The Last Day

A Novel

De: Andrew Hunter Murray

Narrado por: Gemma Whelan

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

“Wonderful: boldly imagined and beautifully written—the best future-shock thriller for years.”—LEE CHILD

A visionary and powerful debut thriller set in a terrifyingly plausible dystopian near-future—with clear parallels to today's headlines—in which the future of humanity lies in the hands of one woman, a scientist who has stumbled upon a secret that the government will go to any lengths to keep hidden.

A world half in darkness. A secret she must bring to light.

It is 2059 and the world has crashed. Forty years ago, a solar catastrophe began to slow the planet's rotation to a stop. Now one half of the globe is permanently sunlit, the other half trapped in an endless night. The United States has colonized the southern half of Great Britain—lucky enough to find itself in the narrow habitable region left between frozen darkness and scorching sunlight—where both nations have managed to survive the ensuing chaos by isolating themselves from the rest of the world.

Ellen Hopper is a scientist living on a frostbitten rig in the cold Atlantic. She wants nothing more to do with her country after its slide into casual violence and brutal authoritarianism. Yet when two government officials arrive, demanding she return to London to see her dying college mentor, she accepts—and begins to unravel a secret that threatens not only the nation's fragile balance, but the future of the whole human race.

“A tantalizing, suspenseful odyssey of frustration, deceit, treachery, torture, hope, despair, and ingenious sleuthing . . . Murray has so thoroughly thought through the ramifications of his conceit and conjured up such a dramatic plot and stellar cast of characters that he might have set a new standard for such tales.”—The Washington Post

©2020 Andrew Hunter Murray (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A tantalizing, suspenseful odyssey of frustration, deceit, treachery, torture, hope, despair and ingenious sleuthing… Murray has so thoroughly thought through the ramifications of his conceit and conjured up such a dramatic plot and stellar cast of characters that he might have set a new standard for such tales."—The Washington Post

“A stunningly original thriller set in the world of tomorrow that will make you think about what’s happening today.”—Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A brilliant near-future thriller and a really cracking read."—Richard Osman, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Political Sci Fi

I liked the sci fi but was not a fan of the political. Great world building, but I felt the mystery was drawn out and really no surprise at all in the end, so it just annoyed me. I don't regret the purchase or time spent listening, but it's not a book I will listen to again.

Interesting and entertaining take

This was an interesting flavor of world ending - severely damaged but not quite dead. There's the technical parts - following the spreading web of consequences and secondary effects of the event. Layered on top are the political and social changes that would be brought about. Then the deep morale dilemmas that every individual would have to wrestle with every day. What to do to survive and is it worth the cost? Or should something change the status quo?

Wow! So good!

I'm a huge fan of QI and "No Such Thing As A Fish", so listening to this was like reading a book that a friend wrote and thinking "Wow! I didn't know he was so talented." The book is utterly unexpected if you think of Andrew hunter Murray as a comedian. It's not a funny book. But, don't let that stop you. The same mental gymnastics that make Andrew so great at dishing up surprisingly interesting trivia make him an excellent story teller and great at pondering the "what if" kind of tale. The characters are compelling. The world is well described. The plot is twisty and turny and awesome all the way through. Absolutely worth your credit and your time.

My favorite read this year!

So detailed you felt like you were there with the Protagonist…well developed characters you cared about and I loved the narrator. Ready for a sequel.

The prose is better than the plot

Good narrator and a well-written story in some ways. Unfortunately, nothing much happens. I think the author has talent but this seemed a little underbaked.

Page turner

Loved it. The narrator was wonderful. The story and characters were interesting. I recommend this read.

Amazing

I absolutely loved the story, it was slow at first but it picked up. There was some nice unexpected twists and a bit of humor as well. The questions I had initially about the “stop” were answered throughout the story so it all started making sense. I absolutely loved it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys apocalyptic stories. Gemma did an amazing job narrating the story as well.

Lived up to the excellence of the premise! Amazing debut

I know Andrew Hunter Murray’s work from his wonderful podcast “No Such Thing As A Fish,” and learned about his debut novel from the podcast. I felt I could trust their recommendation, but was truly blown away by the quality of this book, both in writing and narration. The world-building of this book is absolutely gorgeous; while listening, I was surprised to look up and see that the world is still turning! Hopper is an imperfect but deeply likable character, and Hunter Murray didn’t subject us to those situations where you want to shake the protagonist when they do something idiotic: she acts in ways that are believable, and again imperfect, but rational. The characters surrounding her are equally multifaceted and interesting, and the plot really sucked me in: I listened to this in two sittings on a long road trip, and was sorry when it was over! Already crossing my fingers for a sequel - or a series? These characters and this world merit follow-up!

Gemma Whelan did this book full credit in its narration. Each character had a really distinct voice that avoided caricature, and her narration was engaging and easy to listen to. Her American accent was a smidge wonky, but not strange enough to really detract from the overall quality of her work. A bad narrator can ruin a book; Whelan’s performance absolutely enhanced this one. The bonus content at the end of this audiobook was fun to listen to, and made me extra glad I got this book in audio format!

Please, Andrew Hunter Murray, keep writing! Give us more!

Realistic SciFi Thriller!

What a story! Wonderful narration! Captivating throughout. And I wholeheartedly appreciated the bonus material.

Surprising

I really enjoyed this novel. The plot is surprisingly well crafted. (I wondered, how is this going to come to an actual ending in such a short time...but then it does!) It’s his first novel and I certainly hope it’s not the last.