The Last Human
Zach Jordan
Del Rey, 2020
This is a far-future science fiction novel in the space opera/transhumanism tradition, with a lighter, modern writing style that makes it an easy read.
Sarya the Daughter is a human, but it's a secret. Humans are scary, evil beings, and she is able to live in the civilized galaxy only by registering herself as a much less impressive species. This is perhaps a lost cause, as her adoptive mother, a Widow, is a member of one of the more deadly and less subtle species. Between living in the cracks of society and having a sentient set of walking knives for a parent, Sarya is not always happy in her life.
Things start to change when the space station she lives on blows up. It's that sort of book. But it is an epic explosion, and on the other side she finds herself adrift in a dead bounty-hunter's spaceship, with a motley crew of misfits who are totally up for a trek to the local space-hub.
This book reads like a light version of an Iain Banks novel, and as such, there must be many explosions, many billions dead, disaster on a personal and interstellar scale... all the tropes that make a far-future adventure fit in with all the other far-future adventures. Which is fine, but it is somewhat disappointing to see a new set of characters in a new world fall into the same patterns as every other galactic war story. On the positive side, it is hard to do this sort of story in a light, quick-read style, and Jordan does this quite well. Over all, it's worth reading if you like space opera (or think you might), but want something slightly lighter than Banks, Vinge, or Reynolds.
297