The Last Ship
September 26, 2002 – 4:17 pmI started reading this book the other day. It’s called “The Last Ship” and it was written by William Brinkley. It’s a fictional story about a Navy Ship called the USS Nathan James. The Nathan James is a Guided Missle Destroyer (DDG) and is apparently the only survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
The story begins with the ship finding an island that they are considering inhabiting. Actually the captain is considering. The story is told in the first person from his viewpoint. In his narration he has alluded to a mutiny where 1/3 of the ship’s company left and an encounter with a Russian submarine. I assume he’s going to go back and revisit those events in greater detail.
One of the primary dillemas the captain faces is what to do about the 27 women on board. The actualy details of the dillema haven’t been voiced but I’m thinking it will have something to do with propagating the species.
Brinkley has an uncommon writing style that I am finding challenging – I definitely need to keep a dictionary handy. I almost want to compare his style to Dickens but only becuase his sentences can be very long and complex. The captain/narrator is extremely introspective and analytical and I think it’s that thought process that I sometimes have trouble following during my reading.
It’s not a new book, by any means, having been written in 1990. I just discovered it on a shelf at our house the other day – I was looking for something to read on the train to and from work. I’m enjoying it so far and will write more about it in the future. You can check out the book at Amazon.com: The Last Ship: A Novel
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