Last Survivor

The unlikely “Pretoria Cycad and Firearms Appreciation Society” is on the hunt for a rare stolen cycad and a missing club member. Find one and you’ll find the other? Maybe. 

The “Last Survivor” is an inanimate female Encephalartos woodii, world’s rarest cycad and highly coveted by collectors and villains alike. Our heroine, Sonja Kurtz, tough but troubled and lacking passion or mercy, is hunting for the prize and the missing Member.
Tony Park is a favourite of mine. His intimate familiarity with all things African have, in the past, resulted in some satisfying novels and awakening of the Dark Continent. This latest offering begins with a bang, hovers for a while and then finishes with an improbable conflagration between trained Jihadists and the armed but doting members of PCFAS.
I’m betting Tony had a grin on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his eye writing this. Worth a read for lovers of Africa and bloodshed. Aircraft fans keep an eye out for a cameo appearance of the vintage Hawker Hunter fighter jet.

I'm guessing that the author, Tony Park, had a lot of fun writing this adventure thriller set in South Africa. The plot revolves around a stolen cycad, a very rare species of an ancient plant, the only female of its kind left in the world and worth millions of dollars. Stolen from a wealthy Saudi prince, it was retrieved before it left the country and given to the improbably named Pretoria Cycad and Firearms Appreciation Society to guard before being returned to its owner. Unfortunately it disappeared from under lock and key at the same time that one of the members, Joanne Flack, leaves for London leaving the society to wonder if she stole it or whether there is a traitor in their midst.

The hunt for the cycad opens up an extensive smuggling operation with links to an Islamic terrorist group under investigation by the CIA. Somehow, the elderly members of the cycad society become involved in a search and rescue operation for Joanne (and the cycad) alongside a hired mercenary (the fearless and passionate Sonja Kurtz who has featured in other books by the author), some corrupt cops, a private jihadi training camp and some vintage aircraft. All splendid fun, especially when the elderly society members put their shooting skills into practice. I loved all the gutsy members of the society and the fast paced plot, with the atmospheric sights and sounds of the African bush as a wonderful backdrop.

High action and tense from the get-go, Last Survivor is the type of thriller I usually worry I won’t keep up with – too much happening to too many characters, but I see now why Tony Park is in the top shelf of his genre. He writes in an engaging manner, the story clipping along at a fast pace but with the essentials all woven in tightly so that the amateur thrill seeker (ie. Me) can follow along and settle in for the duration. Because I’m going to be honest, what I know about guns, terrorism, poaching, and international smuggling rings could easily fit on a thimble. But Tony Park has made allowances for this and the end result is a writing style that entertains and imparts useful information at the same time.

‘That was the thing about Africa – and life – Sonja mused. One minute everything was peace, love and happiness, and the next second people were dying.’

I really love novels about Africa. I’m quite a fan of Australian author T.M. Clark, whose stories are a blend of African adventure and crime with a bit of romantic suspense thrown in. What T.M. Clark and Tony Park have in common is that they both have extensive lived experience of Africa and this shows in their work. Africa is a character itself, with all of the beauty and heartache, a paradox of a place that is forever changing. I particularly loved that about this novel, the intimacy with Africa, the honest reality, and the sheer affection Tony has for this place coming off the page in waves. I had a such a firm sense of place whilst reading which was a real treat, to be honest.

‘That’s the problem with elephants… Endangered or near-extinct across most of Africa where they’re persecuted, and causing a problem through over-breeding where they’re protected.’

The story that unfolds in Last Survivor is quite layered and utterly gripping. The characters were all a lot tougher than I’m used to but they seemed authentic in a way that conveyed the places they were from and the living they’d done – and they were all older and wiser; no freshly hatched glamorous assassins around here! I was a bit stunned by the extent of poaching and its links to terrorism as a means to finance weapons and further destruction. It’s quite depressing to be honest, to contemplate the capitalist nature of terrorism because it gives me this sense of hopelessness, that it can’t ever be quashed or eliminated. I didn’t know much about the extent of civil war throughout Africa either, my knowledge only going so far as a few key events that have been covered by international media. But it’s not until you read novels like this, ones written by people who live in Africa, that you can appreciate how horrifying life has been for Africans, betrayed by their governments, tortured by insurgents and rebel forces, torn apart and forced to flee. The corruption is extensive, as is the misconception passed on from international news feeds. No matter the genre, it’s the manner in which the novel conveys the bigger picture, and in this, Tony Park excels.

For someone who only dabbles in thrillers and action adventure, it’s no small thing to announce that Tony Park is now on my must-read list. Fortunately, I have at least one other of his already on my shelf, but more will soon be joining it.


Thanks is extended to Pan Macmillan Australia for providing me with a copy of Last Survivor for review.

‘South Africa also has the highest proportion of critically endangered cycads in the world. These plants are in far more trouble than rhinos, though they don’t get nearly as much attention.’

I always highly anticipate a new release from Tony as reading one of his books guarantees you will be taken on an amazing ride. Definite page turners set against an inspiring African backdrop, it provides sensational escapism which is something we all crave currently. Tony uses his tried and true formula for his novels - a fast moving thriller with deadly outcomes in exotic, yet often, dangerous African locations. This can be read as a standalone, however a couple of characters reappear from roles in previous books.

On this occasion 'Last Survivor' revolves around a stolen cycad (had to look that one up - a rare species of an ancient plant) with the only female species in the world, worth million of dollars, stolen. Thus ensues a fast paced drama across the Southern African continent with a short spell in London. Throw in some jihadi terrorists, a Saudi prince, a mercenary and some retired fighters (The Pretoria Cycad and Firearms Appreciation Society) and you have all the necessary components for an exciting action story.

These are fast paced reads - lots of action, leading to the ultimate major showdown between goodies and baddies, with a little sexual tension thrown in, making these not only readable, but very engaging. However, don't cast this aside thinking it is lacking in substance. Tony’s novels always contain noteworthy commentary on a range of topics, on this occasion, terrorism, corruption and preservation to name a few.

‘You had a couple of farmers who had lost everything they had ever worked for and owned and they made a few bucks selling some plants that they’d grown themselves. What’s the harm in that, even if they bent the rules? Their government was busy stealing from its own people.’

I really enjoy Tony’s books as once having lived in Africa, I love to lose myself in its pages for a brief respite to the wonders that can be found there. Yes, he will take you on a thrilling journey, however, at its heart it is clearly apparent the great love and appreciation Tony holds for this special place on our planet and I will always sign up for that.

‘And yet, she told herself as she watched the elephant move down to the river, there was this. No crooked politician or gang of criminals could rob her or anyone else of the simple joy of seeing a sight as grand as this.’






This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Last Survivor is the fourth book in the Sonja Kurtz series by Australian author, Tony Park. The members of a plant appreciation society puzzle over missing funds and a rare plant that’s disappeared; a terrorist stronghold is seen to contain rhino horn, ivory and tree-trunk-like items; a knife-wielding terrorist is shot dead during an attack on a London street; and somehow all these lead to mercenary Sonja Kurtz babysitting an ageing, penniless Zimbabwean ex-pat and attending a cycad convention.

From the opening scenes, readers could be forgiven for thinking they have picked up a cosy mystery, but within the first ten percent they are firmly disabused of that notion, even if the (often hilarious) cosy elements keep reappearing. In typical cosy fashion, it ends with a classic denouement which reveals quite a twist. It’s clear that Park had a lot of fun writing this one.

Sonja Kurtz does perform the challenging extraction of an aid worker from Mali amid much gunfire; she does team up with a CIA operative and a one-time FBI consultant; she does save a woman from a terrorist attack at Victoria Falls; she also buys a coffin, shares a shower with a deadly snake, and meets a Kuwaiti Prince.

But, until the final battle, there is less gunplay and perhaps a lower body count than the reader might have expected. Reduced, too, are the usually abundant weapon descriptions that have the eyes of the uninterested glazing over. And then: “She was in the middle of an eight-thousand-hectare game reserve, surrounded by dangerous wild animals and an even deadlier force of soldiers, most of whom would not hesitate to give their lives to achieve their mission. The troops arrayed against her had air support in the form of a helicopter, an armoured vehicle, electronic monitoring sensors and heavy weapons. She, on the other hand, had an assault rifle with, by her count, seventy-eight rounds of ammunition left.” And she was clad in a “little black dress”.

The members of the Pretoria Cycad and Firearms Appreciation Society come to the rescue… and Hudson Brand plays a bit of a role too, in neutralising “an international smuggling ring and a terrorist/ organised crime training school”

As usual, Park demonstrates his thorough knowledge of, and love for, the African continent and her people and, this time, shines a light on the illegal trade of cycads. His protagonist is still definitely more comfortable with a gun than anything domestic, and “She wondered if she would ever be able to look at a view without searching for cover and firing positions, or see or meet a group of people without assessing their capability to do her harm” but she does manage to say (well, text) three little words in the final chapters.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Pan Macmillan Australia.