Review: Don't read near easily distracted people.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 23, 2014
I don't like giving out five star reviews, it feels too much like I'm inflating the scale. Four stars ought to make anyone happy. Hell, everyone should start with three and work their outward depending on how bad or good their novel is. Okay, before I devolve into a dissertation on total quality principles versus inevitable graduated scale inflation when applying management assessment methodology, I'm just going to say I gave this novel five stars. Why?  If my wife has to ask me to stop reading because my laughing is disturbing her Candy Crush game, congrats, your book just earned five stars. Scientific enough for you? Good. Because THE LAST VOLUNTEER made me laugh, and kept me laughing.What's THE LAST VOLUNTEER about? It's about reluctant heroes setting forth with one set of expectations, and stumbling into wildly unexpected outcomes. And that's pretty much what happens to the reader, too. Our hero Bip is a lovable loser trying to find what he's good at. We follow Bip's epic journey of self-discovery, which includes trying not to get eaten or setting himself on fire. At the end of this soul-wrenching journey, Bip has a startling insight...he really isn't good at anything.Not that any of that matters, he still has to save the world anyway.Steve Wetherell takes a dash of science fiction, mashes it together with some fantasy tropes (which he mercilessly, and delightfully, abuses), and then mixes it together with designer jeans and some dryly hilarious British humor. His style echoes faintly of Gary Adams, and will appeal to any Hitchhiker's or Python fan.  However, Wetherell's voice and delivery are unique.Don't pick up this book with any preconceived notions and don't try to guess where its going. You'll just fail. Its best to simply find a nice, quiet place to read it (preferably far away from any Candy Crush activity) and go along for the ride. Along the way, watch out for the krakens, don't talk to the sea gulls, read the hieroglyphs before you drink, and, please, be nice to the harpies.