Sylvia: Beyond the Apocalypse

by Tom Benson

This story is a spinoff from the popular Light at The End trilogy.

In May 2065, a coach was the means to escape death for twenty-five people in the Scottish Highlands. Following a terrifying ride at high speed, they found safety inside a disused railway tunnel. However, while adjusting to their post-apocalyptic world the tourists discovered a killer in their midst.The suspect escaped captivity to live in the wilderness, but within a year, she gave birth to Sylvia; ‘from the forest’. Sylvia reached the age of twenty without a peer group, which meant that she had no one with whom to compare herself. She had no notion of how special she might be.A young man from the survivors in Aviemore arrived in Sylvia's territory snooping around. He was in for a shock.In the following weeks and months, mysteries would be solved, and relationships would develop unexpectedly.

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 2, 2021

Reviews

[Lesley Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read all three books in the ‘Light at the End’ trilogy and loved the continuing saga of an imagined world following a nuclear Apocalypse. A question is left hanging at the end of the final book in the trilogy, a small smudge in a landscape otherwise bright with hope. Tom Benson has taken that small smudge and turned it into a masterpiece of a spinoff in his latest novel ‘Sylvia’. I have enjoyed all the books I’ve read by this author, but for me, this is his best so far. It’s a powerful story, both in theme and execution. There are a number of unforgettable characters in the novel, some more significant to the plot than others, but Sylvia herself is a superbly drawn character, and I found myself deeply invested in her as the book progressed. She is enigmatic, brave, unspoiled – a perfect Eve for this emergent post-Apocalyptic Eden… or is she? Scattered throughout the narrative are hints that there are dark secrets about her yet to be revealed. By the time I discovered them Sylvia had stolen my heart. The author’s descriptions of the landscape in this paradise newly reclaimed by nature are breathtakingly detailed, with such beautiful and vivid imagery that I found myself yearning to go there – and I’m one of the least outdoorsy people. Never camped, hiked, kayaked, or climbed a mountain, and yet having read this novel I feel I’ve been on an outward-bound adventure. The action was compelling and I read the book over two days during which I lost myself in this alternative, fascinating world of promise, poignant loss, and ultimately hope. As a novel, it stands alone and merits a sparkling five stars, but my guess is that anyone who reads it will want to buy the trilogy, to follow the story through from the very start.

[Cherime MacFarlane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fitting end. I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I've read the entire series. I loved the way the author handled all of it. This last book, apparently the end of the series ties everything together so well. Be advised, bring a box of tissues to this one. But what else could one expect when dealing with a world struggling to rebuild itself. Well done.