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The Last Days by Scott Westerfeld

March 4th, 2008 by Laura Moncur in Literature

The sequel to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant novel, Peeps, was sitting on the shelf at Barnes and Noble. I bought the hardcover of The Last Days without even reading a page of it. Then I promptly left it unread until the paperback came out. Why? I have no idea, but I’m sure glad I picked it up a few days ago and started reading. It was an enjoyable romp through the familiar world of vampires.

Moz and Zahler have been playing together for six years. The two guitarists have been jamming with their favorite song, Big Riff, for all this time, but things were going nowhere until Moz met that girl Pearl. Pearl was a Julliard darling until her band broke up in a spat of anger and madness. Pearl’s old bandmate Minerva is battling a strange disease that has her biting her doctors and finally locked in the attic with a strange esoteric who feeds her mandrake tea, garlic and raw meat. Alana Ray is the only normal one of the group and she is a nearly homeless autistic drummer. The five of them fall into a record contract and a world larger than the fame they dreamed of.

My favorite quotes from the book are here:

We don’t always get to choose what we love.

Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

Junkies might be easy to knock down, but they’re never fragile. They have souls like old leather shoes studded with steel, and they’re about as much good as friends.

Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

I’d watched too many schoolmates graduate into mental institutions, into group homes and jails, and I knew that locking people up was paranormal – against normal, not beside it. Locks didn’t cure; they strangled.

Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

Here’s what I’ve learned about dogs: They’re a lot like pretty girls. Having one or two around makes everything more fun, but when you get a whole bunch together, it turns into one big power struggle.

Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

Money’s the same, whoever gives it to you. That was the point of money, after all: crisp and clean or wrinkled or disintegrated into quarters – a dollar was always worth a hundred cents.

Scott Westerfeld, The Last Days, 2006

If you like Peeps, then you are definitely in for a lovely treat with The Last Days.