Overall, I really enjoyed The Last Century. As I’m sure you could tell from the blurb, it’s set on a future Earth that’s very different from the world today. I loved the amount of detail Filo put into developing and explaining all the different aspects of that world.
Honestly, the pacing of the book was slow and the plot dragged in places, but because most of those instances were where Filo explained important contextual things and other important facts, I can forgive that. There were a lot of themes and ideas woven into the plot, and the slower, more drawn-out pacing was necessary to properly incorporate those. So, even though I usually prefer more fast-paced plots when it comes to this genre, The Last Century gets a pass.
And, honestly, the plot is pretty complicated and has a lot of different elements in play. Even though Filo spends a lot of time on details and facts, that doesn’t mean the quality of the plot is negatively affected. A slow plot can still be a good plot, and that’s certainly the case here.
Additionally, I loved the characters in this book. They were all interesting, and it was great that Filo included so many different perspectives; it meant that I was able to get a fuller, more fleshed-out picture of the events happening in the story.
But my favorite thing about the characters was probably how Filo characterized them; he showed how a lot of their characterizations and traits were due to their experiences. There were both characters who’d grown up knowing only hard times and characters who could remember better times, and Filo did an amazing job showing how that impacted them.
All in all, The Last Century is a very well-written story that does an excellent job of blending important themes into fiction. I definitely enjoyed it, and I recommend reading it since there’s a good chance that you will, too. Plus, it has an extra layer of depth that really makes it a worthwhile read.