In The Last Human, robots have taken over the world and humans are extinct. One day a young robot; XR_935, and his co-workers discover a human girl, Emma, and are thrown into quandary as they decide how to deal with the situation – they have always been told how evil humans are and how much better their world is without them. The robots make a decision, a decision which will ultimately affect everybody’s lives, not just their own…
The Story: Every day twelve year old XR_935 works with robots, SkD and Ceeron. One day they are astonished to discover a human girl, Emma, hiding near their workspace and are unsure how to react to the situation.
Emma has a map and needs help getting to a place marked by a red dot. Despite having no idea what they will find and despite being obliged to report a prohibited LifeForm, the three robots defy their President’s orders and accompany Emma on an eventful and dangerous journey into the mountains.
During the journey XR_935 learns more about communicating with a human and is exposed to human jokes. It isn’t just a physical journey for Emma and the robots but also an emotional one and it often throws into question all that XR_935 has grown up understanding and believing.
The Last Human is set in a world of technology, a world dominated by a president who addresses the robots on a daily basis to spread the message that humans are evil. This message is also reinforced by XR_935’s Family Unit (his parents). As XR_935’s journey unfolds he learns about friendship, the human world and he starts to develop feelings towards Emma and his co-workers.
XR_935, Ceeron and SkD are very different in stature and also in the way that they communicate. Ceeron is a large robot who understands and makes human jokes and SkD, a very small robot, communicates through emojis which flash up on his screen. As they navigate their way through an abandoned shopping mall, a busy train station and deal with the threat of empty batteries, the three robots form a bond and become friends who care about each other, disagree with each other and work together to help Emma.
The Last Human is a page turning, action packed adventure set in a world dominated by technology. XR_935 and Emma’s adventure leads them into contact with HunterBots, RetrievalBots and EnforcementBots, a showdown with the President and revelations that will change their whole society. It is also a story of friendship and acceptance, a story in which the robots must overcome prejudice in order to help a scared, but not at all evil, human.
Age Range: 6 +
Author: Lee Bacon / Cover illustration: George Ermos
Thank you to Picadilly Press for sending us a copy of The Last Human. We’re very excited to hear that it’s going to be made into a movie 🙂
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