The Last Human

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

The Last Humanis a sci-fi story exploring a post-human galaxy hundreds of thousands of years in the future. In this setting, humanity is the progenitor race that was the first to colonize the stars. Most alien species are not “true” aliens. Many are derived from species from Earth, having undergone the process of uplift into sapience or an approximation of it. Humans are largely mythical, viewed as a once an all-powerful race. Some aliens hate humanity for bestowing them sapience. Others worship the ground under their feet. But most of the galaxy wouldn’t recognize one by appearance. The story follows the recollections of Vas, a human boy who grew up on an insectoid hive world. The narrative is his recounting from how he went from a slave to one of the most feared individuals in the galaxy. You can now listen to the audiobook of The Last Human on myYouTube Channel. Also available onApple PodcastsandSpotify. Episodes released weekly on Sundays. Kickstarter for physical editions islive!

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2024
Author: Isaac Young

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.8/ 5.0
Followers: 414
Views: 74,164

What readers say about The Last Human

“This story is a diamond in the rough. You can tell that the author has spent time with it. It's a true sci-fi story, taking us into a thought-out galaxy exploring alien psyche and human. Humans are depicted as noble and bizarre and powerful. The story is wr…”
rel7891Royal Road5.0 / 5
“I really like the retrospective first person account. I don't know if it's continuing for the rest of the story, but it really added to the feeling of how vast the world the characters live in is. And what a world indeed! A Galaxy filled to the brim with ev…”
ddownzRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

rel7891Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story is a diamond in the rough. You can tell that the author has spent time with it. It's a true sci-fi story, taking us into a thought-out galaxy exploring alien psyche and human. Humans are depicted as noble and bizarre and powerful. The story is written as an autobiography, which adds extra depth to the story as we gain poignant emotional observations about the protagonist's state of mind. We are given a small but growing sense of the future from the perspective of the protagonist's future self, writing the memoir and his success at making his indelible mark on the galaxy and how that came to be. Again, a gem. Looking forward to seeing where it goes.
ddownzRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I really like the retrospective first person account.
I don't know if it's continuing for the rest of the story, but it really added to the feeling of how vast the world the characters live in is. And what a world indeed! A Galaxy filled to the brim with everything but humans.
I look forward to book one!
AutisticendermanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is a truly engaging story told from a unique perspective and I’m avidly following this as it develops. The world building so far has been fantastic, but only hinting at the possibilities of where this could go.
To summarise, I’m loving what has been released so far and hope this will end up as a trilogy (or more) that I can purchase and binge read again.
GarhomRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Last Human is, thus far, an excellently written story. Young has presented a grim world, where humanity has fallen to its own vice, and the tale of an orphan boy growing up in a galaxy with few friendly faces and fewer places to call home. Still, far from being a depressing read, Young shows that goodness can be found even amidst a sea of darkness and uncaring.
I look forward to seeing where The Last Human develops and understanding how young Vas journeys to become older, narrator Vas.
KittyJinglesRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
There's fighting and less violent but still delightful culture clash and the lost tech of scattered humanity. No litRPG or cultivation, it's OP technology in a rich immersive galaxy. We learn things along with the boy so it's never overwhelming, but it's so full of action and provocative thoughts about home and freedom and cool aliens and faded glory.
I love it when aliens feel alien. Though technically these aren't aliens, but creatures uplifted by humans long long ago. The world building is rich as we get the child's experiences, surprisingly not as grimdark as I had expected for a life of slavery. That it's told as a memoir is very effective, the first person point of view occasionally mentioning something about the present where we get tantalizing hints of how powerful he's become. I'm enjoying 'boy raised by wolves er bugs learn what human is' and want more.
The_KhanRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Never written a review before but this prologue is something else. One of the best introductions I've ever read on Royal Road.
The prologue was wonderful and I love the narration-style of the story. Every character is a mystery, yet intriguing regardless. And the universe-building is top-notch.
I really like how the characters seem their age as well.
Looking forward to arc 2!
UraaaaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The world is very well developed, despite its scale, I really liked the work, the story is good, the characters are well developed I have read many books of different genres and I don't like everything I have read. I liked this work. I will wait for the release of new chapters with impatience. I hope that you will listen to my opinion.
aspiringmisanthropeRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Last Human is much more than a sci-Fi romp through the galaxy, with strange and wonderful creatures and cultures to behold, old rivalries to settle, and unspeakable horrors to encounter.
It’s a personal retelling of how the titular character came to power, how he experienced growth, affection, and understanding in a universe that deprived him and his kind of their rightful place in the cosmos. Rescued from his life as a slave to wretched bugs, Vas Du’Kaal is taken on by Amon Russ, a man with a long shadow of a past. With Amon and his crew, Vas learns what is means to be a human, his people’s history, and the stakes at play if they are to survive in a cruel, dangerous galaxy.
The author’s rhythm is engaging and taut, never becoming plodding or wistful. The tension is well earned and satisfactorily released. The characters, alien and human alike, are believe-able in their motivations, and few if any are reduced to cartoon caricatures. The actions taken by the characters are commensurate with the desperation of their plight. This is not a tale of high minded morals. It’s a ragged edge struggle that is teetering on oblivion at every turn.
I look forward to the inevitable mass market release and the big budget miniseries adaption.
Erik D. JohnsonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
"The Last Human" is a tragic but hopeful story, a deeply philosophical space opera and a richly detailed and well-imagined exercise in world building that combines plausible science fiction with body horror while avoiding being overly technical or sadistic. The protagonist, Vas, is a different kind of savior than usually found in science fiction. He lacks the noble beginnings and inevitable success of a Paul Atreides or the amoral ruthlessness of a Darrow O' Lykos. His is not the easy path of a Skywalker. He is a poor child, one subjected to extreme suffering, and he is starting at the bottom of an abyss, one where the flame of humanity has almost been extinguished. Yet in this darkness, there is hope, the hint of a Provedential scheme, and the possibility that the qualities that make Vas different will be the very attributes that help him to rescue his species. I eagerly await the continuance of this story and highly recommend it to all.
Each time I think that I have a criticism of this work, after some consideration, I realize that I'm wrong. I wished that the space battles were longer and more detailed, but then I remembered that the narrator is a child who has spent his entire life as a slave, a prisoner or a passenger on a space ship. The story is told from his keyhole perspective. Everything about the style--the rapid pace, the narrative jumps, the unexpected twists that force the reader to play catch-up--mimic the disoriented and chaotic life of the hero. There are probably other things that I am missing that will require multiple readings.
DanielMBensenRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
I listened to the first several chapters on Youtube, which is not a platform that fits my life. Any chance of getting you to crosspost on Spotify? But I kept at it because it’s a good reader and a good story. Far future, humans have become the galaxy’s endangered species, replaced by creatures mostly (but not all) descended from one or another genetic engineering project. Our narrator is an orphan raised by bugs who grows up to rule the galaxy.