Smart, fun, sweet, profound, delightful, lovely, strong

The Last Gifts of the Universe is a lovely and well-rounded science fiction novel. Rory August has a delightful way of balancing the darkness of a mysterious phenomenon destroying all life in the universe, a soft love story, the very human feeling of loss, and the hope to save us all. It is exciting, dark, and light all at once, making it such a wonderful cozy read. Speculative fiction is strongest when it is used to enhance universal human emotions or experiences. The Last Gifts of the Universe manages to make deep space, multiple worlds, and alien species feel like home.

Quick Summary: The universe is dying. When the Home planets achieve the technology to explore the stars, they find nothing but bones and ashes of a dead universe. The people of Home don’t know what happened, but they do know that they must be the last ones left and whatever came for the other civilizations is coming for them. Scout is an Archivist sent on a mission to find answers. To find salvation. Tasked with scouring dead planets for the last gifts: technology, information, cultural rituals; Scout miraculously finds a surviving message from someone who witnessed the world-eating entity. This could be what Scout needs to save everyone.

Full review on my blog Bookish Brews

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