Messenger

America Falls #0.5 and 9

by Scott Medbury

An action packed new release from the author of the bestselling 'After Days'

20 years after the Chinese virus devastated America, her children are still struggling to put it all back together. Chaos has reigned for many years, but finally, some order is being established and 'The City' has risen from the ashes to become a beacon of hope.
Sent by the City, the mysterious 'Messenger' travels through the post apocalyptic landscape spreading this message of hope and inviting worthy candidates to come to the City to make a new life for themselves.

His latest mission is interrupted when he stumbles upon a gang of cannibals, the most reviled group in the new world order... At first he is content to observe the killers, but before long, circumstances dictate that the Messenger will have to decide whether to risk his own life and intervene to protect those in need.

The Messenger is a stand alone short story set 20 years after the events of "After Days" and can be enjoyed by new readers as well as those familiar with the Trilogy.  

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Audiobook

1 pages, Audiobook

First published May 14, 2015

Reviews

[Catherine Michele]

This contains a novella (0.5) and Book 9. That's why there are two "read" dates for the same date. I listened to them both on the same day.

[Teri Congdon]

Ok story but not what I was expecting. Really not worth buying even though I loved Luke!

[Greg Clayton]

**Spoilers Ahead**


Messenger is a short but intense entry in the America Falls universe. The story takes place about twelve years after the main events of the earlier books. Instead of following the original core group, the story centers on a mysterious traveler known only as the Messenger, a man with a hook for a hand who roams the ruined United States spreading news about safe settlements called “The Cities.”

Even though the book is short, it delivers a dark and emotional look at what survival looks like long after the collapse.

The Story (Full Spoilers)

The Messenger travels alone through the devastated eastern United States carrying information about communities that are rebuilding civilization. His mission is to find survivors and guide them toward these growing settlements.

However, the journey is extremely dangerous. The Messenger has built a frightening reputation across the wasteland. Survivors whisper about him using a phrase that describes his brutal efficiency in combat: his name was Death and Hell was following close behind.

The main conflict begins when the Messenger encounters a small family traveling through dangerous territory. At the same time, a group of cannibals is hunting them. At first the Messenger does not intervene because he has learned that trying to save everyone in the wasteland can get you killed.

Eventually the cannibals attack the family. The father is killed during the confrontation, leaving the son helpless and traumatized.

This is when the Messenger finally steps in.

What follows is a quick but brutal sequence where he tracks the cannibals and kills them one by one. The scenes reinforce the idea that he is far more dangerous than he appears. He is calm, efficient, and completely ruthless when dealing with threats.

After eliminating the cannibals, the Messenger helps the surviving members of the family and directs them toward one of the Cities where society is slowly rebuilding.

The Big Reveal

One of the most interesting aspects of the story is the identity of the Messenger. Longtime readers quickly realize that the mysterious traveler is strongly implied to be Luke, one of the important characters from earlier in the series.

Instead of settling down permanently, Luke has chosen a different path. He wanders the country acting as a bridge between scattered survivor groups and the growing communities trying to rebuild civilization.

His character arc is one of the most satisfying in the series. He begins the story as a frightened kid trying to survive the collapse. Later he becomes a resistance fighter battling the invading forces. By the time of Messenger, he has transformed into something almost legendary. Survivors see him as both a protector and a symbol of hope.
On to book 10

[Chelsea]

if it would have been longer it would have been the best one yet. as a stranger set out looking to spread the word about the safe Hevan he finds some people who need his help. luke is a all around survivor a genuine good guy. traveling through the cruel new world he encounters a small group of cannibals that are looking at a father and son. luke knows what they are thinking and sets out to follow behind to keep watch.the father knows they are in danger and sets off home to his wife and kids in a hurry . as luke falls behind and the cannibals get all to close to the father and son. soon things take a turn for the worse. like the world isnt hard enough add some people eaters to the mix. this i believe is the last of the america fall series and even though it dosent mention much of isaccs group other than the town they've built it dose make for a good book.

[Raine McLeod]

I’m curious about how tf Luke got here? Like where is is kid? This can’t have happened during his little emotional outburst when he bailed, it’s been ~16 years since the attack and that was in year ~5. So I’m confused. Big time jump. Carry on reading I guess.

[KELLY CONNOLLY]

Good read

Didn’t want the series to end! The characters became family. I shared their joy , angst, tears and hard won victories.

[Jayme Chalfant]

Best short story ever

I liked this short story very much. I knew all I needed to know about the characters to become invested in what happened to them

[Cindy B.]

Part of a series. Indon’t usually rate cliffhanger typed this high. But it reads good and is narrated extremely well (Adam Barr).

[Bonny Fuller-Fells]

Luke rescues a family

Luke starts a new career after Manchester is saved. He rescues or recruits people who need a place to start over.

[Dave]

Luke’s trek part two basically. Going to take a break from the series. Might come back

[Bryan]

Just a rambling man.

[Rae Dre]

I was so confused when the audiobook was over. I did some investigating and found that this book is only 47 pages. Sadly, this is the best book of the series so far. 3.5 stars.

[Joey]

Probably the worst one I have read in the series, but I struggled through it.

[Maria Barbosa]

Um texto muito tenso, um grande suspense, uma excelente narrativa. Uma distopia muito bem pensada, com personagens muito bem desenvolvidos. Muito bom.

[Caleb]

I wish it was a bit longer and not as tragic.

[Kelton Whittington]

A nice little short story catching up with Luke, I felt like this was a smaller version of Luke’s Trek, pretty entertaining short story overall.

[Greg]

it makes no sense to me why this is listed as .5 and 9 ... it is one story and certainly is not a prequel.

[A Person]

Let's start with the fact that the dad was killed and just left there. You are telling me that you as a cannibal will kill this grown man that has more meat than you have ever seen before on a single person and you will leave his body just lay there. Why? He was the only character that I wanted to stay alive and he got killed. FOR WHAT? If you had eaten him it would have at least made some sense. And then when our main character kills the cannibals the woman that he saved immediately falls in love with him. HOW? WHY? Again with the romance for the sake of romance.

[Carla]

Meh

It was something to occupy my time during quarantine. The mystery around “The Messenger” seems silly. Just say who he is while you tell what he does. Not doing so doesn’t in any way add to the story but it definitely takes away some respect for the writer.

[Elaine and Tess the Springer. I won’t be on GR for a bit.]

Messenger is a fabulous book it truly is unfortunately I read it first so now I could kick myself because I know his story. He seems to draw people to him and trust him. It a must read to get the story about him.

[Norma Mason]

Another great new author

I use Kindle to find new authors and once found, hurry to read all their books. Honey, where's the piggy bank?