A bittersweet account of imminent human extinction

Kit Zachariades is the last-born man and humanity’s time is nearly over. Grown old and living alone on a Greek island, Kit records his story for the benefit of an unseen and unknown audience. Certain of death, certain, too, that these are the last years of human existence, all he has are memories and a refusal to submit to the inevitable, until misfortune compels him to risk everything to keep a promise.

For readers of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, P D James’s Children of Men, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fiction, and anyone who has ever contemplated their mortality or wondered how they would survive with only a robot and a parrot for company.

Reviews

A beautiful book A lyrical story of the last human being to be born before The Barren, the end of human fertility. His present Robinson -Crusoe-type life on his chosen Greek island with a parrot and an android for company, and his occasional encounters with older survivors waiting to die, is interspersed with his journal account of his past and human society ending.

Sounds depressing, but is actually entertaining and involving. Maybe the end of human beings is far less gloomy than the end of the world. The world goes on and the last humans deal with their situation as best they can, at times violently, at times heroically, at times with the normal mixture of grumpiness, self doubt, sadness and humour. Highly recommended read. Suchea, Amazon. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The last-born man and his less than helpful robot. A very good read, not a pot-boiler but a slow burner. You really warm to Kit by the end, which comes far too soon by the way. Intelligent, dystopian fiction. All too plausible and not a zombie in sight. I liked the parrot too, most authors would have given him a dog. Keep up the good work. Amazon Customer. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thoughtful and intelligent. It’s a lovely story; quiet, intelligent and reflective. The atmosphere similarly calm; elegiac. The subject matter could easily prompt overblown drama but the author chooses a different and ultimately more rewarding path. This isn’t maudlin or showy; it’s just a thoughtful, subtle examination of the human condition, and it’s all the better for that. JayG, Amazon. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An Excellent Book A gentle, well paced meditation on life, death, old age and companionship, with a good sense of time and place: I can almost taste the olives and brine and feel the Mediterranean sun on my skin. I look forward the author’s next book, though it is not a story which lends itself to a sequel. Richard Worth, Amazon. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Hatton’s writing is great, and the premise is a rather fascinating one. How would it feel to be the youngest living person, and to have been the youngest living human your whole life? How would society react to a situation where no more babies were born? It’s a sad and difficult scenario and the book could be depressing, but it’s not. After all, it’s only humanity that’s ending. It certainly makes you consider all kinds of things about loneliness and human connections. Some of the descriptions are beautiful. In places it’s sad, but overall I’d say surprisingly uplifting. Jack Bates, Goodreads. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟