I am pretty sure this is the first space opera I've ever read and I enjoyed it immensely! I wasn't sure I would but it was so different and fun. I think the writing and world building were excellent!

Hello from way up on this sturdy fence that I find myself straddling. I'm stuck here, debating pros and cons, wondering which will prevail and persuade me to its side.

I'll start off by saying that The Last Human is a cute romp through Space. It has a very unique premise with sweeping ideas that are difficult to wrap my brain around at times. Ideas about Life, the unfathomable vastness of the Cosmos and we, cosmic Beings. This is more pronounced in the parts of the story that speak of how awe inspiring and terrifying the enormity of Nature is and how beautiful and oft times inescapable Chaos can be. It proposes an infinite number of varying inhabitants in this grand place we call Space plus its innumerable Stars, Galaxies, Universes and more (?!?). Is our knowledge about our Universe just a blip in an intelligent design too intricate for us to comprehend? Are we tiny cells in a body too great to fathom? Veering away from that theme there is also a supposition that Luck might simply be the result of higher intellectual Beings manipulating and guiding our lives to their whims. All of these concepts are proposed and batted around in The Last Human.

This premise sounds especially yummy for those like me who flock to Space Operas like a moth to flame BUT the plot was hard to get through in places causing me to sporadically lose focus and interest. It literally took me over a week to finish this read. For me, a read that takes 11 days is a read that has dragged on 9 days too long. There weren't any glaring issues with the pacing but still I stumbled and plodded along, especially at the 3/4 mark. So, why did I lose interest you might ask? Well, to be honest I'm not quite sure. Does that answer suck? Why yes, yes it does SO I'll inspect the Trifecta of Awesomeness ( Writing Quality + Character Building + World Development) and try to find the answer somewhere in there.

So, the writing was decent. The scope of the World Development was grandiose and mindboggling at times!! There was a staggering amount of speculated solar systems and species on (and off) the Network- a megalomaniac, sentient program that unifies millions of species allowing those connected to understand each other's speech, to have easy inter-species chatting with visible text that hangs in the air above with the sender's emotions attached as well, mind to mind direct conversations with some, and a plethora of other detailed information readily available for connected users.

Was it the Characters then that were bogging things down? It's doubtful. This book boasted a bunch of new, diverse species as well as sentient machines. How can that be boring? Well, it turned out to be bipolar like me, interesting yet boring... weird huh??

We have our MC, known by a few names by the end of the book but mostly referred to as Sarya the Daughter. She's a Human that was loyally raised by an armed and dangerous, spider-like apex predator called a Widow. Sarya unwittingly picks up a lot of attitude and a mannerism or two from dear old (scary killer) surrogate mom. Sarya's a picture perfect case of Nature vs Nurture! Which one will win out? You'll have to wait until book #2 to see. Sarya is constantly underestimated. She is a fighter and a true survivor with a kick ass attitude towards life. She is literally raging against the Powers That Be... going after THE Man, THE Network, overcoming her species' destructive behavior, lust for dominance and predilection for Chaos. She rolls with the punches and readily adapts to rapidly fluctuating situations BUT her plight, her destiny, her obsession became tiresome and I'm not sure why.

Some secondary characters were interesting too. They were fleshed... errr furred... errr chitinous exoskeletoned out (it's a thing) and even a few turned out to be quite lovable/loathable. Some grew on me like a mold and some chafed and niggled from the start but the characters were relateable/ hateable and dimensional and that's saying a lot.

All of this sounds promising right?!? I thought so too, that's why I requested this arc for review. Now, with the holidays upon us, I admit that I've been stressed out and overextended trying to get things ready so I can rock a large Thanksgiving weekend at my place SO it might be a stellar case of "It's not you, it's me" BUT I have no way of discerning that, only time (and many reviews) will determine if that is the case.

::: Deep breath:::

Sorry for the blatant runon but when a thought comes together in my head I must follow it wherever it goes... I'm old, either use it or lose it... BUT I digress!

Overall:

I wanted to like this one... NAY, I wanted and was ready to love, adore and covet this one but alas, it wasn't meant to be (for me). For me it was hit and miss and the rating reflects that. Although it had all the right ingredients, it flowed like cold honey in places and that's hard to stomach. It was an interstellar romp through Space that instantaneously traversed solar systems and universes at FTL speed, ended up docking at MEH and never fully recovered. The ending was anticlimactic and confusing as to where things were headed. It saddens me to yuck someone's hard work, especially because I requested the honor of accepting it into my life (for free) and passing judgment on it (also for free) BUT in the end the book turned out to be just decent and unfortunately that's a huge letdown. I feel like I could have easily spent my limited time doing something more productive such as: getting the brine ready sooner so the turkey could marinade longer, spending quality alone time with my daughter who is growing up at the speed of light and not looking back no matter how much I plead with her to slow down and enjoy being young OR I could have blissfully slept in.

End runon rant #2

Anywho, I needed to accomplish all of those activities (yes, sleeping is an activity in my house) above at some point during the week but you (probably) know how it is with us bibliophiles... get a book... errr ereader in hand and the world melts away. This sounds awesome too right? Well, you'll have to read Last Human and see for yourself but if you do would you please write a review so I can see which side of the fence you land on?

This book might appeal to some avid, patient, lovers of Space Operas. Those that adore books featuring a cornucopia of diverse species, diabolical plans to take over all known universes BUT although that sounds like my Tribe, it wasn't a snug fit. I believe there's a place, a reading community, perfectly suited for this book and although that wasn't 100% me this time, it might be you AND if it is, I won't judge... I'm not really a judgey kind of person anyway unless you're a tempting tome... a juicy bit of literature passing my way.

Final 2 cents:

I most likely will not be moving on to book #2 but I'll leave it, respectfully, at "Let's Wait and See".
~ Enjoy (or don't)

*** I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

The Last Human by Zack Jordan, a quirky space opera. Sarya is the last human but since humans are so dangerous she has to disguise herself. When that disguise falls apart and everything goes with it what lies ahead of her?

Sarya the Daughter is a human. Maybe the last one. But she can't tell anyone, because her species has been hunted down by every other sentient being in the galaxy, too dangerous to exist. They're certainly unworthy of being citizens in the Network - the technology that connects every sentient being and machine, every piece of technology, every space station, ship, food generator or shipping cart - into one glorious whole that spreads throughout the galaxy and enables faster-than-light travel. When a school field trip goes awry, and strange encounters and coincidences start piling up, Sarya begins to suspect that there's more to the Network than she - or anyone else - realizes.

Starts out as an enjoyable sci-fi adventure story, and turns into a philosophical debate on what civilization really is. Lots of fun.

Three stars because I think for some people this will be a very good book, but it wasn't for me and I'm glad it's finally over.

First, it's a sci fi book, which only occasionally appeal to me, so take that for what it is. It involves a world, or worlds, that are beyond my imagination and/or comprehension. The worlds involve species of various intelligence "tiers", my own which must be very low as again, I couldn't understand most of these worlds or imagine the creatures. Even in the book humans are not exceptionally high tiered intelligences.

As for what I liked: Shenya the Widow! I would not be upset if another book came out just about Shenya and her life. Unfortunately she is not included in the second half of the book. I also liked the basic story about Sarya the Daughter being the last human, and her search for the rest of her people/species. That was a great premise, and for the first part of the book it was hampered only by my lack of imagination for the world in which she lived.

But for what I did not like: This book quickly turns into a study in philosophy. Who are we and what do we mean in the universe? Do we have free will or is there a greater plan? If a greater plan, WHOSE greater plan? Would you kill one to save many, or would you kill many to save one. Do lesser intelligences matter less. Are humans basically destructive creatures who should just be eradicated. Order vs. Chaos. Etc. Etc.

The second half of the book is IMMERSED in philosophy. As such, the characters spend pages just philosophizing to each other. It's as bad as a bad guy just confessing everything at the end of a book, but that's what these characters do for the entire book.

So... I liked the premise, I hated the execution. But that doesn't mean it's a bad book, only that I was not looking to read philosophy, I had my fill when I lived in Santa Cruz. If you are interested in reading about those concepts, woven into a sci fi story with all sorts of interesting characters/monsters, then you may love this book.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review and I'm pretty confident in my 3 stars. I really feel this was not a bad book, it just definitely wasn't for me. It could definitely bring enjoyment to a reader with different interests.

This is a decent YA story about a mid-teen girl who is the last human in the galaxy. The blurb announcing the book said it was space opera for fans of Rick & Morty but it's more like a revived Robert Sheckley does YA. One plot line straight through, good handing of action scenes, but not your next Iain Banks replacement. Older SF readers like myself won't get too excited about the ground it covers but teens and 20s should enjoy it, especially if they like their stories clean (like I do).

3.5 stars, thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed the premise and the first half, but once it started getting into the territory of Sarya interacting with and being manipulated by the Network it became somehow less interesting to me. Almost DNFed around the 60% mark but decided to keep pushing through although that meant more skimming. I enjoyed the final 15%, except the very end where I had trouble following... probably due to my not reading carefully enough.

This book follows Sarya, the last human, as she learns that perhaps she is not the last human, and goes on a whirlwind adventure to find the rest of her species. She lives in The Network which connects billions of species together across space, and throughout the book wrestles with the idea of order and chaos in the universe, and if The Network itself is good.

I liked maybe the first half. I thought the idea was really interesting, and Sarya's relationship to her adopted mother, was sweet and informed a lot of her decisions.

Then this book decided to go galaxy brain and lean into philosophy. I think that might have worked had there been more of a plot, or even more of engaging characters. The rest of the book was filled with useless will she/won't she who-can-you-trust. None of the characters were particularly likable, nor did they have any development. Sarya would give her life for characters that didn't seem to really interact with her at all? And had threatened her multiple times?

Also, one feature that I guess was supposed to make a cool meta plot is that people have tiers of intelligence, and it keeps being implied that the high tiers can just manipulate things to happen and none of your choices are your own. It really kept it from being enjoyable because the book kept telling me that everything had already been decided, so what even was the point?

Sarya also doesn't really do anything for the second half of the book. She freaks out and makes bad decisions, and that's kind of it. The end is interesting in that it creates this cycle of the unknowable, but it's probably the only interesting piece of philosophy. Descriptions were hard to follow, and I ended up either skimming or re-reading them five times until I understood.

I almost DNFed so many times, this is just an absolute no from me.

The premise of this book was very interesting. I enjoyed it until we hit the 3/4 mark. Then it because more philosophical and it lost me.

I loved parts of this so much! Sarya and Shenya were brilliantly done, and the idea is great. This is a future where all living beings are on the Network, like the internet on Steroids. Humans have largely been obliterated, and yet Sarya, a human child, was raised by Shenya, a Widow, and a rather terrifying alien species. Sarya does not know she is human, having her papers fudged, she has believed herself to be other than human all her life.

So many opportunities, with a plot like this. But it gets a bit preachy around the mid mark, and goes on for entirely too long. It felt like I was getting hit over and over with the "humans crave disorder and chaos" stuff. I mean, sure, we do. But it seemed like the book, at some stage, became the vehicle of a message from the author as opposed to the great tale it started as.

So. Solid 4 stars, but I couldn't go higher. This could be made shorter - I seriously loved the characters, and like I said, so much of it was well done and a great tale.

Sarya the Daughter is the only Human in the galaxy. Humans have been wiped out and are classified as dangerous, and if anyone knew what she really was they would kill her. She has been raised by her Widow (an alien species that seems like a cross between the Alien from Aliens and the Broodmother from Starcraft) mother in a space station with a false registration that claims she is a low intelligence species. Then things get weird.
Sarya meets Observer, a high tier intelligence that is a multi-body mind who sends her to a meeting in what winds up starting a chain of events that Sarya thinks is random, but that we find out is actually put in motion by various high tier intelligences.
By the end of the book, I wasn't sure if I had read a sci-fi novel or some commentary on human societal development and our place in the universe. The sci-fi action parts were fun to read, the constant monologuing by the various characters was not. Not a horrible read, but not great.

One of the most fun writing prompts I've seen online is that "Humans are the most feared species in the galaxy due to our particular weirdness," and you can find a ton of hilarious snippets that run with it. Zack Jordan takes this thought in a more serious direction, imagining a galaxy where humans are deemed so dangerous that they have been completely wiped out (except for our plucky hero). We're not privy at first to how Sarya came to be the Last Human, adopted by a Widow, or what it was about humanity that was so threatening (our survival instincts? adaptability? ferocity? selfishness?). What follows, though, is a great story about all those things that also makes you think about intelligence, free will, and what makes a person a "person."

The first two-thirds of this book were perfection. The final third was a little talky and light on the action, but kept me interested by consistently twisting and making me reevaluate what I thought was happening. I truly wanted to spend more time with these characters and exploring the universe they lived in. I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of Martha Wells' Murderbot series, John Scalzi, N.K. Jemisin, etc. 4.5 stars overall.

Super interesting premise. Very well written and fully flushed out characters. Great book.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the first sci-fi book I've read in a long time, and I enjoyed it! I was drawn in from the plot. Who doesn't love the idea that "the last human in the universe is on the run from a godlike intelligence in this rip-roaring debut space opera"?!

I loved Sarya's mother, and Sarya so much. This was a fun read that keeps you enthralled til the end!

Sarya, the last human, is hunted by an intelligence for reasons unknown to her. While chasing her freedom, she encounters help. Friend or foe? That remains to be seen.
I started reading this book thinking it would be a typical Sci-Fi novel, but what I encountered was anything but!
The words lept off the pages. The characters drew me in with their unique quirkiness, The plot twisted and turned leaving me breathless at the edge of my seat. The descriptions are so vivid, you can picture the world in your minds eye.

Mother is an arachnoid species...and the daughter is a human, the sole survivor of her race, living among a wide selection of alien species. Her goal is to blend as well as she can, with the aid of various accessories, and utilize the help of others who pretend that the human is just another arachnoid being, despite not being able to tape into the mind to mind communications. They have to speak aloud for her benefit.

The survival skills that kept her alive as a child are now keeping her alive while she tours the universe in a stolen spaceship, dealing with all kinds of weirdness. Meanwhile she wonders why humanity was destroyed. Too dangerous to live? Or just a failed experiment?

Wow! What an awesome book/read this was! I had an incredibly hard time putting this book down. I don't want to include many details and spoil the story, but if you are in any way interested in a fun sci-fi book, than you should read this book. I'll be putting Zack Jordan on my list of authors to follow so that I don't miss any future books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing an early copy of this book for me to review.