Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Ballantine Books (1989), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 616 pages
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. Thriller. HTML: Hailed "an extraordinary novel of men at war" (Washington Post), The Last Ship is the book that inspired the TNT miniseries starring Eric Dane, Rhona Mitra, and Adam Baldwin, with Michael Bay as executive producer. The unimaginable has happened: the world has been plunged into all-out nuclear war. Sailing near the Arctic Circle, the USS Nathan James is relatively unscathed, but the future is grim and Captain Thomas is facing mutiny from the tattered remnants of his crew. With civilization in ruins, he urges those that remain�??152 men and 26 women�??to pull together in search of land. Once they reach safety, however, the men and women on board realize that they are the earth's last remaining survivors�??and they've all been exposed to radiation. When none of the women seems able to conceive, fear sets in. Will this be the end of humankind?This thrilling tale of postapocalyptic suspense is perfect for readers of Going Home by A. American, Lights Out by David Crawford, The End and The Long Road by G. Michael Hopf, and One Second After by William Forstc… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Prop2gether
Although Brinkley's writing style is formal (and positively terrifying in its convolutions and uncommon verbiage), the story is fascinating. Set just after woman were allowed aboard Navy cruisers and an end-of-the-world event, it is an interesting comparison to the television series based on it. In
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the show, women are so integrated into the crew that gender is rarely an issue, while in the novel, it is a major, major issue. Having a plague to deal with rather than the novel's nuclear fallout changes the dynamics as well. That said, the novel was fun--but warning! It is a long, long read to the last line. Show Less
LibraryThing member coachtim30
Unlike some who have dissed this book, I wasn't turned off by author William Brinkley's extensive vocabulary in "The Last Ship". For me, the turnoff was the long, overblown scenes which could have been explained or drawn in far fewer pages. By the time I was 100 pages into the book, I found myself
There were plenty of Navy characters introduced throughout the novel, but very few of them were developed to the point where the reader got to know much about them or their backstory. The lead (and totally dominate) character throughout the book was Captain Thomas (last name never revealed) who took the reader on a long first-person apocalyptic journey in the aftermath of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
I did get the book years before the television show, The Last Ship, hit the airwaves a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. Because I liked the show so much, I thought maybe this was the time to read the novel that it was (supposedly) based on. Well, the show centers around a Navy Destroyer called the Nathan James and has a captain named Thomas, but that's about as closely connected as it gets to the book. (Spoiler alert: The show is much better!)
Actually, the book picks up a little steam (no pun intended) after the Nathan James meets up with the Russian sub, Pushkin. The final 125 pages or so of the book are quite good (if the reader can make it that far) with a couple of excellent plot twists.
Recommended for those who want to learn a lot of new vocabulary words and serious sailors only.
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skimming - which I absolutely hate to do to a book. There were plenty of Navy characters introduced throughout the novel, but very few of them were developed to the point where the reader got to know much about them or their backstory. The lead (and totally dominate) character throughout the book was Captain Thomas (last name never revealed) who took the reader on a long first-person apocalyptic journey in the aftermath of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
I did get the book years before the television show, The Last Ship, hit the airwaves a few years ago, but never got around to reading it. Because I liked the show so much, I thought maybe this was the time to read the novel that it was (supposedly) based on. Well, the show centers around a Navy Destroyer called the Nathan James and has a captain named Thomas, but that's about as closely connected as it gets to the book. (Spoiler alert: The show is much better!)
Actually, the book picks up a little steam (no pun intended) after the Nathan James meets up with the Russian sub, Pushkin. The final 125 pages or so of the book are quite good (if the reader can make it that far) with a couple of excellent plot twists.
Recommended for those who want to learn a lot of new vocabulary words and serious sailors only.
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LibraryThing member Sturgeon
A riveting story of a US Navy warship and her crew who have survived WW-III
LibraryThing member Dottiehaase
recommended by Bob Haase. 616 pages!!! author uses too many adjetives to describe everything! needs an editor. Skipped to the middle of the book and it got exciting. Navy sailors are aboard the last ship because of a nuclear explosion that has leveled the world. They find the ideal island. The few
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women agree to have a house for each of them, while the men rotate through the woman, to see if the mating will result in children. Another Russian ship is found and they agree to live peacefully together and to share. The Russian ship starts out with those who select this ship and want to see if there is life anywhere. It blows us accidently when it fires off it rockets. Then the last remaining ship sets off. Finds an artic station and lots of food. The girls on the ship after mating with the Russian men who were on a submarine and spared the nuclear radiation effects get pregnant. The ship goes on to find if there is life anywhere. Show Less
LibraryThing member jerry-book
On the Beach by Shute was a much better treatment of this theme. Here we have a nuclear end of the world with the survivors being an American Destroyer and a Russian sub. They search for Eden and find it in the South Pacific and then it is blown up for inane reasons.
LibraryThing member Foghorn-Leghorn
The Last Ship was a great book of the post-apocalypse.
LibraryThing member bcrowl399
I love this book. I couldn't understand how they could make a TV show from it. I never watched it because I felt it would damage my feeling about the book.
LibraryThing member melsbks
Mixed feelings. Very wordy, hard to wade through Lots of Navy regulations. Weather descriptions. Could have been edited down. Some questionable motives. Never explained how the last ship survived. Someone miss? Not get their rockets off? that part was never explained. While I can say I like it, I
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think I will be remembering it and how it played out for some time. Show Less
LibraryThing member trek520
Great read. Easy pace as the story builds. Could happen is a crazy world like ours.
LibraryThing member buffalogr
Speech patterns akin to Brit college professor vice gritty sailor. Could have been edited down. extensive vocabulary learned a new word every day the story is fascinating. I loved the plot and persevered to the end in spite of the authors writing style.
Original publication date
1988
ISBN
0345359828 / 9780345359827