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Autumn #5
Aftermath
The fifth and final installment in the epic Autumn series!
“David Moody is a master suspense builder.”---James Melzer, author of Escape: The Zombie Chronicles
It’s been three months since a killer disease wiped out 99 percent of the population. Three months since the dead reanimated. The living are few and far between now, and those who are still alive stick together to give themselves the best chance of continuing to survive.
“Moody is an inarguably talented author . . . one of the best horror authors of the new decade.”---Bloody-Disgusting.com
One small group has established a community on an inhospitable island. A second, much larger band of refugees have made their base in a fortified castle on the coast, overlooking the ocean. When the survivors from the island unknowingly encroach on the other group’s territory, tensions are immediately raised.
“With Autumn, David Moody paints a picture of a marvelously bleak dystopian future where the world belongs to the dead.” ---Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author of Patient Zero and Zombie CSU
Under siege from an army of thousands upon thousands of corpses, the survivors on the mainland launch a desperate attempt to take over the island and claim it for their own.
400 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 13, 2012
24 people are currently reading
1366 people want to read
About the author
David Moody
73 books1,255 followersDavid Moody first released Hater in 2006, and without an agent, succeeded in selling the film rights for the novel to Mark Johnson (producer, Breaking Bad) and Guillermo Del Toro (director, The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth). Moody's seminal zombie novel Autumn was made into a movie starring Dexter Fletcher and David Carradine. He has an unhealthy fascination with the end of the world and likes to write books about ordinary folks going through absolute hell. With the publication of continuing Hater and Autumn stories, Moody has cemented his reputation as a writer of suspense-laced SF/horror, and "farther out" genre books of all description.
Find out more about his work at www.davidmoody.net and www.infectedbooks.co.uk, and join Moody's mailing list to keep up with new releases.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
May 10, 2013
David Moody's last few pages to his series are always the best part. You can just tell he's worked up that point and always leaves you with a bang that sums up the point of the story as well as leaving you with something to mentally chew on. "Aftermath" indeed.
I think I liked this volume the most. Compared to the first volume you can really see how far he has come as a writer between then and this book. One of my biggest complaints for the series was that most of the characters seemed so bland and devoid of character that they all felt interchangeable, but in this volume you don't get that sense at all. Every single character has a very clear sense of who they are and what they are about. It was also really nice seeing that the events of the previous book weren't totally meaningless on the series.
Upon finishing this and reading those last few pages it left me with the urge to go back and start from the first book again, this time knowing what to look for theme wise and see if I can appreciate it more. A series that leaves you wanting to re-read it all over again right away has gotta to be pretty good, right?
I think I liked this volume the most. Compared to the first volume you can really see how far he has come as a writer between then and this book. One of my biggest complaints for the series was that most of the characters seemed so bland and devoid of character that they all felt interchangeable, but in this volume you don't get that sense at all. Every single character has a very clear sense of who they are and what they are about. It was also really nice seeing that the events of the previous book weren't totally meaningless on the series.
Upon finishing this and reading those last few pages it left me with the urge to go back and start from the first book again, this time knowing what to look for theme wise and see if I can appreciate it more. A series that leaves you wanting to re-read it all over again right away has gotta to be pretty good, right?
March 27, 2012
The final installment of the Autumn series, and I couldn't have asked for a better ending. As the last book, it packs a serious punch. Old characters come back as well as the introduction of new ones. I can't speak highly enough about this series. Fans of horror, zombies, or even just action and adventure should enjoy this. This book in particular was so fast-paced I found it very difficult to put down. Some of the scenes were so nerve-racking I was clenching my jaw and holding my breath. I'm sad to see the end of this series but it was a very fitting end. The last few lines of the book are some of the best I've ever read. The definition of "Aftermath" was interesting and well placed. The best part about the end was that I still was left wondering about different aspects of the story: how would it be for the kids growing up, who's child is Lorna carrying, how will Donna and Cooper make it on the mainland, and will they ever find more survivors? For me, a good book is marked by how much you can take away from it and how it can still make you wonder, long after you have finished it. Moody did a fantastic job with this series and I'm so glad I stumbled upon it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2012
Wow. There's a lot of amazing things going on here. Thank you David Moody for this long ride, and concluding your Autumn tale so well.
Aftermath is the metaphorical holy grail of everything thematic that is great about zombie literature. Ok, perhaps I'm a bit enthusiastic, but this is how I feel right now. As some of you know, in the Walking Dead comics, there is an unsaid fine line between the zombies and us. In a sense, the "monsters" are used as mirrors for humanity-aimlessly consuming for self satiation that will never come, so they continue until the end. This is the amazing twist we have waited so long for in the Autumn series:
" 'Poor thing' Lorna said, surprising everyone. 'What do you mean, poor thing?' Howard said, unable to believe what he was hearing. 'You sound like you pity it! You know what these bastards have done, how much pain and grief they've caused us'. 'Yes, but none of it was their fault, was it? They had no control over what was happening to them. Same as we didn't' " (P. 280)
Let's just ponder that for a moment. In much of David Moody's work, there is a recurring theme of "Them" v.s "Us", a combative segregation that leads to the downfall of humanity. In this last book, we come around full circle to realize that that segregation was foolishly unnecessary, but because of it, the world as we know it is changed. Has it changed for the worse though?
"In a small office on the ground floor of the house, I found a dictionary and looked up Jack's word like I promised him I would. Aftermath. I didn't know it had two meanings. The first was obvious, the one that everybody knows: something that follows after a disastrous or unfortunate event, like the aftermath of a war. But it was the second definition that struck me: a new growth of grass following mowing or ploughing. Jack was a deeper man than he'd ever admit. I thought our little community was the aftermath, but he saw the greenery which is slowly covering everything as the aftermath of the human race" (P. 387-388).
Autumn is not about the horror of the zombie-monster, it is about the horror of us. How our fear creates destructive paranoia, how that paranoia can destroy everything we take comfort in. As a result we must realize the good in ourselves as humans and as a community- to realize the profound opportunity lying in the aftermath.
Aftermath is the metaphorical holy grail of everything thematic that is great about zombie literature. Ok, perhaps I'm a bit enthusiastic, but this is how I feel right now. As some of you know, in the Walking Dead comics, there is an unsaid fine line between the zombies and us. In a sense, the "monsters" are used as mirrors for humanity-aimlessly consuming for self satiation that will never come, so they continue until the end. This is the amazing twist we have waited so long for in the Autumn series:
" 'Poor thing' Lorna said, surprising everyone. 'What do you mean, poor thing?' Howard said, unable to believe what he was hearing. 'You sound like you pity it! You know what these bastards have done, how much pain and grief they've caused us'. 'Yes, but none of it was their fault, was it? They had no control over what was happening to them. Same as we didn't' " (P. 280)
Let's just ponder that for a moment. In much of David Moody's work, there is a recurring theme of "Them" v.s "Us", a combative segregation that leads to the downfall of humanity. In this last book, we come around full circle to realize that that segregation was foolishly unnecessary, but because of it, the world as we know it is changed. Has it changed for the worse though?
"In a small office on the ground floor of the house, I found a dictionary and looked up Jack's word like I promised him I would. Aftermath. I didn't know it had two meanings. The first was obvious, the one that everybody knows: something that follows after a disastrous or unfortunate event, like the aftermath of a war. But it was the second definition that struck me: a new growth of grass following mowing or ploughing. Jack was a deeper man than he'd ever admit. I thought our little community was the aftermath, but he saw the greenery which is slowly covering everything as the aftermath of the human race" (P. 387-388).
Autumn is not about the horror of the zombie-monster, it is about the horror of us. How our fear creates destructive paranoia, how that paranoia can destroy everything we take comfort in. As a result we must realize the good in ourselves as humans and as a community- to realize the profound opportunity lying in the aftermath.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2012
Aftermath is the fifth and final installment in David Moody's Autumn series. Aftermath brings back the characters from the first four novels and introduces additional characters; a group of survivors making a life for themselves inside of a medieval castle surrounded by the undead. As you would guess, the two groups eventually find out about the existence of one another in a landscape where it appears that no one else could have survived. Meanwhile, the hordes of dead are deteriorating to the point of becoming much less deadly to the survivors.
Moody's characters are nondescript, which is one of the aspects of these novels that I like the least. Some hints of different character's attributes are given to the point that we know one woman has large breasts, one man is large and out of shape, and one woman is probably in her late teens or early twenties. That pretty much sums up any of the physical traits you will find of any of the characters. I suppose that is not a bad thing in some ways, as it leaves something to the imagination. However, with characters with similar names a large number of characters; it becomes confusing in several areas. Harry, Harte, and Howard are three that easily blur together in a few spots.
A bit more sympathy goes to the zombies in this installment. I guess that's fine. The author was looking for closure to this epic and it is his story. I accept it even if I would have chosen not to go that way myself.
As usual, we also have a great deal of human on human issues being dealt with. People are vying for power over one another. Nothing unreal or unusual about that. I think this particular story had it go a bit overboard, but still I suppose it was somewhat believable in a sense that zombie novels are believable.
I was disappointed in how some of the antagonist issues were resolved. I guess I'm more of a karma type who likes to see the bastard get their due and then some.
Moody did bring out some fresh ideas for the genre in this. At least, I had never seen them or heard of them being used before. Cheers for that.
All in all, this was a satisfying read. Like others, I might have liked for this series to continue but I also understand that you can only go so far into it without becoming repetitive.
Moody's characters are nondescript, which is one of the aspects of these novels that I like the least. Some hints of different character's attributes are given to the point that we know one woman has large breasts, one man is large and out of shape, and one woman is probably in her late teens or early twenties. That pretty much sums up any of the physical traits you will find of any of the characters. I suppose that is not a bad thing in some ways, as it leaves something to the imagination. However, with characters with similar names a large number of characters; it becomes confusing in several areas. Harry, Harte, and Howard are three that easily blur together in a few spots.
A bit more sympathy goes to the zombies in this installment. I guess that's fine. The author was looking for closure to this epic and it is his story. I accept it even if I would have chosen not to go that way myself.
As usual, we also have a great deal of human on human issues being dealt with. People are vying for power over one another. Nothing unreal or unusual about that. I think this particular story had it go a bit overboard, but still I suppose it was somewhat believable in a sense that zombie novels are believable.
I was disappointed in how some of the antagonist issues were resolved. I guess I'm more of a karma type who likes to see the bastard get their due and then some.
Moody did bring out some fresh ideas for the genre in this. At least, I had never seen them or heard of them being used before. Cheers for that.
All in all, this was a satisfying read. Like others, I might have liked for this series to continue but I also understand that you can only go so far into it without becoming repetitive.
July 23, 2017
There were extra elements that added to the star ranking of this book:
* Staying up waaaaay past my bedtime to read this to conclusion. I just had to know that that wanker Jas got what was coming to him.
* Trekking through a mile or more of decaying human bodies and other biohazardous goo, mixed in with dirt, slime, water, mold, and who knows what else. Sometimes the primordial slop was thigh-high, sometimes even higher. I am left with a vague feeling of needing Lysol Disinfectant Spray this morning.
* An epic conclusion that brings together many different characters together in a final struggle to stay safe. Do our players have the courage to go on? To make the right choices?
An awesome read from David Moody, as always.
* Staying up waaaaay past my bedtime to read this to conclusion. I just had to know that that wanker Jas got what was coming to him.
* Trekking through a mile or more of decaying human bodies and other biohazardous goo, mixed in with dirt, slime, water, mold, and who knows what else. Sometimes the primordial slop was thigh-high, sometimes even higher. I am left with a vague feeling of needing Lysol Disinfectant Spray this morning.
* An epic conclusion that brings together many different characters together in a final struggle to stay safe. Do our players have the courage to go on? To make the right choices?
An awesome read from David Moody, as always.
February 14, 2013
Originally posted here:
Let's pop some Bauhaus on the turntable and cut ourselves, yeah?
I have been...well, I wouldn't say A FAN, but I've thought David Moody's Autumn series was pretty good for zombie fiction since I read the first book a few years ago. My main problem with Autumn was that I got the earlier, self-published version that was full of typos, weird sentences and wonky structure. The series was eventually picked up, and given far better treatment, and that was one of the reasons I continued.
The first book scared the pants off of me. Even with its horrible grammar and strange word choices (as well as some interesting punctuation), the story itself was FUCKING SCARY. I know lots of people didn't care for how slowly it moved, but the pacing was just right (for me) at building the terror.
So I read the rest of the books, I enjoyed the second and the third, but didn't care for the fourth because it didn't have anything to do with the characters I enjoyed reading about from the first three books. I finally got around to reading the final book ( Aftermath ) this week, and...I was not impressed.
It wasn't TERRIBLE, but it wasn't really GOOD, either. See, the main reason I read zombie fiction is because they scare me. I THINK because my dad let me watch The Serpent and the Rainbow with him when I was FAR TOO YOUNG to be seeing such things (sidenote: I watched it again a few years ago to see if it was still terrifying and I laughed my way through it. That movie? No longer scary at all.)
This book didn't scare me at all. AT ALL. No, instead of spending my nights staying up reading and worrying whether the rustling I was hearing outside my windows was something of the undead persuasion trying to get in and feast on my flesh/brains, I finished reading thinking "What the fuck is this, WHY ARE THE ZOMBIES SAD?!"
Because they are. Aftermath takes place over a series of months after the infection that killed most of the population in a matter of minutes, then caused them to reanimate, determined to get rid of the living because they were SO EFFING NOISY. Here, the zombies are obviously tired of their non-living status, and they're just moping around essentially asking people to put them out of their misery.
I think it was supposed to be sad, but it just made me imagine a bunch of zombies sitting around in a basement, listening to 4ad and crying softly about how NONE OF THE LIVING UNDERSTAND THEM.
It wasn't scary, it wasn't sad - it was just ridiculous. Much like that sad zombie clown over there that I just whipped up for you guys. SEE HOW NOT SCARY THAT IS?! That's what this book was like. I couldn't stop thinking about how fucked up the whole situation was, that I was supposed to be FEELING BAD for the zombies and it ruined the whole series for me.
I'm not going to tell you guys what to do (even though I realize I'm usually the bossiest of bossypants), but if you're thinking about reading this one - don't.
Sad zombies are teh lame. Seriously.
I have been...well, I wouldn't say A FAN, but I've thought David Moody's Autumn series was pretty good for zombie fiction since I read the first book a few years ago. My main problem with Autumn was that I got the earlier, self-published version that was full of typos, weird sentences and wonky structure. The series was eventually picked up, and given far better treatment, and that was one of the reasons I continued.
The first book scared the pants off of me. Even with its horrible grammar and strange word choices (as well as some interesting punctuation), the story itself was FUCKING SCARY. I know lots of people didn't care for how slowly it moved, but the pacing was just right (for me) at building the terror.
So I read the rest of the books, I enjoyed the second and the third, but didn't care for the fourth because it didn't have anything to do with the characters I enjoyed reading about from the first three books. I finally got around to reading the final book ( Aftermath ) this week, and...I was not impressed.
It wasn't TERRIBLE, but it wasn't really GOOD, either. See, the main reason I read zombie fiction is because they scare me. I THINK because my dad let me watch The Serpent and the Rainbow with him when I was FAR TOO YOUNG to be seeing such things (sidenote: I watched it again a few years ago to see if it was still terrifying and I laughed my way through it. That movie? No longer scary at all.)
This book didn't scare me at all. AT ALL. No, instead of spending my nights staying up reading and worrying whether the rustling I was hearing outside my windows was something of the undead persuasion trying to get in and feast on my flesh/brains, I finished reading thinking "What the fuck is this, WHY ARE THE ZOMBIES SAD?!"
Because they are. Aftermath takes place over a series of months after the infection that killed most of the population in a matter of minutes, then caused them to reanimate, determined to get rid of the living because they were SO EFFING NOISY. Here, the zombies are obviously tired of their non-living status, and they're just moping around essentially asking people to put them out of their misery.
I think it was supposed to be sad, but it just made me imagine a bunch of zombies sitting around in a basement, listening to 4ad and crying softly about how NONE OF THE LIVING UNDERSTAND THEM.
It wasn't scary, it wasn't sad - it was just ridiculous. Much like that sad zombie clown over there that I just whipped up for you guys. SEE HOW NOT SCARY THAT IS?! That's what this book was like. I couldn't stop thinking about how fucked up the whole situation was, that I was supposed to be FEELING BAD for the zombies and it ruined the whole series for me.
I'm not going to tell you guys what to do (even though I realize I'm usually the bossiest of bossypants), but if you're thinking about reading this one - don't.
Sad zombies are teh lame. Seriously.
July 30, 2012
*is a little choked up* Well, just finished the last installment of the Autumn series, and must say it was a great read. It took me a bit longer than I wanted to finish, but it wasn't on account of boredom or disinterest. I'm disappointed; not because I disliked it in any way, but because their will be no more after this. I have to say I really liked how the characters and their situations from the previous books tied into this final chapter. I love that Moody gave the bodies more of a human element, and I found myself sympathizing with 'the enemy'. He once again delved into the human condition in regards to post apocalyptic behavior. I enjoyed this series, not only because of its fair share of blood and gore, but because it was also thought provoking. I seriously recommend.
December 29, 2016
The end was a little vague, but I really liked how everything turned out, and especially the "special" extra meaning of aftermath. There were a lot of characters and I think that it took a lot of talent to bring them and the whole world of Autumn together. I liked how I got to see a different side of "zombies". Maybe we all are just different kinds of people. I am really surprised by the ratio of people who wanted to live vs the people who would rather give up..this is more apparent if you read (The Human Condition). I'm so glad for a happy ending for Em and Mike! This has been a fun series to read, because each book has new characters, regular characters, new questions, and different points of view!!
July 28, 2012
I simply could not put this book down. David Moody hits the mark again. His nack for detail and realism is simply rivaled by none. Its a pleasure to read anything that comes out of this mans imagination.
March 22, 2012
A fitting conclusion to a fun series. Thanks, Moody!
August 5, 2012
This is my absolute favorite Autumn book. Moody takes something dripping with gore and manages to make it almost beautiful in the end.
August 25, 2012
Spoiler Alert...
This series was amazing. And I love the full circle the corpses made. Only thing I would have liked to see was Dog persevere and find them. What can I say...I love a happy ending :)
This series was amazing. And I love the full circle the corpses made. Only thing I would have liked to see was Dog persevere and find them. What can I say...I love a happy ending :)
March 9, 2018
My review of Autumn: Aftermath will be published next week, but I can say that this is a satisfying conclusion to a series which lost its charm somewhere along the way.
EDIT 09/03/2018:
I didn't realise I'd skipped the fourth book in the Autumn series - Autumn: Disintegration - until I was over halfway through Autumn: Aftermath. It doesn't seem as though I missed anything, though. A new group was introduced in the fourth installment, but they don't appear until a few chapters into this book and their origin story is thoroughly recapped.
However, you must read the first three books in the Autumn series before you give Autumn: Aftermath a try. Survivors from the earlier novels appear and their backgrounds are hardly explored. This would have been a majorly disorienting read if I wasn't already familiar with the events of the previous books (especially Autumn: Purification, which is the catalyst for most of the events contained within).
'Aftermath. I didn't know it had two meanings. The first was obvious, the one that everybody knows: something that follows after a disastrous or unfortunate event, like the aftermath of a war. But it was the second definition that struck me: a new growth of grass following mowing or ploughing.'
Autumn: Aftermath is the fifth and final book in David Moody's Autumn series. Beginning 26 days after the infection and concluding with an epilogue set two years later, it spans a remarkable length of time. Moody finishes the story in an efficient way, stopping anyone from wondering whether there could be a sixth book in the series (even with the completely unnecessary epilogue tacked at to the end).
Primarily set in Cheetham Castle, Autumn: Aftermath focuses on the psychological effects of being trapped with a small number of people in an enclosed space. The group are living in something resembling harmony until they rescue survivors from a nearby hotel. The arrival of new people causes a power struggle to erupt between the two leaders, Jas and Jackson, raising tensions and causing infighting.
This is further exacerbated by the appearance of faces familiar to the reader, who offer the survivors the chance of a fresh start. All hell breaks loose: Jackson wants to try to build a better future, while Jas believes that sticking together and remaining in the castle is the only sensible option.
The first few books in the Autumn series are formulaic. A group is introduced. They struggle to survive, fight some zombies, and the scene fades to black. Each consecutive novel shows the new survivors joining forces with the people introduced in the preceding volume, so it wasn't surprising when old characters appeared on the scene.
However, Autumn: Aftermath is different. The focus isn't on the daily business of surviving, with most characters firmly fixated on the future. Instead, there's much more of an exploration on the effect that the environment has on the zombies. Nature takes its toll on the shambling corpses, the winter months causing their movements to slow as the cold freezes the putrid decay which overruns their bodies.
It's the first time I've ever seen a zombie apocalypse with an end in sight. These corpses were never going to continue ceaselessly on, and that makes them far more realistic than the majority of zombies portrayed in popular media.
If you're interested in reading the Autumn series, don't binge-read it. Because the first few books are rather repetitive it becomes tedious, but this last installment reminded me of why I liked Moody's writing so much in the first place. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much if I'd read it straight after the first three volumes, but it was nice to revisit the series a couple of years later and finally see how it all ended.
This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Blogger.
EDIT 09/03/2018:
I didn't realise I'd skipped the fourth book in the Autumn series - Autumn: Disintegration - until I was over halfway through Autumn: Aftermath. It doesn't seem as though I missed anything, though. A new group was introduced in the fourth installment, but they don't appear until a few chapters into this book and their origin story is thoroughly recapped.
However, you must read the first three books in the Autumn series before you give Autumn: Aftermath a try. Survivors from the earlier novels appear and their backgrounds are hardly explored. This would have been a majorly disorienting read if I wasn't already familiar with the events of the previous books (especially Autumn: Purification, which is the catalyst for most of the events contained within).
'Aftermath. I didn't know it had two meanings. The first was obvious, the one that everybody knows: something that follows after a disastrous or unfortunate event, like the aftermath of a war. But it was the second definition that struck me: a new growth of grass following mowing or ploughing.'
Autumn: Aftermath is the fifth and final book in David Moody's Autumn series. Beginning 26 days after the infection and concluding with an epilogue set two years later, it spans a remarkable length of time. Moody finishes the story in an efficient way, stopping anyone from wondering whether there could be a sixth book in the series (even with the completely unnecessary epilogue tacked at to the end).
Primarily set in Cheetham Castle, Autumn: Aftermath focuses on the psychological effects of being trapped with a small number of people in an enclosed space. The group are living in something resembling harmony until they rescue survivors from a nearby hotel. The arrival of new people causes a power struggle to erupt between the two leaders, Jas and Jackson, raising tensions and causing infighting.
This is further exacerbated by the appearance of faces familiar to the reader, who offer the survivors the chance of a fresh start. All hell breaks loose: Jackson wants to try to build a better future, while Jas believes that sticking together and remaining in the castle is the only sensible option.
The first few books in the Autumn series are formulaic. A group is introduced. They struggle to survive, fight some zombies, and the scene fades to black. Each consecutive novel shows the new survivors joining forces with the people introduced in the preceding volume, so it wasn't surprising when old characters appeared on the scene.
However, Autumn: Aftermath is different. The focus isn't on the daily business of surviving, with most characters firmly fixated on the future. Instead, there's much more of an exploration on the effect that the environment has on the zombies. Nature takes its toll on the shambling corpses, the winter months causing their movements to slow as the cold freezes the putrid decay which overruns their bodies.
It's the first time I've ever seen a zombie apocalypse with an end in sight. These corpses were never going to continue ceaselessly on, and that makes them far more realistic than the majority of zombies portrayed in popular media.
If you're interested in reading the Autumn series, don't binge-read it. Because the first few books are rather repetitive it becomes tedious, but this last installment reminded me of why I liked Moody's writing so much in the first place. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much if I'd read it straight after the first three volumes, but it was nice to revisit the series a couple of years later and finally see how it all ended.
This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Blogger.
March 2, 2022
Aftermath (Autumn 5) By David Moody
The final chapter until books 6,7,8 and 9 are released in the Autumn series however this does bring about an ending to all the characters that Moody has introduced in this world.
This has been a fantastic journey from hating book 1 to loving everything after, how all the stories across the books intertwine with each other and getting a really satisfying ending I would have to say that this has been one of the best sagas in the Z genre.
David's writing has grown along the journey as well and the final few pages of this book really highlights that.
I have loved the time spent in this world it a been a real pleasure to be part of this journey this is an outstanding body of work and one that comes with a real punch bravo Mr Moody you have outdone yourself.
I shall read Human conditions but not in one sitting as it is a companion piece to this series however I am looking fwd. to the new London series that just been released.
An outstanding conclusion to a remarkable series well worth your time and hard earned cash.
The final chapter until books 6,7,8 and 9 are released in the Autumn series however this does bring about an ending to all the characters that Moody has introduced in this world.
This has been a fantastic journey from hating book 1 to loving everything after, how all the stories across the books intertwine with each other and getting a really satisfying ending I would have to say that this has been one of the best sagas in the Z genre.
David's writing has grown along the journey as well and the final few pages of this book really highlights that.
I have loved the time spent in this world it a been a real pleasure to be part of this journey this is an outstanding body of work and one that comes with a real punch bravo Mr Moody you have outdone yourself.
I shall read Human conditions but not in one sitting as it is a companion piece to this series however I am looking fwd. to the new London series that just been released.
An outstanding conclusion to a remarkable series well worth your time and hard earned cash.
December 20, 2017
This one starts about 3 months after humanity is all but wiped out. There is more action and different groups. One thing that I like is that he always includes jerks or people who become total jerks. You know this would happen in real life. You'd never get a random group of all nice people. There's always going to be at least one ass that screws everything up. So as much as it drives me crazy to read about, I think it's more realistic. This might have been my fave of the series.
August 5, 2017
An excellent ending to the series. Two main things I really enjoyed about these books:
1. These are not your typical zombies. Such a refreshing take on it, especially in this last book.
2. Nothing really felt forced in terms of plotlines. We weave in an out of the survivors' lives over the course of the books and everything comes together in a natural way.
1. These are not your typical zombies. Such a refreshing take on it, especially in this last book.
2. Nothing really felt forced in terms of plotlines. We weave in an out of the survivors' lives over the course of the books and everything comes together in a natural way.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2019
After the slight disappointment of Autumn: Disintegration, this final book in the series is the best of the bunch. Tying up all the loose ends from the series and leaving you feeling sorry for the undead. Now to read the next which is more of a companion piece to the series, rather than a continuation. David Moody, my new favourite author.
Ray Smillie
Ray Smillie
March 19, 2023
It took me a minute to get back into the series I’d say about half way in I was reacquainted with the characters and learning the new players into the story.. I enjoyed the second half of the books with the action and the plot twists.. looking forward to heading onto book 6.. Recommend Series? Yes.. ~Happy Reading~
March 30, 2019
This was another fun entry to this zombie series. 8.4/10
May 25, 2019
Would be 4 stars if there weren't so much language...
January 16, 2020
Rag tag of survivers Surviving a post-apocalyptic landscape while fighting off zombies. Power struggle between survivers.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2020
Absolutely loved this book. Characters I didn't like in the previous, I now adore. Moody does an excellent job with his characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2023
I was saddened by the loss of “Dog” and therefore gave this book 4 stars instead of 5.
June 12, 2017
How can you write a Zombie Apocalypse that reads so dull?
I found this book at the library and thought I would give it a try even though it is the fifth in a series, and I had not read the previous four. What the hell, it’s a zombie book, I’m sure I can get up to speed fairly quickly.
There are plenty of characters here, but none of them are well differentiated; after a while the names blur into an amorphous blob of similarity, and you struggle to care about any of the individuals. It’s a shame really because Moody writes well. It’s just that he has no sense of suspense, which is a problem if you are going to write a thriller. This is more of an ‘introspective character’ piece, in which all the characters are real bores. It reads like a transcript from a series of 'Big Brother'.
One of his previous books I read- also in the Zombie genre, but not this series- was really good. ‘Dog Blood’, in which we saw things from the zombie point of view, or Moody’s version of zombies anyway. I so liked that book that I read its sequel, which is reviewed here somewhere. The sequel was a stinker. It had all the problems that this present one has: no real suspense, no thrills.
So the gang of survivors migrate to a castle to make a stand. And there they sit and survey the scene and ponder, have arguments, dig ineffectual wells, study law (no kidding), but nothing of any note happens. Speculative passages repeat themselves with such frequency even the characters get bored: ‘Bloody hell, how many times do we have to have this conversation?’ (p100). The conversation in case is that post apocalypse perennial: whether to carry on lifting food from the shops or to put in action some medieval agricultural program.
Most of the time, most of the characters sit around, moaning about whether it is worth carrying on at all. What have they got to live for? Well, quite. Jackson, the leader, continuously worries that his people are brooding because they have nothing to do. Yes, that’s the whole point Author; you are supposed to give you characters something to do! I really didn’t want to see them emptying chemical toilets unless that action precipitates a problem, insurmountable in that moment, to the character. There is far too much aimlessness, the sort of aimlessness that I fear betokens the pantser novelist. I’m not sure how this book was written, but, if I had to guess, I would bet that the author had no real plan or outline before he began.
Compare this to any of the superb offerings from my favourite Zombie author Adam Baker. His characters hardly ever ponder to no avail. There is always shit hitting fans- the runniest, most unsavoury species of shit colliding at the highest velocities with the largest, fastest most despicably shit dispersing fan- there is always life and death and the knife-edge between, upon which he pitches his poor protagonists. None of the characters he introduces are ciphers; they all have an agenda, and they are always hard at it.
Part of Moody’s problem perhaps is that he has spread his canvas too large; there are too many characters, and one cannot tell them apart with any ease. This may in part be due to me not having read the previous offerings into which they were presumably introduced.
Anyway, I gave up halfway through; I realised that it wasn’t going to improve. I just wasn’t excited. And that, in a book about the Zombie Apocalypse, is inexcusable.
I found this book at the library and thought I would give it a try even though it is the fifth in a series, and I had not read the previous four. What the hell, it’s a zombie book, I’m sure I can get up to speed fairly quickly.
There are plenty of characters here, but none of them are well differentiated; after a while the names blur into an amorphous blob of similarity, and you struggle to care about any of the individuals. It’s a shame really because Moody writes well. It’s just that he has no sense of suspense, which is a problem if you are going to write a thriller. This is more of an ‘introspective character’ piece, in which all the characters are real bores. It reads like a transcript from a series of 'Big Brother'.
One of his previous books I read- also in the Zombie genre, but not this series- was really good. ‘Dog Blood’, in which we saw things from the zombie point of view, or Moody’s version of zombies anyway. I so liked that book that I read its sequel, which is reviewed here somewhere. The sequel was a stinker. It had all the problems that this present one has: no real suspense, no thrills.
So the gang of survivors migrate to a castle to make a stand. And there they sit and survey the scene and ponder, have arguments, dig ineffectual wells, study law (no kidding), but nothing of any note happens. Speculative passages repeat themselves with such frequency even the characters get bored: ‘Bloody hell, how many times do we have to have this conversation?’ (p100). The conversation in case is that post apocalypse perennial: whether to carry on lifting food from the shops or to put in action some medieval agricultural program.
Most of the time, most of the characters sit around, moaning about whether it is worth carrying on at all. What have they got to live for? Well, quite. Jackson, the leader, continuously worries that his people are brooding because they have nothing to do. Yes, that’s the whole point Author; you are supposed to give you characters something to do! I really didn’t want to see them emptying chemical toilets unless that action precipitates a problem, insurmountable in that moment, to the character. There is far too much aimlessness, the sort of aimlessness that I fear betokens the pantser novelist. I’m not sure how this book was written, but, if I had to guess, I would bet that the author had no real plan or outline before he began.
Compare this to any of the superb offerings from my favourite Zombie author Adam Baker. His characters hardly ever ponder to no avail. There is always shit hitting fans- the runniest, most unsavoury species of shit colliding at the highest velocities with the largest, fastest most despicably shit dispersing fan- there is always life and death and the knife-edge between, upon which he pitches his poor protagonists. None of the characters he introduces are ciphers; they all have an agenda, and they are always hard at it.
Part of Moody’s problem perhaps is that he has spread his canvas too large; there are too many characters, and one cannot tell them apart with any ease. This may in part be due to me not having read the previous offerings into which they were presumably introduced.
Anyway, I gave up halfway through; I realised that it wasn’t going to improve. I just wasn’t excited. And that, in a book about the Zombie Apocalypse, is inexcusable.
July 25, 2019
Excellent book of writing advice. I love Writer’s style. Highly recommend for other.
June 12, 2017
2.5 ⭐️
Group of survivors in a castle joined by the group from the hotel. Islanders also discover the castle and offer to take them back. All kicks off when some of the castle dwellers decide no one is going to the island. Trapped, a rescue mission is launched by the islanders. Eveually they make it back, babies are born but essentially most realise it's the end of the line for the human race.
Found this one quite annoying, characters are arseholes, story seemed to drag on and not as exciting as the other books. Dialogue terrible.
Group of survivors in a castle joined by the group from the hotel. Islanders also discover the castle and offer to take them back. All kicks off when some of the castle dwellers decide no one is going to the island. Trapped, a rescue mission is launched by the islanders. Eveually they make it back, babies are born but essentially most realise it's the end of the line for the human race.
Found this one quite annoying, characters are arseholes, story seemed to drag on and not as exciting as the other books. Dialogue terrible.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2013
Today's review sees the end of what can only be described as an utterly epic series of books, Autumn by David Moody. Autumn: Aftermath is the fifth and final entry in the series. Could Moody maintain the standard set by the first four entries in the series?
Considering that the first Autumn novel was unleashed in 2001, it is impressive that Moody's writing style has remained consistent. He has created a universe which is bleak, full of dread; and he has continued to evolve his characters in keeping with the ordeals they are faced with. Similarly, Moody's undead have deteriorated at a rate that has left them in a gruesome state of decay, leaving the landscape covered in an unholy, nightmarish sludge of human remains and assorted grim detritus.
The strength of the plot of the Autumn series, and continuing in Aftermath, has always been the characters and their struggles, aside from the horrifying postapocalyptic situation they have found themselves in. Dealing with bickering, in-fighting, personality clashes, power-struggles and other features of what could be considered normal life, the consequences of which are significantly amplified when set in a world where the dead have risen, creating an environment where tempers are more easily frayed and matters are likely to explode... literally. Additionally for me, the plot of Aftermath, at a point, takes an unforeseeable and deeply unsettling turn that only serves to continue to set apart the Autumn series from lessed contemporaries in the postapocalyptic sub-genre.
Some of the entries in the series have been criticised for being stand-alone sequels with no real tie to their predecessors other than being set in the same universe and centring on the same cataclysmic event. I can understand how, at the time of reading, on e of the titles from the series may appear as such. However, Aftermath takes the threads of the previous novels and weaves them together perfectly, answering many of the questions left by previous Autumn novels and surprising the reader with some real revelations.
Although the series and indeed Aftermath is decidely more cerebral than the average book about the walking dead, that is not to say that the final entry in the Autumn series is devoid of action. The continual onslaught of the undead is a given in these stories but Aftermath is littered with action sequences, explosions, deaths and rescue attempts... and how many stories of the undead have you read that focus on a castle?!
I've never made any secret of the fact that I LOVE postapocalyptic horror or that I try and support British horror as much as I can; the Autumn series is, in short, more than worthy of your attention. A decade or so ago, Moody took a real gamble and released Autumn on the internet for free. Ultimately, the gamble paid off and Autumn got a big screen adaptation and the film rights to one of his other stories, Hater, has been snapped up by Guillermo del Toro. If you need further evidence of the calibre of these books, look no further than award-winning author Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero, Bad Moon Rising) who said of Autumn that: "This is smart fiction, written with style and insight. Not for the gore-hounds who can't think past a pile of entrails, but the rest of the readers in the world."
Considering that the first Autumn novel was unleashed in 2001, it is impressive that Moody's writing style has remained consistent. He has created a universe which is bleak, full of dread; and he has continued to evolve his characters in keeping with the ordeals they are faced with. Similarly, Moody's undead have deteriorated at a rate that has left them in a gruesome state of decay, leaving the landscape covered in an unholy, nightmarish sludge of human remains and assorted grim detritus.
The strength of the plot of the Autumn series, and continuing in Aftermath, has always been the characters and their struggles, aside from the horrifying postapocalyptic situation they have found themselves in. Dealing with bickering, in-fighting, personality clashes, power-struggles and other features of what could be considered normal life, the consequences of which are significantly amplified when set in a world where the dead have risen, creating an environment where tempers are more easily frayed and matters are likely to explode... literally. Additionally for me, the plot of Aftermath, at a point, takes an unforeseeable and deeply unsettling turn that only serves to continue to set apart the Autumn series from lessed contemporaries in the postapocalyptic sub-genre.
Some of the entries in the series have been criticised for being stand-alone sequels with no real tie to their predecessors other than being set in the same universe and centring on the same cataclysmic event. I can understand how, at the time of reading, on e of the titles from the series may appear as such. However, Aftermath takes the threads of the previous novels and weaves them together perfectly, answering many of the questions left by previous Autumn novels and surprising the reader with some real revelations.
Although the series and indeed Aftermath is decidely more cerebral than the average book about the walking dead, that is not to say that the final entry in the Autumn series is devoid of action. The continual onslaught of the undead is a given in these stories but Aftermath is littered with action sequences, explosions, deaths and rescue attempts... and how many stories of the undead have you read that focus on a castle?!
I've never made any secret of the fact that I LOVE postapocalyptic horror or that I try and support British horror as much as I can; the Autumn series is, in short, more than worthy of your attention. A decade or so ago, Moody took a real gamble and released Autumn on the internet for free. Ultimately, the gamble paid off and Autumn got a big screen adaptation and the film rights to one of his other stories, Hater, has been snapped up by Guillermo del Toro. If you need further evidence of the calibre of these books, look no further than award-winning author Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero, Bad Moon Rising) who said of Autumn that: "This is smart fiction, written with style and insight. Not for the gore-hounds who can't think past a pile of entrails, but the rest of the readers in the world."
March 6, 2013
Aftermath is the last installment of the Autumn series. Once again, we travel back in time to see how many of survivors coped through yet another life threatening rough patch. This time, some of the survivors are in a castle, because it provides good protection from the dead because of the steep approach. I have to pause to say that the incline being a problem for the dead makes absolutely no sense as in other books, the dead were capable of climbing stares. If they can make it up several flights of stairs, it makes no sense that an incline would be a problem for them. As to be expected, the close quarters quickly begin to fray on people's nerves and with everything that they have already lost and been through already, the castle may not be the sanctuary that it originally seemed.
The dead are once again changing and the degree of rot that they are producing is disgusting but at the same time, it provides hope. Eventually, the elements will ensure that the dead will disappear and the survivors can begin to focus on life after the plague. Not everyone is ready for that conversation though, as most are still suffering with PTSD. The male survivors have taken over and many of the women find themselves reduced to cooking and cleaning. Gender roles are strictly enforced and it's strongly implied that at least some of the male survivors, want to save the women for breeding purposes. With the constant conflict and the struggle for supplies -- it is quickly becoming questionable -- whether the humans can stick together long enough for the zombies to rot away.
Autumn began as a very compelling series. Moody's writing is stark, yet manages to convey the absolute desperation of the survivors. One of the things Moody attempts to do is humanize the dead in Aftermath. The survivors express pity for the dead, though they have threatened their lives for months because they now understand that as time has passed, the dead have far more awareness of what has happened to them than they previously had. Instead of destroying the dead out of fear, or a push for survival, the dead are now put out of their misery and this is seen by at least some of the survivors as a mercy killing. As a horror concept, this did not work for me at all. Sympathetic zombies? Yeah, that is not the stuff of horror.
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The dead are once again changing and the degree of rot that they are producing is disgusting but at the same time, it provides hope. Eventually, the elements will ensure that the dead will disappear and the survivors can begin to focus on life after the plague. Not everyone is ready for that conversation though, as most are still suffering with PTSD. The male survivors have taken over and many of the women find themselves reduced to cooking and cleaning. Gender roles are strictly enforced and it's strongly implied that at least some of the male survivors, want to save the women for breeding purposes. With the constant conflict and the struggle for supplies -- it is quickly becoming questionable -- whether the humans can stick together long enough for the zombies to rot away.
Autumn began as a very compelling series. Moody's writing is stark, yet manages to convey the absolute desperation of the survivors. One of the things Moody attempts to do is humanize the dead in Aftermath. The survivors express pity for the dead, though they have threatened their lives for months because they now understand that as time has passed, the dead have far more awareness of what has happened to them than they previously had. Instead of destroying the dead out of fear, or a push for survival, the dead are now put out of their misery and this is seen by at least some of the survivors as a mercy killing. As a horror concept, this did not work for me at all. Sympathetic zombies? Yeah, that is not the stuff of horror.
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July 20, 2017
I used to hate serial fiction. I'd get all annoyed with getting hammered with "this happened previously" which authors do, understandably, to educate people new to their series. I love that David Moody doesn't do that. Each of his books, including this one, could stand on it's own easily enough without all that pointless exposition. They have complete story arcs. They have character development, as much as you expect in an after-the-zombies apocalyptic novel anyway.
But oh my god I was so happy to see some familiar faces in this book. If you've read others in this series, you know that uncomfortable feeling when they introduce new people; are the old ones dead? Oh my god. Are they going to find their bodies? Is this going to be the community center all over again?
Okay, so you have to have read the others in this series to get that, but I think you know where I'm going here. And Autumn: Aftermath set my mind to rest in many ways. As a final book, it did the series wonderful justice by letting us peek in on our favourite bands of survivors. If it didn't highlight everyone, it at least gave you an idea where they might have ended up or how their lives are going right now. No, it didn't tie things up with a happily ever after bow - it wouldn't be a David Moody book if it did that - but it did tell us where the world of Autumn was going, what the fate of the planet might be, and it was, of course, full of action, adventure, fear, adventure and zombies.
I love zombie books. If you do too, you'll like this series. And especially Autumn: Aftermath.
But oh my god I was so happy to see some familiar faces in this book. If you've read others in this series, you know that uncomfortable feeling when they introduce new people; are the old ones dead? Oh my god. Are they going to find their bodies? Is this going to be the community center all over again?
Okay, so you have to have read the others in this series to get that, but I think you know where I'm going here. And Autumn: Aftermath set my mind to rest in many ways. As a final book, it did the series wonderful justice by letting us peek in on our favourite bands of survivors. If it didn't highlight everyone, it at least gave you an idea where they might have ended up or how their lives are going right now. No, it didn't tie things up with a happily ever after bow - it wouldn't be a David Moody book if it did that - but it did tell us where the world of Autumn was going, what the fate of the planet might be, and it was, of course, full of action, adventure, fear, adventure and zombies.
I love zombie books. If you do too, you'll like this series. And especially Autumn: Aftermath.
April 28, 2016
I loved reading the next step for our fearless survivors. It was great knowing what happened after "Disintegration," but I must admit book 4 was better than book 5. It had a better ending and with justice for all. But this was terrific too. It gave us not only the strife between the living and the dead, but the battle between humans who even after the apocalypse just can't get along. That old adage about absolute power is so true here. Our gang of survivors from the hotel escape with the help of someone we'd more or less forgotten about. (spoiler alert) Driver re-enters with a background, feelings, emotions and heroism. One of our favorites from "Disintegration" becomes a madman despot who basically has gone insane with fear. But in the end there is hope. There's no better way to end this triumphant series than with hope for some kind of future for humankind. Moody has so improved in his writing over the last decade. I have only read his books in the last year and while the first pretty much sucked, the last few were exciting nail-biters. The plot twists were great, the character development fantastic (but, we could have used a bit of a refresher on each character when continuing the series. It's easy to forget a character's background from book to book). He sure knows how to set a scene of gore. I can't say I liked the start of "Hater," but perhaps I'll give the next installment a try. Again, I absolutely loved the "Autumn" series and any true zombie fan will crave Moody's tale of horrors!!!
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