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Aftertaste
Before he died, Saelig Zilch was a chef. Now, posthumously recruited by a shadowy agency for reasons still unknown, tasked with keeping the public safe from things that go bump in the night, he hunts monsters.
Zilch scrabbles out of a North Carolina grave in someone else’s body. Someone recently dead. He only has a few days to find his bearings and carry out his latest mission, before the precious few nanobugs in his corpse shell are exhausted and he’s forced to start all over at the beginning. As he trudges down the main thoroughfare, he runs into Galavance. More accurately, she runs into him with her pink Chevy Cavalier.
A case of unfortunate timing? Maybe not. Turns out the critter Zilch has been dispatched to dispatch of―a murderous were-frog―squelches uncomfortably close to the trailer Galavance calls home. And come to think of it, Galavance's boyfriend Jolby has been spending a lot of nights out lately . . .
Stuffing gross-out humor, greasy fast food, and psychedelic amphibians into a blender on high, Aftertaste is a wild ride through life, afterlife, and the American South.
Zilch scrabbles out of a North Carolina grave in someone else’s body. Someone recently dead. He only has a few days to find his bearings and carry out his latest mission, before the precious few nanobugs in his corpse shell are exhausted and he’s forced to start all over at the beginning. As he trudges down the main thoroughfare, he runs into Galavance. More accurately, she runs into him with her pink Chevy Cavalier.
A case of unfortunate timing? Maybe not. Turns out the critter Zilch has been dispatched to dispatch of―a murderous were-frog―squelches uncomfortably close to the trailer Galavance calls home. And come to think of it, Galavance's boyfriend Jolby has been spending a lot of nights out lately . . .
Stuffing gross-out humor, greasy fast food, and psychedelic amphibians into a blender on high, Aftertaste is a wild ride through life, afterlife, and the American South.
First published October 3, 2017
26 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Post
28 books71 followersAndrew Post is the author of CHOP SHOP, AFTERTASTE, RUSTED HEROES, THE SIREN HOUSE, SIRED BY STONE, FABRICK, and KNUCKLEDUSTER.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 29, 2019
I never pick books like this, I went to a bookstore and this was on display as the “blind date with a book”. I would have never picked this out for myself but I 100% willing to try another. It was gory, nasty, suspenseful, and one heck of a ride.
August 3, 2019
Probably not for everyone but I loved it!
December 29, 2022
This is the first zombie story I have read. I wasn't sure what to expect but was pleased when I started reading it. This particular zombie story has some of what I thought might be there. Gore, but not too much, a rotting zombie, a girl, a graveyard, and a bad guy. What I didn't anticipate was a were-frog and humor. Saelig Zilch (great name) is the zombie. For some reason not known to him, he has been assigned to go to the land of the living, borrow a dead body, climb in it and go hunt down a monster that has been terrorizing North Carolina. His first day on this assignment didn't go very well. The body he crawled into had only a few nano-bugs left so he was on borrowed time, so to speak, and then a girl named Galavance ran over him in her pink Chevy. He and Galavance strike up an odd friendship but she doesn't quite believe him when he explains who he is and what his assignment is.
I loved the humor in this tale and especially the friendship between Zilch and Galavance. The main characters are well defined and I couldn't help liking all of them, even the bad guy.
If all zombie books are like this one, I want to read more.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is my honest review.
I loved the humor in this tale and especially the friendship between Zilch and Galavance. The main characters are well defined and I couldn't help liking all of them, even the bad guy.
If all zombie books are like this one, I want to read more.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. This is my honest review.
February 24, 2018
Not really my cup of tea. It was entertaining enough to read at lunch breaks, but I never really felt compelled to take it home to finish it faster. I was left with too many questions at the end, like who were the individuals in charge (aliens?) and what is their motivation? I felt like there was a prologue or something that we missed. Are there more were-frogs? I would think that whatever caused Jolby to change would have caused dozens or hundreds (thousands?) more to change, as well. Eh. I guess I don't really care.
January 4, 2018
This book sure was something. From the names of the characters to the entire plot...I am still not sure exactly what I think. Part of me thinks the quirkiness and ridiculousness of this book were just brilliant, and then the other part is like WTH did I just spend time reading?!? So I guess the best I can say is if it sounds interesting to you definitely give it a shot! After some more thought I may have to come back and add to this review.
October 27, 2020
Fam, don't sleep on this book. It's so weird, so funky, so original. We're dealing with a quasi-zombie super agent, monsters, crazy corporate regional managers, and I don't know, something about being your best self in spite of everything? I got squeamish (in the best possible way), I laughed, I cried. Five stars; a fun ride, I couldn't put it down.
January 8, 2021
I have no idea how to review this. As it turns out I will do it in short paragraphs.
I don't feel it is a spoiler to say that others have called it a zombie book. I would say that it is but... (and then spend a long time internally debating what it actually is).
It does have gore, monsters, the undead, chefs and questionable food. I just cannot describe any of these without giving away valuable plot points.
The thought that I had when reading it is that in many ways it was like book 3 of a trilogy. You feel that you have missed something earlier at times and that there are gaps in what you know.
I feel that many would hate this book for various reasons. I feel that some would love it as it is definitely different. My star rating has changed three times as I am typing out this review.
The main compliment I can give this is that I will definitely remember parts about it for a long time. My main complaint is that they won't necessarily be things I want floating around in my memory.
A 3* rating is good. If I could have rated it 2*-4* then I might have used that option. It is something I cannot recommend anyone seeks out yet I feel that if they see an opportunity then they should at least try to read it.
I don't feel it is a spoiler to say that others have called it a zombie book. I would say that it is but... (and then spend a long time internally debating what it actually is).
It does have gore, monsters, the undead, chefs and questionable food. I just cannot describe any of these without giving away valuable plot points.
The thought that I had when reading it is that in many ways it was like book 3 of a trilogy. You feel that you have missed something earlier at times and that there are gaps in what you know.
I feel that many would hate this book for various reasons. I feel that some would love it as it is definitely different. My star rating has changed three times as I am typing out this review.
The main compliment I can give this is that I will definitely remember parts about it for a long time. My main complaint is that they won't necessarily be things I want floating around in my memory.
A 3* rating is good. If I could have rated it 2*-4* then I might have used that option. It is something I cannot recommend anyone seeks out yet I feel that if they see an opportunity then they should at least try to read it.
February 24, 2018
While inventive and having a lot of potential, there are just so many things that I couldn’t push past throughout the book. Overly-heavy narrative is provided on characters and events that have no bearing on the story, while plot elements that seem essential to the story are brushed aside without a thought. The world for this story is not developed, leaving you trying to back up several times to find what you missed, while you wonder why you have been repeatedly told things that won’t affect the story at all. Also, there are simple rookie mistakes in use of slang that misses the mark by a thousand miles.
March 2, 2020
I really thought I’d like this way more than I did. I like weird, comedic horror, and it all started out good: resurrection, searching for a monster, a French food chain, and so the story went. By the halfway point, the were-amphibians and the meat food chain wanted from the beasts, the rednecks, and interaction between main characters started feeling forced. I had difficulty finishing it, and moving on to the next book.
February 7, 2019
Much in the spirit of David Wong's stories, the macabre snickers. A zombie detective hunts down a swamp creature/parasite, helped by the monster's girlfriend while being pursued by her corporate-driven boss. Strangeness ensues (like writing that sentence wasn't weird.)
4 stars.
4 stars.
February 20, 2020
It was a good story - unique and full of surprises. Character development was good, I started to care for them. This book had some typos and needed a final edit but was easy to get through. I look forward to reading more from this author.
February 23, 2020
So you want crazy?
This is a very entertaining book that is totally off the grid. I mean it's really out there. The plot is fantastic. May not be everybodys cup of tea but those of you whom it is. Wow!!!!
This is a very entertaining book that is totally off the grid. I mean it's really out there. The plot is fantastic. May not be everybodys cup of tea but those of you whom it is. Wow!!!!
May 13, 2018
This didn’t live up to its billing. The hero isn’t that interesting. The link to chefs and cooking is tenuous at best.
March 3, 2020
I loved this book! Stumbled across it and when I saw were-amphibians, I had to read it. Well written with laugh out loud moments and tear jerk moments. Unbelievably believable too. Really good!
December 12, 2024
Herrlich schräg und abgedreht. Großartige Bizarro-Fiction mit ordentlichem Gore-Anteil. Klasse Unterhaltung!
January 4, 2018
This Is Not A Zombie Book; It's Way Better Than That
This review has some MILD PREMISE SPOILERS, but just enough to get you in the proper frame of mind for the book.
Our hero is Saelig Zilch. His consciousness has been injected into a recently dead body, (along with a zillion nanobots that serve to repair the body and keep it functioning), so that he can complete his mission, which is to track down and neutralize a dangerous supernatural creature. I guess in that sense Zilch is a zombie, but he's really just a guy who has commandeered an available dead body.
Zilch's task is to find a creature, a reptilian humanoid cryptid, that is loosely based on the legendary South Carolina Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man. In a practical sense this all works like one of those one-off X-Files episodes about weird creatures, (like Flukeman), that always seemed to be hiding in sewers. Zilch teams up with the unsuspecting girlfriend of this were-amphibian; Zilch wants to kill it and the girlfriend wants to save it. A hilariously inappropriate third party is also searching for the were-amphibian, for a bizarro purpose that I won't disclose. The action aspect of the book involves Zilch's search for his target, and builds to a socko final confrontation. There is so much over-the-top, and sort of tongue in cheek, gore that it ultimately becomes almost cartoony. This book often goes for laughs rather than horror, which was fine by me.
What really distinguishes the book, though, (apart from the creative premise and nicely structured plot), is the smart dialogue and the funny throwaway lines. Zilch is usually more exasperated and resigned than anything else, the creature is clueless, the creature's girlfriend is a sardonic tough cookie with a heart of gold, and the supporting characters are prime Southern Gothic.
The book takes a little while to get up to speed. At first you'll wonder who Zilch is, why we're spending so much time with some loser and his girlfriend, and why we keep hanging around a swamp. But once all the characters are in place and the game is afoot it's fun to follow the Fox and Scully vibe and crosstalk, and the reader does begin to actually care, (rare in any other zombie book), about the fates of the various characters. There's also a lot of backstory that's hinted at, which suggests this book has a future as the first in a series.
Anyway, the upshot is that this was more imaginative, funnier, more sharply observed, and more character driven than I ever expected. It was an entertaining bizarro find.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This review has some MILD PREMISE SPOILERS, but just enough to get you in the proper frame of mind for the book.
Our hero is Saelig Zilch. His consciousness has been injected into a recently dead body, (along with a zillion nanobots that serve to repair the body and keep it functioning), so that he can complete his mission, which is to track down and neutralize a dangerous supernatural creature. I guess in that sense Zilch is a zombie, but he's really just a guy who has commandeered an available dead body.
Zilch's task is to find a creature, a reptilian humanoid cryptid, that is loosely based on the legendary South Carolina Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man. In a practical sense this all works like one of those one-off X-Files episodes about weird creatures, (like Flukeman), that always seemed to be hiding in sewers. Zilch teams up with the unsuspecting girlfriend of this were-amphibian; Zilch wants to kill it and the girlfriend wants to save it. A hilariously inappropriate third party is also searching for the were-amphibian, for a bizarro purpose that I won't disclose. The action aspect of the book involves Zilch's search for his target, and builds to a socko final confrontation. There is so much over-the-top, and sort of tongue in cheek, gore that it ultimately becomes almost cartoony. This book often goes for laughs rather than horror, which was fine by me.
What really distinguishes the book, though, (apart from the creative premise and nicely structured plot), is the smart dialogue and the funny throwaway lines. Zilch is usually more exasperated and resigned than anything else, the creature is clueless, the creature's girlfriend is a sardonic tough cookie with a heart of gold, and the supporting characters are prime Southern Gothic.
The book takes a little while to get up to speed. At first you'll wonder who Zilch is, why we're spending so much time with some loser and his girlfriend, and why we keep hanging around a swamp. But once all the characters are in place and the game is afoot it's fun to follow the Fox and Scully vibe and crosstalk, and the reader does begin to actually care, (rare in any other zombie book), about the fates of the various characters. There's also a lot of backstory that's hinted at, which suggests this book has a future as the first in a series.
Anyway, the upshot is that this was more imaginative, funnier, more sharply observed, and more character driven than I ever expected. It was an entertaining bizarro find.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews