Gratuitous Epilogue

Touchstone #4

by Andrea K. Höst

NOT A STAND ALONE NOVEL. An extra for The Touchstone Trilogy.

What happens when the plot ends? A relentless barrage of weddings, babies, and planetary colonisation! Meandering through the two years following the conclusion of the Touchstone Trilogy, this self-indulgent collection of family reminiscence is more saccharine than dramatic, with the most action to be found in snowball fights.

For those who truly just want to know what happens next, no matter how mundane, read on for the everyday, ordinary lives of psychic space ninjas playing house.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Aliens, Fiction, New Adult

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 30, 2011

About the author

Born in Sweden and raised in Australia, Andrea K Höst currently lives in Sydney. She writes fantasy, but wanders occasionally into science fantasy.

Her novel "The Silence of Medair" was a finalist for the 2010 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Her novella "Forfeit" won the 2016 Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novella.

She also occasionally publishes romance under the name Karan K Anders.

Reviews

[Andrea]

The Touchstone Trilogy covers a single year in the life of Cassandra Devlin, and was originally written as a day-by-day fiction blog. When I completed the trilogy, I continued writing a once-a-month entry for the next year and a half, despite the resolution of all major tensions, simply because I was fond of the characters and always want to know what happens next - even if what's next is "nothing much"!

This is truly a volume for the fans. Weddings, barbeques, babies, and interplanetary politics. That's it.

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what it says it is. If you haven't read the Touchstone trilogy, you've no business reading this. Seriously, go read those first.

It is gratuitous. It is an epilogue. It is some months after the end of the end and pretty much gives you Cass and Kaoren growing together and some of the growing pains with their found family. I enjoyed it immensely, though a large part of that is the afterglow of having completed the series very recently.

I'm tempted to give it four stars because it is, as advertised, gratuitous. But I enjoyed every word and found it very hard to put down. So five stars it is.

[Laura (Kyahgirl) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5; 5 stars; A+

October 2015 re-read: Still awesome!

April 2012: This 'epilogue' was 162 pages long on my e-reader. Can it still be called an epilogue? It was an awesome continuation of the story after the final major conflict was resolved. The only sad part was we never learned what became of Ghost. Other than that, it was practically perfect!

[Andrea]

For me, this series is by far the most re-readable of my books. I suspect it's the format, but also the voice. Cass is simply fun to read. A nice way to start the year.

[Glory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Спасибо автору за чудесный и такой обстоятельный эпилог)))
Я соскучилась по ребятам, и после последней прочитанной гадости эта прелесть пошла на ура.
Если читали трилогию, можно чуток обождать и браться за эпилог)) А если еще не читали - вперед и с песней. Классная вещица.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read: January 31, 2021

Best. Series. EVAR!!! Sigh. EXACTLY what I need in this crazy still unbelievably in the middle of a Pandemic time. So good and on to the next!

Re-read: April 2018

Sigh. SO GOOD!! MORE MONSTER WANT MORE!!

Oh, there’s a 5th book you say? Don’t mind if I do! :D

Original review below this point.

I absolutely LOVED the entire Touchstone Trilogy and am SOOOOO grateful that this was written. It ties everything nicely together and it still had action. It is NOT gratuitous at ALL. It actually was necessary and the ending was SO perfect, I was actually speechless (that doesn't happen to me often) and could only squeal in joy and glee and happiness and sadness that it was over. :( I can't wait to read her other works, especially the new one that's coming out soon... :D However, there will never be another Cassandra, Rueel, etc. These are ALL keepers and re-reads. Akin to Harry Potter and The Hunger Games for me. Do yourself a favor. Get and read The Touchstone Trilogy and the "gratuitous Epilogue", You will be SOOO glad that you did. :)

[Estara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just what it says on the box, but I would have willingly paid money for this 150 pages novella of the happy ever after. How will Cass and Kaoren deal with all those children? Who marries who among the other Setari and who gets children? Will they find a way back to Tare and Kolar? Will Cass ever meet her Earth family again? Will Kaoren reconcile with his family? What is Cass wedding like? What is the new house on Arcadia like?

All these questions are answered ^^ - to my satisfaction.

____________________________
When I do a reread of The Touchstone Trilogy, of course I do a reread here, too. Just as enjoyable and I followed a lot more of the details now I roughly know what's happening.

First Read February 2012
Second Read April 2012
Third Read August 2012
Fourth Read January 2013

[James McRay · Rating 5 out of 5]

In case you wanted the details of the HEA for all the side characters in the Touchstone series, because of course you did.

[Larisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Да-а-а, вот это Мэйзу хэппи-энд подвалил, вообще неожиданный. Но от того не менее приятный. :) И вообще как же все это было мило, когда Сен бегала постоянно и кричала про "baby". С секретами у нее пока не очень. ))))
Очень радостно, что сбылись все желания и мечтания Касс, даже кофе и шоколадки у нее теперь есть. )) С улыбкой закончила читать эту замечательную серию.

[Debrac2014 · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the i's are dotted and t's crossed! All loose ends tied! I loved the ending!

2020 re-read! I still enjoyed how the story ended!
2024 reread! I reread this story a lot!

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit to being a sentimental puppy sometimes, so I loved this "tie up the ends" piece from Andrea Höst. It's set after the end of Caszandra and does exactly what it says on the cover. it gives the readers a look at how everyone copes after the end of the trilogy and gives us a glimpse of what are mostly happy endings.

It's fun and satisfying and I enjoyed it very much.

Of course, you need to read the actually trilogy first (I just gave a friend the first book, Stray in the hope of introducing a new convert), but if you like seeing the ends tied and all the bows looking pretty, this is a great little addition.

I think it would have been wrong at the end of the last book, but as something on its own that the reader gets to choose if they want to read or not, it's brilliant.

[Roslyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, it is a bit gratuitous, and at times a little irritating, but still just both comforting and fun.

Review based on 2017 re-read:

I had much the same reaction as during my first read, and I think I was able to pinpoint my irritation a bit more: I can't quite buy the way Cass and Kaoren, at such a young age, are such perfect parents. Granted that they're living in the best possible situation, with a built-in extended family, and that Kaoren in particular has the discipline of his training and the benefit of his Sights, but parenting usually involves at least some level of chaos and some mistakes are normal and expected. Yet young as they are, they don't put a step wrong, especially given that they're dealing with traumatised children. At the same time, what salvages this is what has sustained the whole series, and that's Cass's sensible, funny, self-deprecating narrative voice. It was lots of fun and a feel-good read despite my reservations.

[Rezeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Именно то, что автор обещает в аннотации - свадьбы, дети, колонизация, стройка, то есть обстоятельный такой ХЭ :). Естественно, читать имеет смысл только если вы соскучились по Кассандре и ко, и то необязательно - кому-то может быть всё равно скучно. Лично мне приятно было на вечер снова вернуться на Муйну к героям и узнать, как именно у них всё устроилось и у кого кто родился.

[Hélène Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long and linear sequel of the Touchstone series, in which we have the pleasure to see Cassandra and all the others settling in Mumia. There isn't much rhythm and of course nearly no plot, but it's a lovely read if you loved the series.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Andrea Host's characters so much I was glad she wrote this...wanted to see what happened to them later! It was enjoyable.

[Wyrdness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads like amazingly detailed fanfic, which I don't mean negatively, but it's so obviously a HEA wish fulfilment.

All (okay, a great many) of the major characters of the trilogy suddenly stop needing to risk killing themselves on a daily basis and instead decide to almost immediately become explorers and landscape gardeners as well as get married and have babies at pretty much the exact same time (I'm almost surprised not to have an Epilogue epilogue set many years later showing the Cult of Setari formed by all the offspring of these double setari couples).

It's exactly as saccharine as the author promised, which may have been a little too much for me if I'm honest (I find the timescale of this Babies Ever After explosion just a tad improbable), but I did enjoy seeing the "what happened next" elements in regards to Muina as a whole. It's weird how it can have such a frontier like feel of survival and discovery even as they're growing entire, comfortably appointed, futuristic cities for tens of thousands of new citizens within a month and trying to reverse engineer teleportation platforms.

[Quartzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the name, it doesn't feel gratuitous at all- this is about what happened after the ending, and provides closure on a couple of small things particularly Eeli I'd felt were left hanging at the end of Caszandra. I really liked the life with superpowers in peacetime aspects and enjoyed spending more time with the characters, though I have mixed feelings about the baby-centricity of nearly all of the happy endings and I wished for more about the nature of the characters' powers and their world- one of my favorite parts of the series was the reveal of things over time, and this just seemed to stop at about the climax of the previous book, with the characters seeming not terribly concerned about all of the questions left open now that they were no longer in danger. I've still enjoyed reading them quite a lot, though, and look forward to rereading them in the future and reading the recently released fifth book about Cass' mom.

[Maria Elmvang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best gratuitous epilogue ever :) It didn't answer as many questions about the Powerstones etc. as I had hoped, but I hardly minded, because I LOVED how much to ended up focusing on Cass' family back in Australia... ever since finishing "Caszandra" I'd been slightly disappointed that we didn't get to see her Mum's reaction to the letter.

Having a diary entry per month worked out well, and allowed the epilogue to spread out over 2.5 years without seeming too drawn out. I loved the weddings and seeing the children grow... and the last chapter had me in tears.

Totally awesome ending to an excellent trilogy.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this series should be marketed as a four-parter instead of a trilogy, as the "Gratuitous Epilogue" is a perfect ending to this saga. While it might be viewed as a little treacley and happy-ending-ish, but I found it very satisfying to see how things went. In just a few days, I grew very attached to these characters and I have a feeling that the author did as well since she went to the trouble of tying up the loose ends.

Afternote: Haha, just read the author's thoughts on the book and she DID just keep writing because she enjoyed the characters so much. Lovely : )

[Hallie]

Exactly what it says on the tin, and a perfect way to spend a rainy St. Patrick's Day afternoon. I wasn't totally taken with some of the middle bit, aside from all the ceremonies (actually was three weddings and an almost-funeral, come to think of it!), in part because the bit about the umbilical cord wrappage was all very unlikely. However, the emotional payoff at the very end was just wonderful. Lots of little surprises and just the right kind of joy.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting strategy...a book to conclude the series. After plowing through nearly 900 pages with these characters, I totally wanted to know what happened to them. There were lots of loose ends to tie. Although this book was billed as "after the adventures", I thought it had some interesting surprises. I believe I outright gasped once! But mostly, I enjoyed hearing what happened in various relationships and the sweet satisfaction of happy endings.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel so calm and happy after reading the last part of this epilogue book that I think this series is going to be what I turn to every time I need some true comfort reading.

I'm not a big re-reader, so it means something that when I finished this I wanted to start the series right over again so I could spend some more time with the characters.

[Sho · Rating 5 out of 5]

THank you so much for this epilogue! Some people might prefer not to read after the HEA but not me. I loooove to know what happened next. I especially loved knowing what happened to the children as well as the other Setari couples. And the bit at the end with Cass's mom was priceless. I think this book is a must for people who read Touchstone series!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a nice treat, another extract from Cass' diaries, from the years following the end of touchstone. How the adoptees settled in, who had babies with who, weddings, all about the new grandparents, etc. as the title says its all totally gratuitous, but given tht these characters nd this universe seem utterly real to me it's lovely to get more info on how everyone is doing!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the three main books and this was a satisfying soother for that little phase of grief that I always experience at the end of a great immersive story. Indeed, I was so pricked by the fruitful end of the story that I went back to the book 1 and read the series a second time just to watch the story seeds being planted again.

[Racheal Munoz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't know why I kept reading. This wasn't horrible as it was at least honest in that it would be a slice of life sort of thing and a continuation of the LOVE AND BABIES phenomena.

It just...also wasn't that great. Everything was extremely predictable and it got a little boring.

Don't know why I kept going with the series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what it says it is. If you are one of those people (like me) who just wants to know what happens after the excitement hs died down and the threat of impending doom has lifted. Pleasant follow up to Cass and Zaorens new lives as family and was a sweet way to spend an afternoon in the sun.

[Marcel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to return to Caszandra and see how life turned out for her when everything had sort of settled down a bit. The book ends with the possibility for an epilogue to the epilogue with Caszandras mum and friend arriving on Caszandra's world.

[Andromeda Edison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little ending touch to a very enjoyable series. The third book in the story did a good job wrapping the important story lines but this one took care of the minor ones that are nice to have all tied up.

[Mallori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well named, the Gratuitous Epilogue spells out Cassandra's happily ever after for saps like me. While not strictly necessary, this was an enjoyably quick read that checks in with Cass and her family periodically in the two years following the end of the Touchstone trilogy.