Book Review: Last Man on Earth Club

Book Description:

Six people are gathered for a therapy group deep in the countryside. Six people who share a unique and terrible trauma: each one is the last survivor of an apocalypse.

My initial plan was to do a review of book 2 of the Medair Duology before any others but I tend to get distracted in my reading. I'm in the process of re-reading that series and I wanted to finish that before I did a follow up review. Before I get around to that I decided to do a quick review of one of my new favorite books. The Last Man on Earth Club.

From the description:

Six people are gathered for a therapy group deep in the countryside. Six people who share a unique and terrible trauma: each one is the last survivor of an apocalypse.

Each of them was rescued from a parallel universe where humanity was wiped out. They’ve survived nuclear war, machine uprisings, mass suicide, the reanimated dead, and more. They’ve been given sanctuary on the homeworld of the Interversal Union and placed with Dr. Asha Singh, a therapist who works with survivors of doomed worlds.

To help them, she’ll have to figure out what they’ve been through, what they’ve suffered, and the secrets they’re hiding. She can’t cure them of being the last man or woman on Earth. But she can help them learn to live with the horrors they survived.

The basic premise is that instead of developing faster than light travel and exploring the galaxy humans develop the means to explore multiple dimensions. In each is a variation of Earth and the Human race. From time to time however an Earth is discovered that is in danger of destruction. To this end counselors are kept on hand by a sort of Interdimensional UN to counsel survivors. The characters in this story are in the unique position of being the sole survivors of their "earth".

I have to admit up front that I love this book. I'm on my third read through as we speak. Each character comes from a unique world. Minor spoilers, I've listed each character below and their own apocalypse.

Olivia- survivor of a zombie apocalypse.

Katie- survivor of a human/machine war.

Pew- last of a race that was hunted to extinction.

Iokan- survivor of mass suicide.

Kwame- survivor of a nuclear war and possible instigator.

Liss- survivor of a world filled with superheroes. A world where everyone submultaneously turned to ash.

Fair warning, this book is almost entirely character driven. If you are looking for over the top action and explosions then this isn't the place. I do know several that meet that description however. Don't mistake slower for boring however. I was hooked from the first page.

If you like your science fiction to make you think then this is the book for you. It is available everywhere ebooks are sold or just click the link at the bottom. PTSD will never seem the same to you again.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61144?ref=SFelkel

Book Review: The Silence of Medair

From the Description

Time stole victory. 

Medair an Rynstar returned too late to drive back the Ibisian invasion. Centuries too late. When friend and enemy have become the same thing, what use are the weapons Medair planned to use to protect her Empire? There is no magic or artifact that can undo the past. No matter how Medair wishes to hide from the consequences of her failure, others will not allow her the luxury of denying the present. Her war is already lost, but she carries weapons which could change the course of new battles. 

With the skirmishes of war beginning, and hunters in near pursuit, it is her conscience Medair cannot escape. Whose side should she be on? What is she really running from?

Premise

Quite a few fantasy stories center around the concept that the good guys have to find a magic totem/weapon/item to defeat the evil powers. In fantasy circles they call this a fetch quest. In the case of Medair, a royal courier of sorts, she is sent to find a magic horn to repel the Ibisian invaders.

She finds the horn but unfortunately falls into an enchanted sleep. While she sleeps the Ibisians succeed in kicking the ever living crap out of her people. When she wakes up centuries later the world isn't even close to how she remembers it. The world, however, remembers her and she has become the stuff of legends.

Pros

I really enjoyed the character of Medair. I thought that Host did a great job of showing the Survivors Guilt that she suffers. After all, her people were slaughtered and enslaved and its partly her fault.

The Ibisians were another nice touch. Instead of the typical evil powers they're actually tragic figures in their own right. Survivors of a magical conflagration they have fled to Medairs country. They refuse refugee treatment deciding that conquest or failure are their only options. Quite a bit of hubris to the Ibisians.

Cons

Host tends to throw a lot of terms, names and places around and expects people to keep up. In a way that shows faith in her readers but even I got a little confused as it went along. It does all become clear as you read but it slows things down a little.

Closing Thoughts

I loved this book! Fair warning it can be a slow read. However I never felt that the pacing drug. It's just a cerebral story. It is also the first in a duology.

If you'd like a fantasy story that turns a few conventions on their ear, characters that are almost immediately engrossing and a dash of tragedy then I highly recommend this book. I give it four and a half swords. For only $4.99 it's definitely worth it. Click the link below to check it out.

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/31775?ref=SFelkel