The Last Girl by Michael Adams

When Danby begins to hear everyone else’s thoughts at a party, it immediately makes her extremely unpopular. But a few days later everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts too and chaos immediately ensues. Strangely, no one can hear Danby’s thoughts, which becomes both a blessing and a curse. Unable to handle the teeming sea of voices in their heads, people begin killing one another, and themselves, with incredible rapidity – and the body count is high.

Danby needs to get her little brother to the only potential safe place, her mother’s mountain retreat 100 kilometres away, but she must battle violence, chaos and death to get there. Like having hundreds of voices in your head, the narrative of this novel is chaotic and confusing, making it sometimes hard to read. Set in Sydney, this is a dark vision of a society gone mad and is the first in a trilogy by Australian author Michael Adams. Suitable for dedicated readers of dystopic and post-apocalyptic fiction 14 years plus.


Angela Crocombe