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After-Skirmish #1
The Big Waste
The world can't be saved, it has already ended.
The 'Skirmishes' have left the land in absolute ruin. The last few remains of civilization are Citadels; corrupt, oppressive and dangerous for most who inhabit them. Outside, 'The Big Waste' is a stretch of an endless damaged landscape that has been scorched, poisoned and left to decay by the horrors of constant war. The constant threat of Citadel bounty hunters, mutated animals, ghoulish, formerly-human mercenaries, and all-powerful gangs looms over everyone. Happiness is unlikely, conflict is frequent and death is certain.
When an accomplished demolition derby driver decides to take a seemingly simple delivery job outside the citadel for a little adventure, he learns very quickly why the first day in the Big Waste can often become your last.
Disclaimer: This book contains brutal violence, unconventional morals in a post-apocalyptic world, detailed sex with harem elements, non-human females and a little bit of dark humor.
The 'Skirmishes' have left the land in absolute ruin. The last few remains of civilization are Citadels; corrupt, oppressive and dangerous for most who inhabit them. Outside, 'The Big Waste' is a stretch of an endless damaged landscape that has been scorched, poisoned and left to decay by the horrors of constant war. The constant threat of Citadel bounty hunters, mutated animals, ghoulish, formerly-human mercenaries, and all-powerful gangs looms over everyone. Happiness is unlikely, conflict is frequent and death is certain.
When an accomplished demolition derby driver decides to take a seemingly simple delivery job outside the citadel for a little adventure, he learns very quickly why the first day in the Big Waste can often become your last.
Disclaimer: This book contains brutal violence, unconventional morals in a post-apocalyptic world, detailed sex with harem elements, non-human females and a little bit of dark humor.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 11, 2019
49 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
December 12, 2019
Baby Driver meets White Wolves (cry of the white wolves III) in a place pictured in Mad Max, with vampires and many other creatures...
This is an average read for me but with an excellent fast phase story line, easy read, characters with easily pronounce name and good s*x, this one deserves an outstanding review. The only thing I hate with this one is the cliffhanger.
The author is a good friend here in Goodreads, so friends, if you like a post apocalyptic novel to add on to your reading list please read this one.
Life is a journey, you never know where we are taken. Live life even if you call your "car" home. Thank you for this wonderful ride.😊
This is an average read for me but with an excellent fast phase story line, easy read, characters with easily pronounce name and good s*x, this one deserves an outstanding review. The only thing I hate with this one is the cliffhanger.
The author is a good friend here in Goodreads, so friends, if you like a post apocalyptic novel to add on to your reading list please read this one.
Life is a journey, you never know where we are taken. Live life even if you call your "car" home. Thank you for this wonderful ride.😊
November 22, 2019
“The Big Waste (After-Skirmish Book 1)” surprised me by how very much I enjoyed the book!
First, post-apocalyptic dystopian futures are not generally a genre of science fiction that I read/listen to. Secondly, this is the first book by author C.W. Ashley, and I was prepared to endure the numerous typos and disjointed storytelling that often accompanies first efforts. Finally, I don’t often read/listen to books with explicit hetero sex.
So there. I’m sure you can see why I requested a review copy.
Actually, I requested a review copy because the author is a longtime “friend” on goodreads, and I wanted to support her effort at becoming a published author.
Wow! I was very wrong to start by anticipating so many expected negatives, and I’m delighted to report that this is a very well done book. The story is very entertaining, and Ashley deftly weaves the stories of many different characters into a terrific intersection of their lives. The characters are very interesting, and their interactions are very well done.
“The Big Waste” reminded me of “Zombieland”, the hilarious post-apocalyptic movie with Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. Like “Zombieland”, “The Big Waste” features plenty of graphic violence, but as with the movie, it’s the characters and the frequent humorous comments that make “The Big Waste” so enjoyable.
After “the Skirmish”, the world is inhabited by humans, mutants, blights, werewolves, vampires, androids and more vicious hungry monsters than I could count. There’re well described hierarchies of the new social orders, including the mobster gangs.
There is sex between many of the various humanoids, but it’s pretty funny how the MC male (“Iggy”) is pretty clueless about the females being attracted to him, and their noticing his frequent “tent-pole”.
“The Big Waste” ends on a cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the sequel! 5* for this very entertaining book. I hope an audiobook will be commissioned; a perfect narrator would be Andrea Parsneau, or perhaps Tess Irondale!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
My rating and my review was not in anyway affected by my having been provided a review copy.
First, post-apocalyptic dystopian futures are not generally a genre of science fiction that I read/listen to. Secondly, this is the first book by author C.W. Ashley, and I was prepared to endure the numerous typos and disjointed storytelling that often accompanies first efforts. Finally, I don’t often read/listen to books with explicit hetero sex.
So there. I’m sure you can see why I requested a review copy.
Actually, I requested a review copy because the author is a longtime “friend” on goodreads, and I wanted to support her effort at becoming a published author.
Wow! I was very wrong to start by anticipating so many expected negatives, and I’m delighted to report that this is a very well done book. The story is very entertaining, and Ashley deftly weaves the stories of many different characters into a terrific intersection of their lives. The characters are very interesting, and their interactions are very well done.
“The Big Waste” reminded me of “Zombieland”, the hilarious post-apocalyptic movie with Woody Harrelson and Bill Murray. Like “Zombieland”, “The Big Waste” features plenty of graphic violence, but as with the movie, it’s the characters and the frequent humorous comments that make “The Big Waste” so enjoyable.
After “the Skirmish”, the world is inhabited by humans, mutants, blights, werewolves, vampires, androids and more vicious hungry monsters than I could count. There’re well described hierarchies of the new social orders, including the mobster gangs.
There is sex between many of the various humanoids, but it’s pretty funny how the MC male (“Iggy”) is pretty clueless about the females being attracted to him, and their noticing his frequent “tent-pole”.
“The Big Waste” ends on a cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the sequel! 5* for this very entertaining book. I hope an audiobook will be commissioned; a perfect narrator would be Andrea Parsneau, or perhaps Tess Irondale!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
My rating and my review was not in anyway affected by my having been provided a review copy.
November 17, 2019
Rating 3.5 stars
I have been friends with the author of this book on goodread for about 6 months before I knew he had written a book. He asked me to read it and see what I thought. He gave me a free copy of the book, however I also have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and this book was also free with that subscription so I don't feel any obligation/conflict of interest with this review because of that fact.
This is a post apocalyptic adventure reminiscent of the Mad Max movies. The story follows Iggie (Ignition) who has been an accomplished derby driver in the Citadel, one of the last remaining areas of civilization in this post apocalyptic world. He has gotten tired of being in the city. He loves the freedom of driving but has realized that with derby driving, he never actually gets anywhere, always just driving in circles. He decides to take and transport mission out into the wastes.
Overall an enjoyable read, I have to admit that post apocalyptic stories aren't ones that I usually read but I did enjoy this book.
I have been friends with the author of this book on goodread for about 6 months before I knew he had written a book. He asked me to read it and see what I thought. He gave me a free copy of the book, however I also have a Kindle Unlimited subscription and this book was also free with that subscription so I don't feel any obligation/conflict of interest with this review because of that fact.
This is a post apocalyptic adventure reminiscent of the Mad Max movies. The story follows Iggie (Ignition) who has been an accomplished derby driver in the Citadel, one of the last remaining areas of civilization in this post apocalyptic world. He has gotten tired of being in the city. He loves the freedom of driving but has realized that with derby driving, he never actually gets anywhere, always just driving in circles. He decides to take and transport mission out into the wastes.
Overall an enjoyable read, I have to admit that post apocalyptic stories aren't ones that I usually read but I did enjoy this book.
November 24, 2019
The wonderful artwork for the front cover was provided by the very talented Martin Sobr, check out his other art at www.martinsobr.com
September 21, 2020
The Big Waste smelled blood
Disclaimer: this book is for adults only. Although my review is spoiler-free, the book includes graphic sex, gruesome violence, excess profanity and a harem. Now that you’ve been warned...
Like marmite, this book isn’t for everyone. It’s a gritty, primal, grisly, sexually-explicit dystopian fantasy reminiscent of Mad Max or the more disturbed, 18+ older sibling of Mortal Engines. There's no soft, fluffy romance: instead there is a graphic amount of macabre violence, obscenities and primal (but consensual) coitus. A True Blood-esque story but instead of a naive, affable young woman narrating, it’s the voice of tough guy, Randall “Ignition” Gainsborough, #4 on the Demolition Circuit, who is attacked while crossing the Big Waste on a delivery mission in his demolition buggy, Blockgain Chaser.
Fans of truly dark, post-apocalyptic and/or harem fiction in a believable anti-utopia, with graphic sex and gruesome violence will want to sink their fangs, or werewolf teeth, into this.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: this book is for adults only. Although my review is spoiler-free, the book includes graphic sex, gruesome violence, excess profanity and a harem. Now that you’ve been warned...
“The bandit’s upper body had been torn from the abdomen with a trail of intestines painting a bright red trail back to the front half of the vehicle”
Like marmite, this book isn’t for everyone. It’s a gritty, primal, grisly, sexually-explicit dystopian fantasy reminiscent of Mad Max or the more disturbed, 18+ older sibling of Mortal Engines. There's no soft, fluffy romance: instead there is a graphic amount of macabre violence, obscenities and primal (but consensual) coitus. A True Blood-esque story but instead of a naive, affable young woman narrating, it’s the voice of tough guy, Randall “Ignition” Gainsborough, #4 on the Demolition Circuit, who is attacked while crossing the Big Waste on a delivery mission in his demolition buggy, Blockgain Chaser.
“... a wild looking female with pointed ears, large canines and grey eyes so bright they looked almost white. She was a fascinating being”
Fans of truly dark, post-apocalyptic and/or harem fiction in a believable anti-utopia, with graphic sex and gruesome violence will want to sink their fangs, or werewolf teeth, into this.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review.
April 1, 2020
Sooo, I will say that I enjoyed this book. Sil is by far my favorite character in the book. She's a big ol puppy. I want a sil. Ok, now here's the review. The world that the book in living in is in a dystopian future. The setting as well established and the characters are pretty well rounded out. Now, the two big issues I have with this story. There's entirely too much emphasis on the vehicle in this story, but then again, it also has a lot of semblance in this story as well. The big issue I have about the vehicle is how much it gets described throughout the story. If you are a car junkie, it's prob right up your alley, but if your not a top gear nut, it will start to get on your nerves. The other issue I have with this story is that we get information dumps instead of the information being told throughout the story. The information does in fact help out with what's going on in the story, but the information is just dumped into the story instead of being told as a part of the story in my opinion. The one thing I always hate the most is a weak ass main character and this main character is definitely one, HOWEVER he doesn't have isakai protagonist syndrome. He's actually growing stronger AND he's not doing a DBZ where he goes all ultra instant all of a sudden. With all of that said, I'm enjoying this series and with the way the first book ended, it has me in much anticipation for the next one.
July 24, 2020
First of all I want to thank the author C.W. Ashley for providing me with a copy, I enjoyed reading this well written mix of adventure, science-fiction and fantasy.
Pros:
-I love the main character Ignition, for once a simple minded guy, not too troubled or tormented, but determined and sincerely confident with what he's capable of doing.
-Sil is also very well developed, a mix of fear and cuteness. I'm intrigued by the mystery regarding her origin and hope everything will become clear in the next books.
- The action scenes are pure adrenaline and very graphic, felt like being in an action movie.
- The post-apocalyptic universe the author created is perfect for the adventure, and the variety of humans, mutants, androids, blights and other creatures make everything more interesting.
Cons:
- The sex scenes were tooooo much, literally meaning that they unnecessarily represent a 20-30% of the book. Also, they seem out of the blue and always with the same scenario: women/female creatures realise that Iggy is turned on and decide to throw themselves at him.
- I wasn't convinced at all by how fast the characters became attached to each other with no apparent reason (especially Clarissa with Sil and Mode) when they spent just a few hours together. Not enough to risk lives for one another in my opinion.
- The presence of pre-existing werewolves and vampires in this world seems a little too much and unnecessary to me when we have already a great variety of super interesting after-skirmish creatures!
The story has potential and is really promising, so I really hope I'll to give more stars to the next in the series!
Pros:
-I love the main character Ignition, for once a simple minded guy, not too troubled or tormented, but determined and sincerely confident with what he's capable of doing.
-Sil is also very well developed, a mix of fear and cuteness. I'm intrigued by the mystery regarding her origin and hope everything will become clear in the next books.
- The action scenes are pure adrenaline and very graphic, felt like being in an action movie.
- The post-apocalyptic universe the author created is perfect for the adventure, and the variety of humans, mutants, androids, blights and other creatures make everything more interesting.
Cons:
- The sex scenes were tooooo much, literally meaning that they unnecessarily represent a 20-30% of the book. Also, they seem out of the blue and always with the same scenario: women/female creatures realise that Iggy is turned on and decide to throw themselves at him.
- I wasn't convinced at all by how fast the characters became attached to each other with no apparent reason (especially Clarissa with Sil and Mode) when they spent just a few hours together. Not enough to risk lives for one another in my opinion.
- The presence of pre-existing werewolves and vampires in this world seems a little too much and unnecessary to me when we have already a great variety of super interesting after-skirmish creatures!
The story has potential and is really promising, so I really hope I'll to give more stars to the next in the series!
January 4, 2020
1.5 Stars!
(Just a head’s up! This review discusses sexual scenes in detail, with frequent, graphic mentions of female and male anatomy).
So, I haven’t played the game in years, but the setting of The Big Waste — which is called the Big Waste itself — kiiind of reminds me of the radioactive wasteland in the game Fallout 3. Except this book has more monsters.
Speaking of which.
The summary of this book is pretty misleading, in my opinion. The summary makes the plot sound like the main character, Iggy, will be fighting against monsters and fighting for survival. I thought he would be trying to AVOID the ghouls in the Big Waste, battle them off if he needed to.
Yeah, uh... not really?
He fucks them all instead!
Yes, the summary says that there is some graphic sex in this book. I accepted the review request because, while I do not read or review straight up erotica, I can usually handle a scene or so, as long as it doesn’t overrun the entire book, and even though there was sex, I didn’t think it would overrun most of the plot. It didn’t sound that way.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
The scenes themselves aren’t very long, yes, but within less than 100 pages, our main dude Iggy fucks a wolf girl and a vampire chic. The wolf girl, in particular, kind of reminds me of the short story “The Wolf Girl,” found in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. When I read the disclaimer for sex, I accepted the sexual bits, but I did not expect him to fuck??? actual monsters that wanted to EAT HIM???
Right before he and Wolf Girl fucked, Wolfie ate a fucking DEAD CARCASS. I’m not sure if it was human or not, if it specified I didn’t catch it, but... it’s... fucked up either way?? During the part where they were, ah, together, I was half expecting Wolf Girl to just, like... rip Iggy’s throat out. And, also, I don’t think the fact that her mouth/tongue/breath would taste like a fucking CORPSE would be very appealing to ANYONE. And if it is, I, uh... don’t really want to associate with you.
And the sex scene itself was a goddamn... experience?
Please note, I have no idea if the author is male, female, or another gender. I read this book because they messaged me on Goodreads, so I was never in contact with a Facebook profile, and they don’t have a picture of themselves up on their Goodreads account. I’m not sure what the initials in their pen name stand for, so the name “C.W. Ashley” could go either way, gender-wise. I am not judging the sex scenes based off their gender, I am judging based off the fact of “what the fuck did I just read.”
But no matter their gender, I find the fact that they wrote about Wolf Girl’s “gray vagina” quite a bit... concerning. I don’t care if you’re a monster creature or the purest saint. If I had one I do not think I would want my penis to be, “A pillar of pure pleasure pumping sexual streams of energy to all corners of his body,” inside A DUSTY ASS GRAY VAGINA. I may be asexual, but I think even allosexual people can agree with me in that that entire situation is a big, steaming pile of WHAT THE FUCK.
I take what I said earlier about the book reminding me of Fallout 3 back. I think the settings were kind of similar, but I don’t recall ever fucking a Raider or a GODDAMN RADROACH in Fallout. What the hell.
I haven’t DNFed a book in a long time — I didn’t even DNF Call Me By Your Name, and y’all know how much I ABSOLUTELY HA— I mean, very clearly adore that book!!! :-) — but I totally skimmed everything after Iggy fucked the vampire. I don’t even... know what I read, really? Thank God it wasn’t that long.
I just... I dunno. I don’t think a 1-star is very accurate, because I do like the detail put into the setting, despite the brevity of the work, but a 2-star would be extremely close to pushing it. Of course, unless the book is truly problematic — *cough*CMBYN*cough* — then I don’t believe in condemning it and being all like “YOU SHOULD NEVER READ THIS BOOK EVER,” but... I’m not quite sure what I could recommend about this book, other than maybe the setting. I don’t think it was problematic, really, just the... subject matter wasn’t really handled all that well.
I just. Hm.
Maybe if you like monsters? There are definitely a lot of them, and, hey, maybe some people will like things about the sexy bits that I didn’t/couldn’t pick up.
I just can’t get over the goddamn gray vagina, man.
(Just a head’s up! This review discusses sexual scenes in detail, with frequent, graphic mentions of female and male anatomy).
So, I haven’t played the game in years, but the setting of The Big Waste — which is called the Big Waste itself — kiiind of reminds me of the radioactive wasteland in the game Fallout 3. Except this book has more monsters.
Speaking of which.
The summary of this book is pretty misleading, in my opinion. The summary makes the plot sound like the main character, Iggy, will be fighting against monsters and fighting for survival. I thought he would be trying to AVOID the ghouls in the Big Waste, battle them off if he needed to.
Yeah, uh... not really?
He fucks them all instead!
Yes, the summary says that there is some graphic sex in this book. I accepted the review request because, while I do not read or review straight up erotica, I can usually handle a scene or so, as long as it doesn’t overrun the entire book, and even though there was sex, I didn’t think it would overrun most of the plot. It didn’t sound that way.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
The scenes themselves aren’t very long, yes, but within less than 100 pages, our main dude Iggy fucks a wolf girl and a vampire chic. The wolf girl, in particular, kind of reminds me of the short story “The Wolf Girl,” found in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. When I read the disclaimer for sex, I accepted the sexual bits, but I did not expect him to fuck??? actual monsters that wanted to EAT HIM???
Right before he and Wolf Girl fucked, Wolfie ate a fucking DEAD CARCASS. I’m not sure if it was human or not, if it specified I didn’t catch it, but... it’s... fucked up either way?? During the part where they were, ah, together, I was half expecting Wolf Girl to just, like... rip Iggy’s throat out. And, also, I don’t think the fact that her mouth/tongue/breath would taste like a fucking CORPSE would be very appealing to ANYONE. And if it is, I, uh... don’t really want to associate with you.
And the sex scene itself was a goddamn... experience?
Please note, I have no idea if the author is male, female, or another gender. I read this book because they messaged me on Goodreads, so I was never in contact with a Facebook profile, and they don’t have a picture of themselves up on their Goodreads account. I’m not sure what the initials in their pen name stand for, so the name “C.W. Ashley” could go either way, gender-wise. I am not judging the sex scenes based off their gender, I am judging based off the fact of “what the fuck did I just read.”
But no matter their gender, I find the fact that they wrote about Wolf Girl’s “gray vagina” quite a bit... concerning. I don’t care if you’re a monster creature or the purest saint. If I had one I do not think I would want my penis to be, “A pillar of pure pleasure pumping sexual streams of energy to all corners of his body,” inside A DUSTY ASS GRAY VAGINA. I may be asexual, but I think even allosexual people can agree with me in that that entire situation is a big, steaming pile of WHAT THE FUCK.
I take what I said earlier about the book reminding me of Fallout 3 back. I think the settings were kind of similar, but I don’t recall ever fucking a Raider or a GODDAMN RADROACH in Fallout. What the hell.
I haven’t DNFed a book in a long time — I didn’t even DNF Call Me By Your Name, and y’all know how much I ABSOLUTELY HA— I mean, very clearly adore that book!!! :-) — but I totally skimmed everything after Iggy fucked the vampire. I don’t even... know what I read, really? Thank God it wasn’t that long.
I just... I dunno. I don’t think a 1-star is very accurate, because I do like the detail put into the setting, despite the brevity of the work, but a 2-star would be extremely close to pushing it. Of course, unless the book is truly problematic — *cough*CMBYN*cough* — then I don’t believe in condemning it and being all like “YOU SHOULD NEVER READ THIS BOOK EVER,” but... I’m not quite sure what I could recommend about this book, other than maybe the setting. I don’t think it was problematic, really, just the... subject matter wasn’t really handled all that well.
I just. Hm.
Maybe if you like monsters? There are definitely a lot of them, and, hey, maybe some people will like things about the sexy bits that I didn’t/couldn’t pick up.
I just can’t get over the goddamn gray vagina, man.
November 28, 2019
If you like standard cuckold stories, this is the book for you. Otherwise, stay clear. I had a decent review thought out but about the time we got a cut to one of the heroines, who up till then didn't waste a single time putting down our manchild MC and acting all "tough" and "superior" became a meek little girl when dealing with Baker before being graphically thrown around for several rounds in his bed, I kinda couldn't be arsed anymore.
February 2, 2020
Wow another book label a harem which is anything but a harem. I really wish some authors would stop doing this. It annoying and it really does not make me want pick up any books from that author again.
added-it
March 14, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/14/2021)! 🎁
November 16, 2019
I am fortunate that the author was kind enough to let me read and review an earlier copy of The Big Waste. So my review is for an earlier version of this book and might not reflect the published version. This review is not in return for a copy of the book or monetary compensation and is posted because I want to review the book.
I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, having read quite a bit of it starting with the Horse Clans in my youth. I also enjoy harem fiction, both genres of which The Big Waste falls into. I would also classify The Big Waste as Science Fiction as well, although others might not feel that it belongs in that category.
I am generally leery of fiction with monster girls, having read some truly horrible examples. Thankfully, The Big Waste is one of the better books featuring monster girls that I have read in a while.
The Big Waste is a good start to what I hope is a series of books. The author does a good job describing the world without bogging the action down with a lot of boring text. World building was done very well throughout the book with skill, but left enough areas for the reader to use their imagination.
****Note spoilers ahead.*****
The Big Waste does include foul language and graphic sex with multiple partners, but only one dude at a time. There are no orgies (yet), rape, or sexual practices, other than one man with a female android and werewolf, which are considered slightly more than “vanilla.” I didn’t feel that the sex in The Big Waste passed the line into word porn; if you seek stroke material look elsewhere. Sex was well placed and added to the story and was interesting to see how the relationships developed before and after sex. YMMV
I did dislike towards the end of the book when the female vampire went and screwed another man. I really hate male partner swapping. The vampire at this point became a character that I was less interested in seeing survive than before that scene. Had the vampire been sold into slavery or killed at that point I would have been ok with it. However, the vampire’s “fall from grace” gives the author an opportunity for the vampire to redeem herself. I hope that perhaps in the next book Iggy lets the vampire feed from him so that she can heal and regain a lot of her powers.
As a guns and equipment enthusiast, I would have liked some more description about Iggy’s car particularly the engine – I imagine it is homage to Mad Max with the way the supercharger is turned off and on. The author did a good job showing not telling the story especially with regards to the equipment and guns. Gun descriptions are fairly vague which is good for an author that might not be a “gun person” as it prevents mistakes and opening the author up to criticism from nit pickers. No thumb safeties on Glocks (a personal pet peeve of mine), magazines stuffed in revolvers, or other stupid gun mistakes a simple Google search could fix.
Dialogue is easy to follow and I never lost the direction of the conversation. Ashley does a good job not using too much ‘lingo until later in the book when the reader has become accustomed to the ‘lingo and acronyms.
Ashley ends the book with a huge cliffhanger, so if you hate a book with this sort of ending you might want to wait until more books in the series are published. The author has stated that the second book is being written and I hope that I am fortunate enough again to be given an early look at the next book.
I enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction, having read quite a bit of it starting with the Horse Clans in my youth. I also enjoy harem fiction, both genres of which The Big Waste falls into. I would also classify The Big Waste as Science Fiction as well, although others might not feel that it belongs in that category.
I am generally leery of fiction with monster girls, having read some truly horrible examples. Thankfully, The Big Waste is one of the better books featuring monster girls that I have read in a while.
The Big Waste is a good start to what I hope is a series of books. The author does a good job describing the world without bogging the action down with a lot of boring text. World building was done very well throughout the book with skill, but left enough areas for the reader to use their imagination.
****Note spoilers ahead.*****
The Big Waste does include foul language and graphic sex with multiple partners, but only one dude at a time. There are no orgies (yet), rape, or sexual practices, other than one man with a female android and werewolf, which are considered slightly more than “vanilla.” I didn’t feel that the sex in The Big Waste passed the line into word porn; if you seek stroke material look elsewhere. Sex was well placed and added to the story and was interesting to see how the relationships developed before and after sex. YMMV
I did dislike towards the end of the book when the female vampire went and screwed another man. I really hate male partner swapping. The vampire at this point became a character that I was less interested in seeing survive than before that scene. Had the vampire been sold into slavery or killed at that point I would have been ok with it. However, the vampire’s “fall from grace” gives the author an opportunity for the vampire to redeem herself. I hope that perhaps in the next book Iggy lets the vampire feed from him so that she can heal and regain a lot of her powers.
As a guns and equipment enthusiast, I would have liked some more description about Iggy’s car particularly the engine – I imagine it is homage to Mad Max with the way the supercharger is turned off and on. The author did a good job showing not telling the story especially with regards to the equipment and guns. Gun descriptions are fairly vague which is good for an author that might not be a “gun person” as it prevents mistakes and opening the author up to criticism from nit pickers. No thumb safeties on Glocks (a personal pet peeve of mine), magazines stuffed in revolvers, or other stupid gun mistakes a simple Google search could fix.
Dialogue is easy to follow and I never lost the direction of the conversation. Ashley does a good job not using too much ‘lingo until later in the book when the reader has become accustomed to the ‘lingo and acronyms.
Ashley ends the book with a huge cliffhanger, so if you hate a book with this sort of ending you might want to wait until more books in the series are published. The author has stated that the second book is being written and I hope that I am fortunate enough again to be given an early look at the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2020
A mix of Fallout, Mad Max and a Harem Fantasy... done just a bit different. 3.5stars
After a series of Apocalyptic events called the Skirmishes the world is turned into a big mutated, wasteland with a few last citadels of human civilization. Life is hard and life is cheap... Enter Iggie (Ignition), a Champion Demolition Derby driver out on his first cargo haul outside of the relative safety of home (Citadel). Things go wrong however, he loses his cargo, has to flee because of the bounty on his head that follows and has his life saved by a beautiful savage girl from the Wastes.
In all not a bad setup for C.W. Ashley's debut novel. The setting is novel enough to be interesting and the world expansive enough to generate adventure. The story effectively follows the format of a road-trip. Iggie goes from place to place driving his heavily modified muscle-car while slowly adding to his companions. Intersperse the whole thing with copious amount of action and sex-scenes and you effectively have a recap of this novel.
The interesting thing though are the characters. Iggie isn't your typical protagonist for this type of novel and neither are the women he meets. Examples of this are among others, the fact that Iggie is completely out of his depth outside of his car and the fact that non of 'his women' are exactly 'his'. There is attraction back and forth, but no love-declarations and pretty much all of them have their own objective in which Iggie is only a minor factor.
This last part is perhaps my only real negative with this novel. Not the fact itself, but relative weak bonds between the characters. They are interesting, but not really a unit. Not a big point, but perhaps something to hope for in the next novel in the series.
Overall the writing was of good quality and this was a good and fairly quick read. 3.5 stars
P.s. Yes! Sil is my favorite character.
*I received an review copy in exchange for an honest review*
After a series of Apocalyptic events called the Skirmishes the world is turned into a big mutated, wasteland with a few last citadels of human civilization. Life is hard and life is cheap... Enter Iggie (Ignition), a Champion Demolition Derby driver out on his first cargo haul outside of the relative safety of home (Citadel). Things go wrong however, he loses his cargo, has to flee because of the bounty on his head that follows and has his life saved by a beautiful savage girl from the Wastes.
In all not a bad setup for C.W. Ashley's debut novel. The setting is novel enough to be interesting and the world expansive enough to generate adventure. The story effectively follows the format of a road-trip. Iggie goes from place to place driving his heavily modified muscle-car while slowly adding to his companions. Intersperse the whole thing with copious amount of action and sex-scenes and you effectively have a recap of this novel.
The interesting thing though are the characters. Iggie isn't your typical protagonist for this type of novel and neither are the women he meets. Examples of this are among others, the fact that Iggie is completely out of his depth outside of his car and the fact that non of 'his women' are exactly 'his'. There is attraction back and forth, but no love-declarations and pretty much all of them have their own objective in which Iggie is only a minor factor.
This last part is perhaps my only real negative with this novel. Not the fact itself, but relative weak bonds between the characters. They are interesting, but not really a unit. Not a big point, but perhaps something to hope for in the next novel in the series.
Overall the writing was of good quality and this was a good and fairly quick read. 3.5 stars
P.s. Yes! Sil is my favorite character.
*I received an review copy in exchange for an honest review*
January 27, 2020
I Really enjoyed this book. As your read along you begin to wonder just what Iggy will get himself into next. I cant wait to see what adventure the next book brings.
April 5, 2020
I received a free copy of this book from Voracious readers.
I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting throwing the supernatural element in and it fit so well. Little bit mad Max vibe which I loved. Well written fight scenes.
I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting throwing the supernatural element in and it fit so well. Little bit mad Max vibe which I loved. Well written fight scenes.
April 13, 2021
Slow start but it gets good
This book starts off slow, not in a pace of action sense but in why I should care about these disparate characters and left me wondering where the plot was going. Ill be honest I put it down a couple of times before the plot got interesting enough to hook me. I'm glad I kept on because the plot got interesting enough that I ended up diving straight into the second book.
This book starts off slow, not in a pace of action sense but in why I should care about these disparate characters and left me wondering where the plot was going. Ill be honest I put it down a couple of times before the plot got interesting enough to hook me. I'm glad I kept on because the plot got interesting enough that I ended up diving straight into the second book.
April 27, 2020
It is fun read and easy to get to. The world the author has created is interesting enough. My main gripe is the sex scenes are oddly written and just seem out of place. Overall fun book, cool world.
April 23, 2020
Makes you impatient for the next book
November 22, 2019
Good book. Lots of action.
I received this book as an advanced readers' copy.
"May God defend me from my friends: I can defend myself from my enemies."
--Voltaire
This is a post-apocalyptic science fiction story about a driver and his misadventures on the waste-land, featuring some very limited amounts of supernatural. The book starts pretty fast paced with a car-chase. The main character, Ignition, is being chased across the waste-land and crashes. He manages to survive by being saved by one his soon-to-be companions. They travel the land, meet several other people, and overall this is a pretty good beginning for a book. The book is quick-paced throughout, never really giving you time to rest for very long. Grammatically, it's hard to find fault, but some of the formatting could be improved, like the frequency in which bold fonts appear is much higher than any other books I've read. The characters are pretty developed, the dialogue is completely fluid and you can tell the author really put thought into the world's backstory. Other than that, I took some issue with what happened from 75% to the end. Read on if you don't mind some mild spoilers.
Now, imagine this situation (spoiler because even if it's an analogy, I expect anyone reading it to figure it out anyway):
This was such a fucked up situation that it's hard to imagine an attitude more reprehensible that is not straight out illegal. Well, by the end of the book, this character decides to reveal their ultimate betrayal: . It's like the quote by Voltaire at the top. I decided to remove one star on this account because the protagonist let this happen and by the end he is plenty disposed to let go of his grudge as proved by his excitement at the promise of sex. I don't think he even recognized the character's fault in all of this, since he is disposed to get vengeance from some other people. Dude, look left and you'll see who's responsible for your shitty situation.
I received this book as an advanced readers' copy.
"May God defend me from my friends: I can defend myself from my enemies."
--Voltaire
This is a post-apocalyptic science fiction story about a driver and his misadventures on the waste-land, featuring some very limited amounts of supernatural. The book starts pretty fast paced with a car-chase. The main character, Ignition, is being chased across the waste-land and crashes. He manages to survive by being saved by one his soon-to-be companions. They travel the land, meet several other people, and overall this is a pretty good beginning for a book. The book is quick-paced throughout, never really giving you time to rest for very long. Grammatically, it's hard to find fault, but some of the formatting could be improved, like the frequency in which bold fonts appear is much higher than any other books I've read. The characters are pretty developed, the dialogue is completely fluid and you can tell the author really put thought into the world's backstory. Other than that, I took some issue with what happened from 75% to the end. Read on if you don't mind some mild spoilers.
Now, imagine this situation (spoiler because even if it's an analogy, I expect anyone reading it to figure it out anyway):
This was such a fucked up situation that it's hard to imagine an attitude more reprehensible that is not straight out illegal. Well, by the end of the book, this character decides to reveal their ultimate betrayal: . It's like the quote by Voltaire at the top. I decided to remove one star on this account because the protagonist let this happen and by the end he is plenty disposed to let go of his grudge as proved by his excitement at the promise of sex. I don't think he even recognized the character's fault in all of this, since he is disposed to get vengeance from some other people. Dude, look left and you'll see who's responsible for your shitty situation.
January 30, 2020
A really decent first book in a series i am looking forward to reading more of.
The author hooked me up with a free copy.
The start of this book was a bit rocky for me. Call it a bad day or bad mood etc i do not know. I nearly dropped the book in the first few pages. I am glad though that i picked it back up a day or so later. It was well worth my time.
Def worth a look at
The author hooked me up with a free copy.
The start of this book was a bit rocky for me. Call it a bad day or bad mood etc i do not know. I nearly dropped the book in the first few pages. I am glad though that i picked it back up a day or so later. It was well worth my time.
Def worth a look at
November 18, 2019
It exceeded my expectations as usually I kinda hate post-apocalyptic stories but this one is fun, I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading it. MC is cool and others also well developed, looking forward for next.
Thank you, Ashley, for giving me a free copy :)
Thank you, Ashley, for giving me a free copy :)
August 4, 2020
I received a copy of this book through Voracious Readers only.
This was an exciting read! Fast paced with likeable characters and a great plot. If you like post-apocalyptic dystopia, with a side of violence and s*x, this is the read for you. Please note disclaimers in synopsis.
This was an exciting read! Fast paced with likeable characters and a great plot. If you like post-apocalyptic dystopia, with a side of violence and s*x, this is the read for you. Please note disclaimers in synopsis.
February 18, 2020
First off this is a harem book and I am NOT a fan of harem. It is easy to skip past it though.
Why did I read the book then? I LOVE post apocalypse mad max setting and this book has it in spades. I mean did you see that cover!?!?!?
Just read chapter one if you want to get an idea of the high octane road warrior style book we are talking about here. It is one of the best openers I have ever read.
The cast of characters are amazing and the car is my favorite one.
The plot is awesome as well and will keep you engaged to the end, which I quite enjoyed.
I cannot wait for the next!
Why did I read the book then? I LOVE post apocalypse mad max setting and this book has it in spades. I mean did you see that cover!?!?!?
Just read chapter one if you want to get an idea of the high octane road warrior style book we are talking about here. It is one of the best openers I have ever read.
The cast of characters are amazing and the car is my favorite one.
The plot is awesome as well and will keep you engaged to the end, which I quite enjoyed.
I cannot wait for the next!
December 9, 2019
A Fantastic, if a bit gory, apocalyptic read. It has a bit of a fallout vibe with a bit of Mad Max sprinkled in. The monster characters add an element of uniqueness to what can be considered an oversaturated genre. It is a very well written book that I would recommend for sci-fi readers.
December 3, 2019
Very well-executed post-apocalypse book. Interesting mash-up of Road Warrior, mutants and some supernatural beings; good pacing, and overall an enjoyable read.
December 11, 2019
I took my time, but I finished this. I liked it and it was a really different take on the harem genre, I hope to see more book in the series soon.
June 12, 2020
3-3.5 stars
I received a copy from the author for an honest review.
There was plenty going on that I didn't get bored, and the third person narrative worked really well.
This is my second harem book so I don't have much to compare (the first one was a bad experience) but I can only imagine the stereotypical fantasy porno story other harem books are like, which is why I was so pleasantly surprised by this book.
Instead of a perfect, alpha man/dude bro as an MC, we get an actual realistic character who has a passion for cars and who–get this–is also a romantic? It's almost unheard of for this genre (again I don't have a lot to go by but you get what I mean) and it was freaking refreshing! Ignition was lonely and restless with his derby life in this apocalyptic world; he craved freedom, what the world had to offer, and–without outright saying it–connection/relationships.
The women in the harem were also not what I expected. We have Sil, a wolf shifter, has the curious mind of an animal and the body of an adult women, but she isn't presented for Ignition to groom (not like he would) and she is super strong and is the one protecting ignition and also takes what she wants. Landlady/Clarissa, a vampire, looks like she is in her 40s(!) (she is about 89 years old) and that alone is so unusual in harems/male centered books. In every type of media, the women have to be young (usually in their 20s) which is a bore and a part of misogyny. She also does what she wants and gets what she want, and is blunt. And lastly, Mode is an android, who only has flesh on half her face and torso is still beautiful and the one protecting Ignition. These women are not the helpless toys, trophies, or tools in this story, and Ignition is definitely not controlling, belittling, or possessive of them.
On to the things I had a little problems with. Most of the action sequences with the car were hard to picture. The very first chapter's action scene I just couldn't picture at all, because it wasn't described that well for me to follow how exactly what he did caused the end result. And the train station scene at the end was hard to follow how everything looked, and how the car could even fit in the underground station. The sex scenes could be written a bit more sexily and less forced, at least that's how it seemed when they were initiated. The story could do a second read by the author to correct a handful of grammatical errors.
I received a copy from the author for an honest review.
There was plenty going on that I didn't get bored, and the third person narrative worked really well.
This is my second harem book so I don't have much to compare (the first one was a bad experience) but I can only imagine the stereotypical fantasy porno story other harem books are like, which is why I was so pleasantly surprised by this book.
Instead of a perfect, alpha man/dude bro as an MC, we get an actual realistic character who has a passion for cars and who–get this–is also a romantic? It's almost unheard of for this genre (again I don't have a lot to go by but you get what I mean) and it was freaking refreshing! Ignition was lonely and restless with his derby life in this apocalyptic world; he craved freedom, what the world had to offer, and–without outright saying it–connection/relationships.
The women in the harem were also not what I expected. We have Sil, a wolf shifter, has the curious mind of an animal and the body of an adult women, but she isn't presented for Ignition to groom (not like he would) and she is super strong and is the one protecting ignition and also takes what she wants. Landlady/Clarissa, a vampire, looks like she is in her 40s(!) (she is about 89 years old) and that alone is so unusual in harems/male centered books. In every type of media, the women have to be young (usually in their 20s) which is a bore and a part of misogyny. She also does what she wants and gets what she want, and is blunt. And lastly, Mode is an android, who only has flesh on half her face and torso is still beautiful and the one protecting Ignition. These women are not the helpless toys, trophies, or tools in this story, and Ignition is definitely not controlling, belittling, or possessive of them.
On to the things I had a little problems with. Most of the action sequences with the car were hard to picture. The very first chapter's action scene I just couldn't picture at all, because it wasn't described that well for me to follow how exactly what he did caused the end result. And the train station scene at the end was hard to follow how everything looked, and how the car could even fit in the underground station. The sex scenes could be written a bit more sexily and less forced, at least that's how it seemed when they were initiated. The story could do a second read by the author to correct a handful of grammatical errors.
December 17, 2020
Once I began this book, I thought that it was not a genre that I would normally read. It felt to me like a book aimed at men, it was full of descriptions about cars, how powerful they were, how fast they could go, and then there was the quite graphic violence and gore.
I considered not finishing reading it, but I made a choice, and I kept on going and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book by C. W, Ashley.
It was set in a post-apocalyptic era, After Skirmish. There were modified cars, a strong nonblood drinking vampire woman, a beautiful silver werewolf, an android girl, and many mutated critters and creatures that were constantly trying their best to kill the main character, who mostly tried to stay out of everyone and everything’s way.
The author presented strong characters and his storyline worked well, even if it was written with all these fantastical beasts and creatures. I did get drawn into this land of extraordinarily little that was dry and dusty, and I found myself wanting everything to work out.
There were a couple of sex scenes that were very male orientated, which was ok, as it fitted into the story well.
The story was full of violence which you could imagine in a post-apocalyptic world, where life is about survival of the fittest and fastest.
This is the first of a series of books and I will be interested in continuing the story and reading the next book. I really enjoyed The Big Waste.
The author C. W. Ashley gifted a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only, this has in no way changed my thoughts or how I felt about this book or influenced what I wrote in this review.
I considered not finishing reading it, but I made a choice, and I kept on going and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book by C. W, Ashley.
It was set in a post-apocalyptic era, After Skirmish. There were modified cars, a strong nonblood drinking vampire woman, a beautiful silver werewolf, an android girl, and many mutated critters and creatures that were constantly trying their best to kill the main character, who mostly tried to stay out of everyone and everything’s way.
The author presented strong characters and his storyline worked well, even if it was written with all these fantastical beasts and creatures. I did get drawn into this land of extraordinarily little that was dry and dusty, and I found myself wanting everything to work out.
There were a couple of sex scenes that were very male orientated, which was ok, as it fitted into the story well.
The story was full of violence which you could imagine in a post-apocalyptic world, where life is about survival of the fittest and fastest.
This is the first of a series of books and I will be interested in continuing the story and reading the next book. I really enjoyed The Big Waste.
The author C. W. Ashley gifted a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only, this has in no way changed my thoughts or how I felt about this book or influenced what I wrote in this review.
December 18, 2019
We meet ignition and Sil in rather precarious circumstances when Iggy and is wounded and Sil becomes an unlikely saviour. I liked Sil straight away and found it quite amusing when she was picking up and eating severed hands like burgers 😂
When I first started reading this novel I was reminded of the games borderlands and fallout, the worlds are very similar, the world building is very detailed and well written.
I enjoyed the group dynamic though there was a lot of casual sex with many partners in this story, I felt like towards the end they actually all cared about each other in a deeper way. I really enjoyed Sil’s protectiveness, and Clarissa’s determination. The female characters are strong in this novel!
Iggy could be a bit wishywashy and although a likeable character I kind of felt like it would have been better told from one of the woman’s points of view, maybe Clarissa?
This novel was fun, fast paced and easy to follow, I will definitely read the next in the series!
This book was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review 🙂
Thankyou BookSirens!
When I first started reading this novel I was reminded of the games borderlands and fallout, the worlds are very similar, the world building is very detailed and well written.
I enjoyed the group dynamic though there was a lot of casual sex with many partners in this story, I felt like towards the end they actually all cared about each other in a deeper way. I really enjoyed Sil’s protectiveness, and Clarissa’s determination. The female characters are strong in this novel!
Iggy could be a bit wishywashy and although a likeable character I kind of felt like it would have been better told from one of the woman’s points of view, maybe Clarissa?
This novel was fun, fast paced and easy to follow, I will definitely read the next in the series!
This book was given to me for free in exchange for an honest review 🙂
Thankyou BookSirens!
June 12, 2020
The story doesn’t really follow mainstream structure and in my honest opinion is a fun read; if it was not fun I wouldn’t even bother finishing the book.
The has more of an adventure feel rather than a plot based feel. As in: ‘character ventures into the unknown’ rather than ‘who is the murderer’.
Definitely won’t recommend this for those under 18. But, for those above 18 who like adventure and a more adult theme to it (realism with violence and lust), it’s a fun read. The world is there and it doesn’t feel like something that’s made up without preparations.
The base and foundation is there, and whether or not there’s a tower is up for you to decide. From the world building, I feel that the story has promise for something more.
The has more of an adventure feel rather than a plot based feel. As in: ‘character ventures into the unknown’ rather than ‘who is the murderer’.
Definitely won’t recommend this for those under 18. But, for those above 18 who like adventure and a more adult theme to it (realism with violence and lust), it’s a fun read. The world is there and it doesn’t feel like something that’s made up without preparations.
The base and foundation is there, and whether or not there’s a tower is up for you to decide. From the world building, I feel that the story has promise for something more.
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