William C. Heine (1911–1991)

I'll try to be as general as possible but there may be some spoilers.

A sudden, extremely lethal plague strikes the southwestern United States. It's deadliest for those downwind of the carriers, and those who contract it die within an hour. Gene Arnprior, an engineer who lives in Montreal, suspects that these deaths could be the beginning of a continent-wide pandemic, so he packs up his wife and two sons and flies them all out to a camp they have visited before in northern Quebec. This is the story of how he and his family survive in a world with a mysterious and deadly microscopic foe. Where did it come from? Is there a cure? And if there are any other survivors, what might they be like…?

I bought this solely on the strength of the title and the kind-of-cheesy back cover blurb; one of my weaknesses at used-book sales is precisely this sort of apocalyptic 1970s-era thriller set in Canada. As an example of this rather narrow genre, The Last Canadian delivers admirably. In Gene Arnprior we have an eminently sensible, resourceful protagonist who rises to any occasion, even occasions to which people should never have to rise. The plot moves quickly and feels very cinematic (we never do find out the mechanics behind the actual plague, but better to not describe it than to trip oneself up with pseudo-medical details). And it's kind of amusing to read about Arnprior's experiences wandering around deserted cities -- he can have his pick of rooms in the best hotel, drive off with a Rolls-Royce, and traffic is great! Of course one must balance that with the fact that there's nobody else left…

Warnings for the sensitive reader: there's an icky part where one woman describes her experience of being forced into a harem and raped. Not in great detail, but enough to make you go YEARGH! One of the major downsides for women in post-apocalyptic scenarios. Also, if you don't like to read about game animals being prepared for human consumption, there are a couple of gross bits at the beginning.

Apart from that, the only other quibble I had is that the ending is kind of cheesy, but as a work of entertainment, overall this book did the job quite nicely. Well worth the purchase price (I bought it for a dollar). Recommended for those who think the post-apocalyptic world needs more Canada, with a slice of Cold War.… (meer)