I wasn’t sure what to expect with House of the Last Man On Earth. Science fiction? End of the world? (Please no , we’ve had a lot of these lately.) The blurb was intriguing when I read it the first time, less promising on the second read. “Convinced that his bizarre neighbor might be a part of a hostile alien agenda, college student Richard Johnson, along with his mathematics teacher and her brother, embark upon a soaring and treacherous journey…” Oh my.
House of the Last Man On Earth turned out to be excellent, a combination of science fiction with the requisite aliens, time travel, escapes, species annihilation (us that is, humans get killed off.) The characters were easy to keep straight and the plot was internally consistent and the setting was part in beautiful Colorado and part in outer space.
Characters
Our hero, Richard Johnson, is a normal guy, a little bit of a loser. He joined the marines right out of high school, discovered he had no knack or desire for war and shooting people but was able to get into the Marine Corp band which he enjoyed. When he left the marines he went to the University of Colorado but wasn’t sure what to major in. He liked lots of things but no one enough to concentrate. Forced by his need for cash and parental approval he declared aeronautical engineering and was taking several hard math classes (and not doing well in them) when the story opens.
I could relate to Richard. He wanted to do the right thing, wasn’t sure exactly what that was, was inordinately curious, broke, and had a crush on his set theory teacher, Summer Jacklyn, Mrs. Jacklyn. Richard walked his land lady’s dog, Genghis Khan daily in exchange for reduced rent and he and the dog had an agreement. They didn’t like each other but they were willing to go for short walks. And both were wary of the Ghoul, true name Dr. Thaddeus Rumpkin.
One day Khan got away from Richard and ducked into the Ghoul’s bathroom, through a shimmer in the shower and into another world. Richard followed and quickly realized he was in the far future. There was no one around but there was a house, reachable by climbing over 700 steps in a driving rain. That kicks off the action.
Richard is kind, funny, thoughtful, smart and very well drawn. His character was one of the highlights of the book. In the course of investigating the time curtain Richard runs into Sam Robinson, who is a genetics post doc and had his own reasons to be curious about the Ghoul. Sam happens to be Summer’s brother, and the three end up on a great adventure.
The other two main characters, the Ghoul and Tao Benrobi were both biologically human but created by warring groups. The Ghoul was placed on earth to insert genes into humanity that would make everyone sterile, eliminating humans within a few hundred years. Benrobi was placed by the opposite side because they determined that Richard and our time was a flux point.
All five main characters and the many minor ones are set up as real people, with good and bad traits, quirks and attitudes. Richard hooked me in the first chapter and then the action and other people kept me reading.
Plot
The story line is convoluted, happening in three different times, several locations and with unclear enemies. At one point the Ghoul tells Richard that HIS side is the good guys! This is by the way, the group that caused humanity to go extinct.
We have time travel, murderous biologic constructs (think flying mouths), marching armies of 10 foot tall warriors, space battles, narrow escapes, an opportunity to commit genocide (that is refused), red Porsche cars, highway chases, deluges, house fires, irate ex-girlfriends. What’s not to like?
The ending was among the best parts of the book. It wrapped up the story nicely without completely answering every single question. The good guys win and we have hope that perhaps Earth and humanity can escape the coming centuries of misery and the oncoming Enemy.
Summary
House of the Last Man On Earth is not a super fast read, it took me about 4 hours, but it was a lot of fun. I wanted to know what was next and what happens to these neat people that are just like friends, and will look for more by authors Robert B Marcus, Jr and Ryan B Marcus.
I was given House of the Last Man On Earth from Net Galley with the request for an honest review.
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