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The Amory Wars #1
The Afterman
90 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Claudio Sánchez
133 books408 followersClaudio Paul Sanchez III (born March 12, 1978, in Suffern, New York, United States) is an American writer and musician of Puerto Rican and Italian descent best known for being the lead singer and guitarist for the alternative/progressive rock group Coheed and Cambria. He is the creator of the comic book series The Amory Wars, as well as Key of Z and Kill Audio, both co-written with wife Chondra Echert. Sanchez co-authored the novel Year of the Black Rainbow with Peter David.
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio...
From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudio...
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 13, 2021
HOLY CRAP. I am on a new journey through Coheed and Cambria's albums thanks to discovering The Amory Wars series, created by the lead singer of the band, Claudio Sánchez. A prequel to The Amory Wars' previously well established works, I read The Afterman while listening along to the two albums of the same name, subtitled "Ascension" and "Descension" (2012-2013). Each chapter corresponds chronologically with the tracks found on these albums. The writing isn't spectacular on a line by line basis, but the picture painted across The Afterman has me anticipating what surely is a wild ride ahead in a visceral sci-fi world. The album art of Ascension and Descension helped illustrate a world in my mind's eye as I read along with the compositions. What an adventure - I am hooked.
The Afterman was included in a rare coffee table book to accompany the albums, and therefore is famously difficult to come by. Thankfully, it can be read here: https://coheed.fandom.com/wiki/The_Af...
The Afterman was included in a rare coffee table book to accompany the albums, and therefore is famously difficult to come by. Thankfully, it can be read here: https://coheed.fandom.com/wiki/The_Af...
October 5, 2023
This short read accompanies my two favorite albums from Coheed and Cambria. So glad that I finally took the time to get the story with each song.
March 10, 2020
This was my first entry into the Amory Wars story, having read up on the story while listening to the albums over the years, having found the premise intriguing, but not wanting to dive in until I had comprehensive access to all the content. This was hugely disappointing, I had high hopes from the synopsis, but I don't think Claudio can write prose. He's a good 'big-picture' storyteller, and hopefully the comic books fare much better because of this, but the minutia and real leg-work of writing just aren't there. I don't believe this was edited, it's just a series of broad-stroke notes to himself in a first draft designed to be fleshed out later. My biggest gripe is the amount of cliches that permeate it, from stock phrases in every paragraph, characterisations lacking nuance (the bad characters are ridiculously evil, the good are cloyingly benevolent) and tired dramatic plotpoints.
Potential Spoiler - In addition, lazy world-building. This is just earth in a different galaxy, wouldn't a colony of 70-odd planets who have contact with a race of angelic beings have a drastically different culture? Why is the scientific community so unadventurous when there are new horizons on their doorstep?
This sounded really promising, and I hope the Amory Wars gets a TV show, because that's what this needs, a staff of paid writers who can execute the story to professional standards.
I don't really do reviews, but felt compelled to here, in the hope that someone shelling out for a rare physical copy will think twice.
Potential Spoiler - In addition, lazy world-building. This is just earth in a different galaxy, wouldn't a colony of 70-odd planets who have contact with a race of angelic beings have a drastically different culture? Why is the scientific community so unadventurous when there are new horizons on their doorstep?
This sounded really promising, and I hope the Amory Wars gets a TV show, because that's what this needs, a staff of paid writers who can execute the story to professional standards.
I don't really do reviews, but felt compelled to here, in the hope that someone shelling out for a rare physical copy will think twice.
November 4, 2021
The Afterman is a collection of short flash fiction-esque stories to accompany the songs on The Afterman:Ascension and The Afterman:Descension by Coheed and Cambria, arguably my favorite band of all time. It maps the hungry scientific mind of a man on a mission he has felt on his entire life and the woman that he left behind. It shows the push and pull of consciousness, acceptance and a glimmer of what we might expect the afterlife to look like along with the reality of those living and continuing on without us and miraculously how some love never leaves us and the regret that we feel chasing the wrong things in life and trying to make amends with the ones who mean the world to you.
To say that Claudio is a great storyteller is an understatement. I knew I loved his lyrics and the beautiful brain behind them, but this showed me the thought behind each song and the inspiration which varied from feeling pressure under the scrutiny of the music industry to produce "hits" and struggling with his pure intentions of creating music as an emotional outlet and feeling grateful if it hit a chord with someone in a significant way... and more significantly the relationship with his wife.
This is in fact, in it's essence. A love story and I adored it.
To say that Claudio is a great storyteller is an understatement. I knew I loved his lyrics and the beautiful brain behind them, but this showed me the thought behind each song and the inspiration which varied from feeling pressure under the scrutiny of the music industry to produce "hits" and struggling with his pure intentions of creating music as an emotional outlet and feeling grateful if it hit a chord with someone in a significant way... and more significantly the relationship with his wife.
This is in fact, in it's essence. A love story and I adored it.
March 11, 2014
The story is about an scientist named Sirius Amory, who wants to know what connects all of the planets together. There is no knowledge of this mysterious energy before Sirius's arrival, which makes it very interesting to him. Although, in doing so, he leaves his wife behind uncertain of Sirius's safety. He then travels to the "Keywork" in hopes of making an extraordinary scientific discovery, surviving his travels, and coming back to his wife Meri.
I've tried my best to keep up with all of Claudio's work, whether it be his Evil Ink work, or his amazing work with Coheed. With my knowledge of his previous work, I understood what was going on for the most part. I was actually very excited to finally read this, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. It's so fascinating, and colorful, but it still can make a connection to those who don't really know the Amory Wars stories. It is honestly one of the only books I actually dove into, and it was a great experience for me.
I've tried my best to keep up with all of Claudio's work, whether it be his Evil Ink work, or his amazing work with Coheed. With my knowledge of his previous work, I understood what was going on for the most part. I was actually very excited to finally read this, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. It's so fascinating, and colorful, but it still can make a connection to those who don't really know the Amory Wars stories. It is honestly one of the only books I actually dove into, and it was a great experience for me.
March 2, 2022
Serving as a prelude to The Amory Wars series by Coheed and Cambria's lead vocalist, guitarist and principle songwriter Claudio Sanchez, The Afterman tells the story of Sirius Amory's journey into the Keywork. A scientist determined to prove his worth, Sirius believes there is more to the mysterious Keywork than meets the eye. When he leaves his entire life behind for his mission, he will be tested in ways he cannot even fathom, and will experience true loss, tragedy and redemption during his time there. But this is just the beginning; upon his return after he is presumed dead, what will be left of his life and of his love Meri? Will he be able to reclaim what really matters, the love he never knew he needed, or is it too late for Sirius to find true happiness?
Wow. I've been a fan of Coheed and Cambria's music for some time now, but I was not prepared for the emotional impact this story would have on me. A compelling science fiction story and an incredibly moving romance, The Afterman resonates so strongly with anyone who has ever been in love. It makes you wonder what you would do to save that love, and it makes you think about all of your priorities in life. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this story.
Each of the chapters in this book lines up with a track on the albums "The Afterman: Ascension" from 2012, and "The Afterman: Descension" from 2013 (or the combined deluxe edition featuring both full albums and several bonus tracks). If you do not listen to the albums while you read this story, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. The added depth of listening to the music along with the story adds an emotional level to the book, while the book provides context to the tracks on the albums.
Before each chapter, Claudio writes a short blurb about the meaning of each song; usually some behind the scenes information about how it was written, a little insight into his thought process while writing it, etc. One of the things he said before one of the tracks was that he is frustrated by his difficulty expressing emotions, which I found very hard to believe. Mr. Sanchez is incredibly articulate with his writing, both lyrically and in the chapters of this story, and he manages to elicit such genuine emotion through both mediums. I truly cannot express my excitement in continuing this journey into The Amory Wars saga.
Wow. I've been a fan of Coheed and Cambria's music for some time now, but I was not prepared for the emotional impact this story would have on me. A compelling science fiction story and an incredibly moving romance, The Afterman resonates so strongly with anyone who has ever been in love. It makes you wonder what you would do to save that love, and it makes you think about all of your priorities in life. I cannot express how much I enjoyed this story.
Each of the chapters in this book lines up with a track on the albums "The Afterman: Ascension" from 2012, and "The Afterman: Descension" from 2013 (or the combined deluxe edition featuring both full albums and several bonus tracks). If you do not listen to the albums while you read this story, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. The added depth of listening to the music along with the story adds an emotional level to the book, while the book provides context to the tracks on the albums.
Before each chapter, Claudio writes a short blurb about the meaning of each song; usually some behind the scenes information about how it was written, a little insight into his thought process while writing it, etc. One of the things he said before one of the tracks was that he is frustrated by his difficulty expressing emotions, which I found very hard to believe. Mr. Sanchez is incredibly articulate with his writing, both lyrically and in the chapters of this story, and he manages to elicit such genuine emotion through both mediums. I truly cannot express my excitement in continuing this journey into The Amory Wars saga.
December 1, 2022
I’m in the process of tracking down and reading all the official Coheed & Cambria story material I can find. I couldn’t find this one available to purchase so I read it online.
Claudio wrote a brief personal explanation for the meaning behind each song from the Afterman albums, Ascension and Descension, before a segment from the musical sci-fi soap opera that he communicates through.
It was a fun exercise to link concepts to events in Claudio’s life. To me Claudio was Sirius, the curious scientist experiencing the lives of lost souls (Claudio’s fans) who clamour to possess him, drain him. He leaves his wife behind on his journey. The angelic prise could be his idols/favourite artists/muses. He goes too far into the ether and loses people who care for him.
I originally preferred the music from Ascension, but the songs from Descension including Number City, Away We Go, Iron Fist and Dark Side of Me are especially tragic and moving knowing the story context, and the second album feels more meaningful to me now.
I could relate to some of Claudio’s personal notes such as finding verbal communication difficult sometimes.
Reading it has fuelled me to listen to all the albums again with a new lens of meaning. I hope the story for Year of the Black Rainbow can somehow salvage my enjoyment of that album.
Claudio wrote a brief personal explanation for the meaning behind each song from the Afterman albums, Ascension and Descension, before a segment from the musical sci-fi soap opera that he communicates through.
It was a fun exercise to link concepts to events in Claudio’s life. To me Claudio was Sirius, the curious scientist experiencing the lives of lost souls (Claudio’s fans) who clamour to possess him, drain him. He leaves his wife behind on his journey. The angelic prise could be his idols/favourite artists/muses. He goes too far into the ether and loses people who care for him.
I originally preferred the music from Ascension, but the songs from Descension including Number City, Away We Go, Iron Fist and Dark Side of Me are especially tragic and moving knowing the story context, and the second album feels more meaningful to me now.
I could relate to some of Claudio’s personal notes such as finding verbal communication difficult sometimes.
Reading it has fuelled me to listen to all the albums again with a new lens of meaning. I hope the story for Year of the Black Rainbow can somehow salvage my enjoyment of that album.
Read
September 14, 2024Amazing. Really appreciated the storytelling, very deep. And when you add the music that accompanies... This album experience was emotional and beautiful. I consumed this album/story recently during a difficult time and this helped me process emotions I didn't realize I was feeling 💕 Claudio is so talented, thank you for sharing your stories and heart with us
April 16, 2023
So glad I finally started diving into this story after years of being a fan of Coheed and Cambria's music. Listening to each song while reading the corresponding chapter allows for a deeper understanding of the story and to really feel the emotions.
May 2, 2022
Easily the best story in the series. Easily.
August 9, 2022
This made the album even better and I already loved it lol. The ending is a little rushed, but love how it links into their current stuff as well :)
October 8, 2022
Doesn’t really hold up on its own, but pairing it with the albums is a great experience
March 10, 2023
As a huge Coheed and Cambria fan I loved this installment in this fictional sci-fi world.
May 13, 2013
I think the best part of this book is how Sanchez explains his writing process: where he was, what he was doing, and what the lyrics mean to him.
July 25, 2013
A wonderful collection of Amory Wars lore, Sanchez 's own thoughts, memories and drives, great illustrations and simply everything a fan could ask for. Loved every beautiful page.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews