Book Review: Last Ones Left Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff

Title: Last Ones Left Alive
By: Sarah Davis-Goff
Genre: Dystopian 
Pages: 280
Release Date: January 24th, 2019
Publisher: Tinder Press
Rating: ★★★★★

Summary from Goodreads: LAST ONES LEFT ALIVE is the story of Orpen, a young woman who must walk on foot across a ravaged Ireland in the desperate hope of saving herself, and her guardian Maeve, from the zombie-like menace known as the skrake. Sarah Davis-Goff's strikingly original debut will appeal to readers of dystopian literary fiction such as STATION 11 or THE END WE START FROM.

Watch your six. Beware tall buildings. Always have your knives.

Growing up on a tiny island off the coast of a post-apocalyptic Ireland, Orpen's life has revolved around physical training and necessity. After Mam died, it's the only way she and her guardian Maeve have survived the ravenous skrake (zombies) who roam the wilds of the ravaged countryside, looking for prey.

When Maeve is bitten and infected, Orpen knows what she should do - sink a knife into her eye socket, and quickly. Instead, she tries to save Maeve, and following rumours of a distant city on the mainland, guarded by fierce banshees, she sets off, pushing Maeve in a wheelbarrow and accompanied by their little dog, Danger. It is a journey on which Orpen will need to fight repeatedly for her life, drawing on all of her training and instincts. In the course of it, she will learn more about the Emergency that destroyed her homeland, and the mythical Phoenix City - and discover a starting truth about her own identity.



Review: Don't leave the island. Everything seems to go wrong as soon as Orpen leaves the island. I suppose it goes wrong long before that when everyone turns into zombies, but that's not where we pick up the story. Orpen is young and alone. Everyone she knows has turned. The only way for her to survive is to leave the island that she calls home, that is safe, and make her way to Phoenix City where she kind find other people. On her journey, Orpen runs into a lot of trouble. People, zombies, Maeve is turning and her dog goes missing. My favorite part of the story was when the Banshees show up, a group of strong women who can take out a group of zombies like no bodies business. 

This was a great read, a wonderful dystopian full of a colorful darkness. Five stars for Last Ones Left Alive. 

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

2 comments:

  1. This sounds really good! The Banshees sounds pretty amazing too. Glad you enjoyed it so much.

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