Part of the planet has become uninhabitable, forcing the remaining pockets of civilization to fight for valuable resources and for their survival.
One of such pockets is the League, or what has remained of the European Union, which sends its Alpha teams to uninhabitable territories. Their objective is to collect old technologies and research materials that could aid in finding solutions to climate change.
We meet Alpha team members Major Robin Wells and Lieutenant Thess Reevie, an orphan raised in a military environment, as they stumble upon indications that a secret organization called the Malthusian Circle has infiltrated the very top echelon of the League’s leadership. Led by the ominous Highest Chancellor Rebeka Grubber, the Malthusian Circle hopes to solve the existing climate crisis by eliminating most of humanity.–from the blurb about The Last Century
On top of that, Thess’ parents have played a crucial role in Grubber’s plan. The battle for the salvation of the human race has begun.
Thank you so much to Jakub Filo for providing me with a digital copy for review! You can keep up to date with Jakub on his Instagram, plus you can find out more about him and his work.
Hi all, and welcome back to my newest review! I meant to post this Monday but didn’t have the time to write something of substance, here we are today with my review of The Last Century.
I was excited to read this book; the blurb mentioned a lot of interesting elements that I wanted to learn more about. Now, having read it, I’m happy to say that this book lived up to my expectations. But keep reading my review for The Last Century to find out more about what I did and didn’t like in this book.
Review
Overall, I really enjoyed The Last Century. As I’m sure you could tell from the blurb, it’s set on a future Earth that’s very different from the world today. I loved the amount of detail Filo put into developing and explaining all the different aspects of that world.
Honestly, the pacing of the book was slow and the plot dragged in places, but because most of those instances were where Filo explained important contextual things and other important facts, I can forgive that. There were a lot of themes and ideas woven into the plot, and the slower, more drawn-out pacing was necessary to properly incorporate those. So, even though I usually prefer more fast-paced plots when it comes to this genre, The Last Century gets a pass.
And, honestly, the plot is pretty complicated and has a lot of different elements in play. Even though Filo spends a lot of time on details and facts, that doesn’t mean the quality of the plot is negatively affected. A slow plot can still be a good plot, and that’s certainly the case here.
Additionally, I loved the characters in this book. They were all interesting, and it was great that Filo included so many different perspectives; it meant that I was able to get a fuller, more fleshed-out picture of the events happening in the story.
But my favorite thing about the characters was probably how Filo characterized them; he showed how a lot of their characterizations and traits were due to their experiences. There were both characters who’d grown up knowing only hard times and characters who could remember better times, and Filo did an amazing job showing how that impacted them.
TL,DR Recommendation
All in all, The Last Century is a very well-written story that does an excellent job of blending important themes into fiction. I definitely enjoyed it, and I recommend reading it since there’s a good chance that you will, too. Plus, it has an extra layer of depth that really makes it a worthwhile read.
If you do choose to read this one, drop a comment down below and let me know your thoughts! (Or you can pipe up over on my Bookstagram.) You know I always love to talk about books. Additionally, if you enjoyed this review of The Last Century, use the Book Reviews tab above to access my full library of reviews. There, you can find plenty of other books I recommend reading!
Buy on Amazon
Add on Goodreads
