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lauderbaugh's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 feels more accurate. Some clever stuff, some cliche, but an interesting take on the apocalypse genre (ignoring Fallout a Vault 69).
hank's review against another edition
3.0
It was bound to happen eventually, a three star rating, from me, for a Beukes book. I am a fan and I don't exactly know why but I will read anything she writes.
I have decided that I know why Beukes books don't get very high ratings, all of her books are tough to fit into a genre. If you are looking for horror, her books have some of that but probably not enough to make you satisfied, if you are looking for pure sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, the same issues apply.
One thing I love/hate about her books is that there is a constant unsettling undertone throughout. You never are completely comfortable with the situations or the hope for a good outcome.
With all that, this was a fairly generic dystopia that was poorly explained. Parts were society is dead and you have to survive by scavenging, parts were society is still alive just stunted and distorted and the blend did not work for me. The religious cult parts were dull and the ultimate motivation to flee home to South Africa was not exactly believable.
I like Beukes writing and stories, this one was just a bit too bland and rehash.
I have decided that I know why Beukes books don't get very high ratings, all of her books are tough to fit into a genre. If you are looking for horror, her books have some of that but probably not enough to make you satisfied, if you are looking for pure sci-fi, fantasy, magical realism, the same issues apply.
One thing I love/hate about her books is that there is a constant unsettling undertone throughout. You never are completely comfortable with the situations or the hope for a good outcome.
With all that, this was a fairly generic dystopia that was poorly explained. Parts were society is dead and you have to survive by scavenging, parts were society is still alive just stunted and distorted and the blend did not work for me. The religious cult parts were dull and the ultimate motivation to flee home to South Africa was not exactly believable.
I like Beukes writing and stories, this one was just a bit too bland and rehash.
emckeon1002's review against another edition
4.0
Couldn't be more timely. I always enjoy Beukes' writing, and this was no exception. A virus has altered "normal" life on earth, and one of its side effects changes everything on the globe. It's an escape novel, a road novel, an exploration of cults and families. And it's extremely compelling. Really enjoyed it.
asangtani's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to enjoy this post-apocalypse book where men are all but instinct, but it really dragged on.
kyledhebert's review against another edition
3.0
Takes a while to get going, and where it does end up going isn’t that interesting.
jennitheghost's review against another edition
4.0
I think I should have read more about this book before I went into it. After reading Broken Monsters I was expecting something similar and it was very different! I had a hard time adjusting my expectations. I did find myself frustrated with a lot of parts of this book. A lot of the banter felt forced and wow I just really hated some of the characters. But overall by the time I reached the end I was glad for the ride. I'd give it 3.5 if I could but I did enjoy it.
lilcoop71's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn’t finish this one. Really disappointing because I really liked a couple of the author’s other books, but it’s as if someone else wrote this. For me the worst part was all of the trendy social media language she used whenever the main characters conversed (or even when they were in their own heads). Frankly just annoying.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
3.0
While I liked and even admired parts of Afterland, as a whole it was largely unsatisfying. That may say more about me than the book, so take my reservations with a grain of salt, but let me explain.
First off, this was a book that largely ignored the half of the story I’d hoped would be its focus. This is largely Cole’s story, the story of a mother on the run with her child, desperate to get home and just as desperate to avoid dealing with her violence against her sister. All of that is fine, and Lauren Beukes does a solid job of exploring a mother’s love, but it was Miles’ story that I was interested in. He’s one of the last males in the world, forced to disguise himself as a girl during their flight, with his struggle compounded by the advent of puberty. There was so much potential there, so many issues of gender and sexuality that could have been explored, but aside from a few passages on shaving and erections, he’s really just a package to be delivered.
Second, there’s a fascinating new world here, one where the men are gone, leaving women to rebuild society without them, but we don’t get to see a lot of what that entails. I wanted to know more about the new family dynamics, the new relationships, and the new society of women helping, loving, supporting women. We get glimpses of that new world, but most of them are either dark and sordid, as seen through the eyes of Billie, an opportunistic, greedy, unbalanced woman with a concussion. I suspect (hope?) that was deliberate on Beukes’s part, stuck between either suggesting women are hopeless without men or undermining Cole’s story by exploring how strong and resilient women can be, but I feel like an entire novel existed beneath this.
Finally, this was a book that felt light to me in many ways, superficial and safe where it could have been, could have said, so much more. In skimming over the gender issues and the women’s issues, restricting the narrative to the journey of a mother – one that wouldn’t be much different if it had zombies or vampires or abusive husbands behind it – it misses so many opportunities. At the same time, that lightness leaves us with a soft ending that comes far too quickly, far too easily, without the kind of significance it could have had. It almost feels unfinished, like the first chapter of a longer story.
With all that said, there were aspects of this that I enjoyed. The concept of a viral cancer is an interesting one, and there’s a great deal of fascinating detail on how it progresses, how it kills, and how the world disposes of more bodies than it can handle. The post-apocalyptic roadtrip aspect is exceptionally well done, with Cole and Miles struggling with gas shortages, smartly exploring abandoned communities, and dealing with a religious cult that I found more comical than chilling – although there is an attempt towards the end to find some meaning in their mission.
As a story of a mother’s journey, Afterland was an okay read, and as a post-apocalyptic roadtrip it had its moments, but as a book about sex and gender and the consequences of the manpocalypse, I found it lacking, just not the book I’d hoped it would be.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/06/30/book-review-afterland-by-lauren-beukes/
First off, this was a book that largely ignored the half of the story I’d hoped would be its focus. This is largely Cole’s story, the story of a mother on the run with her child, desperate to get home and just as desperate to avoid dealing with her violence against her sister. All of that is fine, and Lauren Beukes does a solid job of exploring a mother’s love, but it was Miles’ story that I was interested in. He’s one of the last males in the world, forced to disguise himself as a girl during their flight, with his struggle compounded by the advent of puberty. There was so much potential there, so many issues of gender and sexuality that could have been explored, but aside from a few passages on shaving and erections, he’s really just a package to be delivered.
Second, there’s a fascinating new world here, one where the men are gone, leaving women to rebuild society without them, but we don’t get to see a lot of what that entails. I wanted to know more about the new family dynamics, the new relationships, and the new society of women helping, loving, supporting women. We get glimpses of that new world, but most of them are either dark and sordid, as seen through the eyes of Billie, an opportunistic, greedy, unbalanced woman with a concussion. I suspect (hope?) that was deliberate on Beukes’s part, stuck between either suggesting women are hopeless without men or undermining Cole’s story by exploring how strong and resilient women can be, but I feel like an entire novel existed beneath this.
Finally, this was a book that felt light to me in many ways, superficial and safe where it could have been, could have said, so much more. In skimming over the gender issues and the women’s issues, restricting the narrative to the journey of a mother – one that wouldn’t be much different if it had zombies or vampires or abusive husbands behind it – it misses so many opportunities. At the same time, that lightness leaves us with a soft ending that comes far too quickly, far too easily, without the kind of significance it could have had. It almost feels unfinished, like the first chapter of a longer story.
With all that said, there were aspects of this that I enjoyed. The concept of a viral cancer is an interesting one, and there’s a great deal of fascinating detail on how it progresses, how it kills, and how the world disposes of more bodies than it can handle. The post-apocalyptic roadtrip aspect is exceptionally well done, with Cole and Miles struggling with gas shortages, smartly exploring abandoned communities, and dealing with a religious cult that I found more comical than chilling – although there is an attempt towards the end to find some meaning in their mission.
As a story of a mother’s journey, Afterland was an okay read, and as a post-apocalyptic roadtrip it had its moments, but as a book about sex and gender and the consequences of the manpocalypse, I found it lacking, just not the book I’d hoped it would be.
https://femledfantasy.home.blog/2020/06/30/book-review-afterland-by-lauren-beukes/
zimb0's review against another edition
4.0
This is not what you'd expect. It's initial wave of hitting too close to home, a pandemic that affects men more, gives way to a pretty great escape journey. But I never felt worried. It was more interesting than tense.
seang81's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoy Lauren Beukes novel 'The Shining Girls' and I think I was hoping for something like that. This novel is a very different animal in that the premise is a world where most men have died due to a virus and the consequences for a mother and her son. Great premise and what coincidental/prophetic timing! I enjoyed the novel to a point but, for me, I felt the pace was off - there didn't really seem any point where I thought the protagonists were going to be in real danger. So, for those looking or an end of the world scenario, Handmaids Tale type of novel - enjoy!