megj23's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Death
Minor: Chronic illness
taradactyl's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is such a fun read, and highly underrated in my opinion. If you are new to fantasy or enjoy a more "low key" adventure story, this is perfect. The story revolves around two main characters who went on a quest a year ago. The main cast is highly diverse, and there is lots of representation in races, cultures, sexualities, and gender identities, as well as some minor struggles of all sorts are represented in this story. I loved that the adventure wasn't the main part of the story- its basically a "what happened after the Quest" kind of story, and I like that. It's a different way to experience a fantasy story. Whats more is the subtle romance and longing battling with internal conflicts of duty and responsibility, it was very captivating. It's a great read for any fantasy fan that wants a small break from intense adventure elements. My only complaint with this book is sometimes the pace became slow, and I wanted to give it a break for awhile. The writing was amazing, just slow at times. I give this book a 8/10.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, and Gore
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
In THE AFTERWARD, the heroes have to live somehow when the big quest is done: A thief too well-recognized to pull off a heist and a knight who must marry as the price of her armor. Told in alternating sections between Before and After, THE AFTERWARD shows how if the journey changes you until you can never really go home again, you had best make something new with those you love.
I love the way the Before sections don't try too hard to convey the precise details of the quest from a year ago. It shows glimpses to provide context for the After sections, but it's much more loosely connected and feels like it covers much more time than the more focused After section. In the After, Kalanthe and Olsa are trying to figure out what happens after they became big damn heroes at seventeen but still have to live the rest of their lives. The heart of the story is each of them figuring out whether the romance they had on the road can be part of their future. The two parts of the book are really well balanced and I loved the overall effect.
This book has a quest, but it is not, fundamentally, a book about a quest. It's about two young women who were in love and probably still are, taking the time to do things on their own for a while. I love the setting, I love the characters, I just had so much fun reading this that I didn't want it to be over.
The rest of this review briefly discusses some medical conditions portrayed in the book and contains minor spoilers.
I love the way the Before sections don't try too hard to convey the precise details of the quest from a year ago. It shows glimpses to provide context for the After sections, but it's much more loosely connected and feels like it covers much more time than the more focused After section. In the After, Kalanthe and Olsa are trying to figure out what happens after they became big damn heroes at seventeen but still have to live the rest of their lives. The heart of the story is each of them figuring out whether the romance they had on the road can be part of their future. The two parts of the book are really well balanced and I loved the overall effect.
This book has a quest, but it is not, fundamentally, a book about a quest. It's about two young women who were in love and probably still are, taking the time to do things on their own for a while. I love the setting, I love the characters, I just had so much fun reading this that I didn't want it to be over.
The rest of this review briefly discusses some medical conditions portrayed in the book and contains minor spoilers.
Spoiler
As someone who had a traumatic brain injury, I appreciated the representation here. Thankfully I'm more recovered than the character living with a magically induced TBI in the After section, but the modified hood she wears and the way she frankly discusses the way she's living with her particular TBI were really cathartic to read.Spoiler
There is a character with an aneurism, who knows he has one and dies from it during the story. His exit is plot-convenient, but he also existed in the first place to help resolve some problems for one of the main characters. He gets what, for him, is explicitly the best possible ending, but I don't know if this portrayal might be distressing for people who know that they share his medical condition.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Death
CW for aneurism, traumatic brain injury.autistic_dragon's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
In my humble opinion, E. K. Johnston is one of the most underrated YA authors out there right now. I started with the action-packed Star Wars: Ahsoka, before later finding the haunting but ultimately optimistic Exit, Pursued by a Bear, and was eager for more.
So then I found out she was writing a high fantasy novel. One of my favorite authors + my favorite genre? What’s that? It’s intersectional feminist high fantasy?
Needless to say, I was one very happy reader. I should note to any prospective readers reading this that while it’s a fantasy setting, there is much more emphasis on emotional arcs and not much by the way of actual violent action. The main premise of the novel is a focus on what happens after the Grand Quest to Save the World™, hence the title. Thus it deals with its heroines’ struggles of dealing with attempting to return to normalcy as both ultimately find it impossible. The cast is diverse, and Johnston chooses to make such diversity and progressiveness part of the world rather than try and create an oppressive world for the characters to rebel against, which is often the wiser choice when coming from a privileged background regarding high fantasy, where everything is up in the air for world-building and “realism” is often a fig leaf.
At the same time, Johnston doesn’t make a big fuss about how progressive the world she’s created is. There is exactly a single mention that Sir Branthear is transgender, and two that Sir Terriam is asexual. As it is a fantasy world, there are no explicit identifiers as to characters’ correspondence to real-world ethnic or racial groups, though neither heroine is white as we would understand it.
That is not to say the world is utopian. True Utopia (as opposed to False Utopia, e.g., The Giver) is boring. Class boundaries are still very evident, and there are numerous hints at darker subject matters such as prostitution and the horrific implications of the intersection of mind-affecting magic relating to sexual attraction. While Johnston is not the kind the kind of author to hide away from such matters, she doesn't dwell on them here for the sake of Grimdark Brownie Points.
The Afterward puts a delightfully modern twist on classic fantasy and its tropes, and leaves the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling of optimism in defiance of worlds’ darkness.
So then I found out she was writing a high fantasy novel. One of my favorite authors + my favorite genre? What’s that? It’s intersectional feminist high fantasy?
Needless to say, I was one very happy reader. I should note to any prospective readers reading this that while it’s a fantasy setting, there is much more emphasis on emotional arcs and not much by the way of actual violent action. The main premise of the novel is a focus on what happens after the Grand Quest to Save the World™, hence the title. Thus it deals with its heroines’ struggles of dealing with attempting to return to normalcy as both ultimately find it impossible. The cast is diverse, and Johnston chooses to make such diversity and progressiveness part of the world rather than try and create an oppressive world for the characters to rebel against, which is often the wiser choice when coming from a privileged background regarding high fantasy, where everything is up in the air for world-building and “realism” is often a fig leaf.
At the same time, Johnston doesn’t make a big fuss about how progressive the world she’s created is. There is exactly a single mention that Sir Branthear is transgender, and two that Sir Terriam is asexual. As it is a fantasy world, there are no explicit identifiers as to characters’ correspondence to real-world ethnic or racial groups, though neither heroine is white as we would understand it.
That is not to say the world is utopian. True Utopia (as opposed to False Utopia, e.g., The Giver) is boring. Class boundaries are still very evident, and there are numerous hints at darker subject matters such as prostitution and the horrific implications of the intersection of mind-affecting magic relating to sexual attraction. While Johnston is not the kind the kind of author to hide away from such matters, she doesn't dwell on them here for the sake of Grimdark Brownie Points.
The Afterward puts a delightfully modern twist on classic fantasy and its tropes, and leaves the reader with a warm and fuzzy feeling of optimism in defiance of worlds’ darkness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Sexual content
Minor: Blood, Death, and Sexual assault
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