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Secret Service agent Ethan Burke arrived in Wayward Pines, Idaho, three weeks ago. In this town, people are told who to marry, where to live, where to work. Their children are taught that David Pilcher, the town's creator, is god. No one is allowed to leave; even asking questions can get them killed. But Ethan has discovered the astonishing secret of what lies beyond the electrified fence that surrounds Wayward Pines and protects it from the terrifying world beyond.Tags
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The Last Town is the final book in The Wayward Pines trilogy. While the first two have more of a suspense/thriller feel, this one leans heavily into post-apocalyptic horror. In place of the unexpected twists, we have a lot of terror and bloodshed. The action is nonstop, leaving no room to take a breath.
Underlying all the madness is the issue of true democracy. Do we have the right to choose our individual fate or should a select few decide what information we're given based on what is best for humanity? Crouch handles this well, showing us how easily power corrupts even the most well-intentioned among us.
This is a quick read, though not a light read. I felt the heavy weight of misery throughout, searching for, along with the show more characters, a glimpse of hope within the chaos. Crouch has the ability to place us right in the story, which is what I love about his writing. But his skill also left me feeling bleak. After reading the last words, I craved something light and happy to lift me out of Wayward Pines. Crouch did his job superbly in that respect, though I'd caution readers not to pick this up if you're feeling depressed.
I'm ambivalent about the ending. I don't want to say why, because I don't want to give even the hint of a spoiler. While I understand what Crouch went for, I'm just not sure I buy into it. Still, this is a thought-provoking, thriller ride of a series. I'm looking forward to seeing if the TV miniseries lives up to Crouch's writing.
This series should be read in order, from start to finish, in order to enjoy the full impact. Crouch does a good job of filling in some of the back story, but I'm not sure this would work well as or is intended to be a stand-alone read.
* I was given a free, advanced copy for my unbiased review. * show less
Underlying all the madness is the issue of true democracy. Do we have the right to choose our individual fate or should a select few decide what information we're given based on what is best for humanity? Crouch handles this well, showing us how easily power corrupts even the most well-intentioned among us.
This is a quick read, though not a light read. I felt the heavy weight of misery throughout, searching for, along with the show more characters, a glimpse of hope within the chaos. Crouch has the ability to place us right in the story, which is what I love about his writing. But his skill also left me feeling bleak. After reading the last words, I craved something light and happy to lift me out of Wayward Pines. Crouch did his job superbly in that respect, though I'd caution readers not to pick this up if you're feeling depressed.
I'm ambivalent about the ending. I don't want to say why, because I don't want to give even the hint of a spoiler. While I understand what Crouch went for, I'm just not sure I buy into it. Still, this is a thought-provoking, thriller ride of a series. I'm looking forward to seeing if the TV miniseries lives up to Crouch's writing.
This series should be read in order, from start to finish, in order to enjoy the full impact. Crouch does a good job of filling in some of the back story, but I'm not sure this would work well as or is intended to be a stand-alone read.
* I was given a free, advanced copy for my unbiased review. * show less
If you were promised a place in an idyllic small town, but you had a rigid set of rules and little personal autonomy, would you take it? If you knew end of the world was coming and you were guaranteed to survive, but you had to give up your freedom, would you be okay with that? "The Last Town" explores these issues and is a fitting conclusion to the Wayward Pines trilogy. How much value to you place on freedom and autonomy and how much would you give for guaranteed survival. Can we live and be happy without room for personal growth, knowing that growth often comes through conflict. Crouch's series is an imaginative exploration of a post-apocalyptic world in which humans are no longer the dominate species. The series is part mystery, show more part action/adventure, and part sci-fi. It's characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing as he deals with issues of power and authority, survival and freedom, and stagnation and personal growth. His vision of the future and the way the plot develops keeps you reading and the pages turn quickly as you strive to find out what happens next. I have not been disappointed with any of his books to date and this one certainly lives up to expectations and beyond. show less
Warning: This review makes reference to the first two books in the Wayward Pines series, so if you haven’t read them yet, do two things. First: READ THEM! Second, either read the third one or come back and read this review.
The Last Town is the concluding volume in the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch. Each of the books is a nicely self-contained arc in the trilogy. The first book, Pines, drops Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke into the middle of a seemingly idyllic town in the Pacific Northwest. His memory foggy, he finds the actions of the townspeople, and sometimes their very existence, incongruous. His refusal to conform leads to him running for his life and eventually uncovering the mystery.
The second book, Wayward, has Burke show more agree to keep the secret about Wayward Pines and assume the role of sheriff. While struggling with his own duplicitousness in concealing the truth from the townspeople, he is asked to investigate a murder and to ferret out those unwilling to abide by the towns’ strict rules. When Burke decides to reveal to everyone the truth behind Wayward Pines, the towns mysterious benefactor decides to turn off the electric fence that is the only thing protecting the town from deadly creatures outside.
The Last Town picks up immediately after the events concluding in the previous book. Each book is terrifically paced, but The Last Town may be the fastest paced of them all. Ethan must organize the townspeople as best he can to escape the slaughter that is headed straight for them. He also must expose the corrupt David Pilcher who conceived of and constructed the town and has demonstrated that he will stop at nothing to protect or destroy his vision.
The characters in this book and series are terrific. Ethan Burke is a hero with enough faults and internal conflicts to keep you guessing what he might do. Pilcher is a true megalomaniacal genius that leaves you wondering if he can be defeated or will he self-destruct. The other supporting characters are equally well-drawn with just enough depth to keep them real. The mystery of the town and the behavior of everyone living there is riveting. Unraveling the mystery leads to both surprise and terror.
This is a popcorn thriller with a sci-fi touch and a lot of fun. I was surprised by the ending of each book and the series as a whole, even though I had plenty of guesses about what was going on all along the way. The breakneck pace keeps you moving the entire time and draws you deeper and deeper into the story. The ending is very satisfying. Do yourself a favor and pick up these books. Highly recommended.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book (The final book only). show less
The Last Town is the concluding volume in the Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch. Each of the books is a nicely self-contained arc in the trilogy. The first book, Pines, drops Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke into the middle of a seemingly idyllic town in the Pacific Northwest. His memory foggy, he finds the actions of the townspeople, and sometimes their very existence, incongruous. His refusal to conform leads to him running for his life and eventually uncovering the mystery.
The second book, Wayward, has Burke show more agree to keep the secret about Wayward Pines and assume the role of sheriff. While struggling with his own duplicitousness in concealing the truth from the townspeople, he is asked to investigate a murder and to ferret out those unwilling to abide by the towns’ strict rules. When Burke decides to reveal to everyone the truth behind Wayward Pines, the towns mysterious benefactor decides to turn off the electric fence that is the only thing protecting the town from deadly creatures outside.
The Last Town picks up immediately after the events concluding in the previous book. Each book is terrifically paced, but The Last Town may be the fastest paced of them all. Ethan must organize the townspeople as best he can to escape the slaughter that is headed straight for them. He also must expose the corrupt David Pilcher who conceived of and constructed the town and has demonstrated that he will stop at nothing to protect or destroy his vision.
The characters in this book and series are terrific. Ethan Burke is a hero with enough faults and internal conflicts to keep you guessing what he might do. Pilcher is a true megalomaniacal genius that leaves you wondering if he can be defeated or will he self-destruct. The other supporting characters are equally well-drawn with just enough depth to keep them real. The mystery of the town and the behavior of everyone living there is riveting. Unraveling the mystery leads to both surprise and terror.
This is a popcorn thriller with a sci-fi touch and a lot of fun. I was surprised by the ending of each book and the series as a whole, even though I had plenty of guesses about what was going on all along the way. The breakneck pace keeps you moving the entire time and draws you deeper and deeper into the story. The ending is very satisfying. Do yourself a favor and pick up these books. Highly recommended.
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book (The final book only). show less
This really swings back and forth between 3.75 and 4 stars for me.
No real spoilers here unless you haven't read the other two books in the trilogy, in which case you really shouldn't be reading reviews (any reviews) of this one.
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Surprisingly, I liked the ending. I even liked the epilogue---I never like epilogues. But, I have questions.
What happened to the solitaire-playing lady and the abbie? Maybe I missed it. I really thought we were going to go somewhere with that--maybe connect it back to Margaret. That was a welcome respite to the relentless violence. I would have rather than have been developed than the saccharine conversation between Ethan and Ben about an idealized future where they'd like to teach the world show more to sing in perfect harmony.
The first quarter of the book was rough --- much like the endless fugitive scene in the first book (or was it the second?) this one spent way too long with the gory details--and they are truly that, gory.
Teresa gets to join Mae Holland (Dave Eggers's The Circle) in my winner's circle of obnoxious protagonists. The only time I liked her in this book was when she found the chutzpah to tell Ethan the truth and then told him to shut it when he started going all entitled macho man on her. But absolutely cringeworthy was the discussion with Hassler in the jail cell with Ben sitting right there. Have some self-respect, people. I guess maybe some people find that language romantic (Teresa's note, that we learned of in the previous book), but I don't (it isn't that I find it offensive...just doesn't make me feel a strong bond of love between two people...not sure what I was supposed to feel). Also, big UGH on her reasons for staying with Ethan.
I rather loved Kate and Hassler meeting up on the cliff, even if it did feel a bit cliché. David Pilcher's god-complex wore me down a bit, but I have to say that Max Meyers created such a picture in my mind--fantastic voicing.
This was a fun series -- it doesn't have the depth and sophistication of Dark Matter, Recursion, or Upgrade (admittedly, I didn't love the latter)--but it has a pretty good sense of beginning, middle, and end and enough moving parts to hold interest when the story gets too wrapped up in being an action movie. show less
No real spoilers here unless you haven't read the other two books in the trilogy, in which case you really shouldn't be reading reviews (any reviews) of this one.
--------------------
Surprisingly, I liked the ending. I even liked the epilogue---I never like epilogues. But, I have questions.
What happened to the solitaire-playing lady and the abbie? Maybe I missed it. I really thought we were going to go somewhere with that--maybe connect it back to Margaret. That was a welcome respite to the relentless violence. I would have rather than have been developed than the saccharine conversation between Ethan and Ben about an idealized future where they'd like to teach the world show more to sing in perfect harmony.
The first quarter of the book was rough --- much like the endless fugitive scene in the first book (or was it the second?) this one spent way too long with the gory details--and they are truly that, gory.
Teresa gets to join Mae Holland (Dave Eggers's The Circle) in my winner's circle of obnoxious protagonists. The only time I liked her in this book was when she found the chutzpah to tell Ethan the truth and then told him to shut it when he started going all entitled macho man on her. But absolutely cringeworthy was the discussion with Hassler in the jail cell with Ben sitting right there. Have some self-respect, people. I guess maybe some people find that language romantic (Teresa's note, that we learned of in the previous book), but I don't (it isn't that I find it offensive...just doesn't make me feel a strong bond of love between two people...not sure what I was supposed to feel). Also, big UGH on her reasons for staying with Ethan.
I rather loved Kate and Hassler meeting up on the cliff, even if it did feel a bit cliché. David Pilcher's god-complex wore me down a bit, but I have to say that Max Meyers created such a picture in my mind--fantastic voicing.
This was a fun series -- it doesn't have the depth and sophistication of Dark Matter, Recursion, or Upgrade (admittedly, I didn't love the latter)--but it has a pretty good sense of beginning, middle, and end and enough moving parts to hold interest when the story gets too wrapped up in being an action movie. show less
You'll think you know how the story will end. You'll be wrong. Another great thriller from Blake Crouch.
The Last Town is the third in the series about the mysterious town of Wayward Pines, Idaho – population 461. I started the Advanced Reader’s Copy of the Kindle version and quickly decided I’d better go back and read the first two books in the series (Pines and Wayward). Do yourself a favor and do the same. While you can catch the general drift without the earlier books, you’ll enjoy The Last Town much more if you know the back story with its twists and turns.
The residents of Wayward Pines came voluntarily – some on vacation, others on business. They did not stay voluntarily. “It was a place you couldn’t leave – a place show more where you’d be killed for even trying.”
People can remember their lives before this strange little town. But they can’t talk about them. Their conversations are monitored. Their homes are bugged. “The cameras were in every room in every home. In every business. In bushes. Hidden in streetlamps. They triggered off the microchips embedded in every resident of Wayward Pines…”
That did not, however, stop the attempts to communicate their questions, their fears. “It’s amazing how well you can come to know a person through eye contact. Through subtle glances.” Nor did it stop the decision most eventually reached that they “would rather die today than live in that sick illusion of a town for one more hour.”
At the end of the second book, Wayward, Ethan Burke, the town sheriff, told them the truth about their little town. It was really the year 3827. They had been kidnapped and put into suspended animation as part of a plan created by David Pilcher, a 21st century scientist. He foresaw the end of mankind within 20 or so generations because of genetic mutations caused by man’s abuse of the environment. Pilcher created the plan to hide away several hundred people who would, in his vision, become the future of the human race 1800 years hence.
The world as we know it in the 21st century had disappeared. Now the residents of this mountain hamlet are trying to adjust to their disbelief and shock after learning the truth. Wayward Pines really was the last town. Mankind, or what was left of it outside the fences of Wayward Pines, had degenerated into a race of monsters.
While you might consider the genre to be horror, it’s not – quite. But it does get your heart thumping at times and it is certainly riveting. I finished it in a day.
Pilcher, the now mad scientist, believes he is God.
Couch uses Sheriff Burke’s wife, Theresa, as counterpoint to the scientist.
Burke’s final thoughts give pause as we consider life, it’s meaning and the resilience of mankind.
What of the future? “To some extent, it doesn’t matter. Because the residents of Wayward Pines will face it together. No secrets. No lies. No kings.”
Horror? Or philosophy? A thriller? Or a discussion of freedom and whether government should protect the people from themselves? No matter why you read The Last Town, it’s a good read. Crouch tells a great story. show less
The Last Town is the third in the series about the mysterious town of Wayward Pines, Idaho – population 461. I started the Advanced Reader’s Copy of the Kindle version and quickly decided I’d better go back and read the first two books in the series (Pines and Wayward). Do yourself a favor and do the same. While you can catch the general drift without the earlier books, you’ll enjoy The Last Town much more if you know the back story with its twists and turns.
The residents of Wayward Pines came voluntarily – some on vacation, others on business. They did not stay voluntarily. “It was a place you couldn’t leave – a place show more where you’d be killed for even trying.”
People can remember their lives before this strange little town. But they can’t talk about them. Their conversations are monitored. Their homes are bugged. “The cameras were in every room in every home. In every business. In bushes. Hidden in streetlamps. They triggered off the microchips embedded in every resident of Wayward Pines…”
That did not, however, stop the attempts to communicate their questions, their fears. “It’s amazing how well you can come to know a person through eye contact. Through subtle glances.” Nor did it stop the decision most eventually reached that they “would rather die today than live in that sick illusion of a town for one more hour.”
At the end of the second book, Wayward, Ethan Burke, the town sheriff, told them the truth about their little town. It was really the year 3827. They had been kidnapped and put into suspended animation as part of a plan created by David Pilcher, a 21st century scientist. He foresaw the end of mankind within 20 or so generations because of genetic mutations caused by man’s abuse of the environment. Pilcher created the plan to hide away several hundred people who would, in his vision, become the future of the human race 1800 years hence.
The world as we know it in the 21st century had disappeared. Now the residents of this mountain hamlet are trying to adjust to their disbelief and shock after learning the truth. Wayward Pines really was the last town. Mankind, or what was left of it outside the fences of Wayward Pines, had degenerated into a race of monsters.
“But strangely enough, it isn’t the monster’s horrific qualities that so unnerve him."
“Shining through the five-taloned claws, the rows of razor teeth, and the devastating physical strength is its humanness. These things have so clearly evolved from us, and now the world is theirs.”
“Nothing that could be explained or described, because you didn’t just hear [their screams]. You felt its meaning. And its meaning was this: hell is coming.”
“How do you make sense of people running down the middle of a street that could’ve been the cover of a Saturday Evening Post, chased by a horde of monsters, pale while, translucent in the night, some sprinting upright, others moving on all fours with a bounding gait like wolves.”
“Were people dying?” Maggie asked?
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“I imagine all of them eventually.”
While you might consider the genre to be horror, it’s not – quite. But it does get your heart thumping at times and it is certainly riveting. I finished it in a day.
Pilcher, the now mad scientist, believes he is God.
“In the world we came from, our existence was so easy. And so full of discontent because it was so easy. How do you find meaning when you’re one of seven billion? When food, clothing, everything you need is just one Walmart away? When we numb our minds to sleep on all manner of screens and HD entertainment, the meaning of life, of our existence and purpose, becomes lost.”
“The people I bring out of suspension to populate my town won’t have Facebook or iPhones, Twitter, next-day delivery. They’ll interact like our species used to. Face to face. And they’ll live knowing they’re the last of humanity, that outside our fence are a billion monsters that want to devour them. With that knowledge, they’ll abide in a full understanding that in the face of these enormous stakes, their lives have taken on incomprehensible worth. And isn’t that all we want in the end? To feel useful? Of value?”
“I know you believe in your heart it’s about giving people truth and freedom, but the truth, Ethan, is there is nothing in this world like power. The power to kill. The power to spare.” He waved at the screens. “To control lives. To make them better. Or worse. If there ever was a God I think I know how he must have felt. People demanding answers they could never handle. People hating him even as they basked in the safety he provided. I think I finally understand why God went away and left the world to destroy itself.”
"Without me, this would be a world free of our species. We’re here because of me and me alone. My money. My brilliance. My vision. I gave them everything.”
Couch uses Sheriff Burke’s wife, Theresa, as counterpoint to the scientist.
“If we stay in this valley,” he said, “we all die in a matter of years. There’s not even a question. So why put it to a vote?”
“You let the people decide.”
“What if – ”
“You let the people decide.”
“People get it wrong.”
“That’s true, but you have to figure out what kind of a leader you’re going to be.”
“I know what the right decision is, Theresa.”
“So sell your idea to them.”
“It’s a hard sell. It’s risky. And what happens if they make the wrong choice? Even you’re on the fence.”
“It’s our wrong choice to make, honey. If you’re willing to force this on people, then what was the point of ever telling them the truth about Wayward Pines?”
“[Pilcher] didn’t trust his people to make the right choices,” Theresa said, “because he was afraid. But you don’t have to be, Ethan. If you do what you know in your heart is right, if you give people the freedom to choose their own fate, their own destiny—”
“We could starve to death in this valley.”
“That true. But you won’t have compromised your integrity. That’s the only thing you really have to fear.”
Burke’s final thoughts give pause as we consider life, it’s meaning and the resilience of mankind.
“The world is cruel. The world is hard, and in this valley, we lived at the mercy of the [monsters]. We lived like prisoners, and it went against every fiber of our being. Humanity is meant to explore, we’re meant to conquer, to roam. It’s in our DNA, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
What of the future? “To some extent, it doesn’t matter. Because the residents of Wayward Pines will face it together. No secrets. No lies. No kings.”
Horror? Or philosophy? A thriller? Or a discussion of freedom and whether government should protect the people from themselves? No matter why you read The Last Town, it’s a good read. Crouch tells a great story. show less
This is a review for the Pines trilogy:
#1 Pines
#2 Wayward
#3 The Last Town
I had no idea what I was getting into on starting the first book. I honestly thought it was a horror story but it soon morphed into something else entirely. It has all the right ingredients to reel you in and hold you there. Once started I could not stop and I'm glad I didn't. I consumed all three books back to back and loved every minute of them. I will not give spoilers but I would describe my journey into it like this:
I started with a detective story which turned into the X-Files which then turned into The Road which then did turn into a horror story and visited Dystopia on the way. If that sounds convoluted then let me also say that the transitions are show more seamless and so skillfully done that you hardly see the ountryside change as you look out the window.
Technically: brilliant charactersation, all the main chharacters are 3D and the peripherals 2D so you dont waste time reading unrelated story lines. Believable world building and the reality/technology transitions well managed.
If what you are currently reading is not a 5 star then dump it to read this trilogy. show less
#1 Pines
#2 Wayward
#3 The Last Town
I had no idea what I was getting into on starting the first book. I honestly thought it was a horror story but it soon morphed into something else entirely. It has all the right ingredients to reel you in and hold you there. Once started I could not stop and I'm glad I didn't. I consumed all three books back to back and loved every minute of them. I will not give spoilers but I would describe my journey into it like this:
I started with a detective story which turned into the X-Files which then turned into The Road which then did turn into a horror story and visited Dystopia on the way. If that sounds convoluted then let me also say that the transitions are show more seamless and so skillfully done that you hardly see the ountryside change as you look out the window.
Technically: brilliant charactersation, all the main chharacters are 3D and the peripherals 2D so you dont waste time reading unrelated story lines. Believable world building and the reality/technology transitions well managed.
If what you are currently reading is not a 5 star then dump it to read this trilogy. show less
So, in my review for the second book in this series, I said
"Oh...wait...no, this isn't the Hunger Games, this is Wayward Pines.
Does that mean that I can't predict that the third and final book will be about Ethan leading the charge against the evil ruling class and ultimately triumphing with the help of a person who was once a friend but who was turned by the leaders and then found a way to redeem himself?"
Pretty much nailed it.
Really, I became bored with this series as soon as the main mystery was solved at the end of the first book. The second book was just a drag. I can say that this final book in the series zipped along because it was virtually non-stop action (until it wasn't at the end, and turned into a soppy show more love-quadrangle).
It's just that...well, this book held no surprises. The people coming back drove the plot exactly as I thought they would. The people who died were pretty much exactly who I predicted would die. The overall story was as I thought. The ticking clock was what I'd guessed. And the ending was too.
I'm not that smart. I'm not patting myself on the back. It's just that this is predictable, don't-have-to-think-that-hard writing, and that both bores me and pisses me off.
Glad I'm done with it. show less
"Oh...wait...no, this isn't the Hunger Games, this is Wayward Pines.
Does that mean that I can't predict that the third and final book will be about Ethan leading the charge against the evil ruling class and ultimately triumphing with the help of a person who was once a friend but who was turned by the leaders and then found a way to redeem himself?"
Pretty much nailed it.
Really, I became bored with this series as soon as the main mystery was solved at the end of the first book. The second book was just a drag. I can say that this final book in the series zipped along because it was virtually non-stop action (until it wasn't at the end, and turned into a soppy show more love-quadrangle).
It's just that...well, this book held no surprises. The people coming back drove the plot exactly as I thought they would. The people who died were pretty much exactly who I predicted would die. The overall story was as I thought. The ticking clock was what I'd guessed. And the ending was too.
I'm not that smart. I'm not patting myself on the back. It's just that this is predictable, don't-have-to-think-that-hard writing, and that both bores me and pisses me off.
Glad I'm done with it. show less
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Author Information
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Blake Crouch is a bestselling novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novel, Dark Matter, for which he is writing the screenplay for Sony Pictures. His bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy was adapted into a television series for FOX in 2015. With Chad Hodge, Crouch also created Good Behavior, the TNT television show starring Michelle show more Dockery based on his Letty Dobesh novellas. He has written more than a dozen novels that have been translated into over thirty languages and his short fiction has appeared in several publications including Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Last Town
- Original title
- The Last Town
- People/Characters
- Ethan Burke; David Pilcher; Theresa Burke; Ben Burke; Adam Hassler
- Important places*
- Wayward Pines, Idaho, USA
- Related movies
- Wayward Pines (2015 | IMDb)
- Quotations
- Fear suddenly wore him like a glove.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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