to rediscover the world. Reception V.C. Royster of The Wall Street Journal compared The Last Ship to Nevil Shute's On the Beach (1957), observing The Last Ship is an "even more fascinating tale". Anthony Hyde of The Washington Post wrote, The Last Ship is "An extraordinary novel of men at war" and a "superb portrait of naval command". John R. Alden of The Cleveland Plain Dealer praised The Last Ship as "beautifully written" and a "magnificent book". Clay Reynolds of The Dallas Morning News called the book "engrossing" and a "pleasure to read". Burke Wilkinson, a U.S. naval officer, writing for The Christian Science Monitor, called The Last Ship "extraordinary" and a "true classic", saying its sum was "greater than its parts". After the success of Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Steven Soderbergh had planned on adapting the book as his next film; however, he abandoned the project after several unsatisfactory screenplay drafts. Television adaptation In July 2012, the U.S. cable television network TNT ordered a pilot episode of a series based on the novel. The series is produced by Platinum Dunes Partners with Michael Bay, Hank Steinberg, and Steven Kane serving as executive producers. Steinberg and Kane wrote the pilot script, and Jonathan Mostow directed the pilot. The adaptation varies significantly from the original novel. In addition to being set in the early part of the first half of the 21st century, the worldwide devastation of mankind is the result of a pandemic for which the crew must find a cure and not the result of nuclear warfare between superpowers. In May 2013, TNT ordered 10 episodes of The Last Ship, which aired in 2014. A second season (of 13 episodes) was ordered in 2014 and aired in 2015, and a third season (also of 13 episodes) was ordered in 2015 and aired in 2016. A fourth season of 10 episodes aired in August 2017 and a 10-episode fifth and final season aired in September 2018. Other adaptations The Last Ship was released as an e-book on November 27, 2013, published by Plume. References 1988 American novels 1988 science fiction novels American post-apocalyptic novels Post-apocalyptic novels Novels set during the Cold War Novels by William Brinkley Novels set in Antarctica Novels set in the Arctic Novels set in Oceania Viking Press books Novels set during World War III The Last Ship (TV series)