From the bestselling author of the Inner Movement trilogy and the Cosega Sequence, comes The Last Librarian, (book one of the Justar Journal).
In the year 2098, there is no more war, no more hunger and no more pollution. The world is secure and Earth’s 2.9 billion people are healthy and happy. There is also only one remaining library that still houses physical books. In addition to the dusty … addition to the dusty volumes, the library holds many secrets. But the government has decided to shut it down and burn the contents. Unless an unlikely trio can save the books, humanity will lose more than just what is printed on those antique pages.
With a single government ruling the entire planet, one currency, one language and no religion, the population is unified and enjoying the prosperity that comes with more than seven decades of peace. Free healthcare for all and guaranteed employment make the future a dream. But this future may only be safe if they can hide the past. The books must be saved . . . the impossible task is up to an angry author, a brazen revolutionary and the last librarian. When everything is perfect, the only thing left to fear is the truth.
more
One of the most original stories I’ve ever read. Speculative fiction with a scary “what if”. It’s a literary warning and one we shouldn’t dismiss out of hand. I won’t say more, because–no spoilers. Just read it if you like Ray Bradbury, or Kurt Vonnegut. Yes, it’s that good. I love it when I find a new to me author I enjoy. I plan to buy more from this author.
Enjoyable but flighty book describing closing and destruction of last library on earth. Three stars.
We are introduced to lots of technology with the closing of the last library in 2098. Disease, poverty, pollution, and overcrowding have been achieved 70 years after a plague destroys half of the planet’s human population. And the planet is doing well, thank you.
There is an electronic communicator that is vastly more functional that computers, cell phones and smart personal assistants. There is no privacy but who needs privacy with the government provides everything you need: wealth, housing, employment, transportation and perfect health even before you realize that you need anything. Each person is allowed one and only one child. Couples can have two children. You can sell your right to have a child.
There is no crime. People are picked up for violations and never seen again. There is no court system.
What could be better? A few oligarchs own everything and make everything you need inexpensively. You can eat anything you want but if you get a little overweight, the government whisks you off to a work-it-off-spa or merely charges you for not meeting fitness and weight standards. If you want to drink, drink. If you want to smoke, smoke. You may have to pay a little tax.
The government with its various tracking and detection systems knows everything. Secrets from the government are impossible. Books are obsolete. A decision to close the last library is not seen as controversial. The last librarian gets a message that the library is closing in 10 days and will be set up for a new job shortly afterwards.
Few people use the library. The librarian tells his best friend who is an author who thinks that the best books, especially the ones that the government has changed the wording on digital copies ought to be spirited out of the library before the government burns all the books in place inside the walls. Arrangements are made to remove 100,000 books (10%) — a lot of work but feasible. Some government spying techniques can be overcome.
Connections are developed to get funding, trucks and volunteers. The government moves up schedule for closing. Back channel communications bring out complicated alliances and a concept that there could be few very politically upsetting hidden texts. A stealthy company comes up with money, manpower and security-cloaking resources.
Add a little romance for the last librarian
Throw in several groups that want to be in the action and a few missteps and overreactions but the important books get whisked out of the library safely.
The government panics. People are hunted down and shot. Safe houses, underground bunkers are found and our principal character is killed. His girlfriend and son are saved. A main government head rescues the woman and the man and an old romance is rekindled.
At the end, the various groups vying for power are still at it with no apparent resolution of who has the upper hand and what, if anything, is contained in secret texts…if they exist at all.
Interesting view of future with at least two more parts to be presented later. I’ll pass on the sequels.
Somewhat time-appropriate with the Trump administration, this is about burying the truth and achieving peace through suppression instead of intelligent debate. The story proceeds at a good clip, introduces SF technology without dwelling to long on it and in general hangs fairly well together. I tagged it “inspirational” because it too depends on A Few Good Men (as in humans, not just the one sex).
It was a genuine pleasure to read, and I can only recommend it.
A post-apocalyptic dystopian read. A great read with some interesting characters.
A few too many unnecessary deaths of key players – even Suzanne Collins left it to Book #3 to kill off her key players!
Also, the use of the word ‘Torgon’ instead of the usually accepted swear words. I presume it was an attempt to keep it clean for certain sectors of society, but every time I came across it, it was a bump in the story flow. I wish the author would remove it in a future edit!!!
All-in-all, it was still a four star read for me. Loved the premise of there being a Last Librarian in the world, and his quest to save the books from destruction. Love how Amazon still exists as an organisation even in 2098, when physical books don’t exist anymore! Sadly I didn’t love it enough to want to read the next book in the series, but you might.
Contains ample quotes from famous books to keep your mind ticking over.
Which books would you save?
This was an awesome read – fast paced; intrigue from start to finish!
Set in the not too distant future. Very easy to imagine the scenario played out in this book, just with a little knowledge of today’s shady “big brother” looking over our shoulder! Great read! Keeps the reader on their toes, wondering what’s around the proverbial corner. Very scary and true to life as we know it in today’s political arena.
For years, paper books have become fewer and fewer, but it was not until his own library was ordered closed that the last librarian realized there was an ulterior motive behind destroying the last of the paper books. It is not, as he has been told, just the lack of space, and the fact that very few people actually read paper books any more. There is something else going on.
After the last war, the government worked to create a utopia, a world in which everyone has enough to eat, adequate clothing, a decent place to live, but it comes at a price. Everyone is watched. Cameras everywhere monitor people’s words and acts. People have been “disappeared” when they were critical of the government. And worse, the last librarion has come to realize, online versions of books have been showing up — edited. Meanings have been selectively changed, ideas added or deleted, and all, apparently, with the idea of changing history to discourage people from working for more individual rights.
Then the worst news of all – the library closing has been move up. They have only ten days to save a trove of a million or so books. It’s seemingly impossible … but where there is a will, there is a way – even when getting caught could prove fatal for everyone!
Well-written, tight-knit, realistic fiction set in what could be our own universe, The Last Librarian is a good, tight read.
Good idea for a different type of sci-fi! The librarian was a bit of a candy-ass though. Could have been more realisticly tough. Great read though!
One of the best books I have read in a long time, and I am a very avid reader, especially of sci-fi and fantasy. You won’t regret buying this one. I have since purchased and read the entire trilogy, and am now in the fourth novel of the prequel series. I’ll read anything this author writes.
Enjoyed reading this book.
This book brought forth my thoughts and fears concerning. Digital media – particularly e-books…scary
This was a massively twisty dystopian-disguised as -utopian book that reminded me a little of the matrix where everything felt real until you wake up! I loved it, and now I have to hunt down the next volume in the system because WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!!!
Set in 2098 on earth after the plague that killed off half the people. There is peace on earth (no wars).
In the last library, the books will be incinerated in a couple of weeks because all books are digital now. However someone in government can go into the digital books and change what does not fit with policy. Runit, the last librarian and a few others decide to save certain books so they will not undergo the selective changes that the government will make to them. An excellent book. Even though it’s set in future times it’s very believable especially with the current world situation.
“The Last Librarian” is one of that rare books, you read once and keep on popping into your mind on a variety of different occasions. Every once in a while, I feel compelling to recommend the book, as a more modern version of “Fahrenheit 451”, less dark than the classic, but nevertheless equally eerie.
The story takes place in a not so far future, Portland 2098 CE, society seems to flourish, crime and disease has been eradicated, and the very last library is about to close. Head Librarian Runit Happermann arrives at his job in cold January morning only to learn that the Library will be permanently closed in ten days time and he has been tasked with the removal of all books with the aid of the AOI (Aylantik Office of Intelligence). It’s finally over, the last physical books library on the planet will cease to exist. Physical books are not needed anymore, electronic books are easier to use, faster and need less place. After all the only visitor to the Library in months has been Nelson Wright, a contentious novelist, with some outrageous ideas. Runit begins the process of packing the books and closing down the library, but as Nelson share his thoughts and theories with him, everything changes, and the process to destroy the books turns into a quest to save them for humanity.
At first look the book is a typical example of speculative fiction with some dystopian elements thrown in for good measure. At second glance, though the story delves on some very interesting ideas: the links between information and facts, propaganda, power over knowledge, etc, etc. Only five years after its initial publication, the world of electronic book has grown multifold, physical copies become scarce. Every time your Kindle ‘updates’ one of your books, the previous version is deleted forever…. this are the facts Brandt Legg is crafted his own speculative dystopian tale, and the reason why the book not only works so well but is also a very good modern version of the classic. It’s an interesting premise, a valid one, worth the reading, and at the end of the day an interesting “fiction” story
Read the series (3) books, really interesting story.
“Who wouldn’t give up all their privacy in exchange for peace?” I wouldn’t.
“Corporations had long replaced nation states as the power centers.” Sounds like today.
Kudos to the proofreader. I didn’t find any errors.
Well done and interesting.
Ver
A little slow at start, but picks up
Too deep and boring, could not get into it after 100 pages.