Reviews with content warning for Suicide - The Last One

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Last One by Will Dean

52 reviews

toriwatson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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esterie's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Sometimes you have to pocket your moral compass and find a novel way to navigate.

what a wild roller coaster of a ride! so many twists and reveals, coupled with short chapters often ending on cliffhangers with lots of high action scenes, this was a very fast read. it's kind of a no-thoughts-just-vibe kinda mystery thriller, you have to suspend disbelief somewhat but it was a fun time. also actually had a decent convo/crit on

the exploitative nature & harm of the contestants/cast of reality tv & tv competitions

.

i can see the ending being contentious, but this is how i choose to see it:

everything did indeed happen, and the empty plane was merely a dream. though i DO find the "it was all a dream" compelling, as SO MANY of the characters have similarities to our MC: daddy issues, estranged relationships with children, worrying about parents, etc.

liked:
-mention of hitchhiker's guide, one of my favorite books of all time ❤️
-the parallel of

caz's dad's gambling vs her gambling on winning the competition, as well as her making amends with her father's memory through the story & reflecting on how his actions impacted the family & how they now relate to her current situation

-completely shocking to me, but

smith

ended up being my favorite character by the end.

he was a right ass (verbally) for like 95% of the book but did what was right and i kinda loved him tbh

didn't like:
-a lot of the characters tended to speak in a very long form monologue, expository manner. almost stream-of-consciousness, but like all. the time. it just didn't feel natural. this is an example, one long dialogue from one character (MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!):

"Some faceless man with an ego as swollen as his bank account. I imagine him with two screens; I was thinking about it last night. One screen has a live link to the Atlantica. He has a safe button. When a challenge goes wrong or the fire starts burning out of control, maybe his manicured fingertip hovers over that button. If he presses it, a rescue team will swoop in from the helicopter we saw and save us. But, of course, he never quite presses it. Because of the second screen. He watches the escalating drama, the fresh danger, and part of him thinks, Press the button, they’ve been through enough. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Just as he reaches that point, he notices that viewership figures have hit a new record. So he hesitates. Something even more dire takes place on board. Maybe Daniel starts his descent and the viewers know what we don’t: they’ve been told the pool cover is on a timer. The interaction numbers spike. The countdown runs. Comments and likes start to jump higher. The algorithmic data is more mesmerizing than the format driving it. The humane part of him may consider pressing the button. But the other part, the base part, knows the show must go on. Because those numbers have to go up a little more each day. The good and evil we all have within ourselves. Now we know what we’re dealing with but we’re afraid to call it by its name."

questions:
-who

opened the box & who pulled the watch beacon? ultimately not important, and i feel it was just the secret crew on the ship, but i just wanna know explicitly.

-what was up with

the first rescue ship that caught fire? was it all for show? an actual ship the production crew burned down? survivors? feel like the characters quickly forgot that one lol

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breezer's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a HORROR, god

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abi_sarah's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

So gripping, I couldn’t put it down!

I’ve never really read thrillers before, but this, I really enjoyed. It was so well written that I was constantly shocked and surprised at the twists and the turns in the story. Some moments, I was met with genuine horror which had me questioning the humanity of Dean’s characters.

The plot never faltered. My eyes were glued to the pages, eager to find out what happened next. It took me a while to get hooked and when the premise of the book was revealed early on, I was very skeptical at first. However, the pace was excellent and the content was fascinating from a psychological point of view.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! There were a few cringe moments and parts of the story I found difficult to believe, so that is why I’m only rating it 4 stars.

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byn's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I'm not entirely sure how to rate this one yet. It kept me hooked and wondering what was coming next the whole time. At no point could I anticipate how/when/what was about to happen, which I appreciated and I don't think that the explanations/reveals were so out there that they could only be in a fictional book but some were really out there. That said, I don't think I liked the ending very much but I'm not sure if more or less of what we got would have satisfied me. I wouldn't rate it low just because the ending didn't satisfy me when for the whole journey there I was engrossed and needing to read the next chapter. I think I'm going to have to sit with this one though.

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haleybre's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lauramuchmore's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I read this as part of a book club, I’d never usually choose a book like this but it was captivating and fun to read. I’d say it’s a good entry book into thrillers, although it’s pretty dark at times.

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sharlapeggy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Phenomenal. Most gripping thriller I’ve read for a long time. The last sentence has me shook and I cannot believe it’s over. I need a sequel. I need more. It’s brilliant and I have recommended now to three other people!!!

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anacceptablebear's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

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burnyayhayley's review

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2.0

Excuse me and what the fuck

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