Last Light
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Product Description
Review
Alex Scarrow is a crime writer of real distinction (GOOD BOOK GUIDE )
Ben Hunt, MaterialWitness.com
"a terrific thriller... the thriller of the summer. It should be thebnbovel that airport booksellers can't get enough of."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I love Alex Scarrow's brother's (Simon) Roman novels and I discovered Alex via Simons website while seeing if there was another Macro & Cato coming soo. What I found- a thousand suns- was a pretty good pageturner set in WW2 & the present day. Not a book that made me think by any means but well worth reading.
'Last Light' is different, not least because its set in the present. In a nutshell all the worlds oil supplies are shut down by the simple act of setting off a big car bomb outside the main Sunni shrines in Saudi Arabia. Iraq shows us what happens next.... all out inter-muslim civil war which engulfs the oil producing regions. Add in a bomb or two in Russias oil fields and low and behold Britain has a weeks worth of food, clean water and oil.
The book itself jumps between an oil engineer stranded in Iraq with a depleted platoon of british troops, his daughter stranded in an apocalyptic London ruled by gangs of looters and his estranged wife desperately trying to get from Manchester home to London to reunite the family. This works well and keeps the story flowing fast without interupting any of the characters sub-plots.
The recent floods in England show just how easy it is for essential supplies to be interupted and any idea that we have a 'Blitz Spirit' is nonsense... we panic buy at the drop of a hat. The whole book was far too realistic for comfort and made me realise just how little food and water I have in my house. Its also made me (a self confessed global warming sceptic) realise that we are far too dependent on oil, not because of it enviromental impact but because our very lives are dependent on a few thin pipes running from very unstable countries.
I'd have given this book 5 stars but for two reasons: as with Scarrows previous book there is annoying little errors. The M1 doesn't run past Birmingham, Easyjet don't fly 727's etc. A good editor should have picked these up. The second is the 'shadowy global conspiracy which involves Kennedy's assassination' which I won't describe as it will spoil the plot. This is unneccessary and makes a horribly realistic book just a little too conspiracy theory driven. Frankly the simple explanation is usually the best and unrest in the middle east doesn't need secret western cabals to spark it off.
As some of the other reviewers have said: read this book and think about it. If everything goes wrong a bit of pre-planning as suggested here might just save your life.... and there's not many fictional books make you say that!
'Last Light' is different, not least because its set in the present. In a nutshell all the worlds oil supplies are shut down by the simple act of setting off a big car bomb outside the main Sunni shrines in Saudi Arabia. Iraq shows us what happens next.... all out inter-muslim civil war which engulfs the oil producing regions. Add in a bomb or two in Russias oil fields and low and behold Britain has a weeks worth of food, clean water and oil.
The book itself jumps between an oil engineer stranded in Iraq with a depleted platoon of british troops, his daughter stranded in an apocalyptic London ruled by gangs of looters and his estranged wife desperately trying to get from Manchester home to London to reunite the family. This works well and keeps the story flowing fast without interupting any of the characters sub-plots.
The recent floods in England show just how easy it is for essential supplies to be interupted and any idea that we have a 'Blitz Spirit' is nonsense... we panic buy at the drop of a hat. The whole book was far too realistic for comfort and made me realise just how little food and water I have in my house. Its also made me (a self confessed global warming sceptic) realise that we are far too dependent on oil, not because of it enviromental impact but because our very lives are dependent on a few thin pipes running from very unstable countries.
I'd have given this book 5 stars but for two reasons: as with Scarrows previous book there is annoying little errors. The M1 doesn't run past Birmingham, Easyjet don't fly 727's etc. A good editor should have picked these up. The second is the 'shadowy global conspiracy which involves Kennedy's assassination' which I won't describe as it will spoil the plot. This is unneccessary and makes a horribly realistic book just a little too conspiracy theory driven. Frankly the simple explanation is usually the best and unrest in the middle east doesn't need secret western cabals to spark it off.
As some of the other reviewers have said: read this book and think about it. If everything goes wrong a bit of pre-planning as suggested here might just save your life.... and there's not many fictional books make you say that!
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Alex Scarrow has written a frightening story that may seem to have an obvious premise (in a nutshell, we're far too reliant on oil); however it's all the more frightening for how little serious consideration we give this issue.
Various events - it'll spoil the story to go into too much detail - result in the world's oil supply being more or less destroyed. Throughout the world and especially the UK, chaos and panic begin. Those with supplies of food and water are relatively prepared. Unfortunately, they're also targets for those without and any ideas of decency and civilisation go out the window in the struggle for survival. There is no 'Spirit of the Blitz' mentality; it's everyone for himself.
In the middle of this, Andy Sutherland attempts to get back to England from Iraq while his estranged wife works her way from Manchester to London in order to get to their two children. The problem is, someone else is after one of their children for reasons connected to the cause of the disaster. At the same time, the country is tearing itself apart.
Read the first couple of pages and get ready for a ride.
Various events - it'll spoil the story to go into too much detail - result in the world's oil supply being more or less destroyed. Throughout the world and especially the UK, chaos and panic begin. Those with supplies of food and water are relatively prepared. Unfortunately, they're also targets for those without and any ideas of decency and civilisation go out the window in the struggle for survival. There is no 'Spirit of the Blitz' mentality; it's everyone for himself.
In the middle of this, Andy Sutherland attempts to get back to England from Iraq while his estranged wife works her way from Manchester to London in order to get to their two children. The problem is, someone else is after one of their children for reasons connected to the cause of the disaster. At the same time, the country is tearing itself apart.
Read the first couple of pages and get ready for a ride.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Alex Scarrow lives a nomadic existence with his wife Frances and his son Jacob, their current home being Norwich (you can`t get much more nomadic than that). When he left college he led an interesting life chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games industry, which I suppose is the same kind of thing, chasing dreams and fantasy.
The author has spent a number of years researching an issue that affects us all. He has written a spine-chilling thriller that leaves the reader in no doubt, how fragile the human society has become and is now. It is only a nanosecond away from oblivion.
What leaves society teetering on the brink. The world's oil supplies. The book shows what could happen to society if these supplies were ever cut. It is of course a fictional novel but the story shows what could happen if somebody sabotaged the world's oil supplies. Oil a natural product that society has come to lean on so heavily. This is a terrific read and a really convincing story. Maybe, just maybe it could happen . .
The author has spent a number of years researching an issue that affects us all. He has written a spine-chilling thriller that leaves the reader in no doubt, how fragile the human society has become and is now. It is only a nanosecond away from oblivion.
What leaves society teetering on the brink. The world's oil supplies. The book shows what could happen to society if these supplies were ever cut. It is of course a fictional novel but the story shows what could happen if somebody sabotaged the world's oil supplies. Oil a natural product that society has come to lean on so heavily. This is a terrific read and a really convincing story. Maybe, just maybe it could happen . .
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
It WILL happen !
If you take time out to read one book this summer then read this!
This is how I imagined the end of this country and the rest of the world about 20 years ago. Read more
This is how I imagined the end of this country and the rest of the world about 20 years ago. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Greenkeeper
A Good Read somewhat spoiled.....
This review applies to this novel and its follow-up "After Light". This is a rattling good read of the post-apocalyptic genre. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lionel Wall
poor, poor, poor, drivel, pants, garbage....repeat to fade
The basic story of what could happen to our "civilised", organised, mollycoddled lives in the event of a serious fuel crisis, is very thought provoking......... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Trev Jones
Interesting concept, dull characters
Not having read Alex Scarrow before I ordered this after reading the promising reviews and being intrigued by the concept. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. James R. Lawrence
Great read
This was a well written end of civilisation novel. It outlines what would happen to our urban life if its main source of energy, oil, stopped, ie riots, looting, murder etc. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jonathan
A pacy, environmental thriller - excellent beach read
This is a great thriller - written in the style of Dan Brown - if you like his books I think you will love this. Read more
Published 6 months ago by sg perry
Not quite a well-oiled machine...
Alex Scarrow's apocalyptic thriller Last Light weaves a `what if' tale postulating what might happen if global oil production came to a sudden halt. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Luke Edwards
Leaves you wondering . .
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It's full of excitement from beginning till the end. Lost one star because I found a few parts of the book a tad unrealistic but nonetheless... Read more
Published 7 months ago by nad407
Super read
it could happen oh so easily. A must read for any fan of the post apocalyptic genre. How quickly will society break down? Read more
Published 8 months ago by dogq2
Scary Easy Read
Read this book whilst on a cruise last week.
Pleasant change to have a work of fiction with a mainly British rather than US slant. Read more
Pleasant change to have a work of fiction with a mainly British rather than US slant. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Richard Head
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