The Last Town on Earth: Amazon.co.uk: Thomas Mullen: Books

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Product Description

Observer

'A subtle, robustly written novel of compelling contemporary
resonance...'

Waterstones Books Quarterly

'An exceptionally powerful portrait of a community losing its soul
under intense pressure.'

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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.6 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)

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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, 6 Jul 2006

By	kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I was lucky enough to be sent a proof copy of this book and I am very happy to be able to recommend it as an outstanding read. It's set in WW1 and is about a small town that puts itself under quarantine in order to keep out a plague virus that is sweeping the world and killing large amounts of people. Guards are posted on lookout duty to ensure that no-one leaves or enters the town - until one day a soldier appears, begging for help. He is hungry, cold and tired. He begs for help - what would you do? We learn about the course of action that the young guard takes, the outcome it has on his family, and the chain of events that causes fear, distrust and ugly rumours to almost destroy the community. This is a true page turner which sweeps the reader along with the mounting panic as fear sets into the town. Gripping stuff...I loved every page.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Early hippies get the sniffles, 21 April 2009

By	Ash (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Town on Earth (Paperback)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

The Last Town on Earth is a story of a town battening its hatches to weather through a storm ravaging the world. Spanish 'flu is killing people across the world at an alarming rate, so in an effort to preserve their town's perilous existence at the edge of Western civilisation, the people of Commonwealth close their roads to outsiders and, they hope, to the `flu.

Commonwealth is a town founded on socialist ideals and communal living, which is clearly echoed by the town's name. It is peopled by townsfolk who have grown weary of the capitalist way of life which has led America through the American Dream and Manifest Destiny, and has turned in to bloody strikes as the rich exploit the poor. Instead they are searching for a gentler existence where they can share the riches of their labour with their neighbours. However, these admirable philosophies are soon subjected to attack in the form of paranoia, selfishness and greed, as the town slowly begins to disintegrate. We are shown the back stories of many characters, some of whom never play more than a minor role, some who are more important to the tale. One thing they all have in common is that they moved to Commonwealth for less altruistic reasons than pursuing a life for the common good.

I found this book a compelling read, though upon completion I was left somewhat disappointed by an unsatisfactory ending. Whilst I am hardly the sort of reader who needs all the ends tied up for me, I felt the ending was rushed and would have benefited from another chapter or two. Similarly, there are key points in the tale which radically change the direction of the novel, like switches in a railway track, but these were seldom written with the sort of energy that marks out a truly great novel. Even the violent scenes barely raised my pulse. This is a shame, because the underlying story is neatly told.

I felt that the author was striving for some sort of parable that reflected on the many troubles in our own times, but this was lost on me. If anything, it was a sympathetic deconstruction of socialist philosophies - they are a nice idea, but when they are undertaken by people of less-than-pure heart, in a world where survival is the key motivator, they are destined to fail.

With the spread of swine flu around the world this year, this novel has taken on a particular resonance that it might not otherwise have had. Though Swine Flu is less deadly, it is very similar in nature to the flu that wiped out an estimated 50-100 million people in 1918 outbreak.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars just couldnt get into this, 28 April 2009

By	Sian Louise (UNITED KINGDOM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Town on Earth (Paperback)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

The title of this says it all really.
I read the first 100 pages and I just couldnt get into it. None of the characters were particularly interesting I thought and so in case it got better I flicked through until I got to the last 100 pages. It had got slightly better but in my opinion only ever so slightly. I read through until the end....and well it didnt really have an ending which is a little bit annoying also.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A great piece of story telling
This book is highly topical at the moment, although I'm not sure that Thomas Mullen intended it to be that way. Read more

Published 17 days ago by E. Chittenden

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical but topical
Set during the Great War this novel echos current, probably fallacious, pandemic concerns. In view of the number of reviews outlining the underlying plot behind the book I will... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Paul Ell

3.0 out of 5 stars Puts swine flu into perspective
This novel is set at the time of the Spanish flu outbreak in the early 20th century. The residents of a small town in the state of Washington decide that they are going to close... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Tealady2000

4.0 out of 5 stars Starts out slowly...
This starts out slowly - achingly so. I gave up twice but on the third attempt, finally made it past the first third and that's when the thing really takes off and a corking good... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Mark Webb

3.0 out of 5 stars Promising but ultimately disappointing
This book sounds like it will deliver but unfortunately just doesn't quite make it. The author has done his homework and wrings a lot from the setting. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Brian Hamilton

3.0 out of 5 stars Good idea but very depressing and an incomplete ending
"The Last Town on Earth" is set in the USA, at the start of the 1918 infuenza epidemic that spread across the globe, brought back to the USA by soldiers from WW1... Read more

Published 5 months ago by S. Diment

3.0 out of 5 stars A good read from a promising new author
"The Last Town on Earth" is Thomas Mullen's first published book. It is an historical novel, set in and around the fictional lumber town of Commonwealth, in the wilds of the... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Steve Benner

3.0 out of 5 stars This author needs a strong editor
Although Mullen based his plot on real tales of isolated towns that `quarantined' themselves from the 1918 flu epidemic, I found Commonwealth ridiculous to begin with. Read more

Published 6 months ago by C. A. Austin

4.0 out of 5 stars Much promise but stumbles at the last hurdle
This book sets out with such potential. A gripping moral dilemma, well-formed characters with background stories that you can care about, and a detailed inspection of a human... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Lilyfae

3.0 out of 5 stars Well crafted, very depressing read
If you are looking for a book about the way people rise above adversity this is not it. Its the story of a town that locks itself away from outsiders when the 1918 influenza... Read more

Published 7 months ago by A. J. Sudworth

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The Last Town on Earth (Paperback)

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