Literature has provided us with post-apocalyptic visions almost as much as human imaginations on this subject. Hanna Jameson presents us, however, one of the more unusual, because connected with a mystery, straight from Agatha Christie's books.
Chronicle of a Fallen World
However, classifying The Last as a crime fiction in a post-apo envelope is not as obvious as it might seem. In his book, Jameson successfully combines fantasy with elements of horror, moral drama and the aforementioned plot under the flag of “who killed”, tying it all together in the form of a diary.
And this one, led by the main character, serves him both as a means of documenting events and a form of therapy that helps him escape from the terrifying reality. There is something to be cared for, because – like other residents of the infamous hotel in Switzerland – Jon has just witnessed the end of the world. Lack of knowledge about the fate of one’s own family, messages about total chaos and subsequent atomic flares coming from everywhere, and then total silence do not fill us with optimism, and this is just the beginning of the problems. Soon Jon finds the body of a girl, apparently murdered – and decides to unravel the mystery.
Structurally, the last one is quite classic “by the thread to the ball”. In addition to occasional flashbacks, Hanna Jameson does not play with timelines, but methodically, piece by piece, she reveals the next pieces of the puzzle. During his investigation, Jon meets other heroes, learns about their life stories and builds bonds. These will be necessary to survive in the post-apocalyptic reality – The last one in line with the mission set by the protagonist, focuses on the landscape after the “war to end all wars”, with dwindling supplies, hostile groups and a philosophy according to which only the strongest will survive in the lead.
A matter of style
You read it all very well, even though the message is not the most original. First of all, Jameson, somewhat known to post-apo fans, fills the space with a large number of interesting heroes, with so diverse stories to tell that they can be considered the greatest assets of the novel without much exaggeration. Jameson’s extremely fluid writing style also plays an important role in the positive reception of the book. Although there are a lot of parts in which these descriptions dominate, you do not feel the impression of wading through a wall of the text, and there are fragments in which only a few sentences are enough for the writer to create the desired atmosphere.
The last is difficult, therefore, do not recommend – despite a relatively secondary issues, the author managed to pull the idea in principle, maximum, for much of the reading being able not only to intrigue the reader, but to force to reflect on the contemporary world.
