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The Last Ship  By  cover art

The Last Ship

By: William Brinkley
Narrated by: Christopher Lane
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Publisher's summary

Hailed "an extraordinary novel of men at war" (Washington Post), The Last Ship is the book that inspired the TNT mini series starring Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, and Adam Baldwin, with Michael Bay as executive producer.

The unimaginable has happened: The world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the USS Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain - 152 men and 26 women - to pull together in search of land. Once they reach safety, however, the men and women on board realize that they are the earth's last remaining survivors - and they've all been exposed to radiation. When none of the women seems able to conceive, fear sets in. Will this be the end of humankind?

This thrilling tale of post apocalyptic suspense is perfect for readers of Going Home by A. American, Lights Out by DavidCrawford, The End and The Long Road by G. Michael Hopf, and One Second After by William Forstchen.

©1988 William Brinkley (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about The Last Ship

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very punctilios word choices

First of all, the TV series if VERY loosely based on this book. About the only thing in common is the ship and a few of the sailors names. That's fine with me because the idea behind the book is very good. Yes, some of the information is a bit dated, but I was glad to hear the ship had a good supply of VHS and cassette tapes.

The word choice in this book was very punctilios (you can look it up too). Halfway through the book I was convinced the author was just starting to make words up. I even did a web search for a dictionary just so I could start looking words up to catch him. Perhaps due to the generational gap, but the authors literary style would have fit in better had the book taken place in the 1700's.
example:
"... the waters offering us a spondaic series of soft swells which gave a gentle roll and pitch so synchronized as to make the ship seem for once in fraternal rapport with the sea and to move through it with a serine swish. The sea all about lying in a melancholy splendor, luminous stillness the universe seemingly held in hands of tranquility ..."

The narrator didn't skip a beat in his reading of this book. There were no edits or stutters as he muddled through these words and his voices varied and were appropriate. Maybe the narrator read the same "word of the day" books the author did.

I liked this book but now feel like I have neglected my study of the English language and will endeavor to broaden my vocabulary so I can talk good too. 😀

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70 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Sailor Beware

This is one of the books in which I both loved and hated. The loved the premise of the book. However, at times the style of writing drove me to the point of going postal! Strangely, at other times I found it like a drug which left me wanting more. At times it felt like the author was using words for the sake of using words! At other times the descriptive nature of the language was like sweet music to my ears.

I couldn't help but think about the author. What sort of person was/is he? Did he really speak and think like this in real life? I bet he would be the life of a party. I imagine he could insult me in 15 different languages.

I would like you to imagine me saying this in the voice of Forrest Gump; “I’m not a smart man, but I know what…” it takes to finish this book. It takes commitment. It takes a certain type of mood. Perhaps a certain type of insanity because unless you like to examine every last thing in detail. If you are the type of person who goes out into the rain to try and count the rain drops then you will love this one!

My advice is simple, listen to the sample not once, not twice, but over and over again for at least an hour. If you can still stomach the style of writing then go for it! You will have what it takes! This is the title for you. It will certainly give you a good credit per hour ratio, which is very important if you have to watch your cash flow like me (cheap skate actually for me).

If you have any doubts about the style, then do yourself a favour and let this one pass. You will go mad in an attempt to make it to the end. Because, frankly the story is good enough for you to attempt it. If you buy it and don't make it through to the end you will hate yourself. If you do make it through to the end you will still probably ending up hating yourself. It will only be worse for you if you work in a industry in which you have to deal with people. I know my tolerance dropped sharply while listening to this one... If I have to tell one more person "have you tried turning it off and on again' I will hit them over the head with my keyboard while asking myself the question why did I spend 29 hours of my jam packed week listening to "The Last Ship"?

So you have been warned sailor!

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57 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not what I expected

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The Last Ship was totally unexpected. When I finally got through all 29 hours I felt it was time well spent, although again, it left me with mixed feelings.

What did you like best about this story?

Books like this are simply not written any more. It had the feel of post-apocalyptic novels like On the Beach or Earth Abides. However it was written in an almost 19th century style. Think Melville or even Poe. Very formal and philosophical.

Did The Last Ship inspire you to do anything?

Pick up Moby Dick again.

Any additional comments?

As I said before, the author was extremely erudite. In other words he would not use a fifty-cent word if a two dollar word was available. This book would be a treasure-trove for scrabble fans. Because it was written in the late 80's it is a bit anachronistic technology-wise. The author also allowed some glaring errors in order to heighten the plot.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Redundant and R-rated

The descriptions were grand at first but soon became verbose and repetitive.
The sex scenes were needlessly detailed and vulgar and were out of character with the rest of the book.
The TV show that is very loosely based on this book is much better.
Is was not worth the read.
However, the reader did a fantastic job with the voices and accents.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • J
  • 03-27-17

This is a tough listen, for more than one reason.

The subject is tough because though it is science-fiction, it is very plausible. There are a few things which don't make sense (Why they weren't concerned about contamination at the Suez canal for one?), but otherwise most of it is entirely plausible and that hits close to home. This is written from the point of view of the captain, who in my opinion is unnecessarily wordy which makes you yell at the narrator to get to the point and move on. At times this made me just want to say enough and stop listening, but I made it to the end. It gets interesting when it takes a sudden twist into an X rated sex book which was unexpected, but it is from the point of view of the Captain who is only human. Read this at you own risk and hopefully you are doing something else while listening as it is 30 hours of your life you'll never get back.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Superfluous voluminous thesaurusful prose

What would have made The Last Ship better?

Efficient elegant effective writing

Would you recommend The Last Ship to your friends? Why or why not?

No, I wish them to remain my friends.

What three words best describe Christopher Lane’s voice?

Suitable, adequate, tolerant. Does a good job considering the material.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

My annoyance kept my mind off the commute

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing book

What did you love best about The Last Ship?

The depth of the story line illustrating the terror of nuclear Armageddon around the world. But also the hope of a small band of men and woman have for the future of humanity.

What other book might you compare The Last Ship to and why?

Other books of on this subject that come to mind are The Road and On the Beach but this book surpasses them all by illustrating the horror of what these weapons of mass destruction can accomplish

Which character – as performed by Christopher Lane – was your favorite?

By far the Captain of the last ship. He is more than the narrator but the soul of the story. His humanity and strong leadership under unprecedented circumstances is stirring and believable.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A epic story of survival.... for humanity.

Any additional comments?

I am surprised by the negative comments of this book. William Brinkley has written a masterpiece of fiction of the horrors of the atomic age. Anyone who reads this book will be left with some images that will linger for a very long time. But also an appreciation of what we have now with our families and world around us.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Not like television series but still excellent!

This is not the modern television series. It is a story set in the nuclear 1980's from the point of view of the Captain of a Naval Destroyer carrying possible First Strike Nuclear Weapons. The unthinkable happens and a nuclear holocaust wipes out everything. "What happens??

You are in the captain's mind as he struggles with and makes unbelievably difficult decisions. You see his values and his prejudices as well as his strengths and his deep love of his crew and his ship. This book leaves a lot of the mysteries and questions unanswered. You will wonder along with the captain whether he is making the right decisions . This book gave me a lot to think about.

.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent!

Where does The Last Ship rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the most remarkable books in the post-apocalyptic genre I've ever read or listened to. The author manages to keep the pace going steadily even though it is a very long novel. I really couldn't put it down for the nearly 30 hours it took the narrator to read the book.

What about Christopher Lane’s performance did you like?

Bravo to Lane for managing to narrate such a long book without tiring the reader out. He does a great job for nearly 30 hours.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Unfortunately, as the cover of this audio book notes, this book has already been made into a series on the TNT network. I say unfortunately, because as is too often the case, the television gurus ignored the bulk of the book to create a video monstrosity. The TV series follows a plot unrecognizable from that of 'The Last Ship.' It's not worth watching.

Any additional comments?

Author Brinkley published this book as the Cold War was coming to a close, so it is technically a wee bit dated. But with the potential for world-scale nuclear disaster still very much alive the book remains timely.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Pretty Boring

You never learn what happened. Person reading it is to monotone. Very boring to listen to.

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5 people found this helpful