Review of "The Last of His Kind"

In the Big Game edition of Gray's Sporting Journal published this month, my polar bear story, "The Last of His Kind" finally appears after a wait of three years. Here is a review of this story written by Nina O'Loughlin (used with her permission):

I’ve known John Campbell first through his technical-leaning writing and his tongue-in-cheek riffs on daily life, and then through his science fiction writings. When I saw his name in Gray’s Sporting Journal, I’ll admit I did a double take. An engineer writing for one of the premier sporting magazines? I was curious but also a little skeptical — would it feel authentic, or like an outsider dabbling in a world he didn’t quite know?

(I have to add, I think that he was equally surprised to find that I am a Gray’s Sporting Journal subscriber.)

I found “The Last of His Kind” reads as if it was written by someone who’s lived this life every day, not someone trained in circuits and code. The tone is grounded, respectful, and deeply familiar with the rhythms of wilderness and the mindset of someone shaped by it. It doesn’t feel researched or borrowed — it feels remembered.

One thing that really struck me is how the title sets you up for one expectation but delivers another, and that’s a technique I’ve seen in some powerful novels. Think of The Remains of the Day, where you expect ruins or fragments but discover it’s really about dignity and memory. Or All the Pretty Horses, which sounds pastoral and simple but is full of loss and violence under the surface. Even more recently, Remarkably Bright Creatures works in the same way — what seems at first like a lighthearted animal story becomes something much deeper about grief, resilience, and unexpected companionship. Campbell does something similar here — “The Last of His Kind” could be read at first as a statement about a rare animal or a vanishing breed, but what it actually points to is much more layered. That misdirection, intentional or not (I suspect strongly the former), gives the story an added resonance.

What I liked most was the quiet honesty of the piece. Campbell didn’t over-romanticize the outdoors, and he didn’t dress it up with flowery language. Instead, he gave us a character and a way of life that comes across as genuine, tough, and a little bittersweet. It’s contemplative in the way the best Gray’s stories often are — a meditation as much as a narrative.

I came in expecting “John Campbell the engineer and sci-fi writer,” or even “John Campbell the witty observer of modern absurdities.” I left impressed with “John Campbell the outdoorsman storyteller.” A really pleasant surprise, and proof that good writing can cross boundaries you don’t expect. 

Proud to say “I knew him when…”

Nina O'Loughlin