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The Shard Chronicles
Aftermath
Steve Jang is back! Northey masterfully delivers another action-packed urban fantasy full of self-discovery, intrigue and crazy, unique magic as we follow the aftermath of “AWAKENING.”
Thanks to a last-minute tip, Steve has just barely escaped a bizarre assassin, and is on his way now in a frantic attempt to get Amber the medical attention she desperately needs from Tony's special healing friend... As Steve is still reeling from having seen and remembered his father's killer lurking outside Tony's office he has yet to fully grasp the reasons behind reality warping around him at every turn. Will he discover the truth, will he go mad, or are they the same thing? One thing's for certain, Steve has witnessed many impossible things, with many more to come!
Thanks to a last-minute tip, Steve has just barely escaped a bizarre assassin, and is on his way now in a frantic attempt to get Amber the medical attention she desperately needs from Tony's special healing friend... As Steve is still reeling from having seen and remembered his father's killer lurking outside Tony's office he has yet to fully grasp the reasons behind reality warping around him at every turn. Will he discover the truth, will he go mad, or are they the same thing? One thing's for certain, Steve has witnessed many impossible things, with many more to come!
323 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2019
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 30, 2019
Fantastic book with a look of great story telling, worth the time and every dime
March 9, 2020
Review to follow...
December 31, 2019
A unique blend of visceral action scenes and sensitive character introspection
August 11, 2020
Aftermath is the second book in the Shard Chronicles series. Any book that’s over 600 pages makes me a little squirrelly, but I enjoyed the first book in the series and dove in.
The main strength of both books is the wonderful characterization. Steve is an awesome protagonist and tough as nails. In this book, we get to know the bad guys who were rather nebulous in the first installment. These mages are so powerful that they almost don’t know how to function in the real world and the situations can get funny as well as outrageously weird. They also kill and destroy indiscriminately without the slighted idea that this might be wrong.
The writing is exceptional. Northey has a wonderful grasp of language, description, action, and dialog. It’s hard not to be impressed. The world-building is also outstanding. It’s broad and deep, and comes off as real science and psychology… and after reading, I almost believe that magic exists. Overall, I enjoy the long discussions of the power of perception and mind over matter, though some readers may find this too labored.
And that gets me to the challenge with this book. I think it suffers from a second book slump. As wonderfully as its written, there’s a long long stretch (about half of the book) where the plot stalls. Several characters from book 1 disappear while Steve trains his mind and the mages prepare for conflict within their ranks. The action is great when it happens, but much of this book seems like preparation for the third book. That’s a lot of preparation.
This is a hard book to rate. I love the writing and characters and didn’t skim any of the 600+ pages. But the lack of movement in the plot and long delivery were a disappointment. I’m going in the middle with four stars and a warning to readers that the “action” in this book is conceptual more than physical.
The main strength of both books is the wonderful characterization. Steve is an awesome protagonist and tough as nails. In this book, we get to know the bad guys who were rather nebulous in the first installment. These mages are so powerful that they almost don’t know how to function in the real world and the situations can get funny as well as outrageously weird. They also kill and destroy indiscriminately without the slighted idea that this might be wrong.
The writing is exceptional. Northey has a wonderful grasp of language, description, action, and dialog. It’s hard not to be impressed. The world-building is also outstanding. It’s broad and deep, and comes off as real science and psychology… and after reading, I almost believe that magic exists. Overall, I enjoy the long discussions of the power of perception and mind over matter, though some readers may find this too labored.
And that gets me to the challenge with this book. I think it suffers from a second book slump. As wonderfully as its written, there’s a long long stretch (about half of the book) where the plot stalls. Several characters from book 1 disappear while Steve trains his mind and the mages prepare for conflict within their ranks. The action is great when it happens, but much of this book seems like preparation for the third book. That’s a lot of preparation.
This is a hard book to rate. I love the writing and characters and didn’t skim any of the 600+ pages. But the lack of movement in the plot and long delivery were a disappointment. I’m going in the middle with four stars and a warning to readers that the “action” in this book is conceptual more than physical.
July 30, 2022
Great characters, excellent world building, and a complex plot with long-winded discussions and a paucity of action.
Aftermath, the second installment of the Shard Chronicles, has all of the good points and all of the bad points of its predecessor, Awakening.
Ono Northey has done a great job of creating a highly detailed dystopian society populated with deep, complex characters. He’s also come up with an intricate plot involving technology, magic, zombies and gods. The writing is literate, precise and very well-done. The chapters are short, and nearly every character in the book gets one or more in their own POV. However, most of the “action” consists of long-winded discussions among the characters about their individual challenges or expository passages about how the world works. This means that the true action sequences, when they finally arrive, are very brief, and do not compensate for the seeming endless discussion and exposition. It’s all a bit much in a book of nearly 600 pages.
I’m sure there are readers who will find Aftermath fascinating and hang on every word. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.
Aftermath, the second installment of the Shard Chronicles, has all of the good points and all of the bad points of its predecessor, Awakening.
Ono Northey has done a great job of creating a highly detailed dystopian society populated with deep, complex characters. He’s also come up with an intricate plot involving technology, magic, zombies and gods. The writing is literate, precise and very well-done. The chapters are short, and nearly every character in the book gets one or more in their own POV. However, most of the “action” consists of long-winded discussions among the characters about their individual challenges or expository passages about how the world works. This means that the true action sequences, when they finally arrive, are very brief, and do not compensate for the seeming endless discussion and exposition. It’s all a bit much in a book of nearly 600 pages.
I’m sure there are readers who will find Aftermath fascinating and hang on every word. Unfortunately, I am not one of them.
February 22, 2020
It's hard to be impartial - I did write the bloody thing, but... it's awesome!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews