I thought I would read something different this week. I ended up reading M. P. Shiel’s The Purple Cloud, which came out in 1901. The premise honestly sounded really interesting, and it was on my TBR anyway. Let’s get into the review.
The Purple Cloud is a novel in the “last man” genre and received a lot of praise from the likes of H. G. Wells and H. P. Lovecraft when it first came out. The story follows Adam Jeffson, a man who ends up on an expedition to the North Pole. He leaves his family and fiancée behind, but upon getting to the Pole, strange things start to happen. Jeffson eventually learns of the death of the rest of his crew. When Jeffson pilots the ship back to land, however, it seems everyone has died. Jeffson also encounters a giant purple cloud, which he guesses has something to do with what’s going on.
I think a lot of things surprised me in this novel. I really liked the beginning since it included a lot of mystery and intrigue. After the first quarter of the book, however, things changed for me. The story included a lot of elements that were never explored. Not even the purple cloud itself developed into a meaningful answer. Instead, everything introduced started off as a mystery posed, but then never went anywhere. The purple cloud also barely features in the story, supposedly being the main focus. The story instead focused on Jeffson as he burned down cities, alone, which made for an intriguing premise. However, this part, which took up most of the book, felt extremely slow. I sat there wondering where the plot was going.
I did, however, like Jeffson as a character. He presented a lot of complexities in being the last man in the world. Though the purple cloud remains a mystery, the book does explore what it’s like for him to be in that situation. His psychology becomes the main focus of the story, and while not a whole lot happens with the plot, it’s interesting to see how he goes downhill. This acts as one of the book’s strengths, in my opinion.
Time to get back into my TBR! Glad to see that the books I read still surprise me. Stay tuned for another blog post later this week, as always. Happy reading!
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