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The Last Town
The Last Town
The full release of The Last Town serial, with new original content!
It started in the Middle East. A flu-like plague that infected thousands and killed roughly ten percent of its victims. Those who died awoke once again, but they were no longer among the living--they came back as soulless carnivorous corpses who desired only one thing: to feed on living human flesh.
As the infection spread, across Europe and the rest of the globe, cities were overwhelmed. Nations fell. Humanity flickered like a candle flame in the wind.
In the United States: the nation's great cities are becoming hunting grounds. New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles...all are falling victim to hordes of shambling dead who want only one thing: to devour the living.
Single Tree, California is a small resort town in Inyo County. Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it's easy to overlook. And that's exactly what the citizens of Single Tree want, for the stenches and those fleeing them to ignore the town long enough for it to be transformed into a desert fortress at the foot of Mount Whitney.
But time is not on their side. Not only do they have to worry about the dead... they have to fear the living.
It started in the Middle East. A flu-like plague that infected thousands and killed roughly ten percent of its victims. Those who died awoke once again, but they were no longer among the living--they came back as soulless carnivorous corpses who desired only one thing: to feed on living human flesh.
As the infection spread, across Europe and the rest of the globe, cities were overwhelmed. Nations fell. Humanity flickered like a candle flame in the wind.
In the United States: the nation's great cities are becoming hunting grounds. New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles...all are falling victim to hordes of shambling dead who want only one thing: to devour the living.
Single Tree, California is a small resort town in Inyo County. Between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, it's easy to overlook. And that's exactly what the citizens of Single Tree want, for the stenches and those fleeing them to ignore the town long enough for it to be transformed into a desert fortress at the foot of Mount Whitney.
But time is not on their side. Not only do they have to worry about the dead... they have to fear the living.
- GenresHorrorZombiesApocalyptic
637 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 16, 2017
105 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 30, 2021
Stephen Knight is a contributor and/or co-author on some of my favorite zompoc books so when I saw he had a line of his own work I couldn’t wait to dive in. I was not disappointed. Knight is an excellent storyteller with an eye for detail and character development. The Last Town starts as the zompoc is beginning and follows several groups as the plague of the dead expands around the globe. The narrative begins with a collection of individuals as they react to the threat as it emerges and grows. Later these people gather into groups, some by choice and others by happenstance.
TLT has the best depiction of cooperation between the various federal and local authorities that I have ever read in a Z book. Knight should get some kind of award for his depiction of how local law enforcement, the National Guard and US Army would likely work together in such a crises. The sequence where the LAPD, LASO, CANG and other authorities are trying to coordinate efforts to defend citizens and vital assets, then are slowly pushed back is incredibly well done.
The “last town” of the title is also an entertaining story of an incredibly wealthy oil Baron trying to defend his small hometown from the coming zombie hordes. This story is exciting but requires more suspension of disbelief since the idea of walling off and defending a town doesn’t seem like the best way to survive millions of undead. Still, the characters are well drawn and the situations are intriguing so its easy to set aside that logic. There are also a couple of “liberal” straw men who get punched a lot and could have been better done.
Last note, I listened to the Audible version and the sound quality was bad. Lots of background buzzing, weird edits and cuts, changes and glitches in the recording. All of this along with the gravelly voice of Lee Alan, who narrated the book, just made it hard to listen. Alan’s voice is so deep it was distracting, and all the characters start to sound like Darth Vader with marbles in his mouth.
Luckily, the overall story is excellent and well worth the read.
TLT has the best depiction of cooperation between the various federal and local authorities that I have ever read in a Z book. Knight should get some kind of award for his depiction of how local law enforcement, the National Guard and US Army would likely work together in such a crises. The sequence where the LAPD, LASO, CANG and other authorities are trying to coordinate efforts to defend citizens and vital assets, then are slowly pushed back is incredibly well done.
The “last town” of the title is also an entertaining story of an incredibly wealthy oil Baron trying to defend his small hometown from the coming zombie hordes. This story is exciting but requires more suspension of disbelief since the idea of walling off and defending a town doesn’t seem like the best way to survive millions of undead. Still, the characters are well drawn and the situations are intriguing so its easy to set aside that logic. There are also a couple of “liberal” straw men who get punched a lot and could have been better done.
Last note, I listened to the Audible version and the sound quality was bad. Lots of background buzzing, weird edits and cuts, changes and glitches in the recording. All of this along with the gravelly voice of Lee Alan, who narrated the book, just made it hard to listen. Alan’s voice is so deep it was distracting, and all the characters start to sound like Darth Vader with marbles in his mouth.
Luckily, the overall story is excellent and well worth the read.
February 20, 2019
Really Really Good Zombie Epic!
Amazing to see the fate of the whole town! I am surprised by Barry’s Plans and I think I almost believed he was a butthead because I couldn’t see his master plan.. which was mind boggling but made sense when I think about how he told the story of his background. I am still laughing about Basic and how a single steak took down an entire town.. ironic.. that the 2 actual buttheads.. only 1 redeemed himself and his wife turned out to be a cool role model! Oh there is so much I could say! Humanity dotted with humor, romance, drama, tragedy and also beautiful moments too. People overcoming the seemingly impossible! I’ve never seen bigger or more open hearts in a story!
Amazing to see the fate of the whole town! I am surprised by Barry’s Plans and I think I almost believed he was a butthead because I couldn’t see his master plan.. which was mind boggling but made sense when I think about how he told the story of his background. I am still laughing about Basic and how a single steak took down an entire town.. ironic.. that the 2 actual buttheads.. only 1 redeemed himself and his wife turned out to be a cool role model! Oh there is so much I could say! Humanity dotted with humor, romance, drama, tragedy and also beautiful moments too. People overcoming the seemingly impossible! I’ve never seen bigger or more open hearts in a story!
January 15, 2018
This has got to be one of the most exciting zombie apocalypse novels I have listened to. It is long, 24+ hours and the writing is excellent, the action and tension unstoppable, and the characters well defined and quite likable. This is the tale of a billionaire industrialist providing masses of men, weapons and equipment at the beginning of the apocalypse to fortify and save his home town. The basic plot is quite unassuming, but as I’ve said the writing and tempo is excellent. I can heartily recommend this novel to any zombie fan.
May 10, 2018
Amazing!
I'm going to keep this review short and sweet; and there won't be a single spoiler.
I just finished reading this book for the second time; and it was just as good as the first time, if not better. I've been following Stephen Knight since his first book in "The Gathering Dead" series came out, and he has NEVER disappointed me.
If you like zombies and TONS OF ACTION, then this book is definitely for you. I read most of the book on the edge of my seat; and I couldn't seem to read it fast enough.
The one thing I would like to see is another book. I would love to read about what happens next for the survivors - those who made it out of Single Tree and those who are still holding up around town; along with those who made it from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa Island.
I'm going to keep this review short and sweet; and there won't be a single spoiler.
I just finished reading this book for the second time; and it was just as good as the first time, if not better. I've been following Stephen Knight since his first book in "The Gathering Dead" series came out, and he has NEVER disappointed me.
If you like zombies and TONS OF ACTION, then this book is definitely for you. I read most of the book on the edge of my seat; and I couldn't seem to read it fast enough.
The one thing I would like to see is another book. I would love to read about what happens next for the survivors - those who made it out of Single Tree and those who are still holding up around town; along with those who made it from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa Island.
July 28, 2022
Based on other reviews, I thought I was in for a good read. How wrong can I be? I found the story to be repetitive, I guess this is due to it originally being released in parts, but as a stand alone book, I really didn’t need to have the tenacity of zombies explained 5 times. The main characters were all “love to hate them” types, with zero redeeming qualities, with so many pages, one would’ve thought character development and relationships could of been explored and enlarged, instead we are left with a bunch of wooden characters that we hope to die
August 19, 2018
A completely different view
Most people who read this particular genre have wondered what if? This book takes on the idea of how someone who has the unlimited where with all, goes from thinking about the what ifs and throws everything he has into saving the town he loves, even though there are many who question his motives. But is having unlimited resources enough when zombies are involved?
Most people who read this particular genre have wondered what if? This book takes on the idea of how someone who has the unlimited where with all, goes from thinking about the what ifs and throws everything he has into saving the town he loves, even though there are many who question his motives. But is having unlimited resources enough when zombies are involved?
January 22, 2019
Zombie Epic
This book is a very Hefty 600 plus pages it starts out a little slow but it picks up with a violent brutality of every other zombie book ever written, it is a true zombie Epic about a town in America trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, it has everything going for it character development is spot-on, action is top-notch and the Gore level is perfect this author really has something going for him please write the next book
This book is a very Hefty 600 plus pages it starts out a little slow but it picks up with a violent brutality of every other zombie book ever written, it is a true zombie Epic about a town in America trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, it has everything going for it character development is spot-on, action is top-notch and the Gore level is perfect this author really has something going for him please write the next book
April 8, 2019
2 thumbs up
Mr. Barry Corbette is everything i wanna be. When push comea to shove i will never hesitate to use all my resources to save my family, friends, people i care about and everybody who has the will to survive. I really wish i have that kind of money to gather all the resources needed. Great read, I'm really satisfied, tho i want to know if they save more people from Single Tree.
Mr. Barry Corbette is everything i wanna be. When push comea to shove i will never hesitate to use all my resources to save my family, friends, people i care about and everybody who has the will to survive. I really wish i have that kind of money to gather all the resources needed. Great read, I'm really satisfied, tho i want to know if they save more people from Single Tree.
June 25, 2018
Inexpected
I don't share the author's politics in many ways, but it's well written, entertaining and it does what good fiction does which is to create a window into someone else's world and way of thinking. Furthermore, it's a slow but steady build with interesting moments along the way.
I don't share the author's politics in many ways, but it's well written, entertaining and it does what good fiction does which is to create a window into someone else's world and way of thinking. Furthermore, it's a slow but steady build with interesting moments along the way.
October 15, 2017
A lone tree
Well not really but that's my title. I've been reading a lot of zombie apocalypse books lately and well I'm not bored yet. This one has some great characters and ones at times you wanna just shoot yourself. Hoping there is another book or one coming soon....
Well not really but that's my title. I've been reading a lot of zombie apocalypse books lately and well I'm not bored yet. This one has some great characters and ones at times you wanna just shoot yourself. Hoping there is another book or one coming soon....
October 16, 2018
I liked the book but I didn’t love it. It didn’t get exciting until chapter 17. There are 18 chapters. The guy reading it was really into sound effects and I didn’t love his voice. I think there are more books in the series. I’m undecided if I will continue. I liked the way it ended.
July 29, 2019
Disjointed and Long
I wanted to like this. The plot was disjointed, there were too many characters, and there was almost no way to keep the stories and people straight. There was a lot of downtime, and the end was almost shoehorned in.
I wanted to like this. The plot was disjointed, there were too many characters, and there was almost no way to keep the stories and people straight. There was a lot of downtime, and the end was almost shoehorned in.
July 5, 2020
Good start slow read
Plot building and character building was slow, glad I finished reading. Looking forward to reading the next installment. Need to see who will be the heroes and see some antagonists beyond the stenches.
Plot building and character building was slow, glad I finished reading. Looking forward to reading the next installment. Need to see who will be the heroes and see some antagonists beyond the stenches.
May 4, 2018
Fast paced zombie apocolypse
I loved this book and hoping for a sequel. The characters were very detailed and the action did not stop
I loved this book and hoping for a sequel. The characters were very detailed and the action did not stop
May 5, 2018
Loved it
I really enjoyed this book a lot of action and the people involved were super Dan I Norton Colbert and Victor were super
I really enjoyed this book a lot of action and the people involved were super Dan I Norton Colbert and Victor were super
August 29, 2018
Fantastic tale!
Five stars for a story rich in action and character development. This book is a strong contender for best post apocalyptic zombie story.
Five stars for a story rich in action and character development. This book is a strong contender for best post apocalyptic zombie story.
September 14, 2018
Book
Great storyline. Loved the characters and how it all came together in the end. Was hoping there would be a sequel.
Great storyline. Loved the characters and how it all came together in the end. Was hoping there would be a sequel.
May 31, 2020
Great read
One of the best total package books in a while. As a 3 time combat veteran, I love the military aspect of the book
One of the best total package books in a while. As a 3 time combat veteran, I love the military aspect of the book
August 26, 2023
Outstanding read
Stephen Knight continues to rock the zombie universe. “The Last Town” is a zombie apocalypse story with plenty of action and solid storyline.
Stephen Knight continues to rock the zombie universe. “The Last Town” is a zombie apocalypse story with plenty of action and solid storyline.
January 29, 2023
Decent story with unfortunate undertones
Knight is a veteran of the post-A genre and has written good stories like The Last Run and his involvement with The Retreat series.
The book starts at the very outset of the zombie virus hitting LA and attempts to rapidly reinforce the small town of Single Tree. The writing is good, the story is good, the characters okay.
The real downfall of the book is the characters -Knight clearly has a political ax to grind here that I have not seen on display in his other works. Many of the heroes are tough guys not afraid to "tell it like it is", shake things up, and be un-PC.
This is fine and all, but as the book stretches on the words spent demonstrating them fully understanding why the 2nd Amendment is a right and a necessity, and calling each other pussies feels excessive. Worse there's little balance to the characters both as characters and as a cast. All the heroes as self-made, hard scrabble types and the main benefactor is a climate-denying, homophobe who is portrayed as a good guy because he throws money at charities. Knight goes to pains to paint almost any vaguely liberal character as obstructionist, incompetent, and ultimately a self-righteous hypocrite, This would not be the worst thing, but its also often done in a rather clunky way. Two exceptions are Victor a Native American chief and BIA officer, and Reese an LAPD detective. They come off as more complicated characters and Reese in particular is probably one of the more conflicted characters in the story.
Its a good story, but ultimately let down by an increasingly obtrusive political bent.
Knight is a veteran of the post-A genre and has written good stories like The Last Run and his involvement with The Retreat series.
The book starts at the very outset of the zombie virus hitting LA and attempts to rapidly reinforce the small town of Single Tree. The writing is good, the story is good, the characters okay.
The real downfall of the book is the characters -Knight clearly has a political ax to grind here that I have not seen on display in his other works. Many of the heroes are tough guys not afraid to "tell it like it is", shake things up, and be un-PC.
This is fine and all, but as the book stretches on the words spent demonstrating them fully understanding why the 2nd Amendment is a right and a necessity, and calling each other pussies feels excessive. Worse there's little balance to the characters both as characters and as a cast. All the heroes as self-made, hard scrabble types and the main benefactor is a climate-denying, homophobe who is portrayed as a good guy because he throws money at charities. Knight goes to pains to paint almost any vaguely liberal character as obstructionist, incompetent, and ultimately a self-righteous hypocrite, This would not be the worst thing, but its also often done in a rather clunky way. Two exceptions are Victor a Native American chief and BIA officer, and Reese an LAPD detective. They come off as more complicated characters and Reese in particular is probably one of the more conflicted characters in the story.
Its a good story, but ultimately let down by an increasingly obtrusive political bent.
May 3, 2025
I like Stephen Knight’s zombie apocalypse novels, but this one isn’t as good; I think part of what made his previous books good was the military focus, which is missing here, and the interesting thing about Knight is missing too. Also for some jackassed reason he decided to make this an anti-liberal soapbox, and it’s super annoying for me, a liberal, to have to read this. Maybe keep politics out of it, Stephen, and not alienate readers who otherwise liked you, because last time I checked, one of the good things about the zombie apocalypse is all the politicians got dead.
October 19, 2022
Best zombie story to date
My words can't do this story justice other than read a well crafted tale about human nature and the human condition. I have read this book at least 5 times and still love it. Cheers
My words can't do this story justice other than read a well crafted tale about human nature and the human condition. I have read this book at least 5 times and still love it. Cheers
February 23, 2020
Really love this series, a must to read if youre a fan of zombie novel.
August 21, 2020
Pretty interesting plot, hope there's a sequel in the works.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews