Book Review: World of Trouble (The Last Policeman Series) by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 4.75/5

From Amazon: "With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out . . . for everyone."

The Last Policeman series is officially one of my favorites now.  This last installment was just as good as the first two.

Though I wanted to see more of the doomed Earth in the second book, I actually liked how this one took place mostly in one location.  It made sense, and the progression from the first book's wider view of the world to this one's much narrower one was nice.

The author is great at writing heartbreaking scenes, which again in this book brought me to tears.  And the ending... you couldn't ask for a better ending to this series.  It is beautiful.  And Hank is a beautiful person, in the face of tragedy and the unknown, both personal and shared, in how he reacts so honestly and cares so deeply.  People think he's weird, and he knows it and doesn't entirely understand it (which almost seems like autism), and I think that's a very relatable trait that many readers will understand, and that they don't get to see very often.  There's not much else I can say without spoiling anything, but I will say that each character is unique and realistic, and they act and react both predictably and unpredictably... just like real people, with logic and reason twisted in the face imminent death.

I do wish the chapter headings had included, instead of just the date, something like "2 months ago," so that it was easier to tell when it was a flashback.  It wasn't terribly difficult to understand, but I'm a forgetful reader and wouldn't remember the current date, so I'd have to flip back to another chapter to see where I was at time-wise.  Not a big deal though; I still loved the flow of the book.

Like the rest of the series, I'd recommend it for high school and older.  And I'm sad that the series is over, but I look forward to more writing from Ben Winters.

Book Review: Countdown City (The Last Policeman Series) by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 4.25/5

From Amazon: "Now Detective Hank Palace returns in Countdown City, the second volume of the Last Policeman trilogy. There are just 77 days before a deadly asteroid collides with Earth, and Detective Palace is out of a job. With the Concord police force operating under the auspices of the U.S. Justice Department, Hank's days of solving crimes are over... until a woman from his past begs for help finding her missing husband.

"Brett Cavatone disappeared without a trace—an easy feat in a world with no phones, no cars, and no way to tell whether someone’s gone 'bucket list' or just gone. With society falling to shambles, Hank pieces together what few clues he can, on a search that leads him from a college-campus-turned-anarchist-encampment to a crumbling coastal landscape where anti-immigrant militia fend off 'impact zone' refugees.

"Countdown City presents another fascinating mystery set on brink of an apocalypse--and once again, Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond 'whodunit.' What do we as human beings owe to one another? And what does it mean to be civilized when civilization is collapsing all around you?"

I loved book #1, and this did not disappoint as a sequel. It didn't feel as urgent as #1, but it didn't particularly need to be; the urgency from the first book carried over to the second, which probably says a lot for the author's world-building. (And his/Palace's insight into the human condition and the description thereof... faaaantastic.)  It also didn't feel quite as dark as the first book, but I took that to be purposeful. The people who are left are mostly deciding to hang in there until the bitter end, rather than just hanging themselves. Maybe those who have stuck around have a little more hope.

But that's not to say there isn't plenty of death and despair, and things are definitely getting worse. There are sad moments, but at least I was already privy to Palace's childhood at this point and didn't cry at any revelations. His promise to his sister is very sweet, but not tear-worthy, and that's fine.

I wish we'd seen more of the outside world though. Even though Palace travels to several locations, and it makes sense that he really can't travel very far at this point with the general infrastructure of everything having fallen apart, I still felt stuck in a microcosm while reading, even though the entire world is falling into chaos. And maybe that's the point; Palace, and everyone else, probably feels that way too, cut off from the world at large compared to the recently-ended, hyper-information age. I still hope though that in book #3 we get to see more of what's happening to at least other regions of the country, if not the world. If only for curiosity's sake.

Overall, great book, probably good for high school and older.

Book Review: The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 4.75/5

From Amazon: "What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?

"Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.

"... The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.
 
"The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond 'whodunit.; What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?"

I haven't been this excited to read the rest of a series in a really long time.  I loved this book.  It's fantastically real, with a nice, even mix of down-to-earth and imaginative description. It really makes you think 'yeah, that probably is how people would act during impending worldwide doom.' Shirley Jackson's 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' came close to this level of book love for me, especially in how often I stopped to read passages out loud to my husband.  But this book went beyond that; I had to keep updating him on what was going on in the book even without having particular passages to relay.  It's also the first book in a really long time that I already want to re-read.

I don't know that I've ever read a book with such a calmly, unassumingly passionate protagonist. Katniss in 'The Hunger Games' comes close, but Palace goes much farther, and I loved the character for it. The reader really sympathizes with him too, without any description or emotion being shoved down your throat, ever. I rarely cry because of a book, but one small passage here, which doesn't flat-out say why his boss calls him 'kid' but only subtly implies it... I couldn't help it. His background is heartbreaking, and you only slowly learn about it throughout the book. It's beautifully done. 

I only had two small complaints, which are why I didn't give it a straight 5 (but pretty darn close). First off, the beginning is slow and Palace is a difficult character to grasp at first, to the point that I almost quit reading the book after the first few chapters. I'm definitely happy I didn't, and without going back and re-reading the book (yet), I'm not sure if all of that was just me for some reason or if it's how the writing is at the start of the book. Either way, if you start the book and don't like it at first, keep reading. It's awesome.  Second, it's possible I missed something in the book, especially since after I thought about not finishing it, I set it aside for a week or so; but I'm confused why insurance companies were paying out to the families of people who had committed suicide. I thought that was generally an automatic deal-breaker, but I might just be wrong about that, or there may have been something that explained this.  But as far as my complaints go, I wasn't offended by them, and the rest of the book far outweighs the bad.

Because of the drug use and violence (neither of which are put in a good light), as well as the rare sex and swearing (which aren't particularly put in a bad light but aren't over the top), I'd recommend this book for high school and older.  And I would recommend the heck out of it.