Name: The Quiet at the End of the World
ISBN: 9781406375510

Lauren James

A sci-fi mystery adventure about the last surviving members of the human race. How far would you go to save those you love? Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure - until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity's entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide who to save and who to sacrifice..

The Quiet at the End of the World

a little bit too YA for my liking HOWEVER, the vibes <3 the characters <3 the twists <3

This book was so interesting. A dystopia of what would happen if everyone in the world became infertile at the same time. The author doesn't let you wonder long why things are the way they are. Why are they in London? Why does technology still work? Why are modern conveniences still available?  The logic for how they didn't realise the infertility was as widely spread at the beginning of the pandemic was very scary... It was a great narrative of how humans might react in such a crisis. It is also a story of a teenage girl's first crush... on the only other person her age. So cute, it was adorable, and painfully awkward. This book is a great example of how humans can pack bond so easily; Lowrie and Shen immediately friend the robot, Mitch, from the Thames, and it didn't feel unnatural.

The novel utilises a lot of dates, times, and geographic coordinates at the beginnings of chapters, it might be worth it to read, instead of listening to an audio-book. I am bad at remembering what the last date was, so, I was listening closely for timeline jumps. I found it funny when one of the characters found a WWII memento and tried to find the soldier it had belonged to and then commented that the archives (referring to social media and online presence) must have been lost.

The objects found by the characters (at the beginning of chapters) are a little odd, like tusk art from the 12th or 13th century? I was confused why they would be finding that? Most of the stuff is stuff that is in the 20th century and then before. Why so old, are they trying to imply that those things sat in people's houses normally? Minus the newer 20th century stuff. Maybe it is intentional, that the characters don't realise that most people back before the virus didn't own an ivory carving. Some of the objects felt like they should have been from museums, not found mud-larking in a subway (not referring to the specific object from the beginning, just a general place).

Also, I realised part way that this was publish in 2019. Right before our pandemic? I want to know the author's reaction to writing about a pandemic in 2024... when we had one in 2020. 

I like the mini story with the Maya from social media and Rizz (sorry, if spelled wrong, I listened to audiobook); learning about the immediate fallout was just as interesting as the current story. For this part as well, it definitely would have been better to the read book over listening, the narrator does a good job, but there are lots of 'posts' and messages and other things, which are just awkward to hear because it has usernames, times and dates and replies that aren't as natural to hear as to see.

The plot twists kiiiiiillled me, WHAT?!!! What the heck?!! So good, amazing, perfect, it had me questioning everything, as a good plot twist should. 

I keep getting the feeling that there are UK 'easter eggs' I am just not understanding because I am American... but it didn't take away from the story, so no biggie.

Jenny

This book was so interesting. A dystopia of what would happen if everyone in the world became infertile at the same time. The author doesn't let you wonder long why things are the way they are. Why are they in London? Why does technology still work? Why are modern conveniences still available?  The logic for how they didn't realise the infertility was as widely spread at the beginning of the pandemic was very scary... It was a great narrative of how humans might react in such a crisis. It is also a story of a teenage girl's first crush... on the only other person her age. So cute, it was adorable, and painfully awkward. This book is a great example of how humans can pack bond so easily; Lowrie and Shen immediately friend the robot, Mitch, from the Thames, and it didn't feel unnatural.

The novel utilises a lot of dates, times, and geographic coordinates at the beginnings of chapters, it might be worth it to read, instead of listening to an audio-book. I am bad at remembering what the last date was, so, I was listening closely for timeline jumps. I found it funny when one of the characters found a WWII memento and tried to find the soldier it had belonged to and then commented that the archives (referring to social media and online presence) must have been lost.

The objects found by the characters (at the beginning of chapters) are a little odd, like tusk art from the 12th or 13th century? I was confused why they would be finding that? Most of the stuff is stuff that is in the 20th century and then before. Why so old, are they trying to imply that those things sat in people's houses normally? Minus the newer 20th century stuff. Maybe it is intentional, that the characters don't realise that most people back before the virus didn't own an ivory carving. Some of the objects felt like they should have been from museums, not found mud-larking in a subway (not referring to the specific object from the beginning, just a general place).

Also, I realised part way that this was publish in 2019. Right before our pandemic? I want to know the author's reaction to writing about a pandemic in 2024... when we had one in 2020. 

I like the mini story with the Maya from social media and Rizz (sorry, if spelled wrong, I listened to audiobook); learning about the immediate fallout was just as interesting as the current story. For this part as well, it definitely would have been better to the read book over listening, the narrator does a good job, but there are lots of 'posts' and messages and other things, which are just awkward to hear because it has usernames, times and dates and replies that aren't as natural to hear as to see.

The plot twists kiiiiiillled me, WHAT?!!! What the heck?!! So good, amazing, perfect, it had me questioning everything, as a good plot twist should. 

I keep getting the feeling that there are UK 'easter eggs' I am just not understanding because I am American... but it didn't take away from the story, so no biggie.

Zara Doulton

I definitely underestimated how good this book would be!

Wow. I didn't think I was going to enjoy this as much as I did. 
It had some really interesting ideas about life and what makes someone human, and I really liked the main character.
I've only given it a four because I don't think I'll remember that much of it, but that's not really about the book, and more about my poor memory.
4.5

Mijs Franssen

Okay so;
After reading Matt Haig’s tales of connection this morning, I was looking for a action packed nice read for my self care afternoon and let me tell you; this book was perfect.

Reading a book about the aftermath of a global pandemic is pretty weird considering we are currently in the COVID-19 pandemic, but weirdly enough, it made me like the book even more.
Action packed, with plottwists that have your gut turning and adventures that have you on the edge of your seat, this book is so quick to read and amazingly fun to follow.

The touch on the deeper subject at hand; humanity going instict (which is likely to happen someday) is written so well and amazingly good to understand, with the added twists to the plot (which i cant mention because of spoilers) it was very page turning.

The friendshiop between the main characters (who are both worked out so well) is very endearing and the representation (bi, trans and partially deaf characters as well as mixed race) made this even better.

I usually don’t like sci-fi, or post-apocolyptic or dystopian like stuff, but if it is written by Lauren James I will read it. (And probably love it.)

kes van leeuwen

Bear

This book is a beautiful story which twists in turns in ways you could never expect. 
Lowrie and Shen are beautifully crafted characters which will annoy you at the same time as you fall in love with them. The humanity of this book which ironically deals in most things inhuman is amazing, with each character having hopes and doubts of their own. 

noelle

How far would you go to save those you love? Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure - until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity's entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world, they must decide what to sacrifice to save the whole human race.

The Quiet at the End of the World

Reviews

Highlights