The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King

The post-apocalyptic setting is at the heart of the storyline and its conflicts. Brallier presents a lighter take on a dystopian world where zombies and monsters have taken over. Jack and his friends are Surviving and Thriving in a Dying World, using humor, pop culture, and togetherness to keep themselves alive.

Jack and his friends have gotten used to the idea of living on their own to an extent and spend most of their days engaging in risky and exciting games together. They play Mario Kart, The Streets are Lava, and host an Olympics-style competition with the friendly monsters. They eat makeshift meals made up of foods like Reese’s Pieces and Lucky Charms. It may seem like an ideal adventure for a group of pre-teens, but there is a sinister undertone and a constant threat of danger. Jack is the first to admit that nothing ever stays perfect for long in a post-apocalyptic world.

Brallier uses sensory details to evoke the dystopian setting. Jack describes the sounds, sights, and smells around him, such as when explaining how the fire station “smells like rotted people and spoiled cheesecake and old Chinese takeout” (10). The King Wretch, its followers, and the town-plaguing zombies emit a smell of evil. Holgate’s illustrations further emphasize the importance of the story’s setting and coincide with Brallier’s written descriptions.