The Last Science

First, I would like to appreciate that the author has constructed a narrative that is quite lovely and is strikingly original, in a time where many things seem to not be. I hope to eventually achieve such originality in my own work, but that is probably not to be discussed in a review.

Magic is a topic of literature that I've nearly always had a passion for. I've seen its origins and use through numerous types of fiction, and have been quick to learn what I can about it through that fiction. I find it to be a good sign when a fiction begins discussing it quickly within the pages, so that more can be learned and built upon as soon as possible. The Last Science does this very well, and I was enveloped almost immediately. I'd never seen magic done with such physical based power! It was refreshing to see, to say the least. I look forward to seeing where it's origins come, beyond being located within Rallsburg. It's already developed quite a ways.

The narrative itself has been quite fast paced, perhaps a little more than I was ready for. I quite enjoy the character switching aspect, as it allows the author to tell the story from more than one perspective, thus giving a more universal view of situations. Perhaps two or three chapters from Alden's view before jumping into another person's perspective would have been better for me, but I can understand where the author would jump quickly to another person to set, well, the setting.

I'm not much of a person to look into Grammar. Everything I've read has been spelled correctly, and written correctly as far as I can tell.

The characters are, as should be, the star of the story. The beginning narrative, seeing our first experience with magic within this fiction through Alden's, and witnessing these small town perspectives as magic begins to exist within this universe have all been quite stunning. The amount of emotion and description the author has put into the characters has been wonderful to witness. The connections between all of the communities of Rallsburg has also been nice to see.

I am currently catching up, and will write another interview when everything is out (which I am definitely looking forward to!)
Thank you for your time, and I hope you appreciate this book as I have.

The Last Science focuses on a fairly hard-magic system that has been slowly but progressively explored throughout the series. It shows clear planning and direction and explores hard-hitting topics at every turn. Every character is defined by their fears and their motivations, and no actions are without consequences. As far as I've seen on the website, The Last Science is the only series that does such a good job balancing a broad scope with clear and thoughtful writing.

WRITING:

The series is well written, and I've seen no more than a couple of typos (it's a long series, too). Pacing is done well, and the author manages to juggle perspectives in a way that continuously progresses the story. Likewise, The Last Science is one of a very small number of webnovels I've seen on RR littered with intermissions that give meaningful information and narrative depth to the story.

CHARACTERS:

As mentioned before, The Last Science is largely character-driven, with an ensemble cast of very diverse characters. Like, really diverse. Off the top of my head, I reckon somewhere around 30% of the characters in the series are LGBTQ+, ranging from important to a character's identity, to completely incidental, which is neat. Even the most reprehensible characters are sympathetic, and not even the most beloved protagonists are beyond reproach. The Last Science offers some exploration of mental health, particularly trauma.

THEMES:

The Last Science is character-driven, and a big aspect of that is juggling moral dilemmas. To name a few:

• Moral ambiguity in a conflict between individuals all working in pursuit of a community's best interest.
• Freedom versus public safety, in a world where an individual's actions have ramifications for an entire population/community.
• Trust and distrust in the face of moral ambiguity, secrecy, and betrayal.

Honestly, the fact that there is room for thematic discussion says that the author has produced something worth more than an idle read.

CONTENT WARNINGS:

I'm gonna talk about content warnings here because I frankly think the series needs some. The Last Science ranges from neutral to profoundly dark in tone. The author explores panic, trauma, death, loss, and identity. They are presented in a way that offers some real nuance, but they can honestly hit uncomfortably close to home for some readers. Know what you're getting yourself into, and don't feel bad about taking breaks.

The Last Science is a bit of a genre-mixer that defies ready classification. Despite the fantasy tag and the magical elements, the story immediately shrugs off the expectations of a stereotypical "teenager gains magical powers" story. Instead, The Last Science is a rich drama/mystery story which uses magic as the foundation for a compelling plot and characters and provides far more than simply a story "about" magic.

In fact, to some extent the magical elements of the story contrast starkly with the grittiness of the plot and the normalcy and relatability of the characters. The focus of the story is not on exploring the magic itself but rather the implications of such power when injected into a quiet college town and the lives of its inhabitants. In this sense the story reflects many of the themes typically found in technology-based or science fiction stories (justifying the sci-fi tag), which is reinforced by the way the story's magic is shown to have its own consistent mechanisms and limitations which the characters are continually attempting to explore and understand.

When I say the characters are "normal" I mean that they are not superheroes or stereotypes, but real people with their own hopes, concerns, and intermixing relationships and all of the complications that ensue. It is not to mean that they are mundane or boring. Quite the opposite, each character in The Last Science seems to carry their fair share of mystery and intrigue which leaves no doubt that each one has a story of their own to be revealed in time. The Last Science manages an excellent balance of weaving rich layers of mystery and intrigue through each character and location the reader encounters, while also revealing enough information as the story progresses to let you know that it isn't just a tease. The plot incorporates and expands on each mystery it establishes and makes clear that there's real substance to everything it hints at.

I hadn't originally meant for this review to be quite so glowing and I would include criticism if I had any at the moment, but the truth is that I'm hooked and frankly I have a hard time thinking of reasons why others wouldn't be as well. I strongly encourage anyone interested to give it a try.

So I came straight from the author’s other work, epilogue, and all I can say is wow are they consistent.

The characters all have their own motives and flaws, making for interesting interactions. Each seems to be well thought out, making them believable and real.

The story itself is awesome. With the novel being based on magic, it is executed with an originality that seems to be the authors expertise. The idea of how humanity would react to the appearance of magic is perfectly executed with different factions working with their own ideals and motives.

I don’t really know what to say but read this serial, it’s fantastic!! Then only flaw that I can point at is that I have to wait for the first chapter of book 2 at the moment!

This story has taken magic and put it in a new context. It is hard to do this and do it well. On that note the magic in this story seems like it has a more personal touch that doesn't happen to often in fantasy. The author does a great job of using the small college town environment to their advantage, making it so everyone knows mostly what's going around. I look forward to new chapters and see wherever this story goes.

Who cares if it's slow when it's this good? 

The characters are realistic and detailed, the plot is interesting, the setting is so real I want to move there (except I don't because it's probably going to get blown up), and there's a crazy amount of potential for more here. Author's really got pacing down in the recent chapters too, you can really tell it's building up to something crazy. 

Everyone should be reading this.

What a debut. I came here from the author's site because I need everyone to be reading this. And this is only book 1? More, right now! The writing is pitch-perfect and the plot is only getting more ambitious. I haven't ever seen this idea tackled like this. I need more. Keep going, Etzoli, and we will follow!

It's a surprisingly well written story but somehow the author manages to make a mystery in a small town in the middle of nowhere boring.

It has the feeling of a bunch of clichés and a mashing of genres that in this case don't mesh. It could be a lot bette and filled with more hooks.

As of yet this story is bland and it's difficult to improve since what's bad aren't the characters but everything around them.

Love how it's started. Drew me in and I hope to see where it goes :)

I've been reading this story during my breaks at work. The chapters are nearly perfect length for me to get through while eating my lunch.

I can't say much about the story without risking spoilers, but its quite interesting.

I can't wait to read what happens next!