I’m a big fan of these kinds of books, so I had high hopes going into this one. Unfortunately, I didn’t get on with it. And it’s definitely a case of me being the issue, not the book. The plot is great, the writing is great, it just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get engaged with it and found it hard going. I can see how it’s a great book, but frustratingly, not for me!

I have a few reservations about what I just read - you could at a push call them plot holes or inconsistencies - but I prefer the term niggles. But they were few in number and so I was able to accept and move on as the rest of what I read was easily good enough to make the effort for. Spoilers prevent me from going into detail - obviously.
So, earth has survived the Slow and the Stop. These both refer to the earth's rotation on its axis, the thing that gives us day and night. Now it is static as it goes round the sun. This in turn means that there are places that have constant light where others are in perpetual darkness. Needless to say that there have been quite a few casualties; people fleeing from the dark side towards the light but, when our story starts, things have appeared to have settled down.
We first meet our MC. Ellen Hopper, as she is working on a rig in the North Atlantic. She is a scientist and is studying water currents. One day she is visited by two officials from the government who inform her that her university lecturer, and indeed mentor, Edward Thorne, is on his last legs and his final wish is to see her. This does not come as much of a shock as it should as he had already written to her requesting a visit, imploring her, as he has something important to tell her. She declines but then finds out that this is not an option. Arriving at the hospital in the nick of time, Edward imparts to Ellen his final words. But they make no sense.
As Ellen starts to reminisce about her time at Uni, specifically the time she spent with Edward, of his life prior to academia, and then how he left abruptly, she starts to wonder what he needed to say. And so begins an action packed race against time to get to the truth before the powers that be can stop them. Clueless from the start, we follow as Ellen forms an unlikely allegiance to help her expose the shocking truth...
I'm still new to the whole dystopian thing so I have no idea where this stands in the genre but I do know that I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I was reading I was reluctant to put it down. When I had to, I was thinking about it and itching to get back to find out the big secret. One of the things I did enjoy was the trip round the London that it has become. How certain things have decayed for various reasons and also how other areas have fared in the days after the Stop. Also interesting was the politics that had evolved and the way things were governed. Scary stuff indeed but also quite plausible...
Characterisation was good. Each one, however big or small their part, was wholly believable and I was able to well connect with the main ones which, in turn, connected me with what I was reading.
Pacing was good and always matched the narrative. There were quite a few high octane parts but these were well complemented by some quieter moments which allowed me both respite and time to reflect on what I was reading.
The ending left me mostly satisfied. I say mostly. I suspect that there is more to come from this story. Maybe / probably even a trilogy as this is quite common for the genre. Either way, the main story contained within this book was completed. But the door was also left open for one or maybe more sequels should the author decide...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Forty years in the future, the world’s rotation has stopped with half the world in burning heat, the other in absolute darkness and cold, and a slim band of the world with the right amount of sunlight to still grow crops. Liveable land is at a premium, people will stop at nothing to find safety, while others will do everything to keep them out. Doctor Ellen Hopper is a scientist living on an old oil rig, studying the oceans to understand their potential as a continuing food source. But she is called back to Britain, one of the lucky few countries in the band of neither too much sun nor too much night, because her old mentor is dying. With his last breath, he sends her, albeit reluctantly, on the path to a truth which has been kept since the world stopped and uncovering it will change everything.
The story is told solely through Hopper’s voice, with two strands, one in the now which charts her journey through a post-apocalyptic London filled with fear and suspicion of outsiders, and the other her relationship with her mentor from one of almost worship on her part, to rejection. Both strands are well-paced with enough secrets and reveals in each to keep the reader turning the page. I certainly stayed up far too late more than once so I could finish one more chapter.
I appreciated the grim portrayal of the UK. Already isolated, many measures were put in place to keep anyone trying to get there out, most of them deadly in their efficiency. As Hopper has spent much of her time onboard the oil rig, she has missed the change of her home from a welcoming place, to one where there is no sympathy for outsiders, so her horror is our horror as starving people who have committed some minor misdemeanour, are sent to ‘the breadbasket’; a forced labour camp on Britain-held Europe which provides all the food for the survivors. It struck a chord with me as I felt that the suspicion in Hunter-Murray’s London is a little too like some of the rhetoric we faced (and still are) with Brexit.
This is less a story about the world stopping, and more about how those left alive deal with it. Do we become altruistic, ready to help any who ask or do web become inward, thinking only of our survival? As with all good stories, the protagonists’ actions are morally dubious while their motivations are reasonable. There were times I found myself in the uncomfortable position of understanding, if not agreeing, with their actions.
Part climate-change apocalypse, part political drama, The Last Day is a thrilling page turn with a satisfying ending and a strong, believable set-up for a sequel.

I found this a frustrating book to read as the premise seemed to be something that I would enjoy but I just couldn’t get into it. Ironically it was too slow in the beginning which meant it wasn’t holding my attention. I kept meandering to other stories which had more impact. I did like the character of Hopper so that pushed up my rating and made me stick with the book. However the reveal at the end felt rushed and overall it left an unsatisfactory impression.

The world as we know it has been destroyed and Britain is one of the few habitable places left inhabitable or is it? Ellen is brought back to London to see her old mentor on this deathbed, at his request, and the ,Authorities’ want to know why.
Our story has begun and now read on to find where it leads. Will Ellen find the truth or will she be eliminated first? A great read that makes you wonder what type of human race would we become when faced with such a disaster. Very thrilling.

This is a bleak vision of the future, and with our world news full of global warming issues, it’s a particularly disturbing read. Overall, I was hooked in quickly, drifted for a while after halfway, and then felt the ending hurtled along with a change of style into an abrupt, unfulfilled end. But it’s a great debut, and from the ending, I’m assuming there’s a sequel planned.
The story has some inconsistencies and plot holes when you look closely, but the creation of our world environment, after The Stop (basically the planet isn’t moving anymore) is apocalyptic and dystopian and the writing hooks you in.
Overall, I did ‘enjoy’ this read; the writing is good, the plot engaging (despite the holes) and it’s a tense thriller at times. So, I’d recommend having a read. Rounded up to four stars.

I liked the premise here, and the writing was fine. But it just didn't really grab me and I'm being ruthless about setting books aside if they aren't floating my boat.

May well work for others, as the writer clearly has talent, but like the earth in this tale, it was a bit too slow-moving.

A compelling read from the beginning. Well written and completely believable the little details throughout make this a fully recommended read. Couldn’t put it down!

Gripping and exciting, The Last Day is the kind of dystopian novel that gives us a terrifying glimpse into a possible not too distant future. I felt my heart racing as I read, desperate to uncover the secrets, and I felt a distinct 1984/Black Mirror vibe. The ending was slightly too open for my liking, though I imagine it was done so to allow the possibility of a sequel.

When a “rogue” white dwarf star passed dangerously close to Earth, The Earth has stopped rotating on its axis and left the planet half scorched in sunlight and half frozen in darkness, with humanity barely hanging on in the dim zone between the extremes. Forty years after the disaster, dubbed “the Stop,” Britain, is in the middle zone. Scientist Dr. Ellen Hopper conducts oceanic research on a rig in the North Sea, despite feeling her work is pointless. When Hopper is summoned to the deathbed of her Oxford mentor, Edward Thorne, a government scientist responsible for the deaths of countless refugees after the Stop, she catches wind of a secret that could spell further disaster for humankind. To save what’s left of the world, Hopper launches an investigation into the government secret, rediscovering her hope for humanity along the way. Murray’s despairing characters are convincing and his descriptions of the broken Earth are vivid.

An enjoyable read that needs not only to appeal to the dystopian reader. Also this is a warning to what isolationism and climate change disaster might bring

My thanks to Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Earth has stopped rotating on its axis and 'lucky' Britain is one of the few places which remains habitable and able to grow some crops. Unfortunately a totalitarian government runs the country, and what is left of the population, with an iron rod - complete with curfews, secret police and hard labour for any infringement of the rules. One of the architects of the regime, who has since fallen out of favour, asks to see a former pupil and the book follows her harrowing journey of discovery towards a truth which could bring the government down.

The concept sounds a bit "1950's Sci-Fi Movie" but it really does work! Much thought has gone into the science - our heroine and scientist Ellie Hopper is studying the new sea currents and there are descriptions of the changed weather patterns and genetic adaptations of plants to their new 'permanent daylight' environment (although no mention is made of pollination and insect life).

I think this is a brave and original book to have written. It is well told and the characters are quite realistic - although Ellie was perhaps a bit too impulsive and reckless to be a genuine scientist. I would be happy to read more by this author.

Great premise that kept me reading right to the end.

I enjoy books set in the future and this one is genuinely different to anything I’ve read before. It’s intriguing and twisting and worryingly real!

Set not far into the future, this tells the story of a world that has stopped turning. Half the world lives in perpetual darkness, the other half burns with the heat of a relentless sun. In the middle, there is a section which has avoided these extremes, and Britain has become the major world force. The story follows Ellen Hopper, who reluctantly visits London to bid an old mentor farewell in hospital, only to learn about the totalitarian state of the British government and its tyrannical rule. This is a political thriller/sci fi novel, which pushes the reader along with an imperfect but very interesting plot that holds the attention. There is a sense of pre-ordination as Ellen commits to her quest, but that doesn't make the tale less interesting overall. Definitely worth a read.

At first blush I was concerned that the basic concept of this novel, the slowing and stopping of the Earth's rotation would mean that it was a sort of "B" movie story with all the nonsense that that entails. Since the world has stopped spinning, one part of it is perpetually in life destroying sunlight and the other half in lifeless gloom. By chance the British isles finds itself on the margin where life is precarious but just possible. In this dystopian landscape a totalitarian state had taken over and the country is on a sort of war footing. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this was a genuinely very well written and imaginative tale which combined elements of science fiction with a theme similar to 1984. The main character is sympathetic and believable and her journey towards her goal compelling and enjoyable to read. It would be unrealistic to expect a reversal of the damage to the world's equilibrium (B movie stuff) but the story manages to reach a positive and believable conclusion. A very good novel by the standards of any genre.

Gripping and exciting! This story is set in a dystopian future, at a time when planet earth has stopped rotating. It's a fast-paced thriller following a trail of greed and destruction. Good fire-side stuff!

The Last Day by Andrew Murray Hunter

I enjoy books set in a dystopian future, and this certainly put a new twist on the genre.
It is set in 2059, the world’s spin has been slowing down since 2019 until it finally stopped spinning in 2029.
Thus half the planet is now in permanent darkness, and half is in permanent sunshine, meaning the majority of Earth is uninhabitable.
There is a small sliver where it is light and warm enough to support plant and human life, although there is permanent daylight, and Great Britain happens to inhabit part of that area, making the country very influential.
The description of how society rebuilt itself, and how it coped with the loss of the internet, and had to return to earlier industrial models, and how to live in permanent sunlight is very believable.

Against this background Ellen Hopper is summoned back from a rig in the North Sea, where she has been investigating ocean current, to the deathbed of her Oxford tutor, a man who was very involved in setting up the current British state, and has secrets that could damage the state.

What follows is a great thriller, as Ellen discovers things the government would rather she didn’t know, helped by various well-drawn characters, her brother, her ex-husband, and hindered by sinister government operatives.
The book has a very satisfactory ending, but leaves room for a possible sequel that I would definitely read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Cornerstone for the opportunity to read this book.

At first the world started rotating more slowly, then it’s rotation stopped altogether.

The year is 2059 and the earth stopped turning thirty years ago. Roughly half of the planet is in perpetual frozen darkness and most of the rest is turning to desert, thanks to the unremitting full force of the sun. there is a narrow habitable region which has, by luck alone, avoided either extreme. Britain won the end of the world lottery and has become the pre-eminent force in the world, and the place everyone wants to get to.

Scientist Ellen Hopper works on an oil rig in the North Atlantic, off the south coast of England. We learn that she’s divorced, has no children and is pretty much fully immersed in studying water flows and currents. But one day she receives a visit from two government officials advising her that her university lecturer and mentor is dying and has expressed a wish to talk to her. She’s reluctant to accede to this request – her relationship with her mentor having ended badly – but she’s put under pressure to pay a visit to the hospital in London where he’s seeing out his final days.

The thing I most like about this sort of fiction is that it offers up opportunities for the story to go in innumerable directions. So this book immediately fired my imagination and created a series of pictures in my mind. A great set-up.

I won’t go into what happens when Ellen meets her mentor other than to say it creates more questions in her mind than it provides answers. We learn that Britain’s totalitarian government rules with an iron fist and limitations are in force to limit the freedom of movement, and harsh punishments are in place awaiting those who flout the new laws. But Ellen’s curiosity has been piqued and she’s inclined to take a few risks in an attempt to find some answers before she returns to the rig.

The strength of the novel, I think, is in the way the people we meet are shown to be reacting to the situation everyone now finds themselves in. Nobody really knows if the planet can survive, or if it can for how long. There are fears that oxygen levels will deplete to an extent that life becomes unsustainable. Already, it seems that the area containing Britain and a few of its close neighbours is the only spot where anyone is left alive. So the mindset is altered: what’s the point of bringing children into this world, say some, and what about study and careers – why bother?

The less satisfactory element here is Ellen’s search for answers. This feels a little plodding and her successes and failures feel a little contrived, even somewhat preordained. The people she has existing relationships with from her former life on the mainland – in other words, those she is reliant on for help - just happen to have jobs and backgrounds that are a perfect fit for the purpose. But I think I could have accepted or even perhaps embraced this if the story hadn’t become quite so one dimensional in the second half. Ellen has gone all in in her quest and it all just becomes a bit of a chase. The ending also feels a little rushed, though it did offer up a nice twisty finish.

I’m somewhere between three and four stars on this one, but I’m going to round it up rather than down because I think the idea is really great even if the execution doesn’t quite match up to it.

This book completely took my breath away - for all the right reasons.
A unique take on a dystopian future the planet has stopped turning leaving half the world in perpetual light and half in complete darkness. The world as we know it is changed forever with only Britain and parts of Europe being habitable. Refugees are turned away with extreme prejudice and criminals are now sent to grow crops as the new hard labour.
Primarily this book makes you believe that this scenario could actually happen! It is almost factual in account and the world Ellen lives in seems perfectly possible given the current state of the planet and the actions of humanity as a whole.
There is a lovely balance between life going on in the new "normal" and Ellen, trying to find out what the big secret her old University tutor so desperately tried to share with her.
With overbearing political control and law enforcement all over the place it seems that Ellen is doomed to fail as she attempts to navigate through the new not-so-United Kingdom seeking answers.

A really thought provoking book as well as a seriously good read- I will be recommending it to everyone I know!

As a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel with its bleak hellscape of a future. The planet has stopped revolving and humanity's remnants are either scratching out a life or plotting how best to manipulate the power balance in their favour. I'd have liked to read more about what happened in various countries after the Stop (in the vein of World War Z - the book not the terrible movie) and less about the plucky heroine's various failed relationships, mind you...Hopper really is something ofa misery.
It will make a decent film one day, with plenty of action and fast=paced chases; I recommend this to anyone who doesn't care much about being cheered up :)

This was an excellent story. The description of how the planet has changed in some ways, but some people haven’t was gripping. I thought it was very inventive and fast paced. Highly recommend.