The Last Continent [Paperback]

Edmund Cooper (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Dell; First edition. edition (1969)
• ASIN: B000VUK1PS
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Short Novel but still a good read and more., July 1, 2011

By 

ironagedave - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Last Continent (Paperback)

Edmund Coooper is good for two reasons, all his stories are well written and you can expect a lot of subtle undertones from a story such as this.

The concept of miscegenation and whether it is acceptable or not was a big issue when this book was written. Though not necessarily seen as one today, racial hatred doesn't disappear overnight and it is still prevelant in some areas of the world today and with the right conditions a similar thing could yet come to pass. Furthermore it was only shortly after this book was written we had the Cambodian Genocide traversty, which springs to mind as does the problems in Africa and the middle east.

The only thing which appears dated is the male attitude to women, which has been a subject of discussion with some of his other works.

Whilst the novel was short, it was in touch with the times, has very pertinent ideas and themes that could be explored greater; if a novelist who had to make a living were given the chance. Such as the concept of the Blacks being the all powerful, domineering race rather than the whites.

Nevertheless it is a thoroughly enjoyable read that won't leave you reaching for another book until you have finished.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dated post Apocalypse racial conflict story, October 27, 1998

By 

John Breakwell (Reading, Berkshire, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Last Continent (Hardcover)

This book passed the time on a couple of long-haul flights recently. Written in 1970, the book definitely shows the mark of time and changes in society. The book's theme is the conflict between blacks and whites which was pretty hot in the 1960s but not nearly so bad now. The concept of a global war between powers based on the colour of the skin doesn't seem too likely today. The book does cover the generic subjects of racial hatred, first contacts with new races, and low tech people meeting high tech people reasonably well. I didn't get many surprises though. The book also suffers from being too short. For example, there is one chapter devoted to the political structure on Mars which could easily have been expanded on to add more depth. Typical charity-shop fare