Who Would Like This Book:
If you’re craving epic, immersive sci-fi with deep world building and a romance that’s anything but typical, this book might just sweep you away. The relationship between strong, stubborn Amber and Meoraq (yes, he’s a literal lizardman) smashes through genre conventions and delivers incredible character growth and genuinely witty banter. The slow-burn connection, detailed clash of cultures, and existential reflections on humanity and faith set this apart. If you love stories that push boundaries, are open to darker themes, and want characters who feel real - flaws and all - this could be your next obsession.
Who May Not Like This Book:
This book is absolutely not for everyone! It’s LONG (think a thousand pages), with brutal violence, graphic sexual assault, heavy religious themes, and relentless suffering - seriously, check content warnings. Many readers are turned off by the nonstop trauma, the extreme depiction of villainy (sometimes almost cartoonish), and an oppressive tone that rarely lets up. If you need your stories to be uplifting, don’t want to handle graphic SA, or struggle with dark and distressing content, this one may not be for you.
About:
'The Last Hour of Gann' by R. Lee Smith is a lengthy science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic world with elements of romance and redemption. The story follows a group of survivors, including the practical and determined Amber, who crash-land on an alien planet and must navigate a new society led by the lizardman Meoraq. The book delves into themes of survival, clash of cultures, and the complexities of relationships amidst graphic scenes of violence and sexual content.
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Notes:
Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The story includes graphic depictions of violence, sexual assault, and other disturbing themes, making it essential for readers to be aware of these elements before reading.
Has Romance?
The romance between the main characters is central to the story, evolving through their shared experiences and challenges.
From The Publisher:
It was her last chance:Amber Bierce had nothing left except her sister and two tickets on Earth’s first colony-ship. She entered her Sleeper with a five-year contract and the promise of a better life, but awakened in wreckage on an unknown world.
For the survivors, there is no rescue, no way home and no hope until they are found by Meoraq—a holy warrior more deadly than any hungering beast on this hostile new world…but whose eyes show a different sort of hunger when he looks at her.It was his last year of freedom:Uyane Meoraq is a Sword of Sheul, God’s own instrument of judgment, victor of hundreds of trials, with a conqueror’s rights over all men.
Or at least he was until his father’s death. Now, without divine intervention, he will be forced to assume stewardship over House Uyane and lose the life he has always known. At the legendary temple of Xi’Matezh, Meoraq hopes to find the deliverance he seeks, but the humans he encounters on his pilgrimage may prove too great a test even for him…especially the one called Amber, behind whose monstrous appearance burns a woman’s heart unlike any he has ever known.From R. Lee Smith, author of Heat and Cottonwood, comes an epic new story of desire, darkness and the dawn that comes after The Last Hour of Gann.
Ratings (71)
Incredible (31) | |
Loved It (15) | |
Liked It (6) | |
It Was OK (5) | |
Did Not Like (8) | |
Hated It (6) |
Reader Stats (188):
Read It (64) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (58) | |
Did Not Finish (10) | |
Not Interested (55) |
6 comment(s)
Who would have thought a romance with a freaking lizardman would be one of the best things I've ever read?
I didn’t get very far, the characters behaved too illogically for me to stomach. An example: during the flight to the new planet, the passengers would only be conscious for only a few hours total while spending the rest of the time in stasis. The protagonist thought that during the flight she’d be seated next to her (whiny, terrible, useless, annoying) sister, but because she signed them up too late, there were no free neighbouring seats left and they had to be seated apart. So the protagonist makes a Karen move and demands from the manager she and her sister are seated together. The manager tells Karen he can only do that by relocating them to a different class — which means that after the landing, they’d be housed in the district of the new group for the duration of their stay, aka 5 years. The kicker? Karen’s original class guaranteed far better living standards. But she can’t be separated from her adult sister for even 5 waking hours, so she throws away 5 years of comfort of the both of them instead. Like, hello? This woman is the supposed responsible older sibling??
A tough read. Some truly horrible characters. But the growth of the major characters is amazing. Detailed world building. What happened in the last hour of Gann isslowly unpicked.
Too much rape. Well written, fleshed out, engrossing universe and characters, excellent twist but just too much rape and angst.
Slightly disturbing
One of the most interesting sci-fi novels I've read recently. There is a lot of violence but it is (almost) always justified by the plot. The author creates a whole different universe where the humans are the aliens. The relationship between the main female protagonist and the main male protagonist is very well-written. The book is rather long but I loved reading it. I will probably read it again as this book stayed with me if you know what I mean, and because it is deep on different levels.
What can you read after
The Last Hour of Gann?
About the Author:
R. Lee Smith is an author of epic-length sci-fi/horror erotica. If you purchase one of these books, expect to be sucked into a fascinating and long story.
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