The problem with writing a review for the Last Gifts of the Universe has been where to start. Thus, I’ve spent the weeks since finishing it just telling everyone “you have to read this book! It’s so good!” Alas, while true, that’s not a very in-depth review.

One of the most gorgeous bits of this book to me was something that wasn’t immediately obvious to me, but the way it developed was so organic and just simply right for the story. This is a story narrated by Scout, who I hope you’ll fall in love with just as much as I did, but it’s not really Scout’s story, not entirely. Scout’s story is twined around Blyreena’s story as they uncover the message left by Blyreena—the last message she’d ever send out into the universe for someone to hear. It’s the story of Blyreena and her partner and their love, about all the things she learned from life and from her partner’s gentle generosity.

But it’s also about Scout, about their drive to find the information necessary to keep the coming destruction at bay. It’s about Scout’s grief and their coming to terms with it, and about their relationship with their brother and their anger at the corporate goons.

Each bit of Blyreena’s message that Scout listens to unfolds her story a little more and drives Scout’s story as it unfolds as well, like a flower within a flower both blooming in sync. Because I want to avoid spoilers, I can’t say too much more about it, except that this is a story about life and love and loss. It’s a story about relationships and meaning, dressed up in redemption.

Oh wait my other favorite bit is Pumpkin!!! Space cats need to be a thing from now on. Pumpkin’s utter cat-ness and his personality leap off the page just as much as Scout, Blyreena, and the rest. It’s poignant and optimistic, filled with heart. It made me laugh and it nearly made me cry—something I don’t often do with books. It’s one of the rare books I may end up re-reading, so I’m gad I have my very own copy for that reason.

If you want a light sci-fi packed with heart and musings on life with comic relief provided by His Royal Pumpkin-ness, this stand-alone story is absolutely something to check out. It’s an incredible debut by an author I’ll be watching for more to come from, for sure! ( )

An interesting story. It didn't end like I expected (for better and worse I guess). ( )

More of a story about the connection to family than a sci fi adventure. Love for your siblings will carry you through the toughest trials. I really enjoyed it the whole way through. Pumpkin the cat really steals the show here. Good solid read

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )

The Last Gifts of the Universe was a fast and enjoyable read! I was sucked in pretty quick. The plot is entertaining and Rory August's writing is wonderful. It felt like I was right beside Scout, their brother Kieran and cat! That's right, a cat and it's a space story so yes it's a cat in a space suit! Pumpkin was fantastic! It's a fun read but it's also about life, death, hope and relationships of many kinds but I liked that the storyline never really loses the humor! It's a great read that ended too soon!
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Author Rory August packs a lot into this 200-ish page debut novel.

I mean that in the best way possible. It’s fun yet thought provoking. It’s got great characters and a great storyline. It’s a sci-fi novel that's also an exploration of love and relationships. It has scary monsters, long dead civilizations, a race to unravel clues to an ancient mystery, and a pair of siblings and their cat traveling through the stars.

So what’s it about? Well, let’s start with Scout, who tells this story. Scout is an Archivist. Archivists are tasked with traveling the universe studying dead civilizations - and they are all dead. As the Home worlds have ventured out into the cosmos they’ve discovered that they are very much alone. Something terrible has happened to every other civilization out there. While there are clues to what may have happened it’s not well understood. But it’s expected that whatever happened on these other worlds is coming for the Home worlds.

Scout and Kieran are siblings. Kieran takes care of piloting the ship and doing all the technical stuff while Scout looks for anything left behind by these dead civilizations that might help the Home worlds. Their cat Pumpkin travels along with them. Pumpkin isn’t a house (or spaceship) cat. No, Pumpkin suits up and explores worlds just the same as Scout and Kieran.
When Scout unearths a message from Blyreena, it’s clear that this discovery could be very important to the fate of the Home worlds. Blyreena is an alien from the Stelhari civilization, who seems to have first-hand knowledge of their last stand against the entity that destroyed their worlds.

Unfortunately for Scout and Kieran, as they attempt to take a backup of the holographic message, it’s taken from them by operatives of Verity. The bad guy of the story, Verity is a corporation that seeks to profit by patenting alien technologies and selling them to the highest bidders. Suddenly a race is on to uncover more messages from the Stelhari.

As the story unfolds Scout learns more about Blyreena and her life, as the partial backup message slowly unfolds. August does a great job tying together Blyreena’s story, the race to uncover more messages, and the backstory of why Scout, Kieran and Pumpkin are out here among the stars in the first place. The result is humorous, full of action, emotionally rewarding, and will tug at your heartstrings.

I really enjoyed this book. It will appeal to fans of science fantasy and space exploration, who like a lighter edge and a bit of humor. It’s also likely to appeal to YA fantasy readers. Fans of LGBTQ stories will appreciate the trans representation that Scout’s first-person perspective brings.

Mostly though I’d recommend it for its exploration of love - love between spouses, love between siblings, love between parents and children. That is the heart of The Last Gifts of the Universe. Four Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

NOTE: I received an advanced reviewer’s copy of this book from the author and BookSirens, and am voluntarily providing this honest review. The book is self-published and will be available as a Kindle ebook starting April 7, 2022. ( )