After Arrival: A post-apocalyptic sci-fi novel

by Massimo Paradiso

In 2045, little remains of Earth. The aliens arrived a decade ago, eradicating most human life in the process. No one knows why they did it or why they are here. Their vessel stands out at sea, silently stretching up into the clouds while the survivors of Earth fight over what’s left. England is reduced to two Oxford, a beacon of hope and prosperity; and Chard, a rebel encampment. While they squabble at a distance, a girl stumbles across a secret that could turn what’s left of the world upside down. But there is far more at risk than the humans know.

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

458 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 8, 2024

About the author

I started writing in secret - I was a little sheepish about it. Eventually my wife got suspicious and, eager to show her I wasn't having an online affair, I showed her my first draft. She admitted the words were in a legible order. I now write out of the shadows and have three books to my name, a fourth in the works and many more in my brain that I'm eager to get out. Stay tuned.

Reviews

[BookswithLydscl | · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25*
A little slow moving at times but overall a fantastic after arrival, dystopian Alien scifi story. This is how modern scifi telling classic science fiction style stories should be written. It's about family and society, the power struggle following the power grab by an elite few and the corruption of those left in charge. It's not big and outlandish, even the alien scenes feel pretty subtle and designed to add to the story rather than give a wow factor. Very glad I picked this up on kindle unlimited and will check out some of the author's other work.

[N Dzerins]

I really enjoyed this book. It was reminiscent of both 1984 and Julia, due to the lack of technology I was feeling the bucolic, 1940s style setting. I thought it was well paced and the characters were roundly developed. However it would have benefitted from some good proofreading, the author thanking his proofreaders in the acknowledgements was surprising because I didn’t think he had had any. Small mistakes on homonyms (palette/palate, peak/peek) etc but enough to take you out of the book. Also (this may be a personal preference) there were loads of sentences which would have benefited from an extra comma or two.

[Katherine Welsford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Everything goes very quickly in the last 1/5th but I don't hate that. Interesting concepts and fun viewpoints

[Nick Mooney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this.

It was quite slow going until pretty much the 50% mark and then it got going.

There are a number of typos still present, but they're not overly distracting.

I liked that the chapters won't overly long.

[Erica Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this could have benefited from some significant proof reading and corrections, the story and characters were enough to keep me engaged.

A really nice spin on the climate apocalypse genre. With aliens. And a twelve year old. And a piano.

[Terri Stokes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's 2045 and very little remains of the UK after the arrival of the Aliens who with them, brought floods, eradicating most human life while others died from the gas which arrived soon after. The Alien's vessel stands out to sea, standing tall and silent, still and has done since they arrived a decade ago, stood out to sea.

Broken down in to two places, Oxford is meant to be a beacon of hope, a place where people are trying to carry on and start again, full of prosperity. While Chard is the rebel side of things, everything that Oxford isn't. The government says one thing and the rebels another, fighting against each other, no one really knows what is the truth and what is propergander.


Yet there is hope within the grasp of a young girl, she could be the one thing which could bring the two fractions together and bring real peace to the remains of the UK.

[Pete Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy and generally entertaining read

This is ok to relax to, in the way that an old B movie is. It's pleasantly un-demanding and fitted the bill as a holiday read. The child is rather two dimensional, so I didn't really care as much about what happened to her as I should have done. A few sci-fi cliches together with some quite refreshing elements. I found the end a bit rushed. However, I had been struggling a bit, to get into a book, too tired and otherwise brain occupied to be bothered with the work of ploughing through the early chapters of a book to get into it. This was easy to get into straight away and I thank it for that.

[Kay Padgham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I got pulled along by the intertwining narratives and was soon rooting for Flo and her flawed dad. It's quite a weighty book, but I read it in a few days. Aliens, intrigue, backstabbing, some moments of emotion and a twist or two - what's not to like? I didn't spot lots of errors, so I was evidently absorbed enough in the story for my brain to not notice them, though 'inhalation' rather than 'annihilation' did tickle me!

[Cherie Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot, especially the middle section with Costa and the Spire. The author has such an amazing imagination. But I found the ending a bit of an anti-climax and a disappointment as a result. I did like the way each chapter started with a character name and the way it was written made for very easy reading.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up for suprising me towards the end. This was an enjoyable read, but the pacing felt off. The initial third dragged enough that I almost put it down, and the final third felt rushed. It took a long time for me to care about any of the characters, but it was worth persevering with.

[Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable, dystopian post alien arrival sci tale...

it was a little slow in some places but overall it was a good tale.
Loved Ally and Flo, loved the 1940s world feel of the world building...yes, twas good.

[Connie Suggitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved that this was a post apocalyptic story NOT set in a major city! Such an interesting premise, the world building was amazing, loved this book!

[Clare Manton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The future is in the hands of our children.
Good book felt rushed at the end.

[Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Tim Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different, clever, and it grew on me as I went along.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unfortunate and rather awkward DNF.

I really couldn't get past halfway. I think the premise is worth a re-read, but unfortunately, this time around, I just stalled.

To return to.

[Daniel Madine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute gem of a novel. Beautifully written.

[Dawn Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up.

Reading club read [EOTWRC]: Dystopian fiction is definitely one of my favourite genres, this one didn't disappoint. 10 years after the aliens have landed, those left in a flooded England are surviving, just.

Not sure what the piano was all about but I quite enjoyed the rest of it. Characters were suitably rounded and there were surprises in the plot.

Nice cover too.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read. The first third did drag a little and I did comtemplate putting it down, but then parts 2&3 really got their hooks in.

It was incredibly thought provoking and I liked the very differing points of view for what I consider the 3 main characters: Flo, Costa and Winona.

Aliens are present, but this is very much about humans and the things we are willing to do, regardless of the impact on anyone else but ourselves.