Book Review: The Last Day by Seann Barbour (2023)
I don’t know that I’ve reviewed a true, self-published indie horror novella like The Last Day since launching Vogue Horror, but props to the author, Seann Barbour, as he performs the necessary hustle to get folks reading his book. I have read a number of comparable self-published horror works in my time, and a fair few of them are deserving of wider attention—The Last Day included. While there were a few things that nagged at me, the strengths of the work considerably outpaced any shortcomings, and I would recommend anyone with even a sliver of interest in the story to drop $2.99 and help a creator live their dream.
Once Upon a Diner
Personal injury lawyer Ronald Lawrence has returned to his hometown of Pillar, Indiana for his high school reunion. He’s a little insecure about his accomplishments, being a fake-in-til-you-make-it type, but he’s mighty glad to see Cecelia, whom he carried a torch for a decade earlier when they were both young and spry. The morning after the reunion, with nothing but a long drive back to New Jersey ahead of him, he stops for coffee at a diner before leaving town. That’s when a Ford Mustang plows through the front of the shop and a giggling, yellow-eyed man steps out from behind the wheel and repeatedly smashes Ronnie’s head against the counter, killing him. There’s a bit more to it than that, the most important element being that Lawrence begins the day anew immediately after his apparent death, waking up in his hotel bed fresh off a high school-romance hookup with the aforementioned Cecelia. As any of us would be inclined to do, he concludes that it was all a dream.
Only it wasn’t. Ronnie goes about his day, this time avoiding the diner, but ends up in an encounter with police officers where they–also yellow-eyed–saw his head off with a hacksaw. Ronnie wakes up in his hotel room once again, this time with an understanding that whatever is going on with the yellow-eyed madness cropping up all over the world, he is seemingly destined to relive this last day again and again. As the days and deaths accumulate, Ronnie’s moves from befuddlement and despair to trying to solve what is happening, and his slapdash detective work into the cause of both the madness and his mortal recycling eventually leads to some outside help, and eventually, a goal.
When You Swing a Dead Cat…
As a story, it works in the same style as The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror does: you accept the outlandish premise and agree to go along for the ride. The less you pick at the ‘how’ and ‘why’ and stick to the ‘what’–questions we typically don’t ask when it comes to film and television–the better time you’ll have as a reader. The novella weighs in around 30,000 words, or 2.5 hours, and is probably best consumed in a single sitting if possible.
Barbour nails the quick pace of the story, moving Ronnie toward both clues about the malady and his next violent death before starting the day over with a bit more information in-hand. It can feel a touch repetitive, reliving the same opening scene again and again, but Barbour thankfully streamlines the redundancies for the most part.
The writing style fits the story, with short, staccato sentences that are visually rich and free from indulgent prose. I can readily see this novella being turned into a film, and the premise would probably lend itself especially well to such an endeavor. If Barbour ever blesses an agent with his clientship (and I do think he’s a good enough writer to land one), I hope that adaptation is pursued, as I think his style would readily translate to a visual medium. While most of the story is quick-and-dirty, there are a few more elegant passages in the latter half of the novella that were worth a highlight, and while the penultimate scene, a meditation on the nature of violence, does seem to meander a bit, I did appreciate how it showcased the author’s ability to write in different styles.
...You Have to Hit Something
My criticisms of this book are pretty minor, but I think I was well-attuned to what I was getting before I opened the book and had tailored my expectations accordingly.
The biggest issue is that the repeating cycle, in which Ronald Lawrence dies and awakens anew, repeats a few too many times, and I think it would have been better to push the plot forward and have him make discoveries more quickly than he did. At some points it felt like Barbour was stalling for time, hitting the reset button to perhaps try and determine where he ultimately wanted to take the story. That being said, it’s thirty-thousand words, so things don’t stall out too much.
Final Thoughts
Consciously or otherwise, Barbour understands the novella, keeping the pace steady and moving so that any details which might not be ready for scrutiny aren't dwelled upon by the reader. This is an instinctive talent, one of those things that is impossible to teach but which he does especially well. In a way many popular authors cannot, he makes his characters incredibly present in what they're doing, as Ronald not only takes up day drinking in public, but remarks on the pointlessness of retrieving an empty can when he misses the garbage bin. Many authors overlook the ways in which traumatic experiences might affect character behavior, and I want to credit Barbour on how we he constructs a believable progression of his character’s psyche as Ronnie struggles to come to grips with the bizarre cycling nature of his existence.
The Last Day is a solid read. It’s a fun story that is written smartly with a good bit of flair, and as long as you don’t pick at the edges too much, it delivers what most horror readers want from a novella. If you’re looking for something quick and gory (Hey, Barbour seems to love killing dogs and children) and want to feel good about supporting an indie author, definitely pick it up.
Score: 6.5
Strengths
Excellent pacing and prose worthy of a traditionally-published horror author
Decent bit of effective humor
Marries a couple different horror idea well
Weaknesses
Story cycles a few too may time
Vision for the narrative feels like it could have taken a bit more time to incubate
You can find The Last Day on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
You may also like: Stephen Knight, Patrick Barb, 28 Days Later
