Bookish Thoughts

The final volume of Y: The Last Man delivers a mostly satisfying, somewhat tragic ending that wraps up Yorick's epic quest to find his lost love. Everyone converges on Paris for final confrontations, epic reunions, and a few surprising revelations. And then life goes on, as it must. I'm going to have to re-read this whole series again at some point. It took me far too long to pick up on the slow burn romance between Yorick and 355, maybe because it was such an incredibly well done slow burn. But, like Yorick, I was blinded by the quest for Beth. I couldn't see what was right in front of me.  His resolution with Beth (and even Beth 2 and Beth Jr) was fantastic. It hit all the right beats of joy and awkwardness and betrayal and despair. Things were broken between them, and she was ultimately more of a fantasy than a real girl. I'm glad he was able to let her go in the end. I'm mad, though, about 355's death. It was shocking and jaw-dropping and ultimately fr...

I loved this volume of Y: The Last Man. We're heading into the endgame, so obviously it's time to back up and see how everyone got here. There are a handful of arcs that move the plot forward. But there are also a lot of one-off issues that give us flashbacks of all the main characters. I loved learning more about them and what their lives were like before the "gendercide". As for the main story - the main group is forced to split up. Everything moves forward. Doctor Mann tracks down her mom, walking right into the trap Toyota set for her. Yorick is finally reunited with Ampersand and learns that Beth is headed to Paris. Beth 2 has a baby (!) and she and Hero head back to the Hot Suite in Ohio. There are kids again, which is fantastic. Except that hope gets yanked away with the return f Tse'elon right at the end. But it's all the flashbacks that really sold this one for me. We get a look at 355's early childhood and her recruitment into the Culper Ring...

The third installment of Y: The Last Man  sees our trio on more adventures. They finally reach Dr. Mann's lab, only for Ampersand to be kidnapped, kicking off another journey. Yorick and Hero are finally reunited in a non-murdery way. And we meet some pirates! This was basically a series of exciting adventures. I enjoyed them, though not quite as much as the previous arcs. It was fun to meet another Beth, and to get confirmation that the original Beth is still alive. Ultimately I don't feel like I have a lot to say about this book, though. It was fun and entertaining. The main mysteries are still chugging along, though it doesn't feel like we're any closer to solving them. This is a middle book. No intriguing beginnings or astonishing endings. Just lots of treading water. Though there are those pirates I mentioned. Sigh, I should have written this review earlier. When this volume wasn't all mixed up with the next one in my head. That'll teach me to fall so...

The second Y: The Last Man  book chronicles a series of adventures Yorick, Ampersand, 355, and Dr. Mann have as they continue their journey to California. Some were a lot of fun. Others were weird and off-putting. But it was all entertaining, and I'm still very excited to see what comes next. The first arc deals with three astronauts on the ISS who are returning to Earth. The trio includes two men, and Yorick is excited by the prospect of not being the last man on Earth anymore. This arc helps tie off a few loose threads, particularly the Israelis and their weird conspiracy with Yorick's mom (not the president - I was mistaken). Once all that business is taken care of, we get to follow the main group for a while and the background characters are largely relegated to the back-burner. We see a traveling theater company trying to keep art alive in a small, conservative town. We meet one of 355's oldest friends. And then they encounter a scary militant group in Arizona...

I've been meaning to read Y: The Last Man for a while now. It's written by Brian K Vaughan, the same guy responsible for Saga . But unlike Saga , this story is actually complete. I finally managed to get my hands on the first (of five) deluxe books, which collects the first ten issues. And now I'm going to be spending my birthday money on the remaining books. Because I am hooked. The story mostly follows Yorick. He and his pet monkey, Ampersand, are the only males left in the world after some unknown cataclysmic event caused the immediate death of everyone with a Y chromosome. All Yorick wants to do is find his girlfriend, but everyone else has their own plans for him. Yorick's mom is a congresswoman, doing her best to help hold the government together in DC after most of the government officials have died. The Secretary of Agriculture has been rapidly promoted to president, reminding me of Battlestar Galactica . Though I think this women is less qualified, and som...