenished they have to make a choice. Should a team head for the town to find food and meds?
Oh my, there are some real choice characters in this story, with plenty of rooms to hide what you wouldn't want someone else to find and Keller is like a child with a stick stirring up a bees nest. You just know that at some point something is going to give. There are many dark avenues in the story, which you need to read yourself. We aren't too many steps from our ancestors as the will to survive, create life and take it becomes so much easier.
I think that this is the most realistic futures for our world that I have read if it was ever to have an all-out nuclear war. It was a pretty scary place, I know I wouldn't survive.
There is a real uneasy about this story which grows intensely as the group faces more difficult challenges as time passes leading to a brilliant ending. Very disturbing, extremely realistic and ultimately compelling.
I wish to thank NetGalley for an e-copy of this book which I have reviewed honestly.

Unsettling and totally gripping, a dystopian/speculative fiction with a touch of murder mystery which makes Jameson’s novel well worth picking up! Excited to hear more buzz about this book and the author!

Let's face it, it'd be bad enough having to deal with the end of the world but imagine this. Not only is it the end but you're stuck in a creepy hotel on the other side of the world from your family, with no way of knowing if they survived. Then just to rub salt in the wound you find a body. So not only is it the end of days but possibly you're spending it with a murderer. Wonderful. So begins The Last, an unusual entry into the post-apocalyptic genre. Unusual in that it concentrates less on the apocalypse and more on the narrator Jon's attempt to record history for some possible future, his investigation into the murder and ultimately growing paranoia about his fellow resident's behaviour and actions.

 On the whole, the book works well. Jon, despite his many faults, is a likeable protagonist. There's a good cast of characters, my favourite been Tomi who I really shouldn't have liked as much as I did from her very first appearance. I did sometimes get frustrated not knowing more about why a nuclear way came about but I think the message behind that is there should be no reason possible....if it ever happens it will be just the will of man, there would be no explanation. A scary thought that suddenly seems plausible again. I can't call this enjoyable as frankly it's a bit scary for this child of the eighties but it kept me hooked. If you're not a fan of dystopian fiction don't be put off, this is is a genre-busting story that I would highly recommend.

The Last’ by Hanna Jameson was one of my favourite books to read this month. It was so tense throughout and it actually terrified me a little bit. Not only is it gripping because of the murder mystery plot going on, but it was also very foreboding and suspenseful because of the other threats outside of the hotel.

Throughout the entire book I was getting very real ‘The Shining’ vibes and the book also reminded me a little bit of ‘The Walking Dead’ but without the zombies. The hotel in Switzerland is very creepy and it was described very well, it made me feel like I was there.

The book is set out in a diary format with an account of each day and I really loved it. I think the scariest part of the book is the fact that in this day and age I feel like a nuclear war situation really could happen and whilst reading it my fear was palpable.

The Last by Hanna Jameson intrigued me when I first came across it, it’s the story of Jon who is in a hotel when what seems like the end of the world happens. This is the story of how people survive and what lengths they will go to make a life for themselves.

I enjoyed this book, I wanted to know why the world had ended and who was behind the mysteries that were occurring at the hotel.
Jon is an interesting MC who is writing about what is happening after the world has changed beyond belief. He is a little hard to empathise with and often comes across as patronizing but has a good heart most of the time.

The writing is great and you are given bits and pieces of the story as you go along, enough to figure out some of why things have happened and what else is going on. The ending still leaves you with questions and I also would have loved to know the answers to some of those.

If you like a story that is full of suspense and intrigue and like to feel that you might be going paranoid as you read Jon’s story then this is the story for you. There are also events that occur in the book that are mentioned as sparking the end of the world, these reflect on some current world events and it’s not hard to envisage that something like this might happen.

This one was a 3 and a half star read for me, I enjoyed it and will definitely have a look at the authors other works.

Very good, suspenseful. It didn't feel like your typical end of the world thriller. It definitely was something different and I devoured it pretty fast.

So this was a fun quick read. The short chapters made it easy to keep reading, and the diary dorm made it easy to follow. I was figuring out what happened  at the same time as the main character. Also liked the setting with the nuclear time line, it was done a very believable way. I was not a fan of the ending and the cheating theme, so it gets four stars instead of five. But those are personal preferences, and I think this book wil be a great summer read for lots of people.

Jon, an American historian at a Swiss conference, discovers nuclear weapons have been fired at breakfast. Thwy know most major cities have been destroyed before they lose media signals. Most people try to leave but he and a small remnant of guests and staff choose the safety of the hotel. There's no internet, and power starts to run low. They decide to check on the water supply and find a small child, drowned in the tank on the roof. Which one of the survivors is a murderer? Dystopian fiction is pretty popular but I liked how Jameson took risks with a less than perfect narrator, a spiky cast of fellow residents and the threat of something or someone creepy in the woods.

A Netgalley book.

'Nadia once told me that she was kept awake at night by the idea that she would read about the end of the world on a phone notification.'

American historian Jon Keller is having a relaxed breakfast in a Swiss hotel, visiting for a conference.  He ignores a text from his wife Nadia, planning to respond later.  Then someone's phone buzzes.  Nuclear war has broken out.  News feeds eventually peter out, batteries run flat, mobile signal fades.  Not knowing if his family are still alive or if help will ever arrive, Jon remains in the hotel with twenty other survivors, documenting his days in his journal.  Then they go up to the roof and find the body of a small girl in the water tank.   The Last is billed as And Then There Were None meets The Shining - isolated in the middle of nowhere with no end in sight, paranoia sets in.  Is there really a killer in their midst?

In Steve Toltz's Quicksand, his protagonist Aldo remarks on the ridiculous optimism of the human race that the 'post-apocalyptic' genre is so popular.  We actually believe that there will be something post the apocalypse.  That comment resurfaces in my mind whenever I read a piece of dystopian fiction.  What does this version of the world's end say about us?  There is often an element of escapism, a desire to shed off the pressures of our everyday existence and to embrace a more primal existence.  Indeed, The Last makes rather self-conscious reference to a number of other versions such as The Road and The Day of the Triffids.  However, The Last still managers to be rather distinctive in its detached vision of humanity after civilisation has collapsed.  This is the apocalypse of the smartphone age.

Every so often Jameson allows Jon to regain Internet access, something which he seizes with a fervour akin to a parched man finding water.  He logs on to Facebook and notes how few people have clicked to mark themselves as 'safe' from the nuclear attack.  What is most striking is how difficult the cast find it to get the smartphone mindset out of their heads.  When two characters disagree over something, one of them defends their viewpoint saying, 'Google it'.  As Jon sets out to investigate the death of the girl in the water tank, he makes a note to look up information on something before realising immediately that he has no resources with which to do so.  Access to that ultimate arbiter may have completely evaporated but the mental reflex clings on stubbornly.

The hotel setting was a compelling one.  A group of strangers, brought together by chance and with little in common.  The dramatic location - by a lake, near a forest, far from any major settlements and so cut off from finding out what has befallen the rest of the world.  There is a spookiness about it too, the thirteen floors and nearly a thousand rooms.  Who can see for sure what lies within?  Added to that, the hotel apparently has a sinister history, with suicides and unexplained deaths and even 'the occasional murder'.  Jameson seems to be making conscious reference to The Shining here.  Jon writes dispassionately of the various guests who lose hope and take their own lives in the early days after the attacks and the reader understands that the journal is his own method of survival, of holding off despair.

The Last has come in for criticism from a number of reviews because it fails to sit comfortably in a particular genre.  Despite the alarming discovery of the child's corpse in the water tank, this is not really a murder mystery.  It centres more on the psychology of living through the collapse of humanity.  In this respect, Jon Keller makes for an interesting choice of protagonist.  He is not a particularly likeable or even reliable narrator.  As a historian, he claims to want to preserve the record but early on we suspect him of being like Winston Churchill - determined that history will be kind to him as he intends to write it.  Initial impressions of Jon begin more favourably; the de-facto doctor in the group notes that Jon always volunteers whenever things need to be done.  He tries to help those who have appointed themselves in charge.  Over time however, other facts slip out which hint at a more unsavoury personality.  While it is no doubt a creative choice by Jameson to place a weak man at her novel's core, skewering the tendency for heroics in dystopian fiction, it does make the reader feel less invested in the story.  The final verdict on his character comes in the closing pages and is fairly devastating.

The whole feel of the story was strangely sterile.  Even when the characters stage an impromptu trial, ultimately deciding on capital punishment for the defendant, there is a lack of palpable emotion.  Jon notes almost at one remove that he is surprised to find himself voting for the death penalty, having always been against it in his previous life.  He thinks it would be nice to be able to share this case study with his colleagues back at the university.  I can see that all of this was deliberate on Jameson's part, but it led to a novel that felt emotionally distant.

Marketed in a similar way to The Power and with a recommendation from Emily St Mandel (author of Station Eleven), I had high hopes that this would be a book that I would love.  Despite its fascinating premise, Jameson fumbles the conclusion so I finished The Last feeling underwhelmed.  The murder mystery is never resolved in a satisfying way and none of the characters are designed to resonate with the reader.  There are powerful moments within The Last which had the potential to be truly iconic within the dystopian genre but ultimately the book falls short.  Part character study, part whodunnit, part apocalyptic thriller, The Last tries to be many things and so finishes master of none.

Good stuff a bit different. Took me a while to get through but worth it in the end once i got in to it. Read stuff before so nice one carrying that on.

I really didn’t enjoy this book. It’s a typical end of the world story and I was extremely disappointed. It was slow going and I wasn’t hooked. Considering it’s only 390 pages, it took me a week to read it - which is extremely long for me. The reason for my 2 star rating is because I did like the characters, and it was interesting learning about them and their lives. I think they were written well and I liked them. I’m not going to post a long review for this one, as I don’t have much good to say about it and don’t want to rant too much.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Viking for a review copy.  This is an unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers please see the publishers blurb and other reviewers' reports. 
This book did not do it for me.  There was too little research by the author in which to set the tale. She seemed very keen to get to grips with her weak plot so no background, no characterisation and little reality about the whole situation.
We are asked to believe that the human race is wiped out barring isolated groups. The group she documents at the beginning are not described in any detail just vague references. 
Why does one character turn off the electricity in case it gets used up? The author  obviously knows nothing about power distribution. 
The diminishing group acts like a committee without emotion or panic. Really?
I do not like giving panning reviews,  after all the author one assumes, has done her best, but publishers should not accept weak under thought prose and should have some thought for their public.
One star from me.

A dystopian thriller beaten with a political stick!

Don’t let the political stuck put you off, politics is in no way forced down your throat or the main plot in this book, it just has a few digs in places. It gives no names but the flashing neon sign is one not even I could miss and I don’t follow politics at all!

Set in a hotel in Switzerland a handful of guests and staff watch the end of the world before everything goes dark. This is their story, how they survived the nuclear apocalypse one claustrophobic day at a time.

With some great characters that you will love and love to hate this is the end of the world in the 21st century where the death of the internet and social media is as traumatic as the end of humankind its self!

Told from the first person prospective, Dr. Jon Keller an American lecturer who was staying at the hotel attending a conference begins chronicling events beginning from Day One. It follows his own thoughts and actions as well as the other guests as they all try to come to terms with being the possible sole survivors of the end of the world.

What would you do? How do you survive with none of the 21st century luxuries we are all so reliant on in this day and age?

Well written and thought provoking it is a book for our time, it is a book that will linger in your thoughts way after you have turned the last page.

A great edition to the dystopian/apocalyptic genre with an added murder mystery. 

Many thanks to the author Hanna Jameson, publishers Penguin Books and NetGalley for my copy in exchange for an honest, independent review.

https://debbiesbookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/05/12/the-last-by-hanna-jameson/

With a jacket quote from Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven, and my general affection for dystopian and post apocalyptic themes, The Last appealed from the outset, but provided a curious, though none the less rewarding reading experience…

Focussing on the disparate guests at a hotel in Switzerland, suddenly cast adrift into a world of confusion and fear. It’s funny that for the most part I really didn’t perceive this book as a crime thriller, set as it is in the wake of a stream of nuclear events across the world. Although there is a crime, the murder of a young girl, within the narrative, at times it felt almost superfluous, to the clear, defined thrust of the book, examining how a group of relative strangers can co-exist and survive when isolated from the world. I must confess that I could have happily read this book without this facet of the story, and much more interesting was the way that these strangers then had to try and formulate themselves into one cohesive social group, and the fractures and difficulties this clearly brought to the surface. In much the same way as say, The Walking Dead, becomes really much more focussed on the relationships between, and development of individuals, so The Last formed a similar impression, with how Jameson manipulates her characters in this strange and fearful world.

By choosing the hotel as the setting for the book, Jameson immediately had great scope for confining a wide ranging group of people in one space, all living, working or temporarily residing there for numerous different reasons. Also this is a perfect organic setting for throwing together not only men, women and children, but people with vastly differing lifestyles, opinions, beliefs, nationalities and personal characteristics, and Jameson quite rightly milks this to the nth degree. What this then produces is a smorgasbord of people who by their very characteristics should not be able to co-exist, but as their individual survival depends on this have to learn how to, and the ramifications for those who don’t. Consequently, there is conflict, violence, moments of personal disclosure, self destruction, and shifting notions of justice and morality, that really is the bedrock of the book, and which holds the reader’s attention throughout. I thought the scope of characters, and their behaviour under pressure was excellent throughout, and the very real human frailties and doubt that haunt even the strongest characters was always measured and truthful. As some characters find inner strength, previously not known to them, to cope and survive, Jameson never shies away from those that fail to rally, but balances her other character’s responses from those quick to judge, and those that harbour similar emotional fears. Jameson has a complete balance in her male and female characters, exposing their strengths and weaknesses equally and how their lives previous to this devastating event, goes a long way in forming their responses to it and to those around them. There’s also a dark playfulness about the less attractive features she attributes to some, and the irritation that others can arouse in the reader, which are perfectly valid when anyone is thrust into a situation with strangers.

For Jameson’s compelling examination of the instinct for survival, and how it shapes human character, I would wholly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian fiction. Using a personal journal with shifting timelines to construct the narrative, Jameson wends a thought-provoking and highly satisfying tale examining morality, cooperation, and the will to survive. Recommended.

Dystopian thrillers in book are relatively new to me and I was drawn to this book due to the murder element.  It almost had a locked room theme; only so many people could have been the culprit.

I was drawn to the protagonist, Jon, even in the face of adversity and knowing that he may never see his children and family again, he was still up for upholding some kind of law and bringing a murder to some kind of justice.

The best parts for me though are the venturing 'outside' chapters where they go into the woods or into the town - these are sweaty palm, heart-pounding pages which really pack tension.

Overall an interesting and engrossing take on an apocalyptic future.

Apologies in the delay for reading and submitting a review for this book, this is by no means any reflection on the book or the author.  The book is totally worth the read.

Absolutely loved this novel which had me gripped from the start.  The Last is a thriller with a dystopian twist.  When nuclear bombs are dropped on major cities around the world, Jon is stuck in a Swiss Hotel, contemplating his life.  And when a body is found, Jon finds himself on a quest - should he try and remain in the hotel, or face his chances in the new world outside the hotel.  Equally gripping and thrilling.  4 stars

This was a quick read.  A little different from my normal read, but she did a good job with the premise.  The author did a good job of incorporating themes of the time.  Some subjects include the me too movement, religion and politics.

Downloaded when I received it but it isn't now available on the kindle app on my iPad unfortunately as I was really looking forward to reading it.