Last to Leave the Room
Ratings13
Average rating3.6
Last to Leave the Room is a new novel of genre-busting speculative horror from Caitlin Starling, the acclaimed author of The Death of Jane Lawrence. The city of San Siroco is sinking. The basement of Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the arrogant, selfish head of the research team assigned to find the source of the subsidence, is sinking faster. As Tamsin grows obsessed with the distorting dimensions of the room at the bottom of the stairs, she finds a door that didn’t exist before - and one night, it opens to reveal an exact physical copy of her. This doppelgänger is sweet and biddable where Tamsin is calculating and cruel. It appears fully, terribly human, passing every test Tamsin can devise. But the longer the double exists, the more Tamsin begins to forget pieces of her life, to lose track of time, to grow terrified of the outside world. As her employer grows increasingly suspicious, Tamsin must try to hold herself together long enough to figure out what her double wants from her, and just where the mysterious door leads...
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This one has mixed reviews, but as a Sci-Fi fan, I really enjoyed it. The idea of a doppelganger, just popping into existence, is a favorite trope for me. Last to Leave the Room does this well, I think, and it made for a good story.
There is a lot of contemplation, especially towards the end, but that actually made this more interesting for me. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not, but this time it fit well.
If you're a fan of Sci-Fi, with a touch of horror, this is one to grab and read. I sincerely appreciate St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The premise of this book was very intriguing. A researcher at an experimental communications lab realizes her city is facing a crisis that defies the laws of physics- and that might be connected to her work. When a duplicate of herself suddenly appears, she struggles to balance between saving the city and satisfying her need to know what is happening regarding herself and her double.
My main issue with the text was the amount of time it took me to feel invested in the characters and plot. While the second half was much more compelling, the first half of the text seemed to drag for me.
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