The Last Storm - Must Read For the Summer!
“I feel the storm’s potential inside me all the time - soul torn by violent winds, memories diluted and scattered by downfalls the likes of which I never imagined before…”
A frighteningly real and close apocalyptic world filled with droughts, forest fires, and food shortages. A young woman trying to make a difference with an uncontrollable power. A Father hidden away dealing with a lifetime of guilt. And a Mother desperate to change the past. Tim Lebbon’s newest novel The Last Storm hits shelves July 19th.
Ash comes from a long line of Rainmakers, those that can use homemade devices to bring about rain even in the middle of a drought. Her Father tried to teach her but when strange creatures began to fall with the rain, he instead tried to end her powers and in turn, Ash. So she ran. Her Mother has never stopped looking for her across a huge swath of the United States now known as the Desert. But Ash has been good at hiding, drifting in and out of consciousness as she battles the storms internally and tries to build a Rainmaker machine that will save the world. With the help of a new friend, Cee, Ash stands a chance. The two begin their trek across the desert to bring rain to areas in desperate need. But the rain comes with a price. A strange and deadly price.
Mood board based on The Last Storm. All images from weheartit.com
“It picks and grinds at my foundations. It erodes my will, seeking my soul. Even though I understand part of where and what I am without the tumult, I feel so little control.”
Here’s what I loved: (no spoilers)
The concept is phenomenal - it felt very Lisey’s Story with two different worlds that our characters jump between. When creating the rain, both Jesse and his daughter seemingly visit another plane to do so. Those worlds are so eerie and well written, I could almost smell the dank water and hear the sounds of strange creatures skittering along the sand.
The baddie in this book is a real good one too. Someone you can really sink your teeth into and hate! He has his villain origin story and his fast descent into madness will keep you panicking as you watch him get closer and closer to our heroes.
The world building was great but also frightening - simply because it feels so soon in our future. Lebbon has done a phenomenal job taking the world around him and morphing it into what we realistically could be facing. It’s an incredible backdrop to the story of our main characters, and a very real warning to readers that this world is less make believe and more so screaming towards us. From the descriptions of the Desert filled with electric cars and Soakers to wildfires tearing towns up, you’ll feel a sense of panic and claustrophobia.
Without spoiling anything, the ending creatures were really incredible. Much like The Silence, Lebbon has taken the basic anatomy of some animals and turned them into spiked, sharp toothed monsters. I could visualize so easily the many creatures that pour from the strange worlds and it created a really visceral reading experience.
Overall, The Last Storm is a great new book from Lebbon who’s doing some really unique stuff within the horror genre. A big thank you to Titan Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me join the tour!
I highly recommend picking up The Last Storm if you love; post apocalyptic horror, freak natural disasters, letting the women do the work (to quote TCO), nightmarish creatures rampaging, family dramas, and road trips gone wrong.
