Paperback, 288 pages
English language
Published July 10, 2012 by Quirk Books.
The Last Policeman is a 2012 American science fiction mystery novel by Ben H. Winters. It follows a police detective in New Hampshire as he investigates a suicide he believes was really a murder. His efforts are complicated by the social, political and economic effects of preparations for, and anticipation of, an asteroid impact six months in the future. Winters describes the work as an "existential detective novel", turning on the question of why people do things in spite of their long-term unimportance. He consulted with experts not only in astronomy and police techniques but psychology and economics. The book was well received by critics, and won the 2012 Edgar Award in the category Best Paperback Original. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has optioned it for a possible television series. It is the first in a trilogy; Winters published Countdown City, the second volume, in mid-2013. World of Trouble, the final …
The Last Policeman is a 2012 American science fiction mystery novel by Ben H. Winters. It follows a police detective in New Hampshire as he investigates a suicide he believes was really a murder. His efforts are complicated by the social, political and economic effects of preparations for, and anticipation of, an asteroid impact six months in the future. Winters describes the work as an "existential detective novel", turning on the question of why people do things in spite of their long-term unimportance. He consulted with experts not only in astronomy and police techniques but psychology and economics. The book was well received by critics, and won the 2012 Edgar Award in the category Best Paperback Original. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has optioned it for a possible television series. It is the first in a trilogy; Winters published Countdown City, the second volume, in mid-2013. World of Trouble, the final Last Policeman novel, was released in July 2014.
The mystery was kinda meh, but the world building was excellent. I really like the premise - end of the world is happening and what do cops do about crime when you know that it’s all over in a year?
I enjoyed the writer's style and the story. This is a murder mystery, but it's set in a world under a death sentence from an approaching asteroid. This isn't a spoiler- there's an asteroid on the cover and you find out about it right away. So our hero goes about trying to solve the mystery in a world where everyone expects to be dead in less than a year. I enjoyed it very much and am now reading the third book in this series.
I don't remember how this book landed on my pile. But I am really glad it did. In the end I gave it three stars, but I was close to giving it four. I really enjoyed the premise. To me, the series is what science fiction is about. It doesn't need spaceships and robots. Science fiction explores how things would be if the world was different. In this case the big difference is the deadline for all life on earth. A big asteroid is headed towards earth and society is breaking apart. And amidst all this, The Last Policeman is still working a case. I really liked that. It's mostly a murder mystery where the author imagined how that would be if the world was about to die.
Recommended if you like crime novels and sci-fi.
I don't remember how this book landed on my pile. But I am really glad it did. In the end I gave it three stars, but I was close to giving it four. I really enjoyed the premise. To me, the series is what science fiction is about. It doesn't need spaceships and robots. Science fiction explores how things would be if the world was different. In this case the big difference is the deadline for all life on earth. A big asteroid is headed towards earth and society is breaking apart. And amidst all this, The Last Policeman is still working a case. I really liked that. It's mostly a murder mystery where the author imagined how that would be if the world was about to die.
Recommended if you like crime novels and sci-fi.
Of all my book club picks, I would say this is one of my favorites (after Christina Henry’s “Lost Boy”). I’m curious if I would have found it interesting without the whole “there’s a giant meteor hurtling towards Earth” element of the book. But, overall, I enjoyed the writing and the story kept me engaged.
One of the best dystopian procedural police stories I have read (much better than Altered Carbon). This is a very interesting, extremely well plotted, fast moving story. It depicts a world where everything is unraveling, human foibles become exaggerated and emotional and intellectual stress abounds. The primary characters and surrounding communities offer countless interesting, understandable flaws.
I enjoyed this novel enough to grab a copy of the next installment immediately.
One of those "Is this SF? I can't tell," literary works.
An asteroid is going to hit the earth; is there any point to investigating a suicide which may have been a murder? Our protagonist argues: yes!
Plenty of twists and decent enough characters, not too reliant on established mystery templates. I think this is the first pre-Apocalyptic novel I've read.
Clunky in parts, but I'm interested enough in the world he sets it in (a variant on the premise of the movie "Seeking a Friend For the End of the World") to put the next book in the trilogy in my queue
Entirely flat and forgettable. A huge shame, because it's a waste of a great premise.
If a huge asteroid was heading towards earth threating to destroy all mankind, what would you do? Would you even bother to continue working? Would you worry about solving a crime? Detective Hank Palace is determined to solve a suspicious suicide even when the rest of the world doesn’t care in this apocalyptic whodunit, making him The Last Policeman.
I love the idea of blending apocalyptic fiction with a pulp type crime novel. The world is in decline and Hank Palace has only just made detective. So without anyone else caring about this crime, why would he spend so much time trying to prove himself as a homicide detective? This really is the driving force of this book; you are always questioning the motivation of Palace when the rest of the world wants to live life to its fullest.
Personally I would have liked to see Hank to be a …
If a huge asteroid was heading towards earth threating to destroy all mankind, what would you do? Would you even bother to continue working? Would you worry about solving a crime? Detective Hank Palace is determined to solve a suspicious suicide even when the rest of the world doesn’t care in this apocalyptic whodunit, making him The Last Policeman.
I love the idea of blending apocalyptic fiction with a pulp type crime novel. The world is in decline and Hank Palace has only just made detective. So without anyone else caring about this crime, why would he spend so much time trying to prove himself as a homicide detective? This really is the driving force of this book; you are always questioning the motivation of Palace when the rest of the world wants to live life to its fullest.
Personally I would have liked to see Hank to be a bit more hard-boiled but the idea of being a newbie to the force wanting to prove himself was pretty enjoyable. He was a little unsure and sometimes too timid but he never gave up. I would have loved to see more depth to the character but as this is a planned trilogy I think the author is saving some more for the next two books. Unfortunately all the others are just background characters and they never had the development they deserved. I think this might have been just a lack of experience from author Ben H. Winters; best known for his mash up novels Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Android Karenina.
The crime itself was pretty straight forward and even predictable but the problems with solving the case was trying to do it without any forensic or police help, so I feel like I can forgive Winters for this. Then there is the subplot which forces more on the apocalyptic struggle to try and survive aspects. I felt like this was the biggest let down of the book, I know he wanted to help his sister but as a reader I felt like it was just fleshing out the novel and trying to make sure it’s at least 300 pages long.
I’m interested to see what author Ben H. Winters does with this trilogy; I’m hoping he grows as a writer and incorporates more pulp elements in the next two books. Detective Palace has real potential as a protagonist; he has some appeal to him already but with some development he could be great. I like the Science-Fiction pulp mash-up and I hope this continues, Winters has a great idea here and with some love and hard work this will turn out to be a great trilogy.
This review originally appeared on my blog; literary-exploration.com/2013/01/04/book-review-the-last-policeman/
I did not give it more than three stars because, while I liked it, it did have some slow moments for me that made me put it aside for a bit. However, the book was still good enough that I did want to finish it. I just took my time with it.
On the negative side, I did find the epilogue somewhat irritating. To be perfectly honest, the whole subplot with Nico, Hank Palace's deadbeat sister, was pretty much an irritation that I could have done without. I think the murder mystery in the novel was good enough on its own without tossing that distraction into the blend. Since I understand there may be more novels in this setting, maybe the author will develop that subplot further, but as it stands now, I think the novel would have been fine without it.
So, let's move on to why you need …
I did not give it more than three stars because, while I liked it, it did have some slow moments for me that made me put it aside for a bit. However, the book was still good enough that I did want to finish it. I just took my time with it.
On the negative side, I did find the epilogue somewhat irritating. To be perfectly honest, the whole subplot with Nico, Hank Palace's deadbeat sister, was pretty much an irritation that I could have done without. I think the murder mystery in the novel was good enough on its own without tossing that distraction into the blend. Since I understand there may be more novels in this setting, maybe the author will develop that subplot further, but as it stands now, I think the novel would have been fine without it.
So, let's move on to why you need to read this book if you are a reader of either crime and mystery novels or science fiction novels. The main mystery is good. It kept me guessing who committed the murder until close to the very end. For me, that is a good thing. Now, what makes the book an excellent read is the science fiction element. Due to an incoming asteroid collision that cannot be averted, Earth has only a few months left of life. As a result of the impending doom, rules and laws have changed dramatically as society begins to collapse. Ask yourself what would you do if you knew you only had six months or so left to live. This is the question that drives much of the novel, and it is ever present.
In addition, the author did some very good work with the world building. Small details such as the ability, or inability, to make phone calls, combined with passages describing the big picture work well to create the doomsday setting where Detective Hank Palace works. In a world where a lot of people are committing suicides, no one really cares about one more. Even when that suicide seems to be a homicide, why bother? The world is ending soon, and even if you catch the guy, he is only going to get a "life sentence" (namely, for the duration until the asteroid strikes). The fact that Detective Palace is driven to solve this one murder, a murder others doubt is a murder at all, indeed marks Palace as the last policeman. As he keeps investigating, things do get more complicated, but he perseveres in spite of obstacles and threats.
In the end, the novel brings together the science fiction and the murder mystery to create a pretty unique narrative. If you are a fan of either genre, you should pick this novel up.
Disclosure note (to keep The Man happy): I received my copy of the novel from the publisher for purposes of review. I did strive to give an honest review. YMMV.
