Review by The Reading Dutchman -- The Last City of America

The Reading Dutchman · Post by **The Reading Dutchman** » 27 Feb 2018, 13:40

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Last City of America" by Matthew Tysz.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Introduction
Personally, I am a big fan of future dystopian stories that explore questions about ourselves as humans. The Last City of America delivers in both regards: it is set in a ravaged America and it follows all sorts of characters, constantly challenging you to ask yourself what it means to be good or evil.

Summary
The Last City of America is a dystopian epic set in future America. A virus called Hephaestus has swept the nation and made conception difficult. In 2025, birth rates declined by fifty percent. In 2065, America became decentralized and divided. People started to form their own tribes and law was ignored. In 2066, “The Founding” occurred, leading to the relocation of all American citizens to one of seven cities: Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Pittsburgh or Chicago.The United States of America became the Seven Cities of America. People who did not join the cities roamed freely around America, often as mercenaries or joining tribes outside of civilization.

In this world, a variety of characters roam the world, through which we follow all events.
We follow Morgan Veil, a 26-year-old man living in New York City, living under the tyrannical rule of the government. We follow Adrian Selys, a friend of Morgan Veil, a kind-hearted man who would never hurt anyone, until something unexpected happens to him. After that, he is out for revenge. We follow Harold del Meethia, a scientist working in Chicago under Dr Barnabas, the evil genius who created Hephaestus. Harold seems indifferent towards anything or anyone, and it is unclear if he wants to follow Barnabas’s path. His journey is filled with events to test his cold, objective attitude, poking him to see if he can care about people. We follow Grakus, an outcast from one of the tribes of America, who tries to enter Chicago and gain power. Unlike Harold who is indifferent towards good or evil, Grakus wants to know what both mean, and intends to engage in both. More characters and perspectives fill the book, but the above mentioned characters seem to be the most recurring, with Harold and Grakus being the main characters. Harold and Grakus come into conflict with one another in Chicago. Their clash leads all Seven Cities of America into conflict, which in turn will decide the future for all of them.

Analysis
The Last City of America asks questions about human nature. Questions include whether human nature is inherently good or evil or whether we are bound to live in civilization or to return to tribalism.
Harold exemplifies some sort of indifferent blank slate when it comes to the good versus evil question, whereas Grakus exemplifies some sort of passionate blank slate. Related questions are explored throughout multiple plots, including themes of revenge, forgiveness, damnation and redemption. For example, can you be forgiven after committing genocide in pursuit of revenge? Or can we stop others from pursuing revenge and are we obligated to do so if we believe we can? Other themes include objective and affective worldviews. For example, is it possible not to care about anything or anyone? Specific stories include rebellion and its consequences, student-teacher relationships, horrific apocalyptic experiments gone wrong and politics in a dystopian future. All stories and themes are sub-questions or sub-themes of the earlier mentioned questions about human nature of good and evil.

The entire book carries a sense of dread and pessimism, like the video game series Fallout. I wonder if this is a coincidence, or because Matthew Tysz was inspired by video game fanfiction in the past.
Despite this sense of dread, there is also a sense of hope in some of the stories. This constant shifting sense is the basis for the earlier described themes of the evil or good nature of humanity, and all the related questions coming with it. Harold and Grakus are both our ‘researchers’ in this story, one more literally than the other. ‘Explorers’ might be a more accurate term.

Opinion
Personally, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. It takes a while to get into, but if you are not shy to invest some time, it is definitely a recommendation. The many different themes are brilliantly woven into the stories between characters, and their shifting perspectives keep things fresh and interesting. It is often reminiscent of how George R.R. Martin uses different chapters to flesh out different personalities between characters. Other times there are some unique, short chapters delivering some background and atmosphere to further breath life into the world you are engaged in.The overall writing style across all these different chapters flows nicely and is pleasant to read.

The dealings of Harold and Grakus with the Seven Cities of America, and the events that follow, give us more than enough food for thought to decide whether humanity is inherently good or evil, or possibly, neither. Grakus and Harold start at different points, but develop in opposite directions to guide us through these questions. Throughout the story they develop a vendetta which causes these developments. This shift between them is brilliantly written, as you can feel your opinion changing on both main characters as the story progresses. It also adds some great tension.

There are some things that need addressing, however. The earlier mentioned style of shifting perspectives per chapter, becomes inconsistent when objects (like letters) and bird’s eye viewpoints (like all seven cities) are incorporated. It would have been better to stick to persons. Including more abstract perspectives like letters should have been read by known characters. More consistent chapter titles would flow better in this regard: right now chapters sometimes refer to locations, things, nicknames or real names. Nicknames or real names are fine. However, I would drop locations and things as chapter titles in favor of nicknames and real names, to make the book feel more consistent while reading.

The book had some other issues as well. Some events are glossed over too fast. You spend an awful long time reading in preparation of some major event, like a zombie assault on an airbase, or a huge battle between the same airbase and Chicago. But when these events occur, they are described in only a couple of chapters. Perspectives change rapidly, sometimes only describing half a page of thoughts. One-off perspectives occur as well. Both could do with a bit more content. Finally, the resolution of the book, is somewhat unsatisfactory. The journeys you follow leave you with a lot of content to digest, which is somewhat steered by an epilogue. Based on this epilogue, most of the things learned are up to the reader to interpret or remember. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it feels after 600+ pages with an enormous amount of perspectives, it would be logical to have some definitive conclusions, even if these conclusions are inconclusive. Right now, it leaves open too many questions and does not dare to state anything.

Conclusion
Ultimately, The Last City of America is an intriguing, worthwhile book for people who love dystopian epics infused with philosophy of human nature. If you are not shy to invest some time, do it, and enjoy a twisted, yet deep set of stories which question our very existence to the core of our actions. Despite some discussed gripes, I rate this debut of Matthew Tysz 3 out of 4 stars. If the aforementioned gripes were not there, it might have been a 4 star score.

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The Last City of America
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