Title: The Last Human
Author: Zack Jordan
Genre: sci-fi
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Sara is a human—the most terrifying creature in the entire galaxy. She’s the last human—and only her mother—a terrifying alien predator know she’s human. If any of their neighbors on Watchtower Station found out what Sara was, her mother would have to eviscerate them. Again.

Sara has accepted that she’ll never know why humans were considered too dangerous to let live. Then she runs into a bounty hunter, a rebellious spacesuit, and a cute fluffball with an IQ in the thousands, and her life shatters around her. Now Sara finds herself playing a deadly game with two vast intelligences in an effort to find out the truth—and learn if she really is the last human.

I have to give props to the author for making Sara’s adoptive mother—the fearsome Widow with mandibles and bladed appendages—likable and sympathetic. Like Ron Weasley, I am terrified of spiders, so making a giant murderous one likable is an accomplishment.

There was a little bit of the absurd Douglas Adams feel to this at times and the rebellious spacesuit was my favorite character. Sara was a mostly sympathetic character, but I didn’t really care for the others, especially the Network or the Observer. I’m hit or miss on sci-fi, and this one came down almost in the midst, with a more distant feel to it than I prefer. The question that haunted me through the whole book is: how does Sara—a member of the most feared and supposedly extinct species in the galaxy—hide the fact that she is a human from everyone she encounters, when they all have neural implants and scanners?

Zack Jordan lives in Chicago. The Last Human is his new novel.

(Galley courtesy of Del Rey in exchange for an honest review.)

It's fascinating that we're introduced from the start to secrets within secrets, as well as the explanation of the tiered intelligence systems that convey rights, responsibilities, and access to resources on the Watertower Station. Interspersed with chapters following Sarya's journey are articles from the Network that explain the concept of tiered intelligence and entry into the Network, as well as the background of various species, the devastation that had followed in the wake of Humans interacting with other species, and faster than light travel. This fleshes out the background for this world, as well as the importance of Network and having trillions of star systems working together within the galaxy.

The Widow culture and species are something out of nightmare fuel: eight legs, black carapace, mandibles that are still dangerous to be near, an instinct to kill and rend, limbs that regenerate and end in knives. It's this alien and odd creature that had raised Sarya in accordance with her culture, hiding the fact that she is Human. Grafting that culture over the instincts of a Human is discussed at multiple points throughout the novel, as well as the nature of intelligence and what constitutes a legal person when measured by this intelligence rating. It's a geometric scale, so the various discussions about intelligence, networking on a galactic scale and the nature of surviving in an orderly state are discussed at various points and in different ways. Zack Jordan's various studies throughout the years and his experience working in the intelligence community and creating video games really shows in these areas of the text.

The Last Human is amazing on so many levels with the truly alien beings and cultures that are introduced and worked with, and the philosophical questions posed. Not only for intelligence and the creation of a huge Network, but also the nature of choice, freedom, and blame. It's woven into the text by characters discussing it as the plot progresses, because what is freedom and choice if it's presented without context? Sarya is able to be manipulated by those more intelligent, but it doesn't mean she doesn't have agency or the capacity to make change within the parameters she was given. I feel for her in so many areas, from the grief she feels, the self-harm to bring herself into the proper frame of mind to access a device, and the determination to do the right thing, no matter what. She's up against massive odds, and we always root for the underdog. Here, this brings us on a wonderful and thought-provoking journey that's well worth the time we take.

Sarya, the last human is adopted by a Giant Black Widow spider that functions in a society with a shared hive-mind sharing the consciousness of several species….sort of. Humans are considered to be the most dangerous of all beings and are thought to be entirely wiped out, so Sarya must hide her true nature.

Sarya and her relationship with her adoptive mother was well done, showing both the periodic petulance of the child and the mothers desire to both protect her child and blast it into space. Eleven’s character was very humorous and quirky.

Overall, the plot seemed to take a while to build up to speed and at times I felt lost. Great characters save this story..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
2.5 Stars

Sarya was raised to believe that she is the last human in all the known universe by her adoptive mother, Shenya the Widow, a member of a matriarchal arachnid-like race of killing machines. On Watchtower, the space station where they make their home, Sarya passes as a low-intelligence member of a species bearing a resemblance to humanity, even as she wistfully researches what became of her people. Humans, she learned early on, were deemed too dangerous to live by the universe-spanning conglomeration that connects all the (other) known space-faring civilizations, and were thus exterminated. Sometimes 17 year-old Sarya feels so ordinary that she finds it hard to believe that humans could possibly be more dangerous than, say, her mother, but as adulthood approaches and she faces the prospect of a lifetime of menial work and being treated like a barely sentient being by almost everyone around her, she starts to wish for something more.

Enter Observer. A planetary intelligence who has eschewed connection to the Network that governs civilization, He offers Sarya the adventure of a lifetime, promising that He can lead her to what's left of humanity. Sarya accepts but things quickly go awry, and she finds herself a pawn in a game between intelligences she has little hope of fathoming, much less beating. Being human, however, she's not going down without a fight.

Despite being a rollicking, fast-paced space opera, The Last Human was also a deft if overt allegory for life and progress, whether of individuals or entire societies. Because Sarya, as our heroine, must learn and grow and become a better person, there's definitely a huge chunk in there which mirrors most people's adolescent impulse towards libertarian exceptionalist nonsense -- a phase which fortunately most people subsequently grow out of. I was actually concerned, while reading the book, that Sarya might not and that I would have to rate this book poorly for being intellectual garbage, but Zack Jordan assuredly pulls the novel back round to an affirmation of good sense. Frankly, it got a little uncomfortable for me till he did, as I'm the kind of person who gets irritated when others are dumb on purpose.

That said, this was a surprisingly layered and highly ambitious look at sentience and evolution that could never have been written in any other genre. Mr Jordan is doing some really intellectually intricate, challenging stuff here that might not be every reader's speed. I think he does linger a little too long on the bits where Sarya is under Observer's sway, but that's also where a lot of the action-y/grotesque bits are, so I can understand why he does so even if my sensibilities would prefer he hadn't. This isn't an easy book by any means, but it's ultimately a rewarding, thought-provoking journey, with lessons that apply to any person's daily life, examined or otherwise.

Thanks to Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC of this.

So, I love good world-building sci-fi, and the way this started was great! I was dropped into the middle of Sarya's story and trusted to pick up the pieces along the way to get a full picture of the past. Except that past wasn't as well sketched out as it should have been, and some of the supporting characters weren't defined enough to register as different, and there's about one or two plot twists too many happening in the last quarter of the book as this hurtles towards resolution. This started out as a nice fun diversion from some of my chewier reading I'm doing, and then became chewy itself about halfway through.

How vast is the universe? What would it be like to be the literal last human in existence? These are the questions explored in the book, The Last Human, by Zack Jordan. While I thought the world-building and characters were really fun and compelling, the book went off the rails at the middle and didn't really recover.

What I Liked:
World-Building:

The author does a wonderful job of creating a reality with millions of different species. I really enjoyed that each species was assigned an intelligence "tier", which determined what type of jobs someone could have and if they could become a Network citizen.

The space station where Sarya lived also was really well thought out to account for all the different types of beings that would live and interact on it. The architects in this story had to think about how a living space would accommodate so much variety.

Characters:
Sarya:

Sarya is living a lie. She is human, but must claim to be a different life form (because there hasn't been a human sighting in a thousand years). She also has been adopted by a being from a completely different species. Being so raised, she is an interesting mix of defiant, sulky human teen, and a Daughter of a killer hunter. Sarya is tough, resilient, and heart-breakingly lonely. I cheered for her every step of the way.

Shenya The Widow:

Shenya The Widow seems to be a giant killer spider who has adopted Sarya (cool, right?). It was so fascinating to see Shenya's point of view, from how repulsive Sarya looks to her, to her unique views on parenting. This was a really memorable, and fun, character.

The Observer:

Our understanding of The Observer shifts several times over the course of the story. At times, he is a kindly, helpful fellow. Other times, his motives are less than clear. This made him really fascinating. You never knew what his motives were until the very end.

What I Was Mixed About:
Human Exceptionalism:

Of course we all see the human race as pretty awesome, right? But why would the Human Race be put on such a pedestal among millions of species? I didn't think the explanation that the author gave was very convincing. Basically, it was supposed to be because we are just so darn independent! We hate having an authority above us, and that is why we are so dangerous. However, throughout human history authoritarian government systems have been the norm. It's only in the last few hundred years that self-governance has even been attempted. With that in mind, this argument just wasn't convincing.

What I Didn't Like:
Pacing:

This book is a rip roaring adventure...until it's not. The story begins as a fast-paced chase with Sarya being pursued by several different species who want her dead. This is fun. But then, the action comes to a screeching halt, with the introduction of a long, philosophical exploration of sentience and the vastness of space. This is not fun.

Confusing Plot:

This drawn-out study in how humans can't really comprehend the enormity of space is deliberately confusing. Scenes stop abruptly, and then start up again with little explanation as to what just happened (several transitions read, "...and then Sarya's mind explodes"). The author may have done this to show how our puny minds can't possibly understand any of this, but it was frustrating and made me feel stupid.

3.5 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/the-last-human-by-zack-jordan-review/

Part metaphysical, part philosophical, and part action-adventure science fiction, The Last Human is Zack Jordan’s debut novel, following a human in an universe without them, and her search for acceptance on behalf of herself and her species.

Sarya is an orphan, adopted and raised by a Widow. She goes through life pretending to be nothing more than the wayward Spaal, an intelligence so low on Tier One that it barely merits being classified as ‘intelligent’ at all. Indeed, none of her classmates treat her as anything more than a joke, and a particularly dull one at that. Sarya commands little respect, what she does have courtesy of her mother, Shenya the Widow. Shenya, a widow and as such a killing machine both feared and respected the galaxy over. That Sarya is her adoptive daughter is not taken lightly. Only Sarya is taken lightly. But Sarya has a secret. One that, if any other but her mother knew, would have her ejected from the nearest airlock then pushed into the nearest sun so that not even ashes remained.

Sarya is a human. The LAST human, near as she can tell—the most feared and hated species in the universe.

Near a millennia past, the humans waged a war against the Network—the system that accepts and balances life throughout countless galaxies and realities. One species against untold billions. And they very nearly won. Now humans are presumed extinct, but are hunted mercilessly to ensure that theory. Trust, but verify.

Watertower Station is the last place anyone would expect a human to be. A nothing station in the middle of nowhere, overlooking a world good for nothing but the ice it provides. Here Sarya has accepted her life; to be seen as nothing but a Spaal—a slow, pedantic alien worth nothing aboard a worthless station. But her life is about to change.

When a hive mind, a fourth Tier being, visits Watertower, it recognizes Sarya for what she really is. Recognizes, and promises to reunite her with her own kind. Sarya is ecstatic, nervous, and skeptical all in the same instant. Bu entert a bounty hunter, a stolen ship, a kinetic missile and an adventure she never imagined she’d get. Sarya ends up alone—surrounded by a crew of misfits—and homeless, with only the vague promise of humans on the horizon. A promise, that like all else, might well turn out to be nothing more than the lies she’s been fed her whole life. But what else can she do?

—**

The Last Human works acceptably well as an action-adventure—but for a few issues we’ll get to later. If taken as a quest for acceptance, it works. Just as it’d work if viewed as a philosophical endeavor into the nature of what it is to BE human. But instead of settling for just one of these, the Last Human seems to be an attempt to explore all three, much like the Wayfarer books by Becky Chambers. Yet where those novels succeed in this, the Last Human fails. Essentially, it tries too hard. An over-ambitious aim from the outset, the book never dwells enough on just one of these to remain anything more than passable in all of them, with the exception of the adventure, which succeeds well enough.

Though I’ll allow that it succeeds as an adventure, the Last Human isn’t a perfect one. Not by far. I mean, there IS a definite adventure. But—especially after the halfway point—the story takes too many side-trips into the nature of being, of existence. I kept finding myself questioning what was going on in the universe and losing touch with what was happening in the story.

The first half of this tale is completely addictive; I read it in a couple days. After that, the story flounders somewhat, as new characters are introduced and new POVs considered. Tier 3 (Part 3) is almost entirely occupied by a single, new POV that proceeds to tell the reader how clever and advanced they are. Prior to this point, the plot was moving along nicely, alternating building and background with action and adventure. From here on, however, the pacing changes, alternating from action to reflection at the drop of a hat, frequently switching in the same chapter, sometimes with only a paragraph or so separating the two. It’s such a befuddling pace and one that’s so completely different from the first half that it slowed me—and the story—down.

Overall, the Last Human presents a mystery and plot that’s a worthwhile read, even if it takes some liberties getting there. Without spoiling anything I’ll just say that the plot wraps up nicely—except that its culmination splits time with a discussion of philosophy, the universe, and the nature of man. It was a bit… distracting, altogether.

TL;DR

Zack Jordan likely intended The Last Human to bridge the gap between science, science fiction and philosophy—much like authors Becky Chambers, Dmitry Glukhovsky, Joe Haldeman, and more did before him. It’s a highly ambitious plan—and one that nearly succeeds. But there’s just too much going on in the story. While everything fits together nicely for the first half of the book, it spills over somewhat in the second. The plot, the nature of man, the meaning of the universe all dance around one another but end up stepping on each other’s toes to the point where one and all threaten to cloud the others’ progress. While the story itself wraps up quite nicely, the philosophy ends a jumbled mess, provoking more questions than answers while losing me as I tried to make sense of it. Or, maybe, this was its intent all along. I’d recommend the story for the story, just don’t read too much into the metaphysics (unless you’re into that). All in all, The Last Human bites off a bit more than it can chew, and as a result, some elements get lost over its course. The plot, the story, its characters and world and description, remain mostly intact. While some few elements distract from the adventure, the story is still very much worth the journey.

Last Human started off as Ron Weasley’s worst nightmare. The very last human in the universe was raised by a huge spider, a Black Widow to be more precise. You can see Ron shuddering right now can’t you. This is a tale of the lost human species, a strange hive mind creature, a mish mash space crew and a huge network mind that is so smart it is godlike.

The humans were one of the only species that decided to never enter the network. They were left confined to their galaxy until they decided to not be confined and started a galactic war. Humans. They are now considered the most dangerous species to ever live and are thought to be wiped out. All but Sarya that is, who is hiding in plain sight next to her adoptive, murderous mother. She has had an interesting childhood to say the least.

I struggled a lot with some of the concepts in this book. I really loved Sarya and her human/widow history. I enjoyed a few of the side characters including a very defiant space suit with a sub level intellect that seemed to get into a lot of trouble, named Eleven. Also, the hashtag crew of the space ship she ends up on, were all very interesting. But then we get into some kinda abstract stuff that man…I just had a really hard time wrapping my head around.

You know that moment in men in black when he opens the locker and we are just a galaxy inside the universe’s bus station? Yeah there were parts of this that felt like that moment and so it was really just hard for me to put that all together in my own head. I mean at one point we end up in someone’s head and I had a hard time understanding the Inception of it all.

This was a little outside my normal fantasy wheelhouse and so maybe this is how most Space-Opera adventures go. I don’t think so though. I was more interested in the first half of the book but once we get past that part, I really had a hard time with the second half. I almost DNF’d it at some point because I had a difficult time visualizing and putting myself in the world.

Still if you are really good at spacial representation and love pondering the universe in all it’s complexities and are willing to go way out there for it, then this could be the read you are looking for.

This science fiction title grips you from the very first page with its unique universe and sense of grandeur. Sarya, the main character of the novel is on quite an adventure that includes all sorts of whimsical and yet seriously hard science fiction elements at the same time. This story provides excellent insight into the ideas regarding “identity” and the freedom of choice, if there is one, I personally enjoyed the perspective the author story provides about humanity and our place among the universe. I felt this book had excellent pacing, and kept me in the dark about the conclusion right up until the very end. I give this 4/5 stars. I received an advance copy of this title from NetGalley and would provide a review in return. I suggest public libraries to consider this title on their next order for your patrons into science fiction and fantasy. The world-building takes a little getting used to, but once you do, buckle in for a fun ride. Fans of Douglas Adams would enjoy this.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

Title: the last human

Author: Zack Jordan

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Publication Date: TODAY! (hardback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-0451499813

Source: NetGalley

I was so excited to be granted a wish to read this book.  The blurb is awesome.  A young human girl, Sarya, is being raised by her adopted mother who happens to be a killer giant black widow spider like thing.  Only Sarya has to keep her identity hidden because she is the last human and humans are considered to be space's most dangerous and terrifying species.  Panic would ensue and Sarya's life would be at risk.

I absolutely adored the beginning of this novel and the setup.  I loved Sarya.  I loved her scary mom. I loved the society status based on tiered intelligence levels.  I love the machines and bots.  I even loved the info dumps in the forms of instruction manuals that were dumbed down to match lower intelligence levels (like mine).

The first quarter of the book was so wonderful and action packed and interesting.  At around 25%, the location changed and tone shifted.  I thought about stopping there.  Sarya's actions do not fit with how she presented in the first quarter.  She becomes rather fickle and whiny.  New characters were haphazardly introduced and confusion started to begin.  It's not that I didn't love the ideas of the new characters (like the space suit) but the narrative starts to disintegrate into philosophical ramblings that bored me.  The plot began to feel haphazard.

Though I thought about abandoning the book again at the 50% mark, I kept reading for the small snippets of hinted potential.  I loved the mom's perspective and some things about Sarya's new shipmates.  I stopped for the last time at the 64% mark.  The story had lost the personal narratives and ceased to be character driven.  The best part of the novel was the world building, developing relationships, and watching Sarya grow.  The growth stopped, the plot died, and the plot twist happened.  I didn't like that the big idea took center stage and everything I had loved about the writing ended.

I normally like discussions about artificial intelligence, personhood, technology, and the like.  However, the beginning of this book led me to certain expectations and I did not like when the author decided to drop Sarya's agency and mission.  I went online to read other reviews to see if I should soldier on but decided against it.  Others may have better mileage.

This looks like the book was the author's debut.  Based on the strong foundation of the beginning of this novel, I would be willing to try more of his future work.  But this one ended up being unsalvageable.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine!

“In My galaxy, there is order and there is chaos. You Humans are always dreaming of the first, but your pitiful attempts to create it always result in the second.”

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Though I am a lover of sci-fi, I had noticed recently that the genre was woefully underrepresented on my shelves, both read and unread. I think this is because a lot of the sci-fi that catches my eye also happens to be chonky.

Looking at you, Leviathan Wakes…

And big books are intimidating, y’all! I decided that I need to face my fears, though, and have actively been seeking out more sci-fi recently. So when I came across this book on Netgalley and read the synopsis, I decided to request it. This is the story of the last surviving human stumbling into something so mind-bending it threatens the entire galaxy! The whole vibe made me think of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which is one of my favorite sci-fi novels of all time, so that maaaay have influenced my decision 😁

Either way, I’m happy that I decided to give this a shot! The Last Human has that special mix of humor and convoluted philosophical questions that I honestly appreciate in my science fiction. Not only did this book make me laugh out loud multiple times, it really made me think about concepts like free will and community and belonging. It had my emotions bouncing all over the place! I would be rooting for Sarya, then wondering what the hell she was doing! It was complex, but fascinating all at the same time.

Speaking of Sarya, I don’t think I’ve ever empathized with a character so much who I also wanted to strangle. She was so frustrating! But in a realistic way, ya know? I mean, she is a teenager (I think?) who is thrown into an overwhelming series of circumstances without any kind of guidance. If I had to go through half the crap she does in this book as a teenager, the entire galaxy probably would have imploded. Seriously.

That didn’t stop the frustration, though 😂

And Sarya wasn’t the only character that has stuck in my mind. All of the characters in this book have a richness to them that I appreciated. It can be easy to let the secondary characters in a book like this be flat and only there as support for our main character’s story. Not so with these ones! Honestly, my favorite character is Sarya’s adoptive mother, Shenya the Widow. Trust me… she’s amazing! And the crew that end up in Sarya’s life all have layers and I loooove it. I wish we had actually spent more time with them. Especially when it came to developing the relationship between the crew and Sarya.

Hmm… here I was whining about the length of sci-fi books and I’m wishing this one had more!

I will say that some of the science talk got a bit convoluted. Not in a “I can’t understand this” kind of way. More of a “Let’s make this as mind-numbing and twisty as possible” kind of way. But those bits weren’t too overwhelming, so it was easy to move past it. Most of it was mind-bending in the best of ways! It was fast-paced and thought-provoking and, honestly, just a really fantastic read.

Final thoughts: This is a incredible romp through space that makes you think about a lot of big concepts. It’s a quick read that will have you rooting for Sarya at the same time that you’re questioning all her decisions. If you’re intimidated by science fiction or space operas, I think this would be a fantastic jumping-off point!

This was fun, fast-paced space opera set in some unknown time and unknown galaxy where the universe and various alien species all live harmoniously together except for the humans or lack of. Interesting premise and a story that kept my full attention. Around the last third of the book I felt like some of the concepts were above my tier but overall I enjoyed the book

This was...fine. I think I wasn't totally in the mood for it. When I requested it, I was hoping for something vaguely like Aurora Rising, Invictus, or The Disasters - and this wasn't really. There were plenty of interesting bits, throughout, but I wasn't super interested the whole time I was reading, if that makes sense. To me the coolest bits were surrounding her mother - the memory bits, especially, and there were plenty of other characters I enjoyed. I think it was just too big for me - there was a lot of Horton Hears a Who, we're a speck on a speck on a speck vibes, that just wasn't fun for me. I could see plenty of people enjoying this, but it just wasn't for me.

DNF after the first two chapters. I'm sure this isn't a bad book by any means but it is very long and I'm not really in love with the writing style. Also while the concept is interesting this seems like it will be much more of a big picture kind of book and I'm really into more character driven things at the moment. I wished for it because the cover was interesting but I probably should have taken more time to consider it since I am very hit or miss with scifi like this.

Not at all the light, breezy humorous alien story that I expected--it was better than that. Huge ideas, very personalized, with a story that remained difficult to predict in its twists and turns. Very well done.

Sarya was raised by a giant spider. Her journey starts small but ends like an out of control freight train jumping the track. I could not put this book down.

Thanks to Netgalley and The publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I did not get very far into this book at all and gave up on it. It was a hard DNF for me as I couldn’t really tell what was going on and realized I didn’t care.

I do like some sci fi but I am not a fantasy person. This may not be my cup of tea.

Sarya is the last human but she doesn't know it, nor do the people around her. She was raised by a giant spider and now she's piloting a space ship. I don't know what more to say about the plot except that it did suck me in, largely because Sarya is an engaging character. The world building is intriguing. My one quibble was that while I understand that it is appropriate, there was a bit too much philosophizing. This isn't my usual genre (while I like sci-fi, this feels like something a tad more) so thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a fast and entertaining read.

I suddenly have a lot of time on my hands, so I dove into this book. I was quickly drawn in to Sarya's world. She is human, the species who shall not be named. She has to hide who she is and is protected by her adoptive mother, the Widow. I would have like more of the widow and more of life on Watertower. The fast pace meant that it wasn't very long before someone found Sarya. She is intrigued by information on her origins and her people. She forgets everything she has ever been taught and it does not go well.

Sarya is on the run. She has to let others in on her secret and decide who to trust. As to be expected, she does not always do that well. But I liked Sarya. How do you live when you can't be who you are? It's been so long that people don't even know what a human looks like. They just know they don't want any more of them around. I can relate. She not only has to hide who she is but what she knows. The species chosen for her has a low intelligence rating (apparently decided in a pretty racist fashion unless you don't believe in evolution.At all.) So she is stuck with no real future prospects and no way to really fully take advantage of the wonders of technology her world has to offer. Who wouldn't be curious about their options?

The book goes from action to philosophical as you continued to read. Sometimes, a little bogged down. But some very real questions for us to consider. Overall, I kept thinking, "What would other species think of us?" "Would we be able to live with alien cultures?"

I really really wanted to love this. However, it was ok. The first half was better than the second half. Ending redeemed it a little.