Last Ones Left Alive brings the zombie-genre to Ireland. Orpen, the daughter of Muireann and Maeve, spends her life training, running, and learning to throw knives. The end has come and humanity has, for the most part, been wiped out by zombie-like creatures called “skrake.”
“I’m to put away the stories about the monsters that are not real and to hear about the others. They’ve got worse as I got older; heroes are caught, turned, burned, throttled, they die of hunger and cold. Children same as me.” pg 33
Orpen lives a sheltered existence on an island. But she dreams of going to the mainland, once-Ireland, and finding the fabled “Phoenix City,” which she learned about through flyers rotting in abandoned buildings. Phoenix City is touted as a paradise with women warriors protecting the walls and weak from the encroaching skrake.
Orpen’s mother and Maeve have drilled rules into her head since the day she turned seven. Some of these rules are: Don’t go near tall buildings. Count your ‘Just-in-Cases’. and Beware people.
“Beware people. I can’t stay on my own, though, I can’t. If they’re men, I will run.” pg 71
But is life worth living without the interaction of other people? Orpen doesn’t think so. She dreams of the day she’ll leave the island… and wanders the land with the skrake.
I enjoyed Last Ones Left Alive but it felt like more of an homage to Ireland than a truly scary horror novel. Much of the gore and scares felt done as readers have been exposed to them all before in such series as The Walking Dead, Book One or Saga, Vol. 1.
The narration is related in two parallel lines with the past woven among the present by alternating chapter. It’s not my favorite way to read a story, but I can see how it could appeal to some readers.
The female characters in this broken world are unapologetically strong. Readers looking for books with self-reliant female characters may really enjoy this read. It may also be a great pick for a book club to pick apart and discuss.
Personally, I wanted more details about the dangers this world had to offer rather than focusing on Orpen’s journey, which is the main part of the story. There’s something to be said for unknown horrors… true. But when you peer deeply into the darkness, there’s the feeling that it looks back into you.
That’s what I felt was missing in this excellent debut novel by Sarah Davis-Goff. I wanted more looking into the shadows.
Thank you to the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book. The short quotations I cited in this review may vary in the final printed version, which I believe is available today (August 27, 2019).
Thanks for reading!
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