Review by vergilTfallen -- The Last City of America
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vergilTfallen
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- Latest Review: The Last City of America by Matthew Tysz
Review by vergilTfallen -- The Last City of America
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Last City of America" by Matthew Tysz.]
3 out of 4 stars
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It’s a good sign when you open a book, start reading and find yourself finishing a chapter without noticing the passage of time. When a book can grab you and pull you in that quickly it is a good sign of things to come. The opening narration, a first person recounting of the new history in this world, drew me in fast and held on tight. The opening sets the tone for a book that is dark and vast, filled with strange ideas and people and flows in such a way that I could hear the old man’s rasping words in my ear.
That sounded creepy
In The Last City of America the world has been brought low by a virus called Hephaestus. This virus made conception nearly impossible for those who contracted it. Many years have passed, and the people of America live in one of seven cities. National government has broken, each city is ruled in its own way and by different sects of people. The story follows several people across the country, a young rebel, a detached scientist, and brilliant, if twisted, revolutionary. Along with a massive cast of other characters we are shown the world after this collapse and all the horrors that can take place therein.
The story is very much about the world, and it is an interesting world to be sure. While I may not agree that this is how the world would turn out, I did enjoy seeing this sort of return to old monarchies in America idea. An apocalyptic story without nukes or fire, one that left much of the physical world intact, is a strange new take on apocalyptic worlds. I will go on record, as did the author, that this is a dark book. He touches on things like genocide, mass murder, rape, enslavement, mental illness, cannibalism and child abuse to name a few. Apart from the physical violence none of it is ever described in graphic detail but it is in the story, so those with weak stomach beware.
Given the massive host of characters in this book talking about just one or two as protagonists does not seem fair. The players are vast and varied, though they all are evil or at least commit evil through the story. The vast character gallery is both a great asset and a hindrance to the story. Despite their numbers, each character is deep and interesting with their own history, dreams, ideas and motivations. It is truly the feeling as you shift perspective that each one is the hero of their own story. Now, there are a lot of them and the cast changes as you progress through the acts. New characters are introduced as last as the last third of the novel. Characters often get their own page or two of their stories and history and backstory which is fun to read but ruins any mystery to it. It would have been nice to just get hints about the cannibal’s history and have it revealed later. It does work out, because their backstories are told well and give you an idea of the person you are dealing with, even if they can interrupt the pacing at times
The focus of the story is on the world, on this dark and dying place where freedom is horded and life is being smothered. Meanwhile others struggle to live and others still struggle to make it better. The world is filled with dark pits of humanity, evil people and cloudy outlooks. This is not a happy feel good book, no matter how you slice it. The style is hard to nail down. Sentences are choppy and told almost like someone is telling you the story, like an old storyteller by the fire, building tension in certain scenes but glossing over others to give you just the information you need. He doesn’t paint with words very often and the action scenes can be sparse. The lack of detail in some areas helps the pace move quickly but it does leave some scenes feeling a bit dry. The pacing does wonders however and makes the sudden heel turn actions come very quickly.
The Last City Of America is not a book for everyone. It is dark and depressing and even at its brightest is not happy. There is death and horrible sins and you really must stretch your disbelief to allow for some of the events that unfold. It doesn’t have deep beautiful descriptions or land and battles and most fights or action are over quickly and with little flair. It does have a cast of interesting characters, each one self-motivated and driven in their own ways, even if they are a little over the top evil. It has twists and turns that kept me interested and reading. It has a voice that speaks to you, makes you hear the strange world and twisted people within and made me want to keep reading. It has minimal spelling errors and a new take on apocalypse that I enjoyed and wish I could have spent more time learning about.
Overall, I give The Last City Of America by Matthew Tysz 3 out of 4. I loved the book and its voice, but it could have been cut down, the action elaborated on, and maybe a little less evil. If you can stomach some dark world and evil humanity, I recommend you give this a read and follow the cast of characters into the dark edges of the apocalypse.
******
The Last City of America
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
3 out of 4 stars
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It’s a good sign when you open a book, start reading and find yourself finishing a chapter without noticing the passage of time. When a book can grab you and pull you in that quickly it is a good sign of things to come. The opening narration, a first person recounting of the new history in this world, drew me in fast and held on tight. The opening sets the tone for a book that is dark and vast, filled with strange ideas and people and flows in such a way that I could hear the old man’s rasping words in my ear.
That sounded creepy
In The Last City of America the world has been brought low by a virus called Hephaestus. This virus made conception nearly impossible for those who contracted it. Many years have passed, and the people of America live in one of seven cities. National government has broken, each city is ruled in its own way and by different sects of people. The story follows several people across the country, a young rebel, a detached scientist, and brilliant, if twisted, revolutionary. Along with a massive cast of other characters we are shown the world after this collapse and all the horrors that can take place therein.
The story is very much about the world, and it is an interesting world to be sure. While I may not agree that this is how the world would turn out, I did enjoy seeing this sort of return to old monarchies in America idea. An apocalyptic story without nukes or fire, one that left much of the physical world intact, is a strange new take on apocalyptic worlds. I will go on record, as did the author, that this is a dark book. He touches on things like genocide, mass murder, rape, enslavement, mental illness, cannibalism and child abuse to name a few. Apart from the physical violence none of it is ever described in graphic detail but it is in the story, so those with weak stomach beware.
Given the massive host of characters in this book talking about just one or two as protagonists does not seem fair. The players are vast and varied, though they all are evil or at least commit evil through the story. The vast character gallery is both a great asset and a hindrance to the story. Despite their numbers, each character is deep and interesting with their own history, dreams, ideas and motivations. It is truly the feeling as you shift perspective that each one is the hero of their own story. Now, there are a lot of them and the cast changes as you progress through the acts. New characters are introduced as last as the last third of the novel. Characters often get their own page or two of their stories and history and backstory which is fun to read but ruins any mystery to it. It would have been nice to just get hints about the cannibal’s history and have it revealed later. It does work out, because their backstories are told well and give you an idea of the person you are dealing with, even if they can interrupt the pacing at times
The focus of the story is on the world, on this dark and dying place where freedom is horded and life is being smothered. Meanwhile others struggle to live and others still struggle to make it better. The world is filled with dark pits of humanity, evil people and cloudy outlooks. This is not a happy feel good book, no matter how you slice it. The style is hard to nail down. Sentences are choppy and told almost like someone is telling you the story, like an old storyteller by the fire, building tension in certain scenes but glossing over others to give you just the information you need. He doesn’t paint with words very often and the action scenes can be sparse. The lack of detail in some areas helps the pace move quickly but it does leave some scenes feeling a bit dry. The pacing does wonders however and makes the sudden heel turn actions come very quickly.
The Last City Of America is not a book for everyone. It is dark and depressing and even at its brightest is not happy. There is death and horrible sins and you really must stretch your disbelief to allow for some of the events that unfold. It doesn’t have deep beautiful descriptions or land and battles and most fights or action are over quickly and with little flair. It does have a cast of interesting characters, each one self-motivated and driven in their own ways, even if they are a little over the top evil. It has twists and turns that kept me interested and reading. It has a voice that speaks to you, makes you hear the strange world and twisted people within and made me want to keep reading. It has minimal spelling errors and a new take on apocalypse that I enjoyed and wish I could have spent more time learning about.
Overall, I give The Last City Of America by Matthew Tysz 3 out of 4. I loved the book and its voice, but it could have been cut down, the action elaborated on, and maybe a little less evil. If you can stomach some dark world and evil humanity, I recommend you give this a read and follow the cast of characters into the dark edges of the apocalypse.
******
The Last City of America
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Last City of America by Matthew Tysz
