The Last Conversation

Forward collection

By: Paul Tremblay

Narrated by: Steven Strait

Length: 1 hr and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Audible narration by Steven Strait (The Expanse)

What’s more frightening: Not knowing who you are? Or finding out? A Bram Stoker Award-winning author explores the answer in a chilling story about identity and human consciousness.

Imagine you’ve woken up in an unfamiliar room with no memory of who you are, how you got there, or where you were before. All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you - physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?

Paul Tremblay’s The Last Conversation is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

©2019 Paul Tremblay (P)2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Steven Strait’s dreamlike and at times mournful voice fully captures the protagonist’s disorientation, sadness, and increasingly desperate need for answers." --AudioFile magazine

"…A sensational project...." --Spine Magazine

“This is exactly how I like my techno-anxiety.... Happy bingeing!” --Audible, an October Editors Pick

Dystopia Beyond Pandemic! 4.25***** Spoiler Alert!

We met X being reawaken consciously, physically, and mentally for the umpteenth time, unbeknownst to us and him, and I had thoughts of ‘The Matrix’ initially. But instead I heard how man’s( woman’s) hubris through ignorance, pompous, and genetic manipulations, destroyed humans, which recently seems like a good thing in saving this planet for the other life forms that co-habitat with ‘us’. Was left with more questions than answers as I listened to this captivating, very short, Audible read! Hmmm!!
12/17/21- 12/17/21

hello Twilight zone!

Hello Twilight Zone! Author Paul Tremblay penned a short story that Rod Serling would be chasing. In the words of Rod “Imagine if you can, waking up and not knowing who you are or how you got where you are? Imagine not being able to see, to fade in and out of conscious. Furthermore, imagine being called “X” and being robotically cared for by a female who tells you to trust her, and she’ll help you remember everything. But something about that voice….

Tremblay is an excellent horror author, and he can write short stories as well. This is less than 2 hours and its solid creep. It was written prior to the global pandemic, making this even more creepy. I highly recommend it if you are a Twilight Zone fan!

interesting premise

There's a lot here that reminds me of an early work by John Varney. A quick entertaining story.

Tremblay never disappoints me

I loved it! The narrator was "near perfect" :) I am going to listen to most of the rest of the Forward stories now but Tremblay had to be first for me.

Interesting Ethical Quandary

The Last Conversation is the third of the six short stories in the Forward Collection assembled by Blake Crouch I've listened to. It is also the first time I've experienced Paul Tremblay as a science fiction author, and the experience was an interesting one.
I'm sure he's written other stories or books that have crossed into the science fiction territory, or at least I'd be surprised if he hasn't, but I've only been familiar with him as a horror author and occasionally as a dark fantasy author. This brief tale showcases his talent for wearing a variety of hats with efficacy.
It's a solid second-person narrative detailing the awakening of the protagonist in isolation to protect him from a global pandemic, while the only other person--seemingly still alive--coaxes them through restoring memories and physical capabilities. The story was ultimately predictable, but no less satisfying for the very predictability of it. It wasn't about telling us a new tale so much as providing a platform for the discussion of morality, humanity, the devastating combination of solitude and grief, and the ethics involved in cloning. In that sense, Tremblay packs a big punch into a small number of words. He utilizes and capitalizes on the elements of science fiction that have always been used by authors, the capacity to frame thought experiments in a fictional narrative that makes the philosophical subject matter more palatable and digestible for the readers (and sometimes the author).
The narration, performed by Steven Strait, is superb. Strait captures the stubborn resistance of the protagonist to being held captive--even if it is for his own good--as well as the sadness and pity that mingles with that oppositional nature as the truth of everything is revealed in the end.

Italian Cuisine, Anyone?

Stanley is not a great writer by any means but he sure does enjoy his food!

Not bad...

A man stuck in a nightmarish terror loop attempting to make sense of what he is experiencing and determining whether or not it is even reality. Add to that fear since he has no freedom and isn't sure if he's a prisoner or not, yet unable to do things, ask questions, or leave.

This was definitely an interesting book considering all the various epidemics we've been seeing over the last couple of decades and how quickly the variants change and infections spread. Throw in the advancement of scientific knowledge and technology... who knows what people may do in a given situation. 🤷‍♀️

This was a free download. If so, I would recommend it. 👍
📚📚📚

The story is familiar to me...

This story brought to mind the ending of a certain novel I recently finished; to name it would give away what is going on here. I was also reminded of a few episodes of The Twilight Zone. I had seen Tremblay's name, read many good reviews of his work, but this was my first dalliance with his writing, and this story IS very well written. I enjoyed the subtle eeriness of the narrator's voice too and was mesmerized even though I had a strong feeling of where the story was going. This was a very pleasurable rainy afternoon listen.

Another very good short story

What if you woke up, debilitated in a patient isolation ward not remembering who you were and your only contact with the outside world is through a speaker grille with a person apparently remotely supervising your recovery and rehabilitation? That's the basic premise of this story, it gets a bit weird but I don't want to say more and spoil it. An enjoyable story with an ending I didn't see coming.

Sci-fi

This was a quick book. I listened as an audio book. While listening I thought I had it figured out when binary was used but it was a surprise ending. Another good sci-fi book by Paul Tremblay. He always gives room for thought.