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108th out of 171 books
—
15 voters
Afterlight (Last Light #2)
by
Alex Scarrow (Goodreads Author)
The world lies devastated after the massive oil crisis that was described in LAST LIGHT. Human society has more or less entirely broken down and millions lie dead of starvation and disease. There are only one or two beacon communities that have managed to fashion a new way of living. Jenny Sutherland runs one of these groups. Based on a series of decaying offshore oil-rigs...more
Paperback, 455 pages
Published
2010
by Orion
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Following on from Last Light, this follows the further adventures of the Sutherlands in post crash England. Again the theme of greed is prominent, but very much within the context of survival against the odds.
Many of the ideas will be familiar through The Day of the Triffid and Survivors. It took me longer to get into this one, the start required far more setup that Last Light and it took it's toll. The general idea of the fragility of those societies that were carving a foothold in the new wor...more
Many of the ideas will be familiar through The Day of the Triffid and Survivors. It took me longer to get into this one, the start required far more setup that Last Light and it took it's toll. The general idea of the fragility of those societies that were carving a foothold in the new wor...more
Overall, incredibly disappointing book.
After reading the first of the series, I had high hopes for the sequel - I was very wrong.
Set 10 years after the events of the first book (with the exception of some of the characters at the start of the book which take place during the same time period as the first book until they catch up with the other characters (time-wise) and then they run in parallel again.
Despite using some of the same characters (the heroes of the first book) - I'm completely at a...more
After reading the first of the series, I had high hopes for the sequel - I was very wrong.
Set 10 years after the events of the first book (with the exception of some of the characters at the start of the book which take place during the same time period as the first book until they catch up with the other characters (time-wise) and then they run in parallel again.
Despite using some of the same characters (the heroes of the first book) - I'm completely at a...more
About a year or so ago, I read the Alex Scarrow novel 'Last Light' where the world's oil supply is disrupted, global civilisation collapses within a matter of days and an English family fights to survive and escape from an increasingly savage London.
Although nothing new in terms of premise and delivery, 'Last Light' was a compelling thriller that kept me reading until the end.
'Afterlight' is the sequel that takes up the story again 10 years after 'Last Light'. Despite the hardships and privation...more
Although nothing new in terms of premise and delivery, 'Last Light' was a compelling thriller that kept me reading until the end.
'Afterlight' is the sequel that takes up the story again 10 years after 'Last Light'. Despite the hardships and privation...more
This was an excellent sequel to 'Last Light'. Whereas the first book was a fast-paced thriller with knife-wielding hitmen, shadowy conspiracies and an effective countdown-to-armageddon, Afterlight has a more considered feel, albeit with a strong polemic tinge to it.
Most of the story takes place 10 years after the crash, on an offshore gas rig where about 450 people are living, led by Jenny from the first book. The baddies are a group of brutalised survivors from one of the government Safe Zones...more
Most of the story takes place 10 years after the crash, on an offshore gas rig where about 450 people are living, led by Jenny from the first book. The baddies are a group of brutalised survivors from one of the government Safe Zones...more
Afterlight is not the type of book I would normally pick up but I'm glad I got a chance to read it as it was immensely gripping and scarily realistic.
The novel tells the story of how after an oil crisis in 2010 our world has become devastated. The story is mainly focussed on the United Kingdom and in flashbacks shows us how the first days after the crisis were filled with riots and parties and everybody taking whatever they could get their hands on for themselves and if necessary (and sometimes...more
The novel tells the story of how after an oil crisis in 2010 our world has become devastated. The story is mainly focussed on the United Kingdom and in flashbacks shows us how the first days after the crisis were filled with riots and parties and everybody taking whatever they could get their hands on for themselves and if necessary (and sometimes...more
If you've read the previous book, Last Light, you'll probably enjoy this one too. It's set 10 years after the events of the first one, Alex Scarrow states his reasons why which I thought was a refreshing thing to see - I like it when an author takes time to connect with their readers.
The story itself isn't quite as gripping as Last Light, the sense of urgency is somewhat lacking, possibly due to the nature of the story being 10 years after the chaos and panic of the first story. However, I still...more
The story itself isn't quite as gripping as Last Light, the sense of urgency is somewhat lacking, possibly due to the nature of the story being 10 years after the chaos and panic of the first story. However, I still...more
Although the plot was gripping and surreal, the author seems to have an extremely sadistic and negative outlook towards the entire storyline. Happiness seems like an after thought - literally - as the only light at the end of the tunnel is delivered in the epilogue. I dont see why the author has to put such a negative and possibly inhumane book for the world to read. I was expecting more details about the concept of "peak oil" and the technicalities of oil shortage in the world, and was disappoi...more
Set 10 years after Last light Afterlight for me is a book about the last best hope for Humanity (to steal a line from BSG).
Alex sets out with some old faces to explore a time after the oil crash, have we changed, can we adapt/ change and create a new future? or are there just too many out there who hunger for the days of old and the power that they can reap for themselves.
Following the fates of the Sutherland Children while they explore their past and look to the future.
Again alex weaves the sto...more
Alex sets out with some old faces to explore a time after the oil crash, have we changed, can we adapt/ change and create a new future? or are there just too many out there who hunger for the days of old and the power that they can reap for themselves.
Following the fates of the Sutherland Children while they explore their past and look to the future.
Again alex weaves the sto...more
Apr 11, 2012
Linda Branham Greenwell
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
doomer-end-of-the-world,
fiction
Set 10 years after Last light Afterlight for me is a book about whathappens after the collapse from the loss of oil
The book us based on what happens to the characters in the first book - and how they survive.
The story is set 10 years after the `big crash' when the oil stopped flowing and the lights went out and the food stopped coming. The Sutherland family are surviving on an oil rig with a community of fellow survivors, but their sanctuary is about to be invaded by an unlikely source..
We are a...more
The book us based on what happens to the characters in the first book - and how they survive.
The story is set 10 years after the `big crash' when the oil stopped flowing and the lights went out and the food stopped coming. The Sutherland family are surviving on an oil rig with a community of fellow survivors, but their sanctuary is about to be invaded by an unlikely source..
We are a...more
Very good.
It's impossible to agree or disagree as to whether this is how the collapse will finally come about (probably not in my lifetime but when, not if) but I think this scenario unlikely.Also, unless it was through some kind of warfare or disease I don't believe the powers that be would allow power to slip through their fingers so easily, communication would not breakdown so rapidly. They would be absolutely ruthless in their desire to keep control and ultimately law and order would be ma...more
It's impossible to agree or disagree as to whether this is how the collapse will finally come about (probably not in my lifetime but when, not if) but I think this scenario unlikely.Also, unless it was through some kind of warfare or disease I don't believe the powers that be would allow power to slip through their fingers so easily, communication would not breakdown so rapidly. They would be absolutely ruthless in their desire to keep control and ultimately law and order would be ma...more
Just to get it out of the way first, I'm bloody annoyed that nowhere on the cover of this book does it mention it's a sequel to "Last Light", it just says; "from the author of Last Light". Grr. By the time I realised I was too far into the book. Naturally I want to read Last Light, but it's been spoiled a bit by knowing some of the outcomes. Back to Afterlight, it's a great read, a frightening vision of what could go wrong with our dependency on oil. In some ways it reminded me of Threads, altho...more
Post apocolyptic thriller, which had me from the first page. This is a follow on from Last Light and I can honestly say that this was better than the first book. The scary thing was not the ruthlessness of life post social breakdown, more the way the story rang true. This is no Mad Max type wasteland novel, this is how I suspect things would really turn out if we ran out of oil. There are some interesting parallels to Lord of the Flies and the inclusion of a charismatic child abuser added a dime...more
The follow on from Last Light based 10 years after the end of the oil age. Follows the story of a family living on an abandoned oil rig and their adventure when a new character arrives at the rig. Also the survival of a group of survivors living in the 02 arena in London and how their two stories collide. An exciting book for people who enjoy end of the world, apocalypse or survival fantast fiction. I really connected with the characters and felt like there was something missing from my life whe...more
Having spent the last year and a half devouring every post-apocalyptic and dystopian novel I can get my hands on, I can confidently say that Last Light & Afterlight are my favourite so far! (In fact, I think this second book is actually better than the first, which is fairly unusual as these things go) Between them, they depict such a likely scenario, (I personally believe it's the most likely potential apocalyptic event at this point in time ... and particularly we in the UK would certainly...more
Jun 11, 2011
Lolliepop
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2011,
books-i-own
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
After reading Last Light (which is probably one of the best reads in a long time) this was hugely dis-appointing and found it quite a struggle to read.
Perhaps this was due to the first book being so eye-opening and awakening to the realism of peak oil. It was a sadistic read as in i wanted to discover how our lives could be destroyed by something quite possibly realistic, that i couldnt put it down.
However, i found After Light to revolve around characters and plots that i couldnt believe in.
Perhaps this was due to the first book being so eye-opening and awakening to the realism of peak oil. It was a sadistic read as in i wanted to discover how our lives could be destroyed by something quite possibly realistic, that i couldnt put it down.
However, i found After Light to revolve around characters and plots that i couldnt believe in.
What a great story, I couldn't put this book down especially towards the end when the pace really picks up.
Like one of the earlier reviewers, I was very annoyed when I found out this was part of a trilogy and I should really have read First Light first, but once I started reading it I realised it wasn't vital to the story line that you knew what had gone on before. It makes a great stand alone book just as it is and it's easy to pick up the story. I fully intend to go back and buy the first book...more
Like one of the earlier reviewers, I was very annoyed when I found out this was part of a trilogy and I should really have read First Light first, but once I started reading it I realised it wasn't vital to the story line that you knew what had gone on before. It makes a great stand alone book just as it is and it's easy to pick up the story. I fully intend to go back and buy the first book...more
Oooh...this was scary, especially those feral children. I read this really quickly, with a feeling of horrified fascination. I think it was well enough written for me to keep thinking this might be how it pans out, in the event of a disaster of these proportions. This is actually a sequel, which I didn't realise when I started it. Not sure I want to read the first book, though. This stood alone in its own right anyway.
According to Alex Scarrow, the post-apocalyptic world will be run by scary, rapey teenagers. In the previous book to this (Last Light) he described the apocalypse being caused by scary, rapey teenagers. I want to be angry at this demonisation of youth, but the poor dialogue never really allowed me to take it seriously.
Worth reading if you are a fan of the genre, but give it a miss otherwise.
Worth reading if you are a fan of the genre, but give it a miss otherwise.
Found it a bit confusing at first due to first book and second book,10 years difference, a 4 year old grand daughter. Where did she come from? Who is the father? How did they get to the gas platforms? This time gap was explained at the end of the book in the authors notes. Maybe these should have been at the start of the book. I kept feeling that I had missed a whole book somewhere. Still I enjoyed the whole story an I am now starting on October Skies, the book that Alex Scarrow mentions in the...more
This book truly terrified me!
I read it stand alone without reading the first book in the series and found it easy to follow. The characters are realistic, the writing well polished and flowing and the storyline enthralling.
I highly suggest reading this novel even if you aren't normally into post apocalyptic style stories.
Highly recommended.
A follow on from last light - concept real enough to be scary and well enough written to be an easy read, but often failed to suspend my disbelief -
e.g. where did they get enough soil to cover the gas platform in plants?
Also if you read this prepare to start spending time surfing the emergency provisions websites!
e.g. where did they get enough soil to cover the gas platform in plants?
Also if you read this prepare to start spending time surfing the emergency provisions websites!
I only realized after I read this book that there was a prequel to it. So I read afterlight and it was incredibly gripping, could not put it down during exams. It made me rethink my attitude towards wants and needs. I'm now reading the first one in the series so I get a better sense of pre knowledge.
I found that this part 2 of the story was better than the first book! I loved seeing how Jenny and Leona and the rest of their group had managed after the crash and the introduction to maxwell and his vicious army of teen boy soldiers was a scary and exciting twist. I'm a sucker for post apocalyptic fiction and this didn't disappoint!!
A good sequel to the first one. I had trouble putting this one down. However, the ending was a little bit of a letdown like the first one. Also there are some parts of it that were sort of not believable so you have to just ignore that part of your brain. Enjoyable post-apocalyptic book.
Nice, easy read. Very enjoyable and a page turner. Some things very unbelievable though. How did they get all that soil on the platforms and how did they cook for over 400 people when they only had electricity very recently and then only for a couple of hours every day. Burnt things?? Not many trees on an oil platform!
I LOVED IT! I was on the edge of my seat most of the time! but i did feel like i couldnt connect to any of the characters as they were always jumping, for instance i would of usually been really upset when characters died like walter, hannah, jacob and jenny but i just couldnt connect to any of them :/, also i would of liked to see what became of the 12 :) but other than that it was immense!! <3
Really disappointing. Whilst Last Light had a bit of originality this was a very dull, very cliched post-apocolyptic tale.
I got through the second half of the book in no time - in order to be finished with it.
I got through the second half of the book in no time - in order to be finished with it.
This sequel is far better than Last Light. In fact the first book is barely needed. Better plot better characters better writing. In the afterword, Scarrow seems to admit that he figured things out after #1. I liked it more than I expected.
So from the moment I laid my eyes on the cover of this book, I've never regretted buying it. The chilling effect of how this book could possibly mean our future is perfectly logical. This my first time reading Alex Scarrow's work and if you like an awesome thriller to read, get your hands on this one!
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I live a nomadic existence with my wife Frances, and son Jacob. For now we're living in Norwich. I spent the first 10 years out of college in the music business chasing record deals and the next 12 years in the computer games business as a graphic artist and eventually a games designer. For those of you who like their computer games, here's some of the titles I've worked on:
Waterworld, Evolva, The...more
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