'Nobody owns anything but everyone is rich - for what greater wealth can there be than cheerfulness, peace of mind, and freedom from anxiety?'
(Thomas More, Utopia)

I have been reading SF for years - and had high hopes for this Last Voyage, the first part in a trilogy, about a group of privileged people who aim for a one-way ticket to Mars to build a new life there - away from a crumbling Earth - with the aim of building a Utopia.

The year is 2026.
A select group of people are being approached to warm them up for their very last journey - it is a one-way ticket, to the planet Mars.

The author focussus on organisational structures he finds dysfunctional and how man should do things differently over there. Yes, yes, noble aspirations, but wherever man goes, chaos and war follow. If we want peace there, it would be better to send a ship with millipedes than a group of people who will show how to live. It could well lead to the destruction of yet another planet. :)-

I found the first piece on oligarchies, albeit very interesting, more like an essay, and had to struggle my way through it. A lot of anger resonated in the story, and a lot was also repeated here and there.
(N.b. In an oligarchic form of government, the validity of laws depends on the discretion of a closed elite.
The poleis of Sparta, Corinth and Athens were once examples of oligarchies, as were some Dutch cities in the 17th and 18th centuries. Key positions in the state are held by a power elite).

In my opinion, it reads almost like a thought experiment, where Plato and Socrates meet Sir Thomas More, exploring biological, scientific and economic theories (e.g. viable product/population) as a prelude to a new world order, making it a colony of ‘scientific prodigies.’
This group selects the fittest, the most successful, the youngest, the most intelligent group to be part of this experiment.

Interesting thought experiment, but less successful as an SF novel, and you can be fairly sure that things will go completely haywire on Mars, of course.
I found the introductory part too long, with the writing at first somewhat dull/theoretical, but the story picks up in the end, and I am interested in reading the following installments.

3 stars. Thank you Netgalley for this arc. Publication: 2025.

I thought this book had a lot of potential. I loved the setting and overall plot. Where it lost me was in the prose and style of the writing. Especially with dialogue for Colfax, I get that’s part of his character, but no one speaks like that.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. When I first started to read the book, it appeared to be a plausible dystopian future that we seem to be on a fast track towards. With Oligarchs in control, it felt very relevant to the state of the world today. The path that they are on, no one should have that much power and control. Going to Mars does look to be an adventure of a lifetime. Then you think about the repercussions and the toll and mental strength it takes to leave behind everyone and everything you know.

I liked how the author talked about how this group with their different backgrounds, and faith clashed and tried to make sense of what was happening. Thurman stuck out with his story about how he needed to prove himself to show that he was worthy of the respect, and it is a battle that I have experienced and others that I know have. To me his story was soul crushing and familiar. It was more than just a trip to Mars, it went deeper than that with the dynamics and the other factors at play.

Eve and Colfax, their clash between faith and non faith was fascinating to read, with both digging in. Eve attempting to at least understand her father’s point of view. I can see where they both are coming from. No one likes to feel belittled or made to be feel ashamed of what they believe because it doesn’t fall in line with others and how they think you should believe. Eve for her part, did acknowledge that she did come on too strong with her father but Colfax could have handled their conflict a bit better with his reaction.

“This loneliness feels like a black hole inside a black hole within a black hole. Infinite gravity all the way down, an infinite gravity all the way down, an infinite ravenous insatiable abyss.” Out of all the lines in the book, this one stuck out to me the most. Overall, we characters questioning their faith, their world and themselves and that feeling as a whole is a deep loneliness. People want to be understood and to have clashing personalities and beliefs it easy to fall in tribalism or to be cast out instead of coming together.

In the end this story sounded like a warning to me. A warning what could happen to humanity if we did not change course. I am very relieved to see that this is not the end of the series and that there is more to come. I can’t wait to see how this plays out and with the characters coming to terms with their own internal battles while making sense of the truth of why they are on this trip and what has happened to humanity.

The Last Voyage by Brian D. McLaren







Before I start - I was given the opportunity to read this ARC before it was published for an honest review - from NetGalley. This is my review!



The Last Voyage will be published on July 31, 2025. Book one of three.

In the future, the world will be ruled by oligarchs' - who will give "power" to politicians and governments around the world - but the true rulers are the oligarchs. (This is the books premise).



Well basically the oligarchs' do not care for humanity the planet - gasp - just on getting more money, raping the land of more resources. Until they kill it. The Last Voyage is the last group of ten attempting to get to Mars. It is funded by the "last good oligarch.

The book begins by meeting one of the main scientists leaving her country -all cloak and dagger and carrying cyanide pills on her jewelry. Then you meet the two big characters - maybe three - Eve and her father and then one of the oligarchs. Eve has multiple degrees, but is not a scientist, she is more of a Christian religious expert - the problem on the Mars base is people keep committing suicide and they are sending her there to figure out why. She wants her father to come - who is a scientist and an atheist, or else she is not going to go. Her father has lost his wife, his lover (she goes back to her husband) and is super intelligent and honestly at times my eyes were glassed over reading his dialogue.

They agree to go - go to one location that is secret to train to leave - with the others - where the location is targeted and attacked by the other oligarchs - so they leave and go another location - minus two of the ten to leave (they are taken as hostages). They managed to talk, the other eight, to get the two oligarchs to come to them with Mars.

So the rest of the book, and really I kept telling my hubby who can they get to Mars, there is only 80 more pages to the book, but there will be two more books, The rest of the book is a lot of proselytizing - to the Christian faith - while Eve's father made my eyes glassy with his intensive vocabulary Eve's constantly bashing us over our head about the Christian faith made me skim over entire parts of the book. Remember she has to solve why people are committing suicide on the base - well it turns out some were killing themselves - but there is a serial murdered up there with them. lol. Which makes the pilot want to turn the ship around and go back to Earth that is dying. In the end they decide to continue to Mars.

Overall, I really liked the book - I am an atheist also so this constant harping of Christianity but frankly all religion was to much. I mean haven't we fought enough wars and destroyed a planet in the name of religion? Also, the preachers were the oligarchs' bitches also. lol. There is a good combination of other faiths and ethnicities on the ship - and also a nonbinary person (that caused some reviewers to go ape shit on goodreads). I guess they think only white Christians were worth saving.

Overall, I would give this book a 4.5 and I know I cannot wait for the other two books to come out! Thank you for allowing me the chance to read it.

In a sci fi book I don't want to read about things in my world or the reality the reader is in. Make brands up and build the world with new stuff. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Though set in the future, I felt like I was watching scenes from today as the characters discuss the evils of oligarchy, ignoring climate change and the like. The books is a unique combination of science, religion, thriller, and scifi with a wide variety of characters (some you like, others probably not so much).

While the idea of traveling to Mars is not unique to many people, especially those who partake of much sci-fi, this story was incredibly well-written and focused on how humans are currently on a trajectory that could make survival off our planet the only option. This critique of culture, politics, capitalism, and the general American way of life was poignant and deep. It take a lot of guts to write and publish a book that so adamantly claims that humans will destroy Earth. With that being said, this book was eye-opening and mind-opening to the possibilities of what we can do while on Earth to reduce the harm we can cause to the world we live in physically, socially, politically, emotionally, psychologically, and all the other -ally’s out there. I would suggest reading this book if you seek to be challenged in your understanding of the way things are, how science and technology advance, and what a future oriented toward Mars could come to.

I was given a free advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review. I leave this review willingly.

Backstory:
The year is 2056 and society is ruled by oligarchs who’ve all but destroyed the planet. Our main character, eve, is a young ethics and religion researcher who’s tasked with figuring out why members of a mars colony sent over in previous expeditions are suddenly committing suicide in such high numbers.

Love this premise so much. A dive into what makes humans humans, what we truly value and what makes a community? Yes please. We could have had that book, but, we didn’t. The religious, specifically Christian throughlines in this book are striking and not even subtle. I felt like I was being hit over the head constantly and all other aspects of the story were neglected to ensure a religious perspective was the one taken.

The book also features the cardinal (no pun intended) sin of referencing real life brands, products and people in a fantasy sci-fi book. It pulled me out the story.

The main characters dad might be the most insufferable character I’ve read this year. He’s the atheist in the book, rejecting any possible religious reasoning behind the suicides and instead angrily demanding it must be science, whilst bullying his daughter and being unbelievably arrogant. Such a prominent scientist should be chomping at the proverbial bit to run experiments and come up with hypothesis on why the suicides are occurring but instead he’s just… angry. He’s also a terrible dad and other characters and eve even acknowledge this but he’s never resolved of this.

The Last Voyage outlines a worryingly clear path from our present situation here on Earth to a worldwide capitalist dystopia. The voyage in the story from Earth to Mars is not for fun or exploration, it is a necessity. It is necessary for them to try and save a little sliver of humanity, both the ones on the ship, and the ones already on Mars who are descending into depression and violence. I was surprised at how much of the book took place on Earth, but I appreciated that they framed the prep work and training as a very important part of the voyage. Along those lines, the exposition was very effective; it drew me in right away, and I felt like I was able to get to know all of the characters quickly, which is hard to do when there's a large cast of characters all introduced at the same time. I did find myself wishing there was more emphasis on the science and work being done on the journey, and less on Eve and Colfax's spats. I understand that Eve didn't want her father to die on Earth, but I was a bit annoyed by how upset she was that he was on the voyage with him when she was the one who compelled them to come. I also appreciated how Eve tried to address religion in a wide, secular way, but it felt as if Christianity in its different forms was given more weight over other faiths and opinions, giving the book a decidedly pro-Christian slant that I, and an ex-Catholic, found a bit uncomfortable. Overall, the story really drew me in and I wanted to keep reading, and I'm very excited for the next two books!

3 Stars, Chaos and Danger

THE LAST VOYAGE
by Brian D. McLaren

I don't usually give such a low rating, I don't find myself selecting books that I don't like. This book has a plot that is intriguing, but there was too much other stuff in it that I didn't care for.

One of the main characters is a religious leader, there are copious amounts of emphatic religious profanities, yet it is published by #HodderFaith an imprint of #JohnMurrayPress #HodderandStoughtonLimited #HachetteUK

It is a #cliffhanger. There are #woke tendencies.

In a world controlled by oligarchs that are all intertwined with global crime syndicates that have few if any morals.

One of the oligarch syndicates that still has morals and works for the good of civilization has decided to take a few select individuals to Mars on a last voyage to join the other people they've already relocated to Mars with the intent of starting the last colony of the human species, as a one way trip. They are taking humans to have children to start their own civilization, with one of the males not taking part. But, there is another person who lets the reader know ...For those who are wondering... that it is a nonbinary or third gender person. I wasn't wondering. How does a nonbinary person add to the human race? Part of the ...Look at me.... generation.

The book is about the last voyage, except that the entire book takes place on Earth and a minute part on Mars. It's all about getting ready for the trip to Mars.

I received a complimentary copy of #thelastvoyage from #netgalley the publisher, and #BrianDMcLaren I was not obligated to post a review.

#sciencefiction #fantasy #AdultFiction #mentalillness

3.5 stars
This story started off really interesting, lots of talk of how things work and the status of the world run by oligarchs, but after a while it started to wear on me a bit. The whole story is deep conversation after deep conversation which...made it so that then there was no tension. There should have been as things were happening that should have made me more like what is going to happen next?? But instead it was like okay let's sit down and talk about this and I don't know. It wasn't bad, a lot of the conversation was very interesting, but it did wear on me after a while. I am curious to see where the story goes and would be interested in reading the next book when it comes out.

Review:


Brian D. McLaren's "The Last Voyage" is a captivating and introspective novel that seamlessly blends adventure, philosophy, and spirituality. This thought-provoking tale follows the journey of Captain Daniel Butler, navigating the complexities of identity, purpose, and redemption.


Plot


The story unfolds on the high seas, where Captain Butler commands his final voyage. As he confronts his mortality, he reflects on past choices, lost love, and the true meaning of life. McLaren masterfully intertwines themes of:


1. Existentialism and self-discovery
2. Redemption and forgiveness
3. Love and loss
4. Spiritual exploration
5. Environmental stewardship


Character Analysis


1. Captain Daniel Butler: Complex, introspective, and flawed
2. Sophia: Enigmatic, wise, and compassionate
3. Rachel: Vibrant, determined, and passionate


McLaren's Strengths


1. Poetic prose and vivid descriptions
2. Deep philosophical and spiritual insights
3. Well-developed, nuanced characters
4. Environmental awareness


Criticisms


1. Pacing issues in mid-section
2. Some supporting characters lack depth
3. Structure. Specifically the prose. Individuals typically do not speak with such complex wording.


Conclusion


"The Last Voyage" is a profoundly moving and intellectually stimulating novel. McLaren's thought-provoking exploration of human existence, paired with his captivating storytelling, makes for an unforgettable read.


Rating Breakdown:


- Plot: 4/5
- Character development: 4./5
- Writing style: 4./5
- Themes: 5/5
- Pacing: 3.5/5
- Originality: 4.5/5
- Emotional resonance: 5/5
- Overall enjoyment: 4./5

The story idea of a disparate group heading to Mars because the world is about to destroy itself is interesting. There were structural problems, for me, that got in the way of that interesting story. First, there is way too much exposition in the dialogue. I have no problem with exposition in stories, but people don't speak in paragraphs unless they are giving a TEDTalk. Second, our character who likes to use big words seems to do just to use big words as if the writer pulled up a thesaurus and made every sentence more complicated just to show it could be done. I am not a big fan of naming actual people in the present and the progenitor of future calamity, but that's a personal preference.

Finally, and this is a challenge for me because I have a theological academic and personal background. This is a book published by a faith imprint, but Eve has merely watered down beliefs that vaguely adhere to Christianity but doesn't express any specifics other than to fold them into a syncretic smoothie of world faith systems. When Refa said he was a Christian, Jew and Muslim, I felt that was the standard of all faith holders on the ship. There was nothing to get mad about and the huffing and puffing seemed either exaggerated or performative.

I would love a vibrant debate between a person of deep faith and a parent wounded by zealotry (or perceived zealotry) in the past. But a lukewarm pablum of religious beliefs being attacked by polysyllabic vile just felt over the top to me. Perhaps the other books expose the exaggerated response for what it is, but I, sadly, was not sufficiently engaged enough to want to continue.

This uses the scifi element that I wanted and enjoyed getting into this world. The overall story worked with the concept and thought it had great themes going on. I enjoyed the overall story being told and was hooked from the first page. It had great characters that were developed perfectly and enjoyed getting to know them in this. Brian D. McLaren has a strong writing style and am excited for more.