Book Review: Last Light

(contains plot spoilers)

I will say from the outset that I was gripped by Last Light and found it hard to put down. There are some flaws in the story but as an apocalyptic warning shot it stands out as a leader in the genre.

The plot of Last Light is based on the premise that the world is far too dependent on oil and with careful planning and execution, the flow of oil can be stopped and brings the UK and the rest of the world to a standstill in a matter of days. Throw in some uninspired leadership from governments and there is anarchy almost from the outset.

Our main characters are a family split across the UK and the Middle East are the story jumps well between the locations and characters as they attempt to get back to their home in London. The journey across Iraq for the father, Andy Sutherland portrays a region in tribal chaos and a literal fight to get out of the country. Andy also just happens to be the unwitting mastermind of the plot to “restart” civilization by a group known as “The Twelve” who have manipulated the world to their own ends throughout recent history. He was hired by them to write a report on the fragility of the world’s oil dependency and it was used as the blueprint for their actions.

The conspiracy element adds a little depth to the storyline but ultimately comes to nothing as the failure of the plans and the apparent lack of any involvement by the conspirators after their initial actions makes it seem pointless. “The Twelve” send a hit-man after Andy Sutherland’s daughter as she can identify at least one of them but their involvement after their manipulated crash of civilization is quickly dismissed as the crash being more severe and rapid than planned so they are unable to enact their recovery plans.

Although the characters are not particularly padded out in the narrative, you are immediately on-side with the Sutherland family and willing them and those close to them to reach safety. The collapse of society and the greed, selfishness and looting which it brings are well described and there is a real sense of “them and us”. I can see where some reviewers noticed Scarrow’s possible personal politics as the book is quick to talk of ‘feral’ groups of ‘yobs’ from ‘the rough estates’ but I didn’t read too much into it to be honest.

The battle scenes as Andy attempts to flee Iraq are well done and just fall shy of being too long, whilst the urban landscape and the dangers from its population in his family’s travels home provide a stark contrast and one which brings home how such a journey would be here in Britain. Imagine you are 100 miles from home with all transport shut down, the country rioting and looting around you and the only police you see are firing shots into the crowd.

Last Light describes well our complete dependence on oil, not just for fuel but for manufacturing and industry and it highlights how fragile the supply and distribution of that oil could really be. The collapse of society in the face of the cataclysmic events is well told with some key moments handled well. When you think about how tense the Middle East can be, it is easy to imagine a flashpoint event sending the region into chaos.

Where Last Light fails slightly is that the collapse it describes feels like it happens just a little too quickly, literally on day one. It feels possible but implausible. The conspiracy element never quite grips the reader either. The hit-man pursuing Leona Sutherland makes for a good storyline on its own but overall, “The Twelve” don’t impress and you are left not even wondering if they themselves survived in a bunker somewhere. I literally didn’t care!

Overall, and flaws aside, I couldn’t put Last Light down, it’s short chapters making it easy to pick up for a few minutes and keep the action moving. I have gone straight on to reading the follow-up book, Afterlight, based 10 years after the events of the crash.