Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

After World by Debbie Urbanski

8 reviews

droethler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was written by a prolific and excellent short story writer. She did a good job of bringing a novel to the table that played to her strengths, linking vignettes and letters and notes and diary entries in a cohesive narrative. 

Since a main character (the one writing the story) is an AI, it is an awkward yet successful voice that she creates to center the story. While I found it a bit slow in places, I kept coming back to read more. And sometimes I just needed to step away for a day to digest what I'd read. It is a true apocalypse story. 
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kari_f's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“There are thousands of other lasts to go. The last human step, the last human nightmare, the last human word, the last human bruise, the last human scream, the last human blink, the last human tear, the last human swallow, the last human thought, the last human emotion, the last human breath, the last human heartbeat, the last human reflex, and so on. All of them Sen’s.”

Tasked with chronicling the end-of-life of what may be the last living human, storyworker ad39-393a-7fbc attempts to write out the life of Sen in the form of a book. We see both Sen’s diary pages and the storyworker’s perspective as the book progresses, as well as back-and-forth dialogue between two AI entities. 

As someone who has been very into science-fiction over the last few years, I’ve read a few books where an AI entity has developed feelings for a human or space-dwelling being. While that is part of this story, there is definitely a lot more to it. We also see progression in the storyworker’s awakening, as it comes to grips with humanity after humanity no longer inhabits the planet.

The book was written in a unique style, and I feel the author portrayed both the teenage girl and the AI entity’s tone and word structure very well. The apocalyptic premise was not one I’ve seen before, and I especially liked the recurring sections with new and outdated vocabulary to fit the times.

Be aware that there are multiple references to suicide throughout the book.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy of the book!
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jamie_rich's review

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challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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krhysling's review against another edition

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Depressing and boring 
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porcinitortellini's review

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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brookesinfinitebooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free copy of this book.

 - I sit here trying to write a review of AFTER WORLD and find myself just making sad, overwhelmed noises. This is one of the most devastating, inventive, and beautiful books I've ever read.
- This book is an exploration into the best and worst of humanity, and a harsh vision of a potential future. (The content warnings are extremely real here, friends.) Amid that, it's also a loving look at our planet and its many possibilities.
- To be honest, I'm not sure this book fully stuck the landing at the end, but I'll be turning the rest of it over in my mind for months to come. 
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thepaperbackplanner's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The marketing for this book really plays up the romance/love story angle, which is what initially led me to choose to request an ARC via the Simon Books Buddy program. What I got instead was an unflinchingly dark and realistic and grim portrait of human extinction via manufactured disease. The descriptions of starvation, abandonment, various methods of suicide, and violence were too much for me. However! I did think the writing was engaging, and the plot was a new take on the apocalypse/end of humanity tale for me. I think lots of folks will like this if they're not in it for the romance.
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