Ryul's Last Years on Earth has an opening that’s truly well-crafted. There’s an assassin sitting in the kitchen, eating Chinese noodles next to the bodies of the parents she just killed, waiting for the daughter to deliver the news in person. "I didn’t know what you’d like, so I ordered the same as me." It’s cinematic and emotionally spot-on!
Ryul is immortal in a dying world. Her parents sacrificed their own chance at eternal life to give it to her (and she didn’t want it!). That guilt follows her across centuries and civilizations: from the ruins of Brey to the towering cities of the immortals; from Seelawa with its communication towers pointing to space, to the bizarre Crown Empire where children build endless walls.
At the heart of the novel is the relationship between Ryul and Erna, the assassin. It’s toxic, destructive, and beautiful. Neither of the two women (so to speak: they’re centuries-old) is “good” or “bad.” They cling to each other because they don’t know how to do anything else, and that makes them more human than any spotless heroine.
I caught echoes of Japanese literature on every page. Mishima’s mono no aware, that awareness of transience that makes things more beautiful. The existential passivity of Murakami’s protagonists. Even some names (Ryonosuke, like Akutagawa) are deliberate homages. It’s rare to see a Western author engage so consciously with that tradition.
Digging a bit deeper, the time skips in the middle section can be disorienting, and some secondary characters remain underdeveloped and flat. But this is really nitpicking. The vast majority of the book works. It’s a long, exquisite journey through melancholy and love between two people who can’t and aren’t allowed to love each other. Honestly, now I feel like listening to Norwegian Wood again, thirtieth time this month.
The Cover
The cover is atmospheric and professional, a dark cityscape in blues and teals, with brushstroke textures that suggest both destruction and artistry. The typography is elegant and readable even in thumbnail size. It promises something literary and melancholic, and the book delivers. Honestly, I preferred the cover quality of The Travelling City, but this one clearly works as well.
If you loved Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro, This Is How You Lose the Time War, or you’re looking for something that isn’t yet another fantasy with maps and prophecies, this book is for you.
Adrienne Miller had already won me over with The Travelling City. With Ryul’s Last Years on Earth, she confirms she’s a voice to follow.
ARC copy received in exchange for an honest review.
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