3rd January, 2025 in Recommended Reads

The Last Toll Collector by S.S. Turner

“It was time to choose humanity or isolation.” The novel, The Last Toll Collector, by S.S. Turner leads us through the struggles of the central character, Valerie Tobruk, as she attempts to establish her place in a society that only seeks to expand its growing reliance on AI, removing her perceived value. Through her efforts to discover purpose by traveling to Iceland and then seeking further isolation within the country, she inadvertently establishes a society in an abandoned factory in the remote land of the Westfjords. As Valarie maneuvers through the political minefield of personalities that arrive to call the budding nation, Tobruk, home, we observe the powerful emotional depth to Valarie’s strength through these interactions, revealing a longing for connection and understanding.