Title: The Last Conversation (Forward #5)

Author: Paul Tremblay

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 56

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What’s more frightening: Not knowing who you are? Or finding out? A Bram Stoker Award–winning author explores the answer in a chilling story about identity and human consciousness.

Imagine you’ve woken up in an unfamiliar room with no memory of who you are, how you got there, or where you were before. All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?

Surprisingly, this was my other favorite out of the collection. I have not been a huge fan of Tremblay’s writing, but this story was spot on. We get a bit of horror-tinged science fiction in this short, fairly ambiguous story. I loved how details are slowly revealed through the pages until we get to quite a gasp-inducing ending. So good.

Forward

#1 Ark by Veronica Roth
#2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
#3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin
#4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
#5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
#6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Next up on the TBR pile:

Title: The Cabin at the End of the World

Author: Paul Tremblay

Publisher: William Morrow 2018

Genre: Horror

Pages: 272

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Multiple POVs; Literary Escapes - New Hampshire; Horror

Seven-year-old Wen and her parents, Eric and Andrew, are vacationing at a remote cabin on a quiet New Hampshire lake. Their closest neighbors are more than two miles in either direction along a rutted dirt road.

One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world."

Goodness. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is intense. The action is graphic at times. But even more, the emotions are so high in this book! I was riveted to the spot while reading. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the actions of the four intruders and those of the family thrown into the situation. The only part that I really didn’t like was the ending. I’m all for ambiguous endings or even open-ended endings, but this one was just too blah after the actions of the book.

Next up on the TBR pile: