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A review by frakalot
Aftermath by LeVar Burton
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Not exactly a post-apocalypse tale, more of a post-diaster story. There are four protagonists in play all with very separate lives that become connected as the story progresses. It's a tragic and dramatic set up for this story.
Leon discovers a connection between space flight and a series of devastating weather events around the globe and despite the fact that it will jeopardise his own career, he makes the results public. NASA is almost instantly canned and with an assassination of America's first black president it isn't long before things get way out of hand on little old Earth. The book starts with a chronology of these events that will get you up to scratch.
A figure of some disrepute now that he has basically killed NASA, Leon's home gets a molotov through the window which kills his family. It's all a bit much for the reader to swallow in just a few pages, but imagine being poor Leon and living through it. Lost and alone Leon winds up homeless and that's where he enters the narrative.
Another scientist working for a small research organisation has developed a "neuro-enhancer" which seems to be a cure all device that works by increasing the brain's functioning capacity but her research becomes an issue of contention and this serves as the main driving element of the plot.
I especially liked the thread which followed the young lady Amy, a homeless girl seeking her misplaced mother. The naivety of her thoughts in desperate situations made it all the more dramatic.
The fourth main character is a medicine man named Joseph who hears the call of The White Buffalo Woman which sends him on a pilgrimage to Chicago and that's how he gets involved in the events over there.
It's hard not to draw any connections to Star Trek, but a few familiarities were noticeable. There's a Chakotay like father and son relationship, where the son had left the reservation to pursue his studies. There's also a telepathic element which emerges as a side effect of the neuro-enhancer treatment, it's super long distance like the after effects of a Vulcan bonding. Probably the most significant connection is that the weather problems caused by Space shuttle launch and reentry rang a little similar to the problem of Warp Drive damaging subspace.
The story is a brutal one with rape and robbery and racist violence a common fear on the post-financial-collapse American streets and not at all avoided in this plot, contrary to what one might expect from the friendly face of Reading Rainbow. Don't expect a comfortable read.
The story leaned into psychological horror when Leon made a pretty staggering mental leap. He'd been hearing a voice talk to him in his mind, then when he could hear the voice even as it was talking to someone else he began to fear that he would eventually be unable to separate his own thoughts and feelings from hers. All very exciting stuff but practically empty supposition on Leon's behalf.
It's written pretty well although with a few lazy lines and pitfalls, in particular the ending is a bit of a non event and includes a completely unnecessary celebratory sex scene. I think I would have expected something a bit more from LeVar Burton but I did thoroughly enjoy the story. The plot is engaging and hopeful despite the grim setting and there's a lot of meaning in the writing.
"Freedom: The word meant so much to those who didn't have it."
I would be interested in reading more but I've no expectation that we'll be lucky enough to get any more and I'm just pleased to have found this one.
Leon discovers a connection between space flight and a series of devastating weather events around the globe and despite the fact that it will jeopardise his own career, he makes the results public. NASA is almost instantly canned and with an assassination of America's first black president it isn't long before things get way out of hand on little old Earth. The book starts with a chronology of these events that will get you up to scratch.
A figure of some disrepute now that he has basically killed NASA, Leon's home gets a molotov through the window which kills his family. It's all a bit much for the reader to swallow in just a few pages, but imagine being poor Leon and living through it. Lost and alone Leon winds up homeless and that's where he enters the narrative.
Another scientist working for a small research organisation has developed a "neuro-enhancer" which seems to be a cure all device that works by increasing the brain's functioning capacity but her research becomes an issue of contention and this serves as the main driving element of the plot.
I especially liked the thread which followed the young lady Amy, a homeless girl seeking her misplaced mother. The naivety of her thoughts in desperate situations made it all the more dramatic.
The fourth main character is a medicine man named Joseph who hears the call of The White Buffalo Woman which sends him on a pilgrimage to Chicago and that's how he gets involved in the events over there.
It's hard not to draw any connections to Star Trek, but a few familiarities were noticeable. There's a Chakotay like father and son relationship, where the son had left the reservation to pursue his studies. There's also a telepathic element which emerges as a side effect of the neuro-enhancer treatment, it's super long distance like the after effects of a Vulcan bonding. Probably the most significant connection is that the weather problems caused by Space shuttle launch and reentry rang a little similar to the problem of Warp Drive damaging subspace.
The story is a brutal one with rape and robbery and racist violence a common fear on the post-financial-collapse American streets and not at all avoided in this plot, contrary to what one might expect from the friendly face of Reading Rainbow. Don't expect a comfortable read.
The story leaned into psychological horror when Leon made a pretty staggering mental leap. He'd been hearing a voice talk to him in his mind, then when he could hear the voice even as it was talking to someone else he began to fear that he would eventually be unable to separate his own thoughts and feelings from hers. All very exciting stuff but practically empty supposition on Leon's behalf.
It's written pretty well although with a few lazy lines and pitfalls, in particular the ending is a bit of a non event and includes a completely unnecessary celebratory sex scene. I think I would have expected something a bit more from LeVar Burton but I did thoroughly enjoy the story. The plot is engaging and hopeful despite the grim setting and there's a lot of meaning in the writing.
"Freedom: The word meant so much to those who didn't have it."
I would be interested in reading more but I've no expectation that we'll be lucky enough to get any more and I'm just pleased to have found this one.