A review by charshorrorcorner
Afterage by Yvonne Navarro
4.0
AFTERAGE was a whole lot of freaking fun!
The vampire apocalypse has already occurred and entire cities have been decimated. With isolated survivors cut off even from each other-how could a premise this good go wrong? The good news is, it didn't.
What I liked most was the...I guess I'll put it as...different levels of vampire. They have differing levels of energy and power. I won't even get into the Queen. (That's what I'm calling her.)
I also liked how the story of each survivor, (or surviving group), was introduced. I think it takes a special skill and confidence to jump into a story with a large cast and Yvonne Navarro did it deftly and with panache. I never felt that the story was lost or unwieldy. It all came together in a most satisfying way.
With a lot of strong female characters populating the landscape of vampire-ridden Chicago, how could I not enjoy this book? I especially liked Louise and her little dog, Beau, and of course, I had a fondness for Jo as well. (Though I could not help being reminded of Swan, a character in another GREAT post apocalyptic tale. Bonus points if you know what character and/or book I'm talking about.)
AFTERAGE was written in the 90's but it doesn't feel dated. I think that's because there's no electricity in this world, so phones and the internet would be out of the picture anyway. Even though decades have passed since this was written, the characters and themes involved are timeless. They still worked their way into my heart, and perhaps if you let them, they'll work their way into your heart as well.
Highly recommended!
You can get your copy here, (but read my 2nd note below first!): https://www.amazon.com/AfterAge-Yvonne-Navarro-ebook/dp/B004J17GTO/chashorcor-20
*I read this book because of THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE podcast. (They're doing an online book group and this is the second book they're reading.) I probably wouldn't have made time to read it otherwise, so thanks to the HORROR SHOW crew for bringing it to my attention. *
**This is not the edition I read. I read the copy included in [b:A Haunting of Horrors: A Twenty-Novel eBook Bundle of Horror and the Occult|23995027|A Haunting of Horrors A Twenty-Novel eBook Bundle of Horror and the Occult|Chet Williamson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437541338s/23995027.jpg|43595795]. The individual novels therein do NOT come up in a search of one's Kindle library, but luckily I pulled up the book and happily discovered AFTERAGE was in there. I only mention this in case you have this volume as well. **
The vampire apocalypse has already occurred and entire cities have been decimated. With isolated survivors cut off even from each other-how could a premise this good go wrong? The good news is, it didn't.
What I liked most was the...I guess I'll put it as...different levels of vampire. They have differing levels of energy and power. I won't even get into the Queen. (That's what I'm calling her.)
I also liked how the story of each survivor, (or surviving group), was introduced. I think it takes a special skill and confidence to jump into a story with a large cast and Yvonne Navarro did it deftly and with panache. I never felt that the story was lost or unwieldy. It all came together in a most satisfying way.
With a lot of strong female characters populating the landscape of vampire-ridden Chicago, how could I not enjoy this book? I especially liked Louise and her little dog, Beau, and of course, I had a fondness for Jo as well. (Though I could not help being reminded of Swan, a character in another GREAT post apocalyptic tale. Bonus points if you know what character and/or book I'm talking about.)
AFTERAGE was written in the 90's but it doesn't feel dated. I think that's because there's no electricity in this world, so phones and the internet would be out of the picture anyway. Even though decades have passed since this was written, the characters and themes involved are timeless. They still worked their way into my heart, and perhaps if you let them, they'll work their way into your heart as well.
Highly recommended!
You can get your copy here, (but read my 2nd note below first!): https://www.amazon.com/AfterAge-Yvonne-Navarro-ebook/dp/B004J17GTO/chashorcor-20
*I read this book because of THE HORROR SHOW WITH BRIAN KEENE podcast. (They're doing an online book group and this is the second book they're reading.) I probably wouldn't have made time to read it otherwise, so thanks to the HORROR SHOW crew for bringing it to my attention. *
**This is not the edition I read. I read the copy included in [b:A Haunting of Horrors: A Twenty-Novel eBook Bundle of Horror and the Occult|23995027|A Haunting of Horrors A Twenty-Novel eBook Bundle of Horror and the Occult|Chet Williamson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437541338s/23995027.jpg|43595795]. The individual novels therein do NOT come up in a search of one's Kindle library, but luckily I pulled up the book and happily discovered AFTERAGE was in there. I only mention this in case you have this volume as well. **