The Meaning of the “After Eden” Series

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The Meaning of the “After Eden” Series

An often-asked question is what exactly does “After Eden” mean when it comes to this epic series? I spent quite a bit of time picking the name. In fact, I had already written both the first and second books (I actually wrote Book #2 first and had to go back and write Book #1) before settling on the official title out of about two dozen choices.

I wanted to convey two things with the name of the series: firstly, that there was a religious aspect; and secondly, that the time of this story was significant both from a religious and secular viewpoint. I found the perfect title with After Eden. The series is not a biblical apocalypse but clearly if we are talking about the people, places and events leading to World War III then such a catastrophe would be an apocalypse whether one is religious or not. I’m a Christian but I have little interest in biblical end-of-times stories because from my theological view the “reality” of the “end” is far beyond anything we humans could envision. As a writer, I want readers to be entertained (being thought-provoking is icing on the cake) not make them want to jump out of a window because virtually everyone dies horribly. However, to be somewhat contradictory, any global war is very close to that as the horrors of World War I and II historically have shown us, not to mention all the endless wars humans have fought against each other throughout history.

The introduction page to the book gives the full quote: “After Eden, Thy Kingdom Fall. All Kingdoms Fall, New Kingdoms Rise.” Again, we are reminded of the cycle of life when it comes to empires–good, bad and in-between. No matter how long they last, they will eventually…end. Or have we fooled ourselves into believing that because of our own technology (in the future we use the word “tek”) that all that we create is immortal?

As for the name of the first book in the series, Thy Kingdom Fall, it too conveys an unhappy ending of some sorts—we just don’t know who yet—and some kind of religious aspect to it all. Again, I wrote Book 2 first not by design, but realized that fact after I was about a third of the way complete. The first book had a very high hurdle to overcome. Before I even typed the first word I was a bit overwhelmed as the first book had to be at the level or higher of the already completed second book, lay the foundation for the entire seven book series, introduce and immerse the reader into a very believable world 75 years in the future, cover in quick fashion some very controversial issues, and, the most important, make the reader eager for the next book and be committed to the series.