The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray – Book Review

“[…]this balance between building up the suspense while giving us plenty of action is balanced beautifully and kept me hooked throughout.”

About the Author

The Last Day is the first solo book written by the BBC’s QI Elf and co-host of the podcast ‘No Such Thing as a Fish’ (if you haven’t listened to it already, I would highly recommend it – a perfect combination of funny and interesting), while his second book, The Sanctuary, is expected to be published on 26 May 2022.

About the Book

The year is 2059, and the world has stopped spinning. Half the world has been plunged into an icy darkness, while the other half is scorched by sunlight. Britain, however, has found itself in a place where life can be sustained, where it is neither too hot nor too cold. The situation called for action, and it was Davenport who took charge and made the decision to separate Britain from the rest of the world, creating a barrier preventing anyone from leaving or entering.

Elsewhere, Ellen Hopper, working on one of the rigs, is about to be given a clue to a secret she must uncover. It is a secret that Davenport’s government will kill to keep concealed. Can she beat the odds and find out the secret, or will she be betrayed by those close to her who fear the consequences of working against Davenport?

My Review

I really enjoyed this book. The very first line of the first chapter is immediately gripping and the chapter does a great job of painting an image of the post-apocalyptic world in which the book takes place while introducing us to the book’s main character, Ellen Hopper.

We quickly see that Ellen Hopper is a bit of an outcast, distancing herself from the rest of the crew with the exception of Harv, the only person she has allowed herself to become close to in years. However, we also see that she cares about and feels the impact the Stop has had on people, particularly as she herself has been deeply impacted by it in ways that are hinted to in the opening chapters. This, to me, made Hopper likeable and easy to connect with, and I found myself urging her on throughout the book.

We also hear a snippet about the secret by way of a letter sent to her by Edward Thorne, the secret that Hopper must choose whether to pursue in the face of threats to her life. And throughout the book we get tiny bits of information at a time, bringing us a step closer to the secret each time, but this is not without its complications – And this balance between building up the suspense while giving us plenty of action is balanced beautifully and kept me hooked throughout. This, along with the writing which flows smoothly throughout makes this the kind of book that you could easily binge-read in a day or two.

The only comment I did have is that I felt a little unconvinced by the ending of the book. Although the ending in itself made sense and wrapped up most of the issues in a way which made perfect sense, I just felt that there was maybe something missing from the end which would have given it more of an impact. Though, I would just add that: 1. It did not take away from the book for me, which was still a great read which I have already recommended to people; and 2. I obviously appreciate that other people may read the book and disagree, and believe that the ending was the perfect way to round off the book.

Conclusion

I do love a good dystopian book, and The Last Day is no exception, taking an unimaginable world and making it believable – I do hope that Andrew Hunter Murray’s second book is just as good (or better)!

I hope you enjoyed this review. If you have any comments, either in relation to my review or the book, then feel free to comment down below, and I look forward to bringing you my next book review/bookish post shortly.

TBT