The Last Storm

Author Tim Lebbon
A gripping, terrifying road trip through the heat of the post-apocalyptic American desert from the author of Netflix’s The Silence. This action-packed and thought-provoking eco-nightmare will appeal to fans of Benjamin Percy, Christopher Golden and Josh Malerman.

With global warming out of control, large swathes of North America have been struck by famine and drought and are now known as the Desert. A young woman sets out across this dry, hostile landscape, gradually building an arcane apparatus she believes will bring rain to the parched earth.
 
Jesse lives alone, far from civilization. Once, he too made rain, but he stopped when his abilities caused fatalities, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. When his daughter Ash inherited this tainted gift, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and he believes himself responsible for her death.
 
But now his estranged wife Karina brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, they set out to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.
Praise for The Last Storm:

"Lebbon's prose sizzles on the page in this tale of extreme weather, revenge, and the longing for redemption... While King is an obvious lodestone for contemporary horror, Lebbon shares his talent for jolting the reader with shockingly vivid bursts of violence and transporting them inside the splintering psyche of a killer... This is genre fiction delivered with style and imagination" SFX (5 stars)

"Thought-provoking, disturbing, and family-centered, this tale will appeal to readers of stories as varied as The Violence, by Delilah S. Dawson (2022), The Changeling, by Victor LaValle (2017), or The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)."  - Booklist 

"Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing." - Publishers Weekly

"Lebbon has created a compelling plot and some complex and fascinating characters, set within the backdrop of this near inhospitable world. The Last Storm takes the reader on a most unique journey, forcing them to visit places they never expected, whether they want to or not.​"​-San Francisco Book Review (4.5 stars)

“The Last Storm is a soaring near-future nightmare that breaks all the tired rules of apocalyptic fiction. The story’s ambition is only matched by the grim hope of Tim’s boundless, humane imagination. His best novel to date.”
Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearer’s Club

“Grim, dusty Americana, family drama, near-future horror. The best thing he’s ever done!” 
Christopher Golden, bestselling author of Road of Bones

“Tim Lebbon is always good, but this time he’s outdone himself. Dry climate and wet hopes collide in a compelling novel of terror and outstanding originality.” 
Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series

“This dust-choked, sun-baked, adrenaline-fueled quest through a nightmare future will thrill and move you while also sounding the alarm on the dangerous direction we're spinning as a planet. Tim Lebbon is a prophet of a poet.” 
Benjamin Percy, author of The Unfamiliar Garden, The Ninth Metal, and Red Moon

“Expertly crafted horror that resonates with emotion and the messy complications of family.”
Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of A Rip Through Time

“Heartfelt, gripping horror from a master of the genre.”
Sarah Pinborough, Sunday Times #1- and New York Times-bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

“Lebbon’s near-future fable has a power and urgency all its own.”
M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl With All the Gifts

“The Last Storm is slick, insidious, and haunting—a wildly ambitious look at family ties, survival, and the magic of hope.”
Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

“Tim Lebbon’s The Last Storm is apocalyptic horror at its very best. A scorched-earth nightmare that is all too believable, The Last Storm is Lebbon’s finest creation, and that’s saying something.”
Richard Chizmar, New York Times-bestselling author of Chasing The Boogeyman

“Lebbon is a master of the cross-genre thriller, and The Last Storm is one of his absolute best!”
Tim Waggoner, author of We Will Rise

“I’ve loved Tim Lebbon’s writing since The Silence but this is next level stuff. A hyper-surreal look into a post-climate change future with rich characters, heart, action, terror, and a relentless voice that drags you out and won’t let you go. Tremendous.”
Adrian J. Walker, bestselling author of The End of the World Running Club

“Beautifully written, The Last Storm depicts a near future beset with the terrifying consequences of climate change. But out in the desert, one family has a peculiar talent that may begin to quell the fires… or unleash a new Armageddon. Another must-read from Tim Lebbon, this book grabs you by the throat with the first paragraph and doesn’t let up.” 
A.J. Elwood, author of The Cottingley Cuckoo

“Lebbon is the undisputed master of the post-apocalyptic thriller.”
Michael Marshall Smith, bestselling author of The Straw Men

“With The Last Storm, Tim Lebbon brings unflinching apocalyptic terrors but infuses the storm with heart and relatable characters. A thinking person’s apocalyptic novel. Bravo!” Jonathan Maberry, New York Times-bestselling author of Kagen the Damned

“Tim Lebbon has long been Britain’s finest horror writer, but he has outdone himself with The Last Storm, a novel that paints its apocalyptic world so clearly you can feel the heat from the page. While the story is built from elemental forces of fire and rain, it is the bonds of family that tie it together. Like all the best horror fiction, it is the novel’s humanity, not its monstrosity, that will cling to the reader.” 
Stuart Neville, author of The House of Ashes
Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Eden, Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has also written many successful movie novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Tim has won four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.
 

About

A gripping, terrifying road trip through the heat of the post-apocalyptic American desert from the author of Netflix’s The Silence. This action-packed and thought-provoking eco-nightmare will appeal to fans of Benjamin Percy, Christopher Golden and Josh Malerman.

With global warming out of control, large swathes of North America have been struck by famine and drought and are now known as the Desert. A young woman sets out across this dry, hostile landscape, gradually building an arcane apparatus she believes will bring rain to the parched earth.
 
Jesse lives alone, far from civilization. Once, he too made rain, but he stopped when his abilities caused fatalities, bringing down not just rain but scorpions, strange snakes and spiders. When his daughter Ash inherited this tainted gift, Jesse did his best to stop her. His attempt went tragically wrong, and he believes himself responsible for her death.
 
But now his estranged wife Karina brings news that Ash is still alive. And she’s rainmaking again. Terrified of what she might bring down upon the desperate communities of the Desert, they set out to find her. But Jesse and Karina are not the only ones looking for Ash. As the storms she conjures become more violent and deadly, some follow her seeking hope. And one is hungry for revenge.

Reviews

Praise for The Last Storm:

"Lebbon's prose sizzles on the page in this tale of extreme weather, revenge, and the longing for redemption... While King is an obvious lodestone for contemporary horror, Lebbon shares his talent for jolting the reader with shockingly vivid bursts of violence and transporting them inside the splintering psyche of a killer... This is genre fiction delivered with style and imagination" SFX (5 stars)

"Thought-provoking, disturbing, and family-centered, this tale will appeal to readers of stories as varied as The Violence, by Delilah S. Dawson (2022), The Changeling, by Victor LaValle (2017), or The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi (2015)."  - Booklist 

"Lebbon suffuses the tale with atmospheric detail to create a believable dystopian future. The taut prose and high stakes make for a powerful outing." - Publishers Weekly

"Lebbon has created a compelling plot and some complex and fascinating characters, set within the backdrop of this near inhospitable world. The Last Storm takes the reader on a most unique journey, forcing them to visit places they never expected, whether they want to or not.​"​-San Francisco Book Review (4.5 stars)

“The Last Storm is a soaring near-future nightmare that breaks all the tired rules of apocalyptic fiction. The story’s ambition is only matched by the grim hope of Tim’s boundless, humane imagination. His best novel to date.”
Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Pallbearer’s Club

“Grim, dusty Americana, family drama, near-future horror. The best thing he’s ever done!” 
Christopher Golden, bestselling author of Road of Bones

“Tim Lebbon is always good, but this time he’s outdone himself. Dry climate and wet hopes collide in a compelling novel of terror and outstanding originality.” 
Joe R. Lansdale, author of the Hap and Leonard series

“This dust-choked, sun-baked, adrenaline-fueled quest through a nightmare future will thrill and move you while also sounding the alarm on the dangerous direction we're spinning as a planet. Tim Lebbon is a prophet of a poet.” 
Benjamin Percy, author of The Unfamiliar Garden, The Ninth Metal, and Red Moon

“Expertly crafted horror that resonates with emotion and the messy complications of family.”
Kelley Armstrong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of A Rip Through Time

“Heartfelt, gripping horror from a master of the genre.”
Sarah Pinborough, Sunday Times #1- and New York Times-bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

“Lebbon’s near-future fable has a power and urgency all its own.”
M. R. Carey, bestselling author of The Girl With All the Gifts

“The Last Storm is slick, insidious, and haunting—a wildly ambitious look at family ties, survival, and the magic of hope.”
Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors

“Tim Lebbon’s The Last Storm is apocalyptic horror at its very best. A scorched-earth nightmare that is all too believable, The Last Storm is Lebbon’s finest creation, and that’s saying something.”
Richard Chizmar, New York Times-bestselling author of Chasing The Boogeyman

“Lebbon is a master of the cross-genre thriller, and The Last Storm is one of his absolute best!”
Tim Waggoner, author of We Will Rise

“I’ve loved Tim Lebbon’s writing since The Silence but this is next level stuff. A hyper-surreal look into a post-climate change future with rich characters, heart, action, terror, and a relentless voice that drags you out and won’t let you go. Tremendous.”
Adrian J. Walker, bestselling author of The End of the World Running Club

“Beautifully written, The Last Storm depicts a near future beset with the terrifying consequences of climate change. But out in the desert, one family has a peculiar talent that may begin to quell the fires… or unleash a new Armageddon. Another must-read from Tim Lebbon, this book grabs you by the throat with the first paragraph and doesn’t let up.” 
A.J. Elwood, author of The Cottingley Cuckoo

“Lebbon is the undisputed master of the post-apocalyptic thriller.”
Michael Marshall Smith, bestselling author of The Straw Men

“With The Last Storm, Tim Lebbon brings unflinching apocalyptic terrors but infuses the storm with heart and relatable characters. A thinking person’s apocalyptic novel. Bravo!” Jonathan Maberry, New York Times-bestselling author of Kagen the Damned

“Tim Lebbon has long been Britain’s finest horror writer, but he has outdone himself with The Last Storm, a novel that paints its apocalyptic world so clearly you can feel the heat from the page. While the story is built from elemental forces of fire and rain, it is the bonds of family that tie it together. Like all the best horror fiction, it is the novel’s humanity, not its monstrosity, that will cling to the reader.” 
Stuart Neville, author of The House of Ashes

Author

Tim Lebbon is the New York Times bestselling author of Eden, Coldbrook, The Silence, and the Relics trilogy. He has also written many successful movie novelizations and tie-ins for Alien and Firefly. Tim has won four British Fantasy Awards, a Bram Stoker Award, a Shocker, a Tombstone and been a finalist for the International Horror Guild and World Fantasy Awards. The Silence is now a gripping Netflix movie starring Stanley Tucci and Kiernan Shipka.