Book Review - Aftertime

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had to wait a long, long time to read this book. I have been on the waiting list at the library since January! It's that popular, and I was wondering if it was going to be worth it.

It was.

This is a zombie book, so it's not Shakespeare, but it's well-written with deep, likeable characters and a fantastic, curiously fascinating twist on the world of the classic zombie. In this universe, drought, famine, and bio attacks have led to a near-wipeout of all of the earth's fauna and flora. In an attempt to rescue it's citizens from starvation, the US government has seeded it's land with a bio-engineered superfood seed. Unfortunately, it mutates, and those who eat the mutated version wind up ill, and after a brief period of euphoria, sink into a zombie-like state.

But they aren't really dead, as is evidenced by Cass, taken by the ill and then returned, seemingly cured. The only thing missing is her daughter, who she was ripped away from when she was taken, and Aftertime is the story of her journey to find Ruthie, her daughter, and rediscover her self.

I've seen this compared to work by Cormac McCarthy, and while the setting is somewhat reminiscent of The Road, I find that the similarities end there. Beyond the stark landscape and sense of despair, there isn't much in common - but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Because Aftertime, after all, is about hanging on to hope, and you need the rich lives of the characters to do that.

Worth a read for any post-apocolyptic or zombie fans! Yes, even if you have to wait. I'm not waiting any more - I have the rest of the ebooks in the series loaded onto my Kobo and waiting to go.

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