The Last Book in the Universe

The Last Book in the Universe

The Last Book in the Universe - Book Cover
Author	Rodman Philbrick
Cover artist	David "Moon Man Shannon" Shannon
Country	Unknown
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date	February 28, 2002
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	224
ISBN

The Last Book in the Universe (2000) is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Rodman Philbrick. Set in a cyberpunk dystopia, its

The story is set in a post-disaster, dystopic future city, called the Urb, which has been disturbed by an earthquake known as "The Big Shake". The Urb is plagued by poverty, thieves, gang warfare,and the use of mindprobes. These mindprobes include variations such as "trendies" (mindprobes about Eden). They are analogous to hard drugs and enable users to temporarily escape their harsh lives through images like movies being played in their heads. Genetically improved people, called "proovs," live in a city called Eden, with a beautiful society, food and water. Eden is separated from the Urb by the "Forbidden Zone," a deadly and dangerous minefield. Spaz is a 14-year-old boy who cannot use mindprobes because of his epilepsy and whose adoptive family has abandoned him because they feared the symptoms of his illness. Spaz runs errands for Billy Bizmo, the latch-boss (leader) of his own gang, the "Bully Bangers," in a section of the Urb. On one of his errands, Spaz is sent to "rip-off" Ryter, a very old man who possesses the lost arts of literacy and literature.

Spaz soon meets Little Face, a five-year-old orphan who only says the word "chox", because he didn't learn how to speak. Spaz also meets Lanaya, a proov who charitably gives out edibles(a futuristic food) to Spaz. At first, Spaz is very hostile towards Ryter, when Spaz arrives to "rip-off" (steal) Ryter's meager possessions. Contrastingly, Ryter understands Spaz's situation and does his best to help him, offering no resistance. Eventually Spaz learns that Bean, his beloved adoptive sister, is dying of the blood sickness (leukemia). Ryter and Little Face accompany Spaz on a journey to find Bean. The trio starts by traveling through "The Pipe", a large, rustic water pipe that leads to other latches. Along the way, they pass through latches controlled by various other bosses, having adventures along the way. One of the latches is ruled by the "Monkey Boys,". Spaz and company find out that the latch-leader, Mongo the Magnificent, is dying because of a probe being in his head for an extended time. Ryter convinces one of the tek bosses to take Mongo's place. In the next latch, the group sees everything burning and finds Lanaya being attacked by very hungry people. She is rescued by Spaz and Ryter and she joins them on their journey. Spaz and company start traveling towards the latch where Bean lives. Eventually, through many dangers, toils, and snares, the story's heroes find a dying Bean. Lanaya and Ryter decide to take Bean to Eden, along with Spaz and Little Face. They ride along in Lanaya's takvee to her and her "contributors" (Jin and Bree) home, which is a castle.