The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

The Last Kids on Earth #5

by Max Brallier, Douglas Holgate

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new, otherworldly powers, he's thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield. But between fighting off zombies, fleeing from strange, glowy Vine-Thingies erupting from the ground, and squeezing in a video game session or two, there's barely time left to figure out what's wrong with their buddy, Dirk, who's been acting weird any time he's around the undead. When an unexpected villain appears, can Jack and his friends save themselves--and the rest of the world--from cosmic domination?

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Zombies, Adventure, Fiction, Humor

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 17, 2019

About the author

Max Brallier is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. His books and series include The Last Kids on Earth, Eerie Elementary, Mister Shivers, Galactic Hot Dogs, and Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? He is a writer and producer for Netflix's Emmy-award-winning adaptation of The Last Kids on Earth. Max lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. Visit him at MaxBrallier.com.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Dante Do0ntay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battle royal? Need I say more?!

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 5th book and this time bigger baddies, zombie radios/hive mind, and a blade that may change outcomes.


I am really back into this series, a big thank you again to my husband for giving me this one for my birthday! Now I could read on quite soon after reading book 4.

The book begins with an exciting scene immediately. Zombies, Evie, a tail, and oh yas I loved how the book immediately draws you into the story.

I loved that June came up with a brilliant idea since the radio wasn’t working. I loved that she and Quint made something that was able to show them if their families were still alive. That was definitely an emotional part, and I am delighted that so many people survived the apocalypse and that they are doing relatively OK. I do hope that in later books we get to see some new settlements because I would love to meet some new humans (and I am definitely not counting Evie as one of my want to meet new humans, I mean good guys).

There is also a training montage, or however you want to call that. I definitely liked seeing how that was formatted and I found myself rooting for Jack. Though he quickly learned that training isn’t as fun as they show it in action movies. Haha, oh Jack. But I loved that he kept going and that he was eager to find out what was going on.

I loved that we got to see plenty of the monsters that roam the town and that they were more than eager to help out and join the battles to save Earth.

I definitely hadn’t expected that the authors would go this far! I was so shocked and saddened when that happened. I guess I could have seen it coming given what happened to Dirk in the previous book, but again, normally kid’s books don’t go this far.

I loved what Dirk’s friends did for him in this book when they saw he wasn’t himself. He was isolating himself, sleeping a lot, trying to get away from it all and we learn later on what is happening. My heart broke for him. After all the events from the previous book he deserved some reprieve and he didn’t get it. So I loved that his friends tried to get him to talk, tried to make him smile, tried to help him forget things. From a fun and giant event that includes goo and loot crates to a special present to help him.

There were tons of twist and turns. Really, each time you think there is a moment of peace, of quiet, of silence, something happens. And I love it, though I would also not have minded some real peace. But I guess until everyone bad is defeated and the world is safe there is going to be barely any moments of silence and peace.

There were a few moments of laughing, and I especially loved when the baddie of last time was totally into nachos and didn’t particularly seem to care about destroying the world.

The ending, OH BOY, things were already getting heated these past books and this book was particularly heated with all the action and training, but the ending definitely promises that the next few books, leading to the finale, will be total sitting-on-the-edge-of-your-seat-and-gnawing-on-your-nails exciting. I cannot wait. Plus, Jack will need to learn how to handle the new updates on his glove and his sword (baseball bat, cough).

All in all, I will soon be buying the next book (along with the short story collection and June’s own story) because I need to know more and want to see what happens in the next one. Will Grull be back? Will he get to his promise? Will Jack learn to wield his new powers and weapon?

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Dana Cristiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ✨.

RTC

[Ismo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Action. Its easy to read.

[Jay]

this had 457 pages and it was so interesting every page you will love it so I hope you like it cause it had funny parts good cool and awesome parts in story.

[Enya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nei sorry es isch nümme luschtig WTF. ELLIE.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book I would read it again. It's fun and entertaining loved it 4.7 out of 5.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely the best book out of the series.

I felt bad for Dirk when they found out he could hear the chattering going on from the Zombies.

Also, in the end when Jack looks at his arm and realizes that the tentacle glove he was using to help control his Slicer was now permanently suction-cupped to his arm, he was impressed but also confused. He knew now with it being on his arm there was no turning back, but it made me wonder when he found this out, if this is over, will he be able to somehow try and get it off with maybe surgery?? That was a thought and question I kept thinking about reading that part.

I have to say I was also pretty excited when Quint and June found a way to still connect with the survivors in NY at the Statue of Liberty and found through the XBOX a way to see who checked in safe. I’m glad they both found their parents safe. I’m a little surprised Dirk didn’t check.

[Christian Lenz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Good !! Alot of action. Thrull is back . I love Jack Sullvian. I can so realte to him !! Can't wait for my next book !!

[Niina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tämä sarja vain paranee kirja kirjalta. Tässä viidennessä osassa yhdistellään aiempien osien irrallisia juonenhäntiä yhteen. Jack, maailmanlopun toimintasankari, pääsee tositoimiin Sipojaksi nimetyn miekkansa kanssa. Hänen on tehtävä merkittävä valinta, joka vaikuttaa maailman kohtaloon.

Jack on huolissaan Dirkistä, joka edellisessä kirjassa oli vähällä muuttua zombiksi. Tämä vaikuttaa masentuneelta, niinpä Jack päättää järjestää jäbän piristämiseksi IRL Battle Royale-pelin, jossa heilutellaan eeppisiä lima-aseita.

Opitaan myös, että edellisessä osassa tavattu yksinään asuva Mörkki on naispuolinen hirviö, tällainen jaottelu kun käännöksissä usein katoaa (kiitos suomen kielen sukupuolineutraalin hän-pronominin) sekä syy sille, miksi hän on päättänyt eristäytyä muista.

[Shaihak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book of the whole series of ‘the last KIDS on earth’ (YET) .Snd I loved the Christmas theme for it and evil snarg how did she even know about the cosmic terrors ?

[Ryhona · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think this book is very good the fact that Max Brallier just writes it as Jack Sullivan really expresses the character plus the illustrations were awesome.

[Emily A Freilino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always so fun - love that my boys love this series so much they want to share it with me!

[Germaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite middle grade series. I just enjoy all the friendship and actual plot and character development that we get in these books. Each book takes on a new turn and intensifies the effects of the previous books, and this one is no exception. Plus, the art style is endearing as ever. I'm looking forward to the next installments in the series!

[Wenjie Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading the book, the first thing I noticed is that the novel is a combination of a comic and word book. the reading felt very different and interesting to experience. The illustrations provided helped process the vast information given in each page such as the introduction to new creatures or ideas. The plot building is great as the series is nearing the climax and the danger shifts from their neighborhood to the threat of the planet. Otherwise, the series is enjoyable to read so far.

[Ana Ćuruvija · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤️‍🔥

[Joseph Sanchez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of action. Humorous dialogue. Pop-Culture references that include Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and Battle Royale. Kids will love the fifth book in the series The Last Kids on Earth. The hero Jack receives some upgrades. Dirk is weirdly connected to the zombies. A beloved character dies. Thrull returns. It is a fun read, and I guess we have to keep reading the series because we are hooked regardless if the story is good or not now. There will have to be a sixth book, although it is not out yet, because the last written words in the story were, "To be continued!"

[Dain · Rating 4 out of 5]

cant wait for the next

[kyla]

My little brother wanted me to read this. A super easy book and perfect for young readers.

[Jason LaRue]

It’s alright

[Blake Stephens]

The last kids on earth and the Midnight Blade, by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Holgate. The lexile of the book is 950 and a 5th-6th grade style book but suggested for kids that like games. The Last Kids on Earth series is about a boy named Jack Sullivan and his friends surviving a monster/zombie apocalypse that struck his town.
The main setting in The Last Kids on Earth is a city called Wakefield, in Jack and his friends tree house after a huge apocalypse happened and wiped out their town and they think they are the only ones left on earth. The story starts out with Jack and his friends finishing out the winter monster apocalypse. It was a very hard and miserable winter but they just managed to pull it off. They can’t rest yet though because spring was coming and it was going to bring loads of new and dangerous monsters. When Jack gets his Louisville Slicer back he discovers that the blade can do a lot more than just killing monsters and zombies. When spring came it was like the zombie population tripled and everything was out of control because the friends couldn't control all the zombies because it seemed like the more they got involved and tried to do stuff about the zombies it just made it worse. The friends made traps, new weapons, smoke bombs to make the zombies confused as the friends escaped if they were in trouble. All of Jack's friends had basically given up because of how long they spent trying to control the zombie situation, but Jack was determined to try everything he possibly could to stop this huge zombie outbreak. Jack took his Louisville Slicer out one day and started training and studying how the zombies react to what different things he would try and do. One zombie was in the way of a test he was doing with a trap and he waves his blade at it in a certain way and yells “Move zombie!” and then after the zombie just stopped what it was doing and just looked at Jack. “What is it doing?” Jack thought to himself’. After a little bit of time with the zombie just standing there Jack pointed with his blade and shouted “Leave!”, and just like that the zombie walked away in the direction that Jack had pointed with his Slicer. Jack then rushed back to the tree base and told his friends who were about ready to give up, what he had found out how to do, and they even did a few tests outside on other zombies and it turned great how lucky they got. The friends then lead as many as the zombies as possible out of town and they continue to if zombies cross the friends paths. I was wondering what would have happened if Jack didn’t get the Louisville Slicer back from the last story? Would Jack give up if he didn’t find what he could do while he was training? How bad would the zombies get if they couldn't control them? Would they eventually die if they didn't have the blade? Those are the main questions I ask myself after the book. The moral of the story being, don’t ever give up even if it seems impossible at the time if you keep working hard you can overcome almost anything. (Just like Jack did when finding out he could control the zombies)
I liked this book because the character and the series relates everything to a video game so I can pretty much relate. It was easy to read but that’s okay because reading isn’t very fun anyway. This is a series so it didn’t really end so I can’t say if the ending is good or not. My favorite part in the book was when after Jack told his friends about the blade and they did tests they just messed around with the zombies while leading them out of town, such as making them go to a strange spot and having one as a “pet” sort of thing for a while. This book reminds me of Zombies in Call of Duty just like the last few book in this series. This author tries to relate with kids with all the monsters and kid humor he puts into the book.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this book got me emotional. I cried for Dirk who was suffering, but I loved the loving way his friends were there for him. They never gave up. They were creative in the way they helped him express his thoughts and how to help him. They all show so much genuine care. The stakes are getting higher. The consequences bigger. But Jack is still his goofy self and I love it. I still love the eyeball lady monster Warg. Audiobook fantastic. So fantastic that you don’t even need the pictures. Though I still like to go back and look at them

SPOILERS and book notes:
They are going undercover dressed as zombies. Bc Ghazt the cosmic terror is back in giant rat form and can control zombies with the human Evie. Them walking as zombies lol: “I feel a hand on mine. I look down. “June, you’re holding my hand!” I whisper excitedly. “Not holding,” she says. “Squeezing.” “A love squeeze?” “NO! A hurt squeeze,” she growls through gritted teeth. “No more talking!” When the get to the layer, ghazt is just lazing on a thrown of cheese and the zombies are his servants. “These robed zombies aren’t just shambling about mindlessly,” I whisper. “They’re, like, doing stuff.” The code word for monster back up to come in was “jack it appears your plan has failed” haha. Jacks sword can do crazy cool things now! They cut off Ghazt tail and he can’t control zombies anymore! He and Evie fall under ground. Jacks Louisville slicer can control zombies now but he has to train to learn how to do it. But it burns his hand every time he does it. Jacks worst nightmare is to be outside of an inside joke of his friends. ITS SO TRUE. They created a real life shooter video game but with slime goo weapons through town to cheer up Dirk. Something is bothering him. It’s cool that Jack is able to hanger Dirk to open up with his feelings through this. Dirk is hearing static and voices in his head. The kraken like monster in last book at the garbage heap sacrificed a tentacle for Jack to wear as a glove to protect him from his burning sword. Thrawl and Evie are teaming up!! Thrawl will help retrieve Ghast tail that the kids stole that summons zombies so he can build a tower that summons the big hauncho. Thrawl kills burtle the nice monster!! NOOOOOOO. Burtles last words as he was dying to Jack were: it is your choice to be able to control the zombies. But it is a heavy burden!! But it is Jacks decision!! His CHOICE. Warg the eyeball lady was the only monster that cared and formed attachments. And she loved burtle. She cried. June and Quints parents are alive! And Dirk and Jack are so happy for them!! Dirk is connected to the zombies hive mentality commands! That’s why he hears things! So they can know what thrawl is up to for what the zombies are thinking! They get to thrawl (he has the rat tail fused with his hand) and Jack uses his tenticle glove to suck the zombie controlling power out of the tail! Then the power goes from his glove into the Louisville slicer turning it black!! Ha! now he can control zombies with it! The glove is now fused to his hand! Awww Quint makes Dirk a football helmet that blocks out the zombie voices so he can have peace and quiet. Aw! Thrawl can control a skeleton army! So it will be skeleton vs zombie!

[Octavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade” by Max Brallier provides a clear example of how friendship can help teenagers get through hardships, life-changing events, and make them stronger through moral support, as demonstrated by the help of the lighthearted humor throughout the book.

The four main characters, Jack, Dirk, Quint, and June, are close friends who met each other during the zombie apocalypse while trying to save one another. Currently, the group of four lives in a tree house located in Wakefield, with their monster partner, Bardle, and their monster dog, Rover. This group of friends helps out with every “MISSION OPERATION”, including Jack's new mysterious problem with his slugger that needs to be solved. With their young, incredible minds and the minimal modern technology they are provided with, they create wild, unimaginable devices that no one has ever heard of. Throughout the book, Jack’s best friends help him discover his new power, get over a tragic event, and all together help each other defeat their new biggest battle.

This novel is one of a kind, and personally, my favorite. It demonstrates courage, responsibility, friendship, and strength. There are plenty more positive things I could say, but we'd be here all day! The way the group of four gets along and works together just blows my mind and leaves me impressed, because even though their world is ending with different dimensions opened up in the sky, they all still stick together and help each other with whatever they get put up against. Jack and Dirk's bond grows stronger than ever in this book, demonstrating the depth of their trust in each other, “ ‘Dirk, I got an idea!’ I shout. ‘Remember in school, when we had to run laps? Follow me!’ We start sprinting circles around the perimeter of the half-pipe, and the Hairy Eyeball Monster follows”(127). Without hesitation, Dirk follows Jack as he leads the way to help the trapped monster, and that shows how much they truly trust each other. Brallier uses otomatapia, sarcasm, similes, metaphors, lighthearted humor, and imagery to show us how deeply connected the characters are to one another.

This novel is great for young teenagers trying to get into reading or just looking for a book to read that will still give them a comic book experience while also providing an educational lesson. I definitely recommend this novel if you are looking for a comic-type book but want to read something a little longer than a typical comic. It’s especially if you are into zombies or monsters.

[Caleb]

I have read the entire series and I have enjoyed them all the way through. I personally enjoy the midnight blade because of the comedy and action scenes. here is a little bit of a of insight on the midnight blade which is a baseball bat that holds a mystical power that jack the main character has and is trying to figure out and understand it so he can save the world with the help of his friends Dirk, Quint, and June from the villains named Rezzoch and Evie. Rezzoch is an evil conqueror and Max Brallier well represented this by the story of the friendly monsters that came from the world that was taken over by Rezzoch. Jack figures out about the great danger of Rezzoch when he is training with Bardle one the friendly monsters, Bardle uses some magic power to show jack the terror of what will happen if he gives up on training which has been planning on this so he can go hangout with his friends but he is flustered and confused by this which is perfect because if any kid was in this situation they would be confused and the book has a perfect example of this. Jack and his friends end up having to fight a so called friend named Thrull which turned out to be a villain working with Rezzoch and sadly Bardle was killed in the process this shows the drama and how nobody is safe in this situation and also this affects the characters in a sad way they all are heart broken of their beloved friend that has just passed away. Jack and his friends defeat Thrull in the ultimate battle to try to save earth in which they succeed. This book shows Drama, action, and very good storytelling and I personally recommend this series to kids as it is a true masterpiece to read.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took us a little longer to finish The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade than it has other TLKoE books because it's summer.

We've stayed up late watching movies and went on later afternoon adventures. Sometimes the kids are tired and wanted to go to bed.

Big themes continue in the Midnight Blade. Our heroes were defeated at the end of the Cosmic Beyond. They couldn't stop the coming of Ghazat or foil the plains of Evie Snark.

Learning that things don't always go how you want (or even need them to) is an important lesson for TLKoE's readers. Sometimes we do our best, and it's not good enough. That's okay. Life isn't about how many times you fail, it's about how many times you get up and try again.

And that's what Jack Sullivan and his pals do. They get up and try again.

The Midnight Blade brings even more upheaval to the kids' lives. An old foe returns, and a mentor dies. As with the Cosmic Beyond, our heroes aren't the same at the end of the Midnight Blade as they were at the beginning.

The evolution of the book's characters shows that Max Brailler is telling a real story, with repercussions -- just as his young readers experience in their lives. People change, and sometimes those changes aren't what we want. Sometimes our circumstances force us to change.

Sometimes the people we love die.

By having his characters evolve, Brailler allows TLKoE to be more than just a sitcom/serial for children. There's not a reset at the end of each book.

I love that my kids can follow along with TLKoE as they become more emotionally mature.

[Daniel Garcia]

The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier is a really good book. This book is about Jack after getting his power to move zombies. He trains to control them better with the help of his mentor, Bardle, while his friends try to find other ways to contact other people. One of his friends is in pain after being able to hear zombies after almost becoming one. The main bad guy comes back and is more powerful, and ends up killing Bardle. After his death, Jack goes to find him. After he does, he is able to control the zombies.

My favorite part is when his group of friends finds the main bad guy and sees how powerful he is after he recovered from their last fight. The writing style that Max Brallier uses, to me, is the mindset of a teen in an end-of-the-world type situation, which is really nice. A quote from the book that I like is: "Jack, the decision is now in your hands." This is what Bardle says before he dies. Jack repeats it in his head after this happened. The main bad guy found where they were, and they got into a big fight; Jack and his friends were knocked back by the main bad guy, leaving only him and Bardle. Bardle was hit with a powerful hammer and slammed into a car. Jack went to his side before he died, where Bardle told him those words.

After Bardle dies and tells Jack, "The decision is now in your hands," those words are the only thing that he thinks about for a while. Some people, I think, who would like this book are my little brother and my friend, Alex, because my little brother loves zombie books and Alex likes action books

[Benjamin]

How? Another book read before bedtime.

What? SPOILERS.

In the last book, Jack got his Louisville Slicer imbued with some zombie controlling energy. Here he tries to learn how to use it. Luckily, the big bad from the last book turns out to be a big sad (mostly interested in using his power to control the zombies to get him nachos, not build the Tower that will summon interdimensional horror). Unluckily, the big bad from book, uh, 2, is back, and eventually kills one of the monsters who have been helping Jack. Also, the kid who got saved from being turned into a zombie is suffering weird zombie thoughts, which might be a good kid-level discussion of PTSD.

Yeah, so? There's one little fumble in the middle fight: monsters, we are told, don't have feelings like humans, but the evil guy from book 2 hesitates to kill another monster, and they have a little back-and-forth that shows some of their history. Just seems like a little inconsistency. BUT then we learn that the monster who used to be an exile was so because she had feelings for the monsters and would grieve when they died.

Anyway, the kids win but the fight is set up for the next book! I still like these books, but I've got maybe 5 more from the library, and I'm starting to look around for something else.

[Sophi ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meu segundo livro favorito no que eu chamo de segundo arco, onde os acontecimentos e aventuras começam a ficar mais sérios e perigosos, dobrando as chances de morte por parte dos protagonistas e personagens secundários.
Aqui, nós acompanhamos o quarteto tentando descobrir os próximos passos de Evie e temos um aprofundamento entre a relação entre Jack e Bardou (um mago poderoso que fica mais presente tanto na série animada quanto nos livros) que parece mais uma relação entre pai e filho, pois Jack meio que o trata como um pai. O Fatiador estava estranho após a batalha no cinema ABC (que Quint conseguiu fechar, mas essa é uma longa e engraçada história) para impedir de Ghazt tomar o corpo de Dirk; o taco parecia quente e descobrimos que entrou energia cósmica e Jack precisava achar uma solução para que sua mão parasse de queimar (e achou, mas foi a partir de um sacrifício de um monstro do mar). E também observamos o Dirk, que está estranho após ser quase zumbificado.
Não vou falar tanto sobre esse livro porque tem spoilers fortíssimos sobre os próximos passos, a volta de um velho vilão, a morte de um amigo e decisões que impactarão em suas próximas aventuras.

[Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very enjoyable. I really liked the story and all of the other books in the series. I felt it was well thought out and has a clear story line and a good plot. I did feel like the few pictures that are in the book the artist is not very consistent. I also think that its sort of plagiarized were hero after epic battle suddenly develops OP ability gained from wounds of the enemy. But the characters are all fun and lovable and very entertaining to read about.
The plot is that after the battle with Ghazt the general Jack has the ability to control zombies but Ghazt has more power and is amassing a massive army to construct a portal to summon Rezoch the Ancient a horrible entity who wants to destroy the world. But they stop him and stuff happens that would be a spoiler if I were to share it. They have lots of fun characters monsters and humans. they work together to stop Rezoch while fighting bad monsters all the time. But its a funny book because its the View of a semi weird middle schooler. I would recommend this book to my friends.