bucketoffish's review against another edition
4.0
A very nice continuation to The Last Policeman. Once again, the actual detective plot wasn't anything too interesting, but Winters's real talent is in portraying the continuing breakdown of a world in the face of imminent disaster. The depiction of slow societal decay, and the resulting events of people's last days, is captivating to read. Very engrossing world building and atmosphere.
categal's review against another edition
3.0
The mystery driving this chapter in the series did not quite hold together. I had to go back to the beginning and remind myself of who some of the characters at the end even were, and I didn’t buy into the emotional impetus of the crime. However, the world created, the overlay of dread and resignation, the plausibility of how the end of times would play out absolutely rang true.
niniane's review against another edition
4.0
Not as good as the first or third. Interesting ideas about motives, but the main mystery involved a guy who was painted as a total saint. Boring!
robynryle's review against another edition
4.0
The simplest thing I can say about this book is that as soon as I finished it, I picked up the next one, and read them both, I think, in one day. So, yeah, they're good.
hilaryjsc's review against another edition
4.0
Just when these books are about to break my heart they give me hope instead and sometimes that is just as upsetting. Such a good blend of whodunnit and the end of the world.
ablotial's review against another edition
5.0
This was great! The more I read of this trilogy, the better it gets. I've already used a credit to get the third book in the series and I'm really looking forward to it (though I've taken a break for something a little different in between). The narrator has really grown on me as well.
In this book, the world is moving even closer to the end, with the asteroid moving closer and society moving into chaos. Everyone is scared, no one is contributing to society but instead to their own pleasure or future protection. People are stockpiling goods and water. And guns. And are leaving their loved ones in spades.
But among all this lack of human decency, Henry Palace is still hunting for missing persons. This time, the husband of his old baby-sitter/crush. The guy is seemingly a saint, and everyone thinks that he must be off "doing God's work" but his wife wants him home, so off Henry goes. The plot is good, the atmosphere is amazing, and even the subplot with his sister didn't get in the way this time and added to the story. It's got me wondering how her group will contribute to the ending. I can't wait to find out what happens next!
In this book, the world is moving even closer to the end, with the asteroid moving closer and society moving into chaos. Everyone is scared, no one is contributing to society but instead to their own pleasure or future protection. People are stockpiling goods and water. And guns. And are leaving their loved ones in spades.
But among all this lack of human decency, Henry Palace is still hunting for missing persons. This time, the husband of his old baby-sitter/crush. The guy is seemingly a saint, and everyone thinks that he must be off "doing God's work" but his wife wants him home, so off Henry goes. The plot is good, the atmosphere is amazing, and even the subplot with his sister didn't get in the way this time and added to the story. It's got me wondering how her group will contribute to the ending. I can't wait to find out what happens next!
nglofile's review against another edition
4.0
Just as smart and intriguing as the first.
re-read (audio): Sept. 2013
audiobook note: In my mind, Peter Berkrot is the voice of Hank Palace, which is why I didn't feel I'd fully experienced the book until I had listened to his reading. Did not disappoint.
re-read (audio): Sept. 2013
audiobook note: In my mind, Peter Berkrot is the voice of Hank Palace, which is why I didn't feel I'd fully experienced the book until I had listened to his reading. Did not disappoint.
crackdog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
thebradking's review against another edition
4.0
I came to The Last Policeman trilogy as I prepared to interview Ben H. Winters for The Downtown Writers Podcast, a show I host in Indianapolis, where both Ben and I live. Generally, I neither drawn to fiction nor detective novels, but I was pleasantly surprised by the series.
And since I read all three books in the course of a week, I thought I'd write one review for all three books.
The trilogy’s premise is this: An asteroid is set to collide with Earth in less than a year, and the world is slowly descending into chaos as the apocalypse nears. As the world falls apart, one man deals with the situation by continuing to focus on his job as a detective.
While the books have a hard science fiction backdrop — an apocalyptic asteroid on a collision course with Earth — there’s not much science to the fiction. At its heart, the series is a noir detective novel. Henry Palace follows a series of loosely-connected (and sometimes disconnected) events through the three novels, piecing together clues when he can and trying to bring some sense of order to his increasingly shrinking world.
As you might expect from a writer early in his fiction career, the series gets stronger throughout. The first book, [b:The Last Policeman|13330370|The Last Policeman (The Last Policeman, #1)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344370646s/13330370.jpg|18538006], felt small a times, an insular story about a single character who bounced off a tiny number of people in a single town. Rather than giving me a sense of dramatic claustrophobia, the novel at times felt as if the author was simply working out the mechanics of the story.
This isn’t to say the book wasn’t enjoyable. I read it in one sitting. The story simply felt as if the author wasn’t quite sure of his ability to handle a larger, more complex set of characters.
That changed in the second book, [b:Countdown City|16046748|Countdown City (The Last Policeman, #2)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366897800s/16046748.jpg|21826110], and the third book, [b:World of Trouble|18691070|World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395621795s/18691070.jpg|26537421]. The story began to take root in the larger world, the characters became a bit more complex, and their interactions more enjoyable. Understandably, the story then shed some of the basic detective novel tropes, and began to feel more fluid.
As I began the third book, I wasn’t sure what I considered a satisfying end to the trilogy. Nevermind that, though, as the last third of World of Trouble caught me entirely off guard, veering the story in a direction I hadn’t expected. By the end, I couldn’t imagine the story ending any other way.
Of course, the grand simplicity of the third book reinforced how small the first book began, which retroactively made for an enjoyable overall experience. In other words, The Last Policeman is much better once it sits contextually within the trilogy.
If you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable read, The Last Policeman trilogy is a good place to look.
And since I read all three books in the course of a week, I thought I'd write one review for all three books.
The trilogy’s premise is this: An asteroid is set to collide with Earth in less than a year, and the world is slowly descending into chaos as the apocalypse nears. As the world falls apart, one man deals with the situation by continuing to focus on his job as a detective.
While the books have a hard science fiction backdrop — an apocalyptic asteroid on a collision course with Earth — there’s not much science to the fiction. At its heart, the series is a noir detective novel. Henry Palace follows a series of loosely-connected (and sometimes disconnected) events through the three novels, piecing together clues when he can and trying to bring some sense of order to his increasingly shrinking world.
As you might expect from a writer early in his fiction career, the series gets stronger throughout. The first book, [b:The Last Policeman|13330370|The Last Policeman (The Last Policeman, #1)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344370646s/13330370.jpg|18538006], felt small a times, an insular story about a single character who bounced off a tiny number of people in a single town. Rather than giving me a sense of dramatic claustrophobia, the novel at times felt as if the author was simply working out the mechanics of the story.
This isn’t to say the book wasn’t enjoyable. I read it in one sitting. The story simply felt as if the author wasn’t quite sure of his ability to handle a larger, more complex set of characters.
That changed in the second book, [b:Countdown City|16046748|Countdown City (The Last Policeman, #2)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1366897800s/16046748.jpg|21826110], and the third book, [b:World of Trouble|18691070|World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3)|Ben H. Winters|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395621795s/18691070.jpg|26537421]. The story began to take root in the larger world, the characters became a bit more complex, and their interactions more enjoyable. Understandably, the story then shed some of the basic detective novel tropes, and began to feel more fluid.
As I began the third book, I wasn’t sure what I considered a satisfying end to the trilogy. Nevermind that, though, as the last third of World of Trouble caught me entirely off guard, veering the story in a direction I hadn’t expected. By the end, I couldn’t imagine the story ending any other way.
Of course, the grand simplicity of the third book reinforced how small the first book began, which retroactively made for an enjoyable overall experience. In other words, The Last Policeman is much better once it sits contextually within the trilogy.
If you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable read, The Last Policeman trilogy is a good place to look.