The Last Human by the cleverly named Ink Pieper, features a post-apocalyptic world reeling from the recent aftermath of biological warfare and nuclear fallout. Clay lives in a partially submerged Florida, roaming from place to place after both his moms caught a deadly virus and were taken away by the government, which has turned shady in this time of crisis. Eventually, he gets taken away as well and his dark journey to The Rose Garden concentration camp begins. Luckily, he manages to escape the dour place and starts on a post-apocalyptic road trip with three other freshly escaped detainees. It's a road trip filled with guns, limited options, and burned-out scenery. Told in a stream of consciousness narrative, The Last Human is a novel filled with clever book references, Star Wars' conversations, hope, and despair.

Though it is called The Last Human, Clay isn't alone for very long and sometimes I felt the pacing in the beginning was a little jarring. I often was not aware that a scene had changed until several paragraphs after the fact. But after a rocky beginning, The Last Human flows along much better and any little quirks in what can be an interesting main character are answered by the shocking twist near the end. The Last Human is a very fast paced read and was a book that I stayed up late into the night reading; it was also the first thing I picked up in the morning.

"It’s morbidly depressing to be alone. It feels as if all life drains from you even though, theoretically, I am a fairly healthy individual. I eat my fruits and veggies. I eat my meats…well I eat fish at least. The fruits aren’t ripe either. The vegetables are whatever I can scavenge and are rarely in the pristine condition I always hope to find them in. It sounds as if maybe I’m a vagabond, maybe I’m a bum, but I’m not. I’m just a person like you."

That's the opening paragraph of Ink Pieper's, The Last Human, and with a lead like that, who can resist reading more. The writing throughout the book is engaging and attention-holding. The author certainly has a way with prose and a talent for story and character development. Clay is a parentless teen, fighting for his freedom and his life as the world, and the America he had known, decays. Clay is so well developed that he seems real. It's rare that an author can make a character come to life the way Pieper did. The only drawback to the book is that it's not well edited. Fortunately, the writing is strong enough to overlook a lot of it. It is a good book for fantasy fans and older readers of Young Adult fiction. The author moves through the story at a good pace with fluidity and certainly doesn't bore the reader.

"It’s morbidly depressing to be alone. It feels as if all life drains from you even though, theoretically, I am a fairly healthy individual. I eat my fruits and veggies. I eat my meats…well I eat fish at least. The fruits aren’t ripe either. The vegetables are whatever I can scavenge and are rarely in the pristine condition I always hope to find them in. It sounds as if maybe I’m a vagabond, maybe I’m a bum, but I’m not. I’m just a person like you."

That's the opening paragraph of Ink Pieper's, The Last Human, and with a lead like that, who can resist reading more. The writing throughout the book is engaging and attention-holding. The author certainly has a way with prose and a talent for story and character development. Clay is a parentless teen, fighting for his freedom and his life as the world, and the America he had known, decays. Clay is so well developed that he seems real. It's rare that an author can make a character come to life the way Pieper did. The only drawback to the book is that it's not well edited. Fortunately, the writing is strong enough to overlook a lot of it. It is a good book for fantasy fans and older readers of Young Adult fiction. The author moves through the story at a good pace with fluidity and certainly doesn't bore the reader.

The Last Human by the cleverly named Ink Pieper, features a post-apocalyptic world reeling from the recent aftermath of biological warfare and nuclear fallout. Clay lives in a partially submerged Florida, roaming from place to place after both his moms caught a deadly virus and were taken away by the government, which has turned shady in this time of crisis. Eventually, he gets taken away as well and his dark journey to The Rose Garden concentration camp begins. Luckily, he manages to escape the dour place and starts on a post-apocalyptic road trip with three other freshly escaped detainees. It's a road trip filled with guns, limited options, and burned-out scenery. Told in a stream of consciousness narrative, The Last Human is a novel filled with clever book references, Star Wars' conversations, hope, and despair.

Though it is called The Last Human, Clay isn't alone for very long and sometimes I felt the pacing in the beginning was a little jarring. I often was not aware that a scene had changed until several paragraphs after the fact. But after a rocky beginning, The Last Human flows along much better and any little quirks in what can be an interesting main character are answered by the shocking twist near the end. The Last Human is a very fast paced read and was a book that I stayed up late into the night reading; it was also the first thing I picked up in the morning.