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Aftermath
AFTERMATH is set in a world reeling in the midst of post war chaos, in which humanity has to face not just the struggle basic survival entails, but also the challenge of sudden evolutionary upheaval.
As Yeshra knows all too well, the world is now a dangerous, unpredictable place, where a mother can lose her teenage son in the blink of an eye. Since his death the Settlement where her family found shelter has hunkered down to an uneasy peace within its protected perimeters, a peaceful routine soon to be shattered by an urgent message from the unknown lands beyond their borders. The expedition which follows, led by the charismatic and mysterious Healer of the Settlement and some of its most notable dwellers, will make them all question the core beliefs of their budding society. In the ensuing clash between generations, what happens when adults believe they know best, yet Evolution gives Youth the upper-hand?
In our current unsettled and war-fraught global scenario, looming with apocalyptic undertones, this novel opens up a window of possibility to a different sort of future.
A wonderful opportunity perhaps, and a fresh new start.
As Yeshra knows all too well, the world is now a dangerous, unpredictable place, where a mother can lose her teenage son in the blink of an eye. Since his death the Settlement where her family found shelter has hunkered down to an uneasy peace within its protected perimeters, a peaceful routine soon to be shattered by an urgent message from the unknown lands beyond their borders. The expedition which follows, led by the charismatic and mysterious Healer of the Settlement and some of its most notable dwellers, will make them all question the core beliefs of their budding society. In the ensuing clash between generations, what happens when adults believe they know best, yet Evolution gives Youth the upper-hand?
In our current unsettled and war-fraught global scenario, looming with apocalyptic undertones, this novel opens up a window of possibility to a different sort of future.
A wonderful opportunity perhaps, and a fresh new start.
Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Meiling Colorado
2 books15 followersMeiling Colorado is the author of the post-apocalyptic fantasy novel Aftermath. Born in London, she spent most of her childhood on tour with her parents, who were dancers. She grew up in a multi-ethnic family which, coupled with their semi-nomadic bohemian lifestyle, broadened her perception of the world. Mostly homeschooled, where many children were beginning to read and enjoy Dr. Seuss, Meiling was also reading and acting out scenes from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream with her mother. She was an avid reader from a very early age, deriving great pleasure from reading countless authors, different genres and styles, and channeling great part of her creativity into writing poems and short stories. As a professional Flamenco and Classical Spanish dancer, Meiling has travelled extensively, which made her aware of how necessary a change of direction in Humanity’s actions has become.
She now lives in Spain, on the beautiful island of Mallorca, with her husband and two children, alternating between writing, teaching English, translating and practising Permaculture. When there is time she really enjoys just breathing, being out in nature, and watching the sun set slowly on the horizon.
You can follow Meiling on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/meiling.colo...
Twitter https://twitter.com/MeilingColorad1
Scriggler https://scriggler.com/Profile/meiling...
She now lives in Spain, on the beautiful island of Mallorca, with her husband and two children, alternating between writing, teaching English, translating and practising Permaculture. When there is time she really enjoys just breathing, being out in nature, and watching the sun set slowly on the horizon.
You can follow Meiling on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/meiling.colo...
Twitter https://twitter.com/MeilingColorad1
Scriggler https://scriggler.com/Profile/meiling...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 12, 2018
I was absolutely blown away by Aftermath. From the start, you are drawn into this incredibly exciting and captivating world which takes place in the future . With wonderfully colourful characters all painted so beautifully you can't help but to fall in love with and to relate to. The story has everything you could ever want! From telepathy, to telekinesis to empathy , adventure and danger; in a very simple and yet profound way we are reminded of what it means to be in a community and to work together with our gifts to better the planet. Everything about this book is rich and magical... I honestly cannot wait for the sequel!!!
June 28, 2018
I was immediately engrossed in this book, feeling the characters come alive in my imagination. A delightful journey into a plausible future that gives much food for thought. I love the relatable quirks and facets of the different people and how they do all ultimately pull together as a community. This book left me wanting more and I hope the talented Meiling Colorado will continue on her journey of book writing.
June 4, 2018
I enjoyed Aftermath all the way through. When I finished it a friend asked to take it home to read. I gave ti to her. Now I am sorry I did. My wife and another local friend wanted to read it as well. I guess I will need to get another copy. :)
April 10, 2019
Synopsis: Aftermath follows a community of survivors trying to rebuild society after a series of devastating wars have left the world in shambles. Our cast of characters struggle to farm the land, defend their homes against bandits and raiders, and even have to withstand a highly infectious disease that has ravaged other communities. One of the side effects of this disease is that the few that survive discover that they have been given superhuman abilities. Our survivors must then learn how to cope with these new powers and the growing pains that come with trying to master new and dangerous skills.
Good: Meiling juggles a lot characters in Aftermath and she manages to make them each have distinct voices and personalities. Keeping that many characters interesting and distinct enough not to get lost in the crowd is no small feat and she manages to do so throughout this novel.
To piggyback off of the first good comment, there are several generations of characters in this story. You have the elderly Leiran, the parents, Yeshra and Dinain, but you also have the kids like Ren and Lilith. Each of the generations of characters play a fairly even part of the story. Many stories that have teen characters tend to focus on the teens almost exclusively and make all the parents and older characters feel like backstory and supporting cast, but Meiling manages to make all of these characters and ages feel real and important.
Even though the overall tone of the novel is pretty dire with humanity struggling to bounce back from wars and plagues, there is plenty of light-hearted banter, romance, and teasing that happens throughout the novel. You really get a sense of people trying to make the best of this bleak new reality and it doesn’t feel forced or defeatist. People are actually trying to live life, not just accept things the way they are. It’s nice to see a post-apocalyptic world where not everyone is a selfish prick who only looks out for number one and kills everyone who gets in their way. People are actually working together for the good of society and it’s refreshing for this genre.
Bad: Aftermath is a good novel and has a lot of good points, but I do have to point out one thing that really bugged me while reading it. There are so many characters whose names start with the same letters. I know this sounds silly, but hear me out. There are so many characters whose names start with the letter L. We have Leiren, Lorenna, Lilith, Liam, Lee, and Leni that I can remember. I think there might have been a Lane and Lyn in there somewhere too. It was kind of confusing who was who at first especially since Leiren, Lorenna, and Lilith were together a lot throughout the book. There are also a Ren and Resnan that are the two teen boy characters who I thought were the same person for a while since they were both around the same age. That’s on me for not paying enough attention, but still it’s helpful for characters to have very distinct names so the readers don’t get confused especially with such a large cast of characters.
The only other negative thing I can really say about Aftermath is that there wasn’t a clear main conflict in the novel. There were several minor conflicts which were all fun to read through like a love triangle, the drama of teen romance, the struggle to get people to work together, travelling through dangerous places, the plague survivors learning how to use their new powers, a murder, and of course the overall fight for survival, but there was no singular conflict propelling the narrative. All of these minor conflicts work themselves out fairly quickly and don’t really escalate beyond a chapter or two. In many ways this is a type of realism. Life doesn’t necessarily have huge grandiose quests we all go on, but there is a feeling of not really knowing where the story is going since there is no main objective looming on the horizon.
Final Thoughts: One of the perks of not really knowing where this story is going is that I expect I’ll be surprised to see where this story goes. Meiling is working on a sequel and I can’t wait to see what happens next with our survivors and the new world they are building for themselves in the ruins of the old. One of the best things about this story is that is very different from what you would expect. It is a breath of fresh air in a genre that tends to be mired in bleak hopelessness and dark facets of humanity coming to light. Instead you actually get to see good people trying to do good in a world that sorely needs it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a different side of the apocalypse.
Good: Meiling juggles a lot characters in Aftermath and she manages to make them each have distinct voices and personalities. Keeping that many characters interesting and distinct enough not to get lost in the crowd is no small feat and she manages to do so throughout this novel.
To piggyback off of the first good comment, there are several generations of characters in this story. You have the elderly Leiran, the parents, Yeshra and Dinain, but you also have the kids like Ren and Lilith. Each of the generations of characters play a fairly even part of the story. Many stories that have teen characters tend to focus on the teens almost exclusively and make all the parents and older characters feel like backstory and supporting cast, but Meiling manages to make all of these characters and ages feel real and important.
Even though the overall tone of the novel is pretty dire with humanity struggling to bounce back from wars and plagues, there is plenty of light-hearted banter, romance, and teasing that happens throughout the novel. You really get a sense of people trying to make the best of this bleak new reality and it doesn’t feel forced or defeatist. People are actually trying to live life, not just accept things the way they are. It’s nice to see a post-apocalyptic world where not everyone is a selfish prick who only looks out for number one and kills everyone who gets in their way. People are actually working together for the good of society and it’s refreshing for this genre.
Bad: Aftermath is a good novel and has a lot of good points, but I do have to point out one thing that really bugged me while reading it. There are so many characters whose names start with the same letters. I know this sounds silly, but hear me out. There are so many characters whose names start with the letter L. We have Leiren, Lorenna, Lilith, Liam, Lee, and Leni that I can remember. I think there might have been a Lane and Lyn in there somewhere too. It was kind of confusing who was who at first especially since Leiren, Lorenna, and Lilith were together a lot throughout the book. There are also a Ren and Resnan that are the two teen boy characters who I thought were the same person for a while since they were both around the same age. That’s on me for not paying enough attention, but still it’s helpful for characters to have very distinct names so the readers don’t get confused especially with such a large cast of characters.
The only other negative thing I can really say about Aftermath is that there wasn’t a clear main conflict in the novel. There were several minor conflicts which were all fun to read through like a love triangle, the drama of teen romance, the struggle to get people to work together, travelling through dangerous places, the plague survivors learning how to use their new powers, a murder, and of course the overall fight for survival, but there was no singular conflict propelling the narrative. All of these minor conflicts work themselves out fairly quickly and don’t really escalate beyond a chapter or two. In many ways this is a type of realism. Life doesn’t necessarily have huge grandiose quests we all go on, but there is a feeling of not really knowing where the story is going since there is no main objective looming on the horizon.
Final Thoughts: One of the perks of not really knowing where this story is going is that I expect I’ll be surprised to see where this story goes. Meiling is working on a sequel and I can’t wait to see what happens next with our survivors and the new world they are building for themselves in the ruins of the old. One of the best things about this story is that is very different from what you would expect. It is a breath of fresh air in a genre that tends to be mired in bleak hopelessness and dark facets of humanity coming to light. Instead you actually get to see good people trying to do good in a world that sorely needs it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to see a different side of the apocalypse.
February 22, 2019
I could not help but feel an immediate affinity with the character of Yeshra. As I myself, once escaped to a field in remembering my son, thinking of the future of our children. How extraordinary. It’s possible we may find a piece of ourselves somewhere within these pages. Reviewing our options of survival. Regardless of the world changing around us, we remain with one of the most beautiful traits a Human Being has, to never give up Hope. Adapting to a reality no one chose, Meiling adds her dance of the soul’s ability to recreate what it is to be challenged and to be alive.
July 4, 2018
A brilliant read. The characters are so well formed that they stay with you long after you’ve finished the book. Well written and highly original.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews