Heather’s Bookshelf: My Only Friend The End
Author: Steven Owad
Released: 11/27/24
Genre: Adult Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
“Oddly, though, despite the smorgasbord of woe, when I resumed driving there was a glimmer (just a glimmer) of something not entirely dreadful. There was the fact I was moving forward, I hadn’t given in. The progress couldn’t be denied. I was still around.”
“My Only Friend The End” introduces Owen Bale, a father, husband, and writer living in Montana when everyone in town drops dead.
Having decided to go skydiving that morning, Owen touches down to find the city on fire and everyone dead. Seemingly having dropped dead in the middle of whatever they were doing at that very second, Owen soon realizes he may be the only human left, possibly in the world.
Soon the reality of no human contact sits in and the ghosts of Owen’s past (some distant and some much-too-new) haunt him. Determined to find someone, anyone else still alive, he sets out to do just that.
Will Owen find solace in another survivor or is he truly the last man on Earth? And why did he survive when so many others perished?
Trigger Warning: death (lots of it!), animal deaths, child death, suicide, suicidal ideation, drug/alcohol use
Overall, I was a bit torn on this one. I couldn’t decide if the author really hated animals or really loved them and I’ll leave you to decide. Animal death is actually listed on my “I won’t read list” - so fair warning to whoever decides to continue (I almost didn’t). This story is a dark dive into the psyche of a broken man in a dying world- it’s DARK and it stays that way from almost page 1 to the end (pun intended). There are almost no points of levity and for the few moments of relief, they are promptly bashed into a thousand pieces of somehow even more darkness. The flashbacks and ghost sightings are especially brutal and disturbing. However, I felt that the flashbacks were really well done. They provided an exceptional amount of characterization including motivations, backgrounds, and relationships in a story that followed one man into his past. I found the background into what happened with Owen’s childhood friend Sean was especially tragic and insightful. The self-talk was a stroke of genius by the author and the whole tale felt disturbingly authentic. The details popped off of the pages as did Owen’s grief. The ending is left pretty wide open in a purposeful way that alludes to a pattern that emerged throughout the story, with one major storyline still screaming for an answer.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A post-apocalyptic tale filled with darkness that begs for levity. Well-written flashbacks and self-talk don’t answer the biggest mystery of the story.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Steven Owad
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