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Genesis of the Story
Last follows a boy raised in a world where humans are no longer the dominant lifeform and the struggle for survival is harsh, who refuses to give up on hope and chooses to go on a perilous quest to the city of robots for answers. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The very first version of this story that I ever thought of was probably close to eight years ago, and was about a lone, conscious robot in a world of people. That idea was perhaps a bit too similar to the film A.I., a sort of Pinnochio adventure. But then I went through some very rough personal experiences as I was working on some other projects, and realized the story I really wanted to tell was about a flesh and blood boy who was living alone in a world full of metallic ones, which ultimately became LAST.
In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?
I lost my father when I was very young. That experience, growing up for a time without a father, then having a stepfather, and then, eventually, becoming a father myself has been an element that has informed all of my books, from the Jim Morgan series to Last. But at the time I was writing LAST, I had also just gone through a turbulent time in my adult life, grappling with overwhelming feelings of loneliness and failure. I felt like an exposed nerve in a metallic world, and that was really the genesis of the story.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
If I were to pick one, it would simply be “we need each other.” Even though some of them are antagonists in the novel, robots, and technology aren’t Win’s real enemies. His greatest adversaries are loneliness and despair, and of course the realities of the world he lives in, where people and communities grew apart and then began to fade away. Technology can be a wall between people, but it can also be a bridge. We just have to remember that to really live as humans, that requires having humans in your life, even if they aren’t perfect and sometimes hurt us. The richest memories and moments in my life are almost entirely moments that were shared with others.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
It’s possible. I’ve thought a lot about where Win goes after the end of this story. Who does he find and what obstacles will still lie between him and his ultimate destination and goal? I have another idea for a stand-alone novel that I may tackle first, but if there was a big enough audience demanding more of Win’s journey, there’s certainly more to be told. For now, if readers are hungry for more of my writing, they might try Lord of the Wolves next, as I think it’s the closest in theme to Last, though it features no humans at all, only animals.
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When tragedy strikes the farm, Win is at last left completely alone. Forced to leave the safety of home, he sets out toward the distant robot city on a quest to find the legendary AIs, picking up a pair of companions along the way: an orphaned wild dog and an irrepressibly optimistic robotic signpost. But when the three of them become prisoners in the robot city, Win will not only seek to escape, but also to find the answer to the world’s final question: are there any humans like him left, or is he truly the Last?
Filled with hardship and hope, darkness and light, despair and victory, LAST is the story of a boy learning what it means to live as flesh and blood in a world of steel and circuits, to break through barriers built around us and those we build for ourselves, to know the frailty and wonder it is to be human.
Last
James Matlack Raney’s Last is a gripping post-apocalyptic tale of survival, hope, and the stubborn resilience of humanity in a world overtaken by machines. It follows Win, a boy raised in a dwindling world where humans are no longer the dominant force. With his father gone in search of survivors and his mother struggling with illness, Win clings to the belief that he can fix what’s broken. But as time passes and the weight of loneliness grows, he is forced to confront the stark reality of his world. The novel captures the tension between survival and hope, between fear and courage, as Win makes the life-altering decision to seek answers in the very place he was warned to avoid, the city of robots.
From the first pages, I was hooked by Raney’s vivid writing. The descriptions of Win’s home, the ruined farmhouse brought back to life by his parents’ determination, felt so tangible I could almost smell the sunflowers in his mother’s garden. The dialogue between Win’s father and mother was especially poignant. The father’s relentless optimism and belief in rebuilding contrast beautifully with the mother’s quiet understanding that sometimes, hope is a dangerous thing. This contrast hit hard, especially in scenes where Win, still just a boy, starts questioning whether the world is fixable or if his father’s dream is just a fantasy.
Win himself is an incredible protagonist. His growth from a wide-eyed child to a hardened teenager is gut-wrenching yet believable. The book doesn’t shy away from loss as people disappear, his father’s voice fades into static, and one by one, the figures in his life dwindle. Yet Win keeps going, driven by promises carved into his bedroom wall: stay by Mom’s side, look after Nan and John, stay away from robots, fix what’s broken. The tragedy, of course, is that by the time he’s grown, the list no longer makes sense. His mother is gone. The people he vowed to protect are buried under the oak tree. And the final rule to stay away from robots must be broken if he wants to find answers. It’s a powerful commentary on how the ideals we cling to as children rarely survive into adulthood.
The robots themselves are fascinating in their mystery. Unlike typical sci-fi stories where AI is either an existential threat or benevolent savior, Last presents them as something stranger, unknowable, indifferent, builders of a new world where humans are, at best, an afterthought. This makes them even more unsettling. One of the most haunting scenes is when Win hides in the refrigerator as drones scan his home, completely unaware of or perhaps uninterested in the last boy left behind. That moment cemented the book’s atmosphere for me: humans aren’t being hunted; they’re being replaced, erased, and forgotten.
By the time I reached the final pages, I felt the weight of Win’s journey pressing on my chest. The ending isn’t a triumphant victory or a devastating failure, it’s something in between, something much more real. Last isn’t just about surviving in a world lost to technology; it’s about what it means to be human when everything human is fading away. It’s for readers who love character-driven stories with heart, those who appreciate a slow burn of tension and introspection. If you enjoyed The Road by Cormac McCarthy or The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, you’ll likely find Last just as haunting and unforgettable.
Pages: 333 | ASIN : B0DVLW1W73
LITERARY TITAN 