The Last Policeman

[Paul in Qatar]

I am in a happy place, I am halfway through a good science fiction book. You see, my wife has a Nook from Barnes and Noble so I read about half of Ben Winter's book The Last Policeman for free when I was in the US. Now I am unwilling to buy the thing on my Kindle here in Saudi Arabia. Instead I am contemplating the world Mr. Winters has conjured up.

The book follows a young man who has been promoted to police detective. A lot of young people have been promoted as the older folks have run off or killed themselves. You see a huge comet (asteroid, whatever) is going to smite Earth in about six months.

Winters makes only passing reference to how the government has reacted. The Constitution has been more or less suspended. I suspect there are programs to preserved mankind and to shoot the fool thing down.

Instead we see how society has reacted;
The stock market tanked huge businesses have collapsed.
World trade has slowed. Who wants to pump oil when they only have 180 more days?
People tend to do what they want, money is not so much of a motivation.
Murder, suicide and sexual crimes are all up, so is police brutality.

What do you think would happen if we all knew we were going to die?


I love this, a neat little scenario with no way for me to see how the author ran with it. Great fun!

[Erdosain]

Well, I can tell you how the book ends (I just finished it).

One thing that kind of bothered me about the author's worldbuilding: I assume that scientists would have modeled the results of this asteroid strike pretty thoroughly. Yet the characters seem to not have much idea of whether the sun will be completely blocked out or what. It seems kind of important to know what chance of post-impact survival people have.

[AuntiePam]

It is a neat little scenario. Many people face their own mortality every day, but we never face it all at once. (Well, we haven't for a long time. The Cuban missile crisis wasn't that long ago though.)

I was surprised that things were running so smoothly, but it seemed realistic. My impression was that the general population didn't know much except the date and the location of the strike. There was a sense of helplessness, or maybe it was acceptance. It reminded me a bit of On the Beach, at least until the end. Spoiler for the ending:

SPOILER:

The story isn't over. There will be a sequel.

I couldn't get a handle on inflation. Didn't the cop shell out $1000 for a cup of coffee, or some astronomical amount? But he had money to pay for the coffee, so money wasn't a problem, at least for him.

[Paul in Qatar]

The author is signed up for three books in this universe.

[AuntiePam]

Three? ::sigh:: If I'd known the story wasn't going to be finished in one, I probably wouldn't have bought the book. The initial concept was appealing, but I don't like where it went, the conspiracy stuff.

[obfusciatrist]

For those familiar with both, how does it compare/contrast with the movie Seeking a Friend for the End of the World?

[Erdosain]

Originally Posted by AuntiePam

Three? ::sigh:: If I'd known the story wasn't going to be finished in one, I probably wouldn't have bought the book. The initial concept was appealing, but I don't like where it went, the conspiracy stuff.

I don't mind that there are three; it's not like he didn't wrap up the murder mystery. But like you I felt the conspiracy undercurrent (or story arc) was the weakest part of the book and seriously underdeveloped. As I got closer and closer to the end of the book, I was scratching my head as to where the sister storyline disappeared to.

I loved the premise, but the whodunit was a little weak, and the other storyline was very weak. Despite this, I'd still check out the next one from the library. I wouldn't put it on hold, though.