Opinions of a Wolf

Summary:
Our trio of the doctor, Yorick, and 355 have resumed their attempt to reach the west coast, but get side-tracked when they stumble across the Russian woman looking for the spacemen.  Upon learning of the imminent arrival of the astronauts, they decide to join her in journeying to the landing location, which just happens to be nearby.  Meantime, the Israeli soldiers, unbeknownst to them, are hot on their tails.

Review:
Many different plot lines collide in this entry in the post-apocalyptic series.  We finally find out why the Israelis are following Yorick and meet the astronauts.  We get to know the Russian lady, as well as a couple of new scientists at the secret government location.

Most interesting in this book is Yorick’s growth as a character.  Although he, to a certain extent, has that slacker mentality that can be so difficult to change, it appears an apocalypse just might succeed in doing so.  He takes more assertive action and starts to doubt maintaining his loyalty to his girlfriend/fiancee on the other side of a world full of just women.  In a way the story feels like a coming of age one.  Yorick going from a boy to a man.  Which is kind of hilarious given the setting, but it also works.

The Israeli soldiers storyline question a lot of gender norms thinking.  I watched a lot of war movies in my childhood, and here we have soldiers doing basically the exact same thing, only they’re women.  Just seeing that impacts gender norm preconceptions of the reader.

Finally, we have the astronauts who have developed an interesting relationship in their extended time away from earth.  Their presence and the surprises they bring are the final kick that makes this the best entry in the series so far.

The art continues to be colorful and easy to decipher, plus the last chapter is a bit of a meta romp featuring primarily Yorick’s monkey that ends the book on a light note, but also moves the plot forward in a key way.

Overall, this is a well-drawn, creatively plotted entry in the series that manages to amuse and cause thought-provoking responses simultaneously.  Readers of the series will be instantly begging for more.

5 out of 5 stars

Source: Public Library

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Previous Books in Series
Y: The Last Man: Unmanned (review)
Y: The Last Man: Cycles (review)