First Light

After #0.5

by Scott Nicholson

This Prequel to the "After" series by Scott Nicholson sets up background information leading up to events in the first novel, "After: The Shock" and the second novel, "After: The Echo". It is a complete short story, able to stand on its own, but it will pique your interest in reading the entire series.

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Horror, Science Fiction, Zombies, Fiction, Apocalyptic, Dystopia

99 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

With more than 800,000 books sold worldwide, Scott Nicholson is an international bestselling thriller writer. He won the Writers of the Future Award in 1999 and was a Stoker Award finalist in 2003. His Fear series was published by Amazon's Thomas & Mercer imprint and 47North released the supernatural thriller McFALL.

He's also published a number of supernatural, paranormal, and fantasy books and stories, including the AFTER, NEXT, and ARIZE post-apocalyptic series, as well as children's books, comics, and screenplays. His 2006 novel The Home is in development as a feature film.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.

[Grampy · Rating 5 out of 5]

"After: First Light" is the latest installment from a very talented Scott Nicholson, and is a prequel to the "After" series. "First Light" sets up some of the background information about later episodes. This story is contagious, unlike the Zap-heads which figure prominently in the tale; once you start it, make sure you've got a good hour or so of free time ahead of you, because it's not a story you can just set aside until later. It will also get you revved up about reading the next two novels already completed, and the third one on the way.

The whole concept of this series is based on a natural, normal occurrence, but one which is a bit more potent than usual. Solar flares can cause static or even a temporary loss of service for communication devices, such as cell phones, satellite TV dishes, and 2-way radios. However, a really strong solar flare can cause an extreme breakdown of the entire communication grid, setting off secondary problems such as loss of the power grid, causing a loss of refrigeration, and an inability to pump gas - but the vehicles won't run anyway, so that's really a minor problem. That rare but natural cyclical event is the premise of this series, and in addition to the expected problems, there are some highly unusual and unexpected problems that greatly exacerbate the situation.

Read this prequel; I think you will be downloading the subsequent novels as quickly as you can. I also think you will be glad you did, after you finish reading the series. I cannot recommend this book and this series strongly enough. They are definite "must reads".

[Edmund de Wight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novella rather than a novel. It's a launch point to another book and I assume series of books.
This is another entry into the end of the world with zombies genre. Well not really zombies, more like crazed people who kill the unaffected at ever opportunity.
The concept is novel, everyone and their brother has done a plague or chemical or even supernatural angle but this time the author took one of my favorite crazy doomsday prepper scenarios - super powerful solar flare - and turned it into his catalyst.
The sun blasts our technology back to the stone age with a mega EMP blast which also affects a portion of the population turning them into crazed killers. The novella introduces several characters and sets the stage for more but beyond getting the ball rolling and giving you the background of the apocalypse that frames the world, there's not much more. (which isn't a gripe, I knew this going in)
I really like Scott's ability to describe things. He uses adjectives well and you can really picture what he's describing. I liked his style so much that I bought another book of his (different storyline) to try.
Try the After series, I think it could be a different approach you'll enjoy.

[Alan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought the full set on Kindle for just £0.99 worth the risk. Well, this is the only one of the set I will read. Generic to the hilt, Cliched characters. Oh let's have a new on the job cop. Let's a have a female scientist, a survivalist etc. It's plain to see the characters will lack depth in later books and the story will be lots of people killing of/or being killed by Zapheads (why couldn't he call them Zombies like everybody else). If you want to read a Zombie book let me recommend this: The Alpha Plague (The Alpha Plague #1) by Michael Robertson. A rollercoaster of a book coming at you full speed that I read recently and what was what got me interested in another Zombie book.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started off strong but went downhill from there. We begin with scientists observing extremely strong solar flares and I am expecting an intelligent novel about what happens after this natural event. Without spoiling the story for others, I will just say that by the end it is a totally different kind of story, not at all the type of realistically possible SHTF scenario I was looking for. If it had continued in the style that it started with, I would be looking for the next volume of the story, but as it is, I won't be continuing the series.

[Tyrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up the box Set containing this and novels 1-3. I believe that this was written after novel 1 but to give a little fill in to characters and events which happen immediately before the main novels. That must mean that Novel 1 starts cold jumping us straight into the action with the characters we find in this short story.

I suspect i'd have been happier reading this after reading the intended start to the series but the writing was decent enough and i'm intrigued enough to find out how this mix of EMP and Zombie apocalypse story goes. Looking forward to getting into the series proper.

[Carolyn Injoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After: First Light by Scott Nicholson is an intriguing book about a massive solar storm that wipes out all technology.

The survivors struggle to adapt only discover some of them have changed. I gave it four stars.

I received a complimentary copy from Haunted Computer Books. That did not change my opinion for this review.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/After-First-Li...

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story that sets the stage for the 'After' series dealing with Earth after a solar flare reeks havoc. This book doesn't really go into any detail about the world it is creating but get the ball rolling. Well written and paced it introduces numerous characters some of whom meet their end and others that will probably feature in the rest of the series. The scenario is nothing unexpected. Society collapses, all electrical devices don't work and the first responders aren't responding but this book adds a twist in the fact that the zombies aren't zombies but people who are having a reaction to the solar event. They have a lust for ending human life but they are more mobile and vicious than your run of the mill zombies and that's something I can agree with since I'm not big on zombies. Can't really say where this series is going but this teaser certainly grabbed me and left me wanting to read more.

[Thom Swennes · Rating 2 out of 5]

While on routine duty at the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Drs Daniel Chien, and Katherine Swain, from the SOD’s Offices of the Goddard Space Flight Center, observe a solar flare, larger than anything yet measured. The onus of sending the first warning rests squarely on their shoulders.
Rachel Wheeler, a counselor attached to the public school system of Charlotte, North Carolina, feels underappreciated in her job but is determined to make a difference, however small, in the world. Rachel’s grandfather, Franklin is a dedicated survivalist and since his wife’s death has literally taken to the hills in an attempt to distance himself from the perceived lies, dangers, and social degradation in today’s society.
Army Major Arnold Alexander, Henry Gutierrez, from the Department of Homeland Security, and Ellen Schlagal, from the Office of Cyber Security and Communications, were brainstorming over the latest updates from NASA. The worst case scenarios in their estimation would be a total meltdown of the infrastructures around the world, causing months (if not years) of hardships and massive immediate casualties.
A throng of characters is introduced, giving the reader a glimpse of a cataclysmic event that can’t be combated but endured. Different people react diversely to calamitous events and often show new and unexpected sides to their personalities.

The author outlines the perfect Doomsday synopsis to get the imagination going. This high-voltage thriller is built on a premise of pure gold. Unfortunately, he traded the gold for twenty pieces of silver and robbed the reading public of a really great story. The almighty dollar is probably his motivation but has overshot its mark, landing this book into the realms of mediocrity. Instead of presenting the reader with a full and honest demonstration of his ideas and talents, he has decided to cut it into little pieces and barter it piecemeal to John Q, Public.
I am a bookaholic and love to read but I also have a few principles. On these principles, I refuse to be conned. With this said, I hope the author cares enough about his works to read ALL reviews, good and bad, and condenses these fragments into a work worthy of respect. At that time, I will gladly read the story in its entirety and give another fair and open review. The ball has been pitched. Now is the time for you to stand tall at the plate………

[Livvy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know that the Author​​ said this book is just there but I disagree (lol) sorry!
With book 1 you don't really know the why's and how all that.
So I personally believe reading this book before bk 1. For the reason behind the apocalyptic and how it happen. And how did they the government and people act. And we get to meet the characters before all hell breaks lose and afterwards.
Yes I read bk 1 beforehand now I wishes I read this book first.

[Carolyn Injoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After: First Light by Scott Nicholson After: First Light by Scott Nicholson is an intriguing book about a massive solar storm that wipes out all technology.
 
The survivors struggle to adapt only discover some of them have changed. I gave it four stars.
 
I received a complimentary copy from Haunted Computer Books. That did not change my opinion for this review.
 
Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/After-First-Li...

[Donna Heard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action packed

This is an action-packed story. When the sun can cause disruptions to life as we know it, there isn't much you can do to save all. Who do you trust, and everything you thought you prepared for could go out the window. Some, however, have made arrangements that could work.

[Jasmine Jones Hopewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am hooked.

After reading Burial to Follow, I found myself with a serious craving for more Scott Nicholson. This book has satiated me to say the least. I am so glad it is a series installment. I definitely intend to continue “feasting”. Ha! See what I did there. Lovers of The Walking Dead will like this one.

[Jeri Lemmones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to put down.

This is another book that was hard to put down. Once I started reading I didn't want to stop. I get involved in the books I read and sometimes I feel like I am the one I am reading about. Very good read

[Peggy Esterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Story held my interest. It is along the lines of Stephen King and Dean Koontz - both authors I enjoy reading. I understand it is a prequel to another book but it should have delved more into Rachel.

[B Trollip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. Enjoyed the first book more than this one but still... Amazing writing and the characters are so real. Loved that some of the interesting gaps have been filked now. Cant wait to read the rest of the series🎉 off to book 2!!!

[Karen Kettner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of the walking dead. A good vacation read.

[Jameson Skaife · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick read. interesting characters and set up for the rest of the series. I'll probably continue with the series.

[Shannon Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it!

Good book with interesting characters and story. What would you if we had such a problem with the sun and zapheads besides remember what we learned in The Walking Dead?

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Start to a good series

Was looking for my next series to start this one seems to be of to a good start. Solar Flares are a real world possibility.

[Raymond St. Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope

you're in trouble when skipping page to find something interesting because boredom overtakes wanting read more. Nope don't recommend this book.

[Jon S Haas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow, building up, with turns & twists.

[Jeanne geib · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste

I really, really dispose books that leave you hanging. Also I really do not care for books about zombies. Zombies are SUCH an unrealistic concept!

[Lisa Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

The walking dead is awesome.

I love the walking dead and this is survival of the human kind. It's a good read. If your into this sort of reading.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It gets your attention

It is not a bad scenario for a story. It is believable. Characters are developed well enough to hold your attention. Not sure if I will move on to the book.

[Kahlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

On se retrouve aujourd’hui pour une nouvelle petite chronique d’une novella de Scott Nicholson, une préquelle à sa saga « zombiesque » intitulée L’après. C’est une série post-apocalyptique dans laquelle on suit un petit groupe de survivants au sein d’une humanité décimée par les effets dévastateurs d’une éruption solaire. Pour ceux qui n’en aurait jamais entendu parler, il s’agit en gros d’une éruption de matière ionisée – comprenez électriquement chargée – à la surface du soleil, provoquée par une accumulation d’énergie magnétique. Elles peuvent avoir de graves incidences sur nos systèmes technologiques, notamment les réseaux électriques.

Dans Première lumière, on assiste à l’une des plus grandes éruptions solaires jamais enregistrées, et les dégâts qu’elle cause sont inestimables. Il ne s’agit pas seulement des installations électriques, qui finissent par rendre complètement l’âme, mais aussi des hommes. Car si certains d’entre eux tombent brusquement foudroyés, d’autres subissent une transformation en machines à tuer... leurs congénères ! On les appelle les « Flashés ». J’ai trouvé que c’était un point de départ original, assez différent des habituels virus qui président généralement à ce genre d’histoire. La suite est plus attendue, plus conventionnelle pour les habitués du genre. Quelques survivants vont s’éveiller au matin dans ce nouveau monde, et devoir tout mettre en œuvre pour sauver leur peau.

Alors bien sûr, ce n’est pas de la grande littérature, le style de Scott Nicholson n’est pas spécialement recherché, mais il est plaisant à lire. On suit ici plusieurs personnages, dont certains vont trouver la mort dès la fin de cette nouvelle. Pas Rachel. Je ne spoile rien puisque d’après ce que j’ai compris, Rachel Wheeler est l’héroïne de la saga. Elle va chercher à rejoindre son grand-père, un illuminé survivaliste qui se prépare à la fin du monde depuis des années, au cœur des montagnes, près de la borne 291. Mais dans cette nouvelle, elle est confrontée aux premiers effets de l’éruption et elle a l’impression d’halluciner, elle a bien du mal à croire ce qu’elle voit. J’ai envie de dire que c’est une entrée en matière réussie, qui donne envie de commencer la saga elle-même.

Comment vont s’organiser les survivants ? Quelles sont leurs chances de survie ? Beaucoup de questions sont soulevées ici, en particulier sur les Flashés, dont on a envie de comprendre ce qui leur arrive réellement, et pour quelle raison certains d’entre eux ne se sont pas relevés. Difficile de préjuger de ce que sera ou ne sera pas la série, mais une chose est sûre, en digne fan de The Walking Dead, j’ai envie de la lire.

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief preface from this reviewer: I have been enraptured with the pre-, post-, now-Apocalyptic Genre since the 1950's. First A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ (if you haven't read this incredible book, you must!) Which inspired me to fall in love with the potential of imminent apocalypse, TOMORROW by Philip Wylie, which taught me to fear Apocalypse; then Neville Shute's ON THE BEACH, Wells' WAR OF THE WORLDS, Larry Niven' s INCONSTANT MOON, plus early TWILIGHT ZONE ("To Serve Man") and early OUTER LIMITS, plus two films: THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED and (shudder) DEEP IMPACT. That, plus growing up during The Korean Conflict, the Cold War, Senator Joe McCarthy' s witch-hunt, the John Birch Society, etc. modeled me into Paranoid Conspiracy Theorist, anticipating Apocalypse at any given moment.

Now, what does all that personal theorizing have to do with Scott Nicholson' s lovely AFTER series? Simple enough; quite obviously (judging by the quantity of fiction and nonfiction dealing with Apocalyptic topics--Zombies excluded--a great number of people have put in mega-hours of contemplation and analysis on divergent Apocalyptic possibilities/probabilities, and some have "got it right." (Hey--authors are Think Tanks, too.)

Scott Nicholson is one author who's nailed it. He's taken my #1 Apocalyptic Hit Parade--EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse--and made that his central premise. Here it's not a weapon, but stems from the worst possible source--our Sun. Mr. Nicholson specifies in clever detail the potential damage from a rogue Sun flare--and then he delivers it to us, with brutal impact.

Run, read this series. Reviews of the other three books in this series, soon.

[Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, which I will upgrade to four if I finally buy the third book in the series. This review is of both "First Light" and "The Shock".

This was a real page turner, really well written. And the premise of the plot is actually something near and dear to my heart, something that actually could happen: a catastrophic solar flare. Really good characters too. And a hint of a higher purpose, but no more than a hint.

If that hint had seen more daylight, and/or (related) the whole zombie thing did not seem so weird and contrived perhaps I would have bought the next in the series directly. Why does everyone want to write zombie stories? This story in particular did not need it, I bet we could have had a similar (though more strung out) plot effect just by letting most everyone starve to death when all the technology is turned off. You do not need zombies to have cannibalism, if that is the goal.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ennesima saga apocalittica con zombie... più o meno.
L'attività solare distruttiva è un'idea abbastanza originale. Il panico da radiazioni solari ogni tanto salta fuori, l'idea di far saltare le connessioni cerebrali e creare degli Zaphead è innovativa, rispetto ai soliti morti redivivi affamati di cervello.
Gli Zaphead non sono proprio morti, ma sono molto cattivi e persistenti nella l,oro ricerca di distruzione. Poi, ovvio, devono mangiare... quindi lo scenario zombiforme è quasi completo.
In questo breve racconto, che si può leggere prima o dopo il capitolo uno della saga, ma anche non leggere, ci viene mostrato il primo istante a cavallo tra l'allarme per l'arrivo dell'impulso solare e la nascita dei primi Zaphead.
Veloce come lettura, ma non fondamentale. Solo per colmare quella lacuna informativa per quelli che vorrebbero sapere tutto, dall'inizio alla fine.

[Grzegorz Janoszka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The review to the whole serie: After (read so far books 0-3).

I rather dislike zombie books, I don't want to read anything that defies laws of physics. I love to read about things that may happen, EMP is one of them. The series started OK, then it had a bad turn (in my point of view) with those mindless killers, but later on it got better and better.

I still have the feeling that the world has a great potential which wasn't fully utilized, but well, I can't write books, so I have to stick with what authors imagine :) Books 2 and 3 were way better than book 1. Overall I highly recommend the book to post-apocalyptic fans, it should be liked by as well as zombie fans (there are some elements) and zombie haters (for example: me).

Read so far books 0-3 and subscribed to get a news about following parts. It is a good series happening in a very interesting world and place. Thanks, Scott.