Assessment:
Overall rating (3 votes)
Recommended by 3 members.
One Last Autumn
A serialized novel, updating weekly.
On the eve of the year 2060, a massive chemical strike is launched upon the west coast of North America. Millions die within the first few moments, and the survivors find themselves quarantined by the world governments, who fear a worldwide outbreak.
The story follows Lieutenant James Manasseh, a security officer with the Vesperius Corporation, a group dedicated to learning the identity of the attackers. This new world is a dangerous place, however, and not all want the truth to emerge.
One Last Autumn
— contains some graphic violence and harsh language —
Tags: action intrigue military online novels post-apocalyptic science fiction suspense
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Editorial Reviews
Science fiction with zombies.
At least that’s what I think they were. I’ll say, right off the bat, I’m not a science fiction fan. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just not my cup of tea. That being said, neither was this story. Being someone that doesn’t read science fiction, you’d think that reading any of it would seem new and interesting to me but that wasn’t the case here. I found it pretty standard science fiction fodder. It’s futuristic, deals with human/computer implantations and subsequent mind control, not to mention world destruction. I just didn’t see anything that stood out as really original.
The first four chapters, pretty much right until they get into the field, I felt like I was reading a military status report. I understand that that’s what these characters do but it made for a hard read, for me anyway. I wasn’t getting much emotion from it and once they started seeing some action, I didn’t really care what happened to the main character because I hadn’t connected with him.
By the end of the fifth chapter it started reading like a sort of Manchurian candidate with zombie antagonists. Interesting but not enough for me to keep reading. Plus, by that point I was jonsing for a more prominent antagonist instead of the insinuations that we had up until that point. The line certainly blurred at the end of the fifth chapter and it definitely made me question just who was the bad guy here but again, I wasn’t interested enough to keep reading.
The writing itself is good, nothing really to complain about there. I would have liked to see more of a connection to the MC and more reason for me to want to care about him but other than that, the stage and the tone of the story was pretty well set. I kept getting a real video game feel about it, and not in a bad way. Maybe it was all of the military lingo and then the blind action, I don’t know. I just got a video game vibe to it.
What I liked the best were the news snippets is I guess what you’d call them, at the top of each chapter. I could read an entire story comprised of just those snippets. The author was able to convey the tone of the chapter and the world in such a short amount of space that I wish he’d written the entire thing like that. I loved those pieces and I think they were the best written out of everything.
As for the font color I’m going to have to go eek a little. I like the whole autumn theme (the title of the serial was what drew me to it) but my eyes weren’t digging the yellow and orange colors on the black background. They were definitely strained by the end.
I could see this being interesting enough for someone that likes the genre and likes the military element but it’s just not for me. I like military stories but my tastes lean more towards Band of Brothers and The Things They Carried. If you like sci-fi with some zombie elements, I’m sure you’ll like this. It’s definitely not bad and it’s certainly not poorly written at all. I would never deny a writer the nod that their writing is good simply because I’m not a fan of the genre. Good writing is undeniable. This story’s just not my thing.
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Most Helpful Member Reviews
Artful Fiction
One Last Autumn is different to any other web fiction I have come across so far. The site itself, is not just a way of promoting the story, it is actually integral to and in parts an extension of it. The author has invested a lot of time, thought and effort into making his story an online experience for the reader and adds to the traditional book format. At one stage, it crossed my mind that taking it to another level the idea could progress to a fiction/game hybrid.
At the time of this review the story is only nine short chapters/episodes long and easy to catch up with. It is most intriguing and there are quite a few evil little seeds sprinkled throughout which if they continue to grow could become explosive.
I stumbled over to this site hot on the heels of Pete Tszinki’s review and fear that I may have missed it otherwise. If you are uncertain if OLA is for you - or have visited the site before but couldn’t quite get into it - I would recommend that you try a taster by visiting the ‘Related Fiction’ link in the side bar and read ‘Diary of an Amnesiac Gunman’. Risk it but stay vigilante – THEY know you are reading . . .
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Color coding your SF
My feelings, as I worked my way through all the available installments of "One Last Autumn," kept changing as I went. When I started, I was fairly apathetic, in that the first installment didn’t make me an instant fan. However, it did nothing to dissuade me from continuing to read, and that’s mostly all I need out of beginnings, whether they’re books or online fiction or what-have-you. Unless something actually stops me reading, I’ll keep going.
I was mildly irritated with the way that all of the dialogue was done in a different color than the body of the text. Not badly, but it was distracting, because it was constantly noticeable. However, I went from irritated to very-much-in-favor-of later, as the story advanced and the use of color got extremely clever. It works really brilliantly and after awhile, you don’t stop noticing the colors but you start associating them with different parts of the story. The colors, all by themselves, add to the mood and bring underlying tones into your mind, and it’s dead clever. It’s like an internet fiction version of deep shadows, or looming music that gives you that sense of forboding.
The writing is strong, I thought. It never gets terribly in-depth and grandiose, but the author has a fine handle on dialogue, and keeps everything clear. At no point did I get the dialogue between two characters confused. Realistic dialogue you can keep straight is a terrific skill.
One way I know I’m starting to really get into a piece of fiction — starting to pay close mental attention to it, rather than just reading, if you follow me — is that I start wondering about the writer’s sources. Where did he come from? What’s dancing in his mind when he writes? The guessing game is fun. For this, if I had to make wild guesses, I would include things like the Twilight Zone, and Babylon 5 (I got a lot of B5 vibes, and I think that’s a good compliment) and I do detect a bit of Philip K. Dick in there. And if I were to make a guess a little further out on a limb, I’d say "The Prisoner."
There are eleven installments at the time of this review. None of them are terribly long. I do wish that they were longer, especially as the story begins to tighten and intensify. The installments end and I go "but, but . . . " because I’ve gotten into it.
My advice is: read the first five or six installments and see what you think. It won’t take you very long, and if you enjoy SF then I think you’ll enjoy it. It’s a clever piece of work, sharp and cool and enjoyable. I’m looking forward to following it and see all the questions unravel (probably into more questions!)
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