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A review by randiofborg
Last to Leave the Room by Caitlin Starling
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really struggled to start my reading challenge for 2024, and I'm glad this book was the first one I picked up this year. I really enjoyed the Luminous Dead, another of Starling's novels, but I was absolutely blown away by this one.
The premise: a narcissistic and ambitious scientist, Dr. Tamasin Rivers (great name), realizes that the city of San Siroco is sinking. She has been working on cutting edge communications technology, and the sinking—dubbed the subsidence by her and her team at the company Myrica Dynamic—seems to be related. The subsidence is occurring throughout the city center, but also in the basement of her own home.
It is soon revealed that Tamasin is hiding something from Myrica, and her handler, Mx. Woodhouse: a door has appeared in her basement. She cannot open it, but it looks like every other door in her house. Soon she notices other changes: her cat, Penrose, is suddenly friendlier. Wait—now there are two Penroses. Her cat's doppelganger soon has a companion of his own: a woman who looks just like Tamasin emerges from the door.
The plot quickly picks up from there. Tamasin's doppelganger, whom she dubs Prime, is the polar opposite of her. They both have the same level of intelligence and procedural knowledge, but Prime is sweet and malleable whereas Tamasin is hard and manipulative. Tamasin struggles to hide this development from Mx. Woodhouse and her employer, while also figuring out what is causing the subsidence. Soon, her own memory and sense of self begins to slip.
This is a novel about complexity: the complexity of how we develop and validate knowledge, how we categorize ourselves and others, and how we observe the world around us. Starling masterfully weaves scientific concepts in with gothic romanticism, capturing the spirit of 19th century science fiction in the shape of a 21st century character piece. Her characters are deep and shifting, and straddle a fine line between unlikable and lovable. I appreciate that she doesn't feel the need to give us a reason to like her characters—Tamasin, Prime, and Mx. Woodhouse are all complex and we never get complete answers about why they are the way they are.
I loved this book, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a blend of complex character development and nail-biting plot. And if you liked this, check out The Luminous Dead!
The premise: a narcissistic and ambitious scientist, Dr. Tamasin Rivers (great name), realizes that the city of San Siroco is sinking. She has been working on cutting edge communications technology, and the sinking—dubbed the subsidence by her and her team at the company Myrica Dynamic—seems to be related. The subsidence is occurring throughout the city center, but also in the basement of her own home.
It is soon revealed that Tamasin is hiding something from Myrica, and her handler, Mx. Woodhouse: a door has appeared in her basement. She cannot open it, but it looks like every other door in her house. Soon she notices other changes: her cat, Penrose, is suddenly friendlier. Wait—now there are two Penroses. Her cat's doppelganger soon has a companion of his own: a woman who looks just like Tamasin emerges from the door.
The plot quickly picks up from there. Tamasin's doppelganger, whom she dubs Prime, is the polar opposite of her. They both have the same level of intelligence and procedural knowledge, but Prime is sweet and malleable whereas Tamasin is hard and manipulative. Tamasin struggles to hide this development from Mx. Woodhouse and her employer, while also figuring out what is causing the subsidence. Soon, her own memory and sense of self begins to slip.
This is a novel about complexity: the complexity of how we develop and validate knowledge, how we categorize ourselves and others, and how we observe the world around us. Starling masterfully weaves scientific concepts in with gothic romanticism, capturing the spirit of 19th century science fiction in the shape of a 21st century character piece. Her characters are deep and shifting, and straddle a fine line between unlikable and lovable. I appreciate that she doesn't feel the need to give us a reason to like her characters—Tamasin, Prime, and Mx. Woodhouse are all complex and we never get complete answers about why they are the way they are.
I loved this book, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a blend of complex character development and nail-biting plot. And if you liked this, check out The Luminous Dead!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death