Hargus Montgomery

In the 22nd century the world is very different. Fearing diseases spread by human contact and believing that the outside air is too contaminated to sustain them, the metro population lives far above the ground level surrounded by glass and mostly in a virtual reality. In order to preserve history, the Federal Museum Administration runs authentic living history museums that encompass many periods throughout history. The museum dwellers must give up mainstream life, go through intense training and fully immerse themselves into the time period that they wish to live. Many do not make it through. Metro Senator Steven Kane opposes all museums and wants them shut down believing that they steal children, harbor diseases and are a hub for the drug trade. However, Senator Kane’s son, Alexander has a fascination with the past and when he chooses to enter a 1950’s farmstead museum, Alex sets off a chain of events with lasting impact.

I have always loved visiting living history museums and may have wanted to live there from time to time, so I absolutely could not resist a book that took place within them. However, this book is a whole lot more. There is a struggle as past and future collide, political espionage, family conflict, secrets and mystery and suspense. I was taken in by Alex’s character and his fascination with people who lived outside the glass. Alex struggled with being different, especially under his father’s watchful gaze. When he finally entered the museum school, everything clicked for him. This reminded me of people telling me that I seem better suited for a different time. I loved the authenticity of each of the time periods that were showcased. Alex’s chosen period, with his wife Kat and son Tom was perfect. I could imagine the long, winding driveway, the wooden farmhouse with the barking dogs and the fruit orchard perfectly. Even the speech patterns were on. As the characters travelled to museums in 12th century France and the 17th century Pacific island, I became immersed in each period with them. Overall, The Last Relicuin provided a whole lot more than I could ever ask for. It is wholly unique, not fitting neatly into any genre, fast paced and with wonderfully built worlds and characters. Masterful writing combined with a wholly unique plot has easily made The Last Relicuin one of my favorite books of the year.

This book was provided for free in return for an honest review.… (meer)

Honestly, I put off reading this book because it just looked so...weird. I reluctantly opened it and started to read, feeling very much like I have seen the plot before - dystopian future, set in Chicago, a society heavily divided into the haves and have-nots (strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games and Divergent). However, after putting my initial reservation aside, I did enjoy this book and found the plot to have an interesting twist. Mainstreamers live in a closed off, for the most part completely virtual world. History is derided and feared. Museum are the only link to the past and are considered dangerous. The main plot revolves around (typically) evil politicians bent on destroying all the museums and the people that choose to live in them. For the first 50 pages, I thought the author, Hargus Montgomery, struggled to find his voice as he tried to cram as much information into a (perceived) limited amount of space. Throughout the book, I thought the narrative/dialogue could be muddled and confusing. The creative plot, however, carried the book. I look forward to the sequel.… (meer)

Thanks to Mr. Montgomery for a copy of this in exchange for my honest review!

This book has one of the most unique worlds that I have stumbled across in quite a while. I found it totally engaging and honestly have found myself thinking about it quite a bit even while not reading. The thought of being able to live in a "museum" like someone out of a different time completely appeals to me. Now, I kind of doubt I'd do it, but as an anthropologist the whole "going native" thing is brought to a whole new level with this concept. It would be incredibly interesting to attempt to live like they did in the past. Granted, I kind of like showers and central heat/air so I don't know how long I'd fare (I did a dig for 3 months in a tent with no running water...not so eager to repeat that), but it's interesting to think about. Anyhow, the book itself did have some issues with copy-editing, which in general doesn't bother me too much but did get confusing here and there, and also had some pacing issues where I felt things got really bogged down from time to time. However, it was still an interesting read.… (meer)