The Last Monster

By Author / Illustrator

Dan Walker, Jr.

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

Publisher

UCLan Publishing

ISBN

9781912979776

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

04-08-2022

Synopsis

The Light Hunters have fought Monsters for centuries and Squad Juno are the very best at it. From cities to villages, the young group's abilities are on show for all to see now that their powers don't have to be used in secret. Every victory they have prevents a Monster from taking more victims, preventing more loss.

Lux Dowd, Squad Juno's healer, has had more than enough loss... But a more immediate loss is that of his powers. Lux can't - or won't - heal his teammates. Whenever he tries, a terrible energy comes from within and hurts the people around him. Lux can't afford to lose anymore of those he cares about.

Sent on a mission that could end their war against the Monsters, the Light Hunters soon find themselves making new allies in their quest to unearth an Ancient secret that may be able to stop the attacks. Could this really be the last monster they fight?

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Reviews

The Last Monster by Dan Walker is yet another brilliantly constructed adventure story. After reading The Light Hunters, the first book in the series, I couldn't wait to read the second book and I was immediately hooked once again into the world of the light hunters.

The Last Monster is a thrilling adventure story that continues the dramatic story of the Light Hunters and Lux Dowd. The story follows the adventures of Dawnstar's Light Hunters, Squad Juno and their young healer, Lux Dowd. However, Lux's light powers discovered in The Light Hunters appear to have vanished and have been replaced with an uncontrollable, powerful new purple light called Shade. Lux is scared and has lost confidence in his abilities as this powerful purple light hurts people around him and Lux can't risk losing any more people he cares about - he has lost enough. Squad Juno continues to support Lux but know without a healer and Lux's unique 'light-throwing', they are in danger. Could this have anything to do with Deimos; has he returned once again?

The squad meet Ghast who explains the rare power of Shade and proposes a revolutionary view to use Light and Shade to reconcile and befriend the monsters, but this contrasting proposal goes against centuries of fighting monsters to keep villages, cities and their families safe. The squad find themselves with a new mission; to discover an ancient secret that might stop the monster attacks and end the war forever. Could this really be the last monster they ever fight?

This text could easily be used to plan a term of writing and reading activities and tasks as it will capture children’s imaginations and inspire creative story writing. The chapters are short and the story is fast-paced, which would enable great opportunities for whole class guided reading and tasks to follow.

I would highly recommend The Last Monster for children 9+ (Years 4, 5 and 6). The story uses a wealth of interesting and relatable characters which will appeal to all children. The story subtly demonstrates how important it is to have and rediscover self-belief which is such an important message. What a book! I can’t wait to see what Dan Walker may write next! Thank you, Dan.

322 pages / Reviewed by Nathan Cox, teacher