The Last Plague

The Last Plague

(“The Last” trilogy book 1)

Rich Hawkins

Genre: apocalypse

Sub-genre: genetipoc/instant outbreak

Novel, novella, short story: novel

Serial or stand alone: stand alone, first novel of The Last trilogy

Setting: United Kingdom

Characters: Frank, Ralph, Joel, Magnus, Florence

Synopsis: Four friends on a stag weekend wake up to a world thrown into the genetic apocalypse. Fighting off hordes of mutated humans they trek back home in search of loved ones. Along the way they get separated, and also pick up a recently orphaned young girl. Hoping to survive, hoping to reunite, hoping to escape.

Thoughts: “Her name was Florence, and she did not cry when the end of the world came.” So begins Hawkins’ tale of global apocalypse, of mutated humans on a wanton rampage of destruction and dismemberment, of four friends on a stag-weekend in the countryside just trying to survive. The Last Plague is an excellent addition to the apocalypse genre. And while there are no zombies, there are enough human mutations to put a smile on any survivor of “Resident Evil” or “Left 4 Dead.” Or any fan of horror, new and classic. One scene in particular put me in the mindset of Nemesis acting out the subway scene from King Kong. Gruesome mayhem, gory brutality, witty banter, deep characters, and a landscape of humanity self-destructing, all combine in a story of friendship, love, sacrifice, and death. Hawkins has a remarkable gift for the minimal sentence or clause, yet in those few words paints a detailed panorama of setting and mood. I’m not one for genre, or genre bias, but this writing style is what many of “lofty” views describe as “literary.” Horror of horrors that a contemporary horror novel be on such a sanctified shelf with Shelly, Poe, and Stoker. However, it deserves its rightful place. And since genres are nothing more that labels, this book does go in the library in the “H” section, right next to Hawthorne.

About the author: Hawkins is from Somerset, England. A self-proclaimed “lovable rascal” he now lives in Salisbury with his wife and dog. In addition to The Last Plague he has also written The Last Outpost, Black Star Black Sun, and appeared in several anthologies.  

Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Plague-Rich-Hawkins-ebook/dp/B00MR00JZ2/

Website: http://richwhawkins.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RichHawkins4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rich-Hawkins-Writer-396739907194729/?fref=ts