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After Deliverance : Book 1
The world was saved once. The heroes vanished. The system they left behind is rotting.
THE CLEANUP CREW: Chub Hale leads Corridor Risk Solutions, a found-family of enhanced contractors who mop up after GATR's collateral damage. All he wants is to keep his people fed—maybe find decent coffee. But Chub is hiding a secret that's slowly destroying everything he's built.
THE REVOLUTIONARIES: Max and his cell of former government operatives are done waiting. They've uncovered evidence of human experimentation, built a city-wide broadcast plan, and they're running out of time.
THE DIRECTOR: Mellish runs GATR. He's always three moves ahead—and ruthless enough to find leverage against anyone who threatens his vision.
When a coordinated attack plunges the city into darkness, all three factions collide. For Chub, the blackout drags his secrets into the light—and forces his team into the conspiracy he's been running from for years.
Told through rotating perspectives, AFTER DELIVERANCE is a gritty superhero saga for fans of Watchmen's moral complexity and Worm's intricate worldbuilding.
THE CLEANUP CREW: Chub Hale leads Corridor Risk Solutions, a found-family of enhanced contractors who mop up after GATR's collateral damage. All he wants is to keep his people fed—maybe find decent coffee. But Chub is hiding a secret that's slowly destroying everything he's built.
THE REVOLUTIONARIES: Max and his cell of former government operatives are done waiting. They've uncovered evidence of human experimentation, built a city-wide broadcast plan, and they're running out of time.
THE DIRECTOR: Mellish runs GATR. He's always three moves ahead—and ruthless enough to find leverage against anyone who threatens his vision.
When a coordinated attack plunges the city into darkness, all three factions collide. For Chub, the blackout drags his secrets into the light—and forces his team into the conspiracy he's been running from for years.
Told through rotating perspectives, AFTER DELIVERANCE is a gritty superhero saga for fans of Watchmen's moral complexity and Worm's intricate worldbuilding.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2025
3 people are currently reading
About the author
R.R. Santos
1 bookR R Santos is a father and husband first, a writer a distant second. He lives with his brilliant wife and their tiny, fierce daughter, who already tells better stories than he does. He believes the best fiction asks a simple question: “What if things were slightly weirder?” He writes in the quiet hours, sustained by black coffee and the hope that his daughter inherits her mother’s wit. After Deliverance is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 23, 2025
Once saved by heroes, the world is again on the brink of devastation as the cumulative actions of a cleanup crew, obfuscating politically-motivated players, and a resistance faction unleash chaos that begins to reveal long-kept and dark secrets in After Deliverance: Part 1 by R.R. Santos.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Leading a team of people with mutated, enhanced abilities who are contracted to clean up from crises caused by Aberrant destruction and generally helping people of the city, Charles “Chub” Hale has brought together a group of misfits who have become like a family, yet he’s been keeping secrets from them that is making it even more difficult for their business to make ends meet and if they find out their trust in him is likely to rapidly dissipate. As events in the city escalate and provide more work for Chub’s crew, the cause behind it proves to be related to a conspiracy that he’s been actively trying to evade, which is now catching up with him and begging to be addressed. Trapped by the partial truths and outright lies he’s told, the unconscionable plans and actions of those with political influence and power, as well as the countermeasures of those resisting and aiming to expose the truth to the public, at least one of Chub’s secrets is about to be revealed, changing his dynamic with his team, which is something he’s fought hard to preserve, along with the safety of the city’s citizens. In the face of truth and unleashed chaos, confrontations of the self and buried history will determine what might come to pass and what the future could hold, assuming the world remains.
Presenting a gritty world through chapters from all parties involved, a vast web is created, offering varied perspectives for both a broadly and deeply sketched story that enhances investment in the background and development of the characters; each of them are depicted with a similar firm resolve but possess distinct traits that mark them as unique while enmeshed in combatting the relatively quickly moving conspiracy-laden scenario in the bleak and decrepit near-future world setting. By withholding information while periodically including details that foreshadow events, a tension is built into the pacing of the narrative that easily propels the momentum and fuels intrigue about how events will unfold and ultimately converge. The secrets kept between those with the closest relationship dynamics, along with the truths concealed from the public, create a quiet yet tangible chaos that is frustrating but at the same time understandable, as it's done for the sake of protection.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Leading a team of people with mutated, enhanced abilities who are contracted to clean up from crises caused by Aberrant destruction and generally helping people of the city, Charles “Chub” Hale has brought together a group of misfits who have become like a family, yet he’s been keeping secrets from them that is making it even more difficult for their business to make ends meet and if they find out their trust in him is likely to rapidly dissipate. As events in the city escalate and provide more work for Chub’s crew, the cause behind it proves to be related to a conspiracy that he’s been actively trying to evade, which is now catching up with him and begging to be addressed. Trapped by the partial truths and outright lies he’s told, the unconscionable plans and actions of those with political influence and power, as well as the countermeasures of those resisting and aiming to expose the truth to the public, at least one of Chub’s secrets is about to be revealed, changing his dynamic with his team, which is something he’s fought hard to preserve, along with the safety of the city’s citizens. In the face of truth and unleashed chaos, confrontations of the self and buried history will determine what might come to pass and what the future could hold, assuming the world remains.
Presenting a gritty world through chapters from all parties involved, a vast web is created, offering varied perspectives for both a broadly and deeply sketched story that enhances investment in the background and development of the characters; each of them are depicted with a similar firm resolve but possess distinct traits that mark them as unique while enmeshed in combatting the relatively quickly moving conspiracy-laden scenario in the bleak and decrepit near-future world setting. By withholding information while periodically including details that foreshadow events, a tension is built into the pacing of the narrative that easily propels the momentum and fuels intrigue about how events will unfold and ultimately converge. The secrets kept between those with the closest relationship dynamics, along with the truths concealed from the public, create a quiet yet tangible chaos that is frustrating but at the same time understandable, as it's done for the sake of protection.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
February 14, 2026
Salvaging the world from Darkness
I love diving into a writer’s weird world, and this book delivered a dark world where factions each undertake their own fight to control a deteriorating situation. As battles ensue with humans and mutants fighting dangerous aberrants, Chub and his found-family try to keep things going and keep people alive.
Great for fans of sci-fi disaster stories about dangerous experiments.
I love diving into a writer’s weird world, and this book delivered a dark world where factions each undertake their own fight to control a deteriorating situation. As battles ensue with humans and mutants fighting dangerous aberrants, Chub and his found-family try to keep things going and keep people alive.
Great for fans of sci-fi disaster stories about dangerous experiments.
March 1, 2026
“The roars and shrieks of the contained aberrants were its native music.”
“The roars and shrieks of the contained aberrants were its native music.”
Four stars. The biotech angle and containment breach storyline really hooked me, especially the scenes inside the facility and the fallout from the failed serum. The shifting perspectives add real tension as loyalties blur and secrets surface. It slows in spots, but the emotional weight and moral messiness make it stick.
“The roars and shrieks of the contained aberrants were its native music.”
Four stars. The biotech angle and containment breach storyline really hooked me, especially the scenes inside the facility and the fallout from the failed serum. The shifting perspectives add real tension as loyalties blur and secrets surface. It slows in spots, but the emotional weight and moral messiness make it stick.
March 15, 2026
This book takes a different approach to the superhero genre. Instead of focusing on famous heroes, it shows the messy world left behind after their actions. The story feels tense and realistic, with secrets, conflicts, and different groups trying to control the truth. The rotating perspectives add depth and keep the mystery building as the plot unfolds. It’s an interesting and gritty start to a series that explores power, consequences, and the people caught in the middle.
February 23, 2026
This was a solid start to a series. The premise is strong, the characters are messy in a good way, and the worldbuilding slowly reveals itself without overwhelming you.
I enjoyed the team dynamic and the hints at the larger conflict. It feels like the story is just getting started, which worked well for a first book.
Definitely looking forward to the next Book.
I enjoyed the team dynamic and the hints at the larger conflict. It feels like the story is just getting started, which worked well for a first book.
Definitely looking forward to the next Book.
March 6, 2026
This is a fantastic debut novel and really enjoyable. It's pacey yet deep, with great characters and written from multiple points of view without being confusing. Can't wait for the next one!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews