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The novel is set in a post-apocalyptic Ireland, where people are few and far between. Zombie-like beings called ‘skrake’ ravage the emerald isle and prey on all life. The towns are derelict, most wildlife has either fled or died but all roads seem to lead to the mysterious Phoenix City.

The main character, Orpen, was raised on an island called Slanbeg off the West Coast of Ireland with her mother and Maeve as her only company. She is trained to trust no one – least of all men. After years and years of staring at the mainland, Orpen eventually journeys out to see the horrors with her own eyes and find the elusive Phoenix City. Can a skrake bite be cured? Is a zombie transformation inevitable? And what happens when the people you love are bitten? Orpen has heard rumours of banshees, the women who weren’t afraid of the skrake, and along her journey to Phoenix City, she makes a remarkable discovery about these mythic women.

The pacing of the novel is impressive and propels the reader forward, chapter after chapter until you realise it’s 1AM and the book is finished. Last Ones Left Alive is not simply for lovers of sci-fi, however. It truly is one of a kind – blending Irish cadence with a remarkably fresh, feminist leading-lady, it’s a dystopian novel like no other.

It is a rare and beautiful thing to read our unique colloquialisms and turns of phrase in a contemporary, plot-driven narrative, ‘Mam taught me about how to live, so she did, but Maeve taught me about how to survive’. The reflexive ‘so she did’ is jewelled throughout along with many other inherently Irish phrases.

Sarah Davis-Goff has set a high standard for any Irish sci-fi to follow – she presents us with a female protagonist full of feminist zeal, a cast of characters that conjure up more questions than answers, a startling landscape of Ireland and, ultimately, a reminder of the strength of human compassion, even in the face of intense loneliness. The novel confronts some innate fears  – the death of loved one, the possibility of spending a life devoid of love and the estrangement of home. Last Ones Left Alive will leave the reader with many questions and an insatiable desire for answers. Fresh, inventive and long overdue, here is a debut worth abandoning all college work for.