Science Fiction novel

The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

eBook

Publisher: A Red Hot Romance Erotic Novel (September 12, 2013)

1929 KB (1500+ pages?)

*Edit: I was criticized by a friend (kindly) for the length of this review - scroll to bottom for short version.

This book is like nothing I have ever read. It was so compelling I stayed up until 5am before having to go to work. It took me three days to finish it, and that is unusual. It is a long novel. Epic long. But even now, a few weeks after reading it, I still think about it often. I am not sure why it's published by an erotic publisher because it is not an erotic romance.

The story begins on a futuristic Earth, when resources are scarce and Amber Bierce doesn't have many options to survive. Her life has been pretty awful on Earth. After her drug-addict mother dies, she signs up to travel on a spaceship that is being sent to an earth-like planet for colonization and forces her younger sister along. None of the would-be colonists are prepared when the ship crashes on an unknown planet, the majority of them die, and then try to determine who will be in charge and how to survive.

The first character in the dual storyline is that of the human heroine Amber. She is stubborn, strong, loyal, practical and is quite fierce, and these qualities alienate most of the surviving humans against her, including her useless sister who blames Amber for dragging her to this "awful" planet. The other main character is the hero Uyane Meoraq, who is from a noble house and is an important priest/warrior/judge in his society. He is a zealot, can be a self-righteous jerk but also protective and caring and is thoughtful in his interpretations from his god. He is one of the best heroes I have ever read about. The author introduces these characters to the reader before they meet, so you feel you have a good grasp of their personalities. 

Meoraq is on a pilgrimage to a holy shrine, delaying his responsibility to take over as the head of his house and having to get married, when he comes across the humans. He is more than shocked to find these creatures, but believes god has put them in his path for a reason and decides to take them with him on his quest. Meoraq sees the humans as unintelligent, selfish and ugly. The humans view him as a dumb primitive and think he should help them because they are human and he is a lizardman. Yes, a 6 foot tall lizardman. Amber is the only one that realizes he is intelligent and that he refuses to learn their language because of his religion. Plus, it's hard because he has a snout. She alone tries to figure out how to communicate with him and slowly learns his language.  

Over time, Meoraq begins to respect Amber and her determination and willingness to adapt, unlike the other humans. She is opinionated and never gives up, and is nothing like the meek, silent women he knows. Amber respects him and his knowledge, and is thankful he is willing to show her how to take care of herself and her sister on this hostile planet. After a lot of prayer and meditating, the arrogant Meoraq comes to believe that god has sent Amber to him to be his wife. Amber isn't so sure, as she is an atheist, and their arguments about faith are amusing. The love story between them unfolds very slowly, as they are initially tentative allies, then friends. The transition is completely believable, humorous and is filled with a lot of reluctance - he still thinks she's ugly and she can hardly forget that he's a lizardman - but they fall for each other anyway. The trials they face on their journey are many and some are brutal - awful things happen, mainly with Amber - but even in the bleakest moments, they still have absolute faith in each other. Many of the secondary characters are annoying, mostly the humans as they are poorly drawn out, or just so whiny or cruel I was irritated that Amber kept caring about them. I found myself hoping a few would be killed off.

The world building is amazing! The author does a great job of showing us the world, as opposed to telling us about it.  As the reader sees this world from both Amber and Meoraq's perspectives - Amber thinks it's barbaric and can't shake the feeling there is something "off" about the planet. Meoraq only knows this world, so for him, it's normal. The reader is completely immersed in the alien world. You can easily visualize the animals, plants, landscapes, and colors, what the cities look like, how the alien society functions and it's religion, and even the slightest physical gestures by the lizard people is understood. The reader is reminded they are in fact lizard people, but that becomes unimportant, the alien aspect of their features becomes familiar.  Some themes touched on in the book are technological, biological and environmental disasters, faith, love, familial bonds, society, and compassion. The ending of the novel ties the recurring themes together, and leaves the reader full of hope.

This book is hard to categorize. It is very intense and not an easy read. People either love this book, or they hate it. It definitely is not for everyone. It deals with many issues that the squeamish may want to avoid - violence, rape and torture. I do not consider those aspects to be gratuitous or titillating in the least. These actions seem plausible in the context of the book and did, in fact, propel the plot along.  Romance readers may shy away from the violence and the scifi elements, and hardcore scifi readers may be put off by the romance aspect, but to me, they are missing out on an amazing book if they let those prejudices get in the way. The author described this novel as a "scifi/horror" story. I would only partially agree. It's much more than that. I would say it is also a book about strength, faith and love. It just happens in a completely different society, 6000 light years away from Earth, on an alien planet, and yes, with lizard people. While it has it's flaws, I loved this book and will be rereading it soon.  Rating: It is intended for mature audiences as it contains graphic violence, strong sexual content and explicit language.


* Since said friend told me this review is epic (and she did read book and loved it), here is the short version. Human woman leaves Earth and spaceship crashes. On alien planet she meets a lizardman and he helps her survive. World building is awesome. They go on a quest. They fight, become friends, fall in love, and yes, have sex. And no, it's not gross. Read it to believe it. Good things happen. She gets kidnapped, bad things happen, she saves herself. They save each other, the end is crazy and ties things up. There are other characters in the book. It's intense. Loved the book. I can't come up with any read-a-likes because I don't know of any. Dark scifi/romance perhaps? End of mini-review.