The Last Human

A Novel

De: Zack Jordan

Narrado por: Bahni Turpin

The last human in the universe must battle unfathomable alien intelligences—and confront the truth about humanity—in this ambitious, galaxy-spanning debut

“A good old-fashioned space opera in a thoroughly fresh package.”—Andy Weir, author of The Martian

“Big ideas and believable science amid a roller-coaster ride of aliens, AI, superintelligence, and the future of humanity.”—Dennis E. Taylor, author of We Are Legion

Most days, Sarya doesn’t feel like the most terrifying creature in the galaxy. Most days, she’s got other things on her mind. Like hiding her identity among the hundreds of alien species roaming the corridors of Watertower Station. Or making sure her adoptive mother doesn’t casually eviscerate one of their neighbors. Again.

And most days, she can almost accept that she’ll never know the truth—that she’ll never know why humanity was deemed too dangerous to exist. Or whether she really is—impossibly—the lone survivor of a species destroyed a millennium ago. That is, until an encounter with a bounty hunter and a miles-long kinetic projectile leaves her life and her perspective shattered.

Thrown into the universe at the helm of a stolen ship—with the dubious assistance of a rebellious spacesuit, an android death enthusiast on his sixtieth lifetime, and a ball of fluff with an IQ in the thousands—Sarya begins to uncover an impossible truth. What if humanity’s death and her own existence are simply two moves in a demented cosmic game, one played out by vast alien intellects? Stranger still, what if these mad gods are offering Sarya a seat at their table—and a second chance for humanity?

The Last Human is a sneakily brilliant, gleefully oddball space-opera debut—a masterful play on perspective, intelligence, and free will, wrapped in a rollicking journey through a strange and crowded galaxy.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Easily the most fun read I’ve had all year! Plays out like a kill squad of Bene Gesserit on a spree in Peter Hamilton’s Confederation, using a Hitchhiker’s Guide to navigate.”—Clint McElroy, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of The Adventure Zone

“If it’s strange-realistic alien perspectives that you seek, The Last Human delivers characters who spring from the page with empathy, danger, cryptic motives, and chills, all of it amid plenty of action and mystery, in a galaxy of wondrous possibilities.”—David Brin, New York Times bestselling author of The Postman and the Uplift Saga

“Brimming with sly humor, intelligence, and big ideas.”—Sue Burke, author of Semiosis

“One of the best SF books I’ve read in a long time.”—Dennis E. Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Legion and The Singularity Trap

“The Last Human had me at every page. An epic, galaxy-spanning story of intelligence vs superintelligence, set in maybe the greatest sci-fi universe I’ve seen in years.”—Peter Clines, New York Times bestselling author of The Fold and 14

“A work of absolutely reckless imagination. The Last Human is a funny, moving, wildly entertaining space opera about life, the universe, and everything.”—Elan Mastai, author of All Our Wrong Todays

“A wryly funny space opera whose page-turner pace is driven by smart world building, a bold moral calculus, and innovative but weirdly relatable characters. Highly recommended—this is a trip you want to take.”—Scott Hawkins, author of The Library at Mount Char

“[A] rollicking debut . . . Jordan’s deeply considered treatment of various levels of extraterrestrial intelligence will put readers in mind of the work of Neal Asher and appeal to fans of big-idea science fiction.”—Publishers Weekly

“A witty, engaging sf novel for fans of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy . . . ponders serious themes such as classism, lack of freedom, and the meaning of destiny, all while injecting this contemplation with humor.”—Booklist

A huge wow of a book

I chose this audiobook on a whim, having never heard of it before. I am so glad I did.

First off, this book is all over the place - and it works. Bravo to the author on that. We are introduced to many MANY characters and all the important ones were easy to remember. The easy use of both binary and non-binary gender, the use of the word 'intelligences' as opposed to people since some of those intelligences were not bi-pedal, were wonderfully done, not over explained, and a natural part of the universe.

The author's curving line of humans being evil is wonderfully mastered, especially with the way he brought in so many curve balls that one has to keep listening and devouring, changing one's mind from moment to moment as to how this book could possibly turn out.

It was nothing like I expected, and everything I loved. From Shenya the Widow's mind to Sarya the Daughter's, we see a multitude of tiers (intelligence levels) and how the upper tiers truly are full of themselves and why. I loved the dance between Observer and the Network with Sarya and her friends stuck in between.

One thing I wished? That Number 11 could have been found to be okay. I loved Number 11. Then again, I adored and loved all the sub-legal intelligences in the book: they were all so happy in their lives. Well, Number 11 had his moments of happy. Mostly he was still trying to figure things out. But there was Ace/Helper, and Phil, and don't forget Shokyu the Mighty.

This epic of a story could have lagged... and there were several areas where it could have badly, but the author thrust in curves. When that happened we'd get a report from Network, shortened for our tier, of course. Or that area where Sarya gains her mother's memories. That could have lagged excessively, but the bot that was doing the transfer kept breaking in with warnings and other 'helps'. They made me laugh and definitely stopped the lag.

The ending was so fast and abrupt I'm going to have to listen to it again to figure out exactly what happened. :)

This seems to be the author's first book. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more.

The narration.
Bahni Turpin is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic except for one glitch, but I'll get to that in a moment. She had different voices for each character and they never faltered. If I had to choose a favorite? Observer. His voice was perfect for him, as was everyone else's, but there was something about it that always made me smile. Especially when he told Sarya to tell the Network to "f**k off". I laughed for a full minute and chuckled for another ten. It still makes me smile just to think of it.

Her performance was excellent except for one thing that kept popping me out of the story. You know that spot where a character says something and then the words are followed by 'she says' or 'he yells'? There needs to be little in the way of pause between those. And yet, a few times Turpin paused too long between the dialogue and 'she says', making it seem like either a section break or a chapter end. So when she would belatedly add 'says Shenya the Widow' it broke me out of the story each time. However, there were only 4 or 5 of those and they all happened toward the beginning of the book. That's the only thing that kept me from giving her 5 stars.

I highly suggest this book. It's fun, it's hilarious. You're going to fall in love with a whole bunch of characters. I did. I will be relistening to this book, though not for a few months. There's so much to it, I need the time to forget most of it before I start again.

give it a try

I didn't think the story and the character development was very good. I would have liked to get to know some of the supporting characters a little, what drove them, who they were, etc. That being said I absolutely loved how this book made me reconsider things like morality, reality, space, existence and even ones point of view. you should definitely give it a try.

Top tier in everywhere could not recommend enough.

I loved the book, before listening, but the narration in this took it to the next level. it was perfect, well acted and made it even more enjoyable than reading. this book is vastly under rated and my all time favorite. will listen to this a few more times I'm sure. well worth reading.

...until it goes click.

You've been tossed into the Total Perspective Vortex and someone just flipped the switch.

Started out as a slow burn, but very worth it.

Existential hunger!

Like a hunter weaving it's web, this story is mesmerizing in it's use of existential designs!

the summits and valleys

this was a curious minds Rollercoaster, the second you think you know whats going on, that your mind has wrapped everything up. your forced to expand.


this was a fabulous listen, and I'm sad the book ended. I hope there's more in the future.

exciting and thought provoking

The ending tries to come across as profound, but is not. Even so, a good ride!

Great story

I first saw this story as a web comic on Imgur. I'm glad I picked the book up, cause it is amazing.

Great Story

Really interesting story. No lazy, tired troupes in this book. Also excellent performance. Can’t wait for the follow up

Matrix, but in space

Big metaphysical ideas, story sometimes confusing to follow, underdeveloped side characters, fascinating worldbuilding, excellent performance.