Book Review: The Last Gifts of the Universe

A thoughtful and light-hearted space adventure by SPSFC 2 champion, Riley August.

I’ve had this book on my TBR since it won the second Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) back in 2023. Since then it moved from being an indie title to being picked up by a traditional publisher—a magnificent and fairly rare occurrence. Traditional publishing houses don’t usually like to go for books that have already been published, but it seems they are increasingly paying attention to the bevvy of accomplished authors in the indie space these days. Anything that brings more eyes to the indie community is welcome. Though the downside was that when I originally went to buy the self-pub version on Amazon, it had been taken down pending its republishing by Penguin. All that to say that I ended up finding the book on the shelf in Waterstones instead!

Blurb

A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.

Scout is an archivist, searching the dead worlds of the cosmos for clues as to the fate of all these lost civilisations. While exploring another lifeless planet they discover something unbelievable: a message from a witness to that worlds-ending entity thousands of years ago.

But uncovering the story and staying one step ahead of the profit-hungry corporation on their trail won’t be easy. Together with their brother and sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat Pumpkin, Scout must now race to save what matters most.

Review

The Last Gifts of the Universe is a beautiful tale of exploration and heartache and loss with great humour and a small but stellar cast of characters. I especially enjoyed Scout’s journey as they search for clues in the personal logs of one of the aliens from a civilisation that fell victim to this strange cosmic entity. Pumpkin is a fantastic character with his endearing cat behaviour, bopping things and trying to sniff stuff through his space suit. Space really is no place for a cat, but he makes the best of it. I also loved the relationship dynamic between Scout and their brother, squabbling one moment, sharing a pizza the next, but also respecting each other’s areas of expertise. The Remnants were suitably horrifying and the agents of the corporation constantly being one step ahead of the ragtag trio was frustrating in the best way.

Without spoilers, I’ll simply say that the ending of the book is left pretty open, and I would have liked to have seen more regarding where it went. In a way it felt like it was cut short and I didn’t feel like the twist about the “last stand” was very surprising. I clocked that right from the start and I was a bit confused as to why Scout was puzzling over it for so long. But overall the plot was very enjoyable. I love stories where there’s an aspect of xenoarchaeology where the main characters get to find out things about alien cultures. It’s a great way to deliver on epic scale worldbuilding and this book being all about that made it very engaging. Although I do think the aliens were a little too human-like in their behaviours and even their culture. It worked for the point the story was trying to make but it was a little overdone and it threw me off. About two thirds of the way through I started to wonder if the big twist might be that all the characters we’d been following were the aliens and that the extinct aliens in the holograms were the humans. That turned out to be a red herring of my own making, simply because of the uncanny similarity.

For the personal stakes, this book is a masterclass in character work. We’re given such a well rounded picture of the inner lives of the main cast (yes, even Pumpkin) that they feel very real and very grounded. Their backstory and the way it influences the current story and the conflict with the corporation was brilliantly done. Character is the main focus of the story, and it makes for an endearing and contemplative tale with a great sense of adventure.