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After the Flood
A tale of love, loss and lust in a fundamentalist society formed in the aftermath of a giant flood that destroyed most of the earth in 2012. David Arthurs, born after the Flood, tries to save his Humanitarian city state of Tolemac-located somewhere in the former North America-from sinking into sin and destruction as the forces of Capitalism sweep in from across the waters of neighbouring New Eden. How is he to overcome the forces of evil when his father and founder of Tolemac, Samson, is having an affair with the beautiful New Eden exile Delia Stone, when media-manipulated local elections oust David from political office, and when a drug cartel is poisoning the minds and bodies of the youth in the once peaceful island state? And more importantly, when, for the first time, David finds himself succumbing to temptations of the flesh that were outlawed during the founding of Tolemac but never eradicated from the human genetic code. After the Flood poses the question: "If mankind was granted a new slate to create Utopia, could it?"
364 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 2009
About the author
Shane Joseph
11 books252 followersShane Joseph is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers in Toronto, Canada. He began writing as a teenager living in Sri Lanka and has never stopped. Redemption in Paradise, his first novel, was published in 2004 and his first short story collection, Fringe Dwellers, in 2008. His novel, After the Flood, a dystopian epic set in the aftermath of global warming, was released in November 2009, and won the Canadian Christian Writers award for best Futuristic/Fantasy novel in 2010. His story collection, Paradise Revisited, was shortlisted for the ReLit Award. His latest novel, Empire in the Sand, was released in the fall of 2022. His short stories and articles have appeared in several Canadian anthologies and in literary journals around the world. His blog at www.shanejoseph.com is widely syndicated.
His career stints include: stage and radio actor, pop musician, encyclopaedia salesman, lathe machine operator, airline executive, travel agency manager, vice president of a global financial services company, software services salesperson, publishing editor, project manager and management consultant.
Self-taught, with four degrees under his belt obtained through distance education, Shane is an avid traveller and has visited one country for every year of his life and lived in four of them. He fondly recalls incidents during his travels as real lessons he could never have learned in school: husky riding in Finland with no training, trekking the Inca Trail in Peru through an unending rainstorm, hitch-hiking in Australia without a map, escaping a wild elephant in Zambia, and being stranded without money in Denmark, are some of his memories.
After immigrating (twice), raising a family, building a career, and experiencing life's many highs and lows, Shane has carved out a niche in Cobourg, Ontario with his wife Sarah, where he continues to work, write, and strum his guitar.
Shane Joseph, believes in the gift of second chances. He feels that he has lived many lives in just a single lifetime, always starting from scratch with only the lessons from the past to draw upon. His novels and stories reflect the redemptive power of acceptance and forgiveness.
His career stints include: stage and radio actor, pop musician, encyclopaedia salesman, lathe machine operator, airline executive, travel agency manager, vice president of a global financial services company, software services salesperson, publishing editor, project manager and management consultant.
Self-taught, with four degrees under his belt obtained through distance education, Shane is an avid traveller and has visited one country for every year of his life and lived in four of them. He fondly recalls incidents during his travels as real lessons he could never have learned in school: husky riding in Finland with no training, trekking the Inca Trail in Peru through an unending rainstorm, hitch-hiking in Australia without a map, escaping a wild elephant in Zambia, and being stranded without money in Denmark, are some of his memories.
After immigrating (twice), raising a family, building a career, and experiencing life's many highs and lows, Shane has carved out a niche in Cobourg, Ontario with his wife Sarah, where he continues to work, write, and strum his guitar.
Shane Joseph, believes in the gift of second chances. He feels that he has lived many lives in just a single lifetime, always starting from scratch with only the lessons from the past to draw upon. His novels and stories reflect the redemptive power of acceptance and forgiveness.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 28, 2009
After the Flood—a story of second chances
A review by Ben Antao
After the Flood, Shane Joseph’s second novel, is a story of second chances that befall those that God marks for His chosen people. It takes its genesis from the Biblical origin of Noah’s Ark after the big deluge that drowned the sinful, but the action in this novel happens in North America from 2012-2046.
The author subtitles his work as a dystopian novel of hope; if so, it’s a hope rooted in man’s perennial quest for light at the end of the tunnel, for dawn at the end of the darkest night. It’s a kind of hope voiced by Malcolm in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, namely, “The night is long that never finds the day.”
Narrated in the 1st and 3rd person POV, the story straddles between pre-and-post Flood time zones, involving a family of Samson Arthurs, his wife Agnes, his son David, Sonya, David’s wife and their two children. After the flood, the map of North America is redrawn, with former Canada and the U.S. emerging as the Federation of Humanitarian States and the League of Capitalist Nations respectively. The author employs a diary kept by Samson, which helps David, the narrator, to flesh out the story with conflicts as a new generation begins to take charge and responsibility for its communities. Ironically, as the plot develops, Tolemac, the new community in the Humanitarian realm comes into conflict with New Eden of the Capitalist nation, as if the sins of the pre-flood era (drugs, alcohol, wanton sex) have come to visit the new one. The extremes of socialism and capitalism force the two states to find a middle way.
Shane Joseph engages the reader not only by his knowledge of the Old Testament but also by his insights into man-woman relationships and his flair in handling the problem of the other man/the other woman, the secret longing for carnality as revealed in the character of Delia. To quote:
Delia was dressed in a body-hugging, sleeveless T-shirt and pants, and her red hair was pulled back over her head and tied in a knot at the back. David felt the blood rush to his head again.
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother, David.” Sincerity shone through her sensuality.
The author maintains a good balance between telling the story and showing it through dialogue and action. This novel would make a fine movie, as entertaining as the book.
December 8, 2009
Shane Joseph, in his riveting novel "After the Flood," posits a world in which those seeking a truly just society, come face to face with those for whom the profit motive is paramount. In the former, laws are designed to quell mans' baser instincts, to give each according to his need - to establish a utopia if you will, on the order of those early Christian communities, all of which failed. In the latter, laws are designed to aid those entrepreneurs who want no restriction on their freedom of action, their freedom to act on their impulses, however base - a dystopia if you will, much like our own. Both contain fatal flaws. Is there a Middle Way? Can those of good will on either side of the divide, join forces? Can man combine freedom with responsibility, enterprise with compassion, passion with love? Shane Joseph wrestles with this problem as his characters grow and evolve.
This is an interesting and relevant book for our times.
This is an interesting and relevant book for our times.
June 6, 2020
It is the 2040s, decades after the catastrophic 2012 flooding caused by global warming. The governance and topography of the entire world has changed. North America has been reduced to fragments of its landmass with only a tiny fraction of its previous population.
Ideal circumstances in which to create perfect countries with perfect nations? To form polities with ideologies that accurately represent the desires of their citizens? Indeed, many of the new North American “countries” peopled by like-minded survivors appear to have done so. The security and protection of each is guaranteed for those who subscribe.
Tolemac, the tiny remnant of North Eastern America, where the post-flood narrative takes place, is based on the humanitarian principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Capitalists have created parallel states that embrace the “Winner takes all” ideology
Tolemac (a play on Camelot that conjures up an idyllic Arthurian land) is a tiny country founded by Samson Arthurs (another scent of the Arthurian idyll?). Samson Arthurs and his Executive Committee preserve the equity and happiness of all of Tolemac’s inhabitants and all policies and procedures that contributes to the good, the just, and the stable. Racism has been wiped out and moral righteousness reigns.
For those who delight in literary allusions, this is a treasure trove. You’ll find not only the Arthurian legend and the Old and New Testaments, but also Karl Marx and his nemesis Hayek, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Shane Joseph searches for an understanding of our contemporary political predicament as Alexis de Tocqueville sought to understand the meaning of democracy in America.
Neighboring New Eden founded on capitalist ideologies compete with the principles of Tolemac and maintain an open-door policy, welcoming those with ambition and innovative ideas.
Because no single country can supply all of its own nutritional and technical needs, trade between the capitalist and the humanitarian states occurs – welcomed by the Capitalists, regarded warily by the Humanitarians.
Against these polarizations that bear such contemporary significance in our all-too-real world, Shane Joseph tells a captivating and exciting story of heroism, survival, love and betrayal. He uses Tolemac and its leading citizens to explore the essentially human elements that underpin our political and moral principles on both the right and the left, the moral and the immoral, the self-centred and the caring.
Intrigues throw light on what daily practice demands to establish and maintain a society founded on principles that strive to deliver the best of lives for all.
In their tangled lives of love, jealousy, ambition and the difficulties inherent in maintaining virtue, Shane Joseph’s candidly human characters show what “the good life for all” can -=- and cannot – mean. Samson, Agnes and Delia, David and Sonya, Sean and Ethan – fiercely attracted to or repelled by one another – vividly show personal, ideological and economic forces at play in brutally honest relationships between husband, wife and lover, hero and beloved, saint and sinner.
Shane Joseph explores the essential, questions of our time – good and evil, avarice and benevolence, trust and uncertainty, sexual desire and virtue, and much, much more -- through the lives of seemingly ordinary people who like us are also extraordinary.
Will Tolemac, its civic ideals and its well-meaning idealists survive? As with Camelot many factors threaten to topple it: discord among its leaders, open feuding, jealousy, sexual attraction that might lead to an adulterous affair, even murder. Can principled men and women overcome or are all Utopias bound to self-destruct?
Shane Joseph’s After the Flood: A Dystopian Novel of Hope answers these questions in the mast dramatic of ways.
Ideal circumstances in which to create perfect countries with perfect nations? To form polities with ideologies that accurately represent the desires of their citizens? Indeed, many of the new North American “countries” peopled by like-minded survivors appear to have done so. The security and protection of each is guaranteed for those who subscribe.
Tolemac, the tiny remnant of North Eastern America, where the post-flood narrative takes place, is based on the humanitarian principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Capitalists have created parallel states that embrace the “Winner takes all” ideology
Tolemac (a play on Camelot that conjures up an idyllic Arthurian land) is a tiny country founded by Samson Arthurs (another scent of the Arthurian idyll?). Samson Arthurs and his Executive Committee preserve the equity and happiness of all of Tolemac’s inhabitants and all policies and procedures that contributes to the good, the just, and the stable. Racism has been wiped out and moral righteousness reigns.
For those who delight in literary allusions, this is a treasure trove. You’ll find not only the Arthurian legend and the Old and New Testaments, but also Karl Marx and his nemesis Hayek, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Shane Joseph searches for an understanding of our contemporary political predicament as Alexis de Tocqueville sought to understand the meaning of democracy in America.
Neighboring New Eden founded on capitalist ideologies compete with the principles of Tolemac and maintain an open-door policy, welcoming those with ambition and innovative ideas.
Because no single country can supply all of its own nutritional and technical needs, trade between the capitalist and the humanitarian states occurs – welcomed by the Capitalists, regarded warily by the Humanitarians.
Against these polarizations that bear such contemporary significance in our all-too-real world, Shane Joseph tells a captivating and exciting story of heroism, survival, love and betrayal. He uses Tolemac and its leading citizens to explore the essentially human elements that underpin our political and moral principles on both the right and the left, the moral and the immoral, the self-centred and the caring.
Intrigues throw light on what daily practice demands to establish and maintain a society founded on principles that strive to deliver the best of lives for all.
In their tangled lives of love, jealousy, ambition and the difficulties inherent in maintaining virtue, Shane Joseph’s candidly human characters show what “the good life for all” can -=- and cannot – mean. Samson, Agnes and Delia, David and Sonya, Sean and Ethan – fiercely attracted to or repelled by one another – vividly show personal, ideological and economic forces at play in brutally honest relationships between husband, wife and lover, hero and beloved, saint and sinner.
Shane Joseph explores the essential, questions of our time – good and evil, avarice and benevolence, trust and uncertainty, sexual desire and virtue, and much, much more -- through the lives of seemingly ordinary people who like us are also extraordinary.
Will Tolemac, its civic ideals and its well-meaning idealists survive? As with Camelot many factors threaten to topple it: discord among its leaders, open feuding, jealousy, sexual attraction that might lead to an adulterous affair, even murder. Can principled men and women overcome or are all Utopias bound to self-destruct?
Shane Joseph’s After the Flood: A Dystopian Novel of Hope answers these questions in the mast dramatic of ways.
June 7, 2020
It is the 2040s, decades after the catastrophic 2012 flooding caused by global warming. The governance and topography of the entire world has changed. North America has been reduced to fragments of its landmass with only a tiny fraction of its previous population.
Ideal circumstances in which to create perfect countries with perfect nations? To form polities with ideologies that accurately represent the desires of their citizens? Indeed, many of the new North American “countries” peopled by like-minded survivors appear to have done so. The security and protection of each is guaranteed for those who subscribe.
Tolemac, the tiny remnant of North Eastern America, where the post-flood narrative takes place, is based on the humanitarian principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Capitalists have created parallel states that embrace the “Winner takes all” ideology
Tolemac (a play on Camelot that conjures up an idyllic Arthurian land) is a tiny country founded by Samson Arthurs (another scent of the Arthurian idyll?). Samson Arthurs and his Executive Committee preserve the equity and happiness of all of Tolemac’s inhabitants and all policies and procedures that contributes to the good, the just, and the stable. Racism has been wiped out and moral righteousness reigns.
For those who delight in literary allusions, this is a treasure trove. You’ll find not only the Arthurian legend and the Old and New Testaments, but also Karl Marx and his nemesis Hayek, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Shane Joseph searches for an understanding of our contemporary political predicament as Alexis de Tocqueville sought to understand the meaning of democracy in America.
Neighboring New Eden founded on capitalist ideologies compete with the principles of Tolemac and maintain an open-door policy, welcoming those with ambition and innovative ideas.
Because no single country can supply all of its own nutritional and technical needs, trade between the capitalist and the humanitarian states occurs – welcomed by the Capitalists, regarded warily by the Humanitarians.
Against these polarizations that bear such contemporary significance in our all-too-real world, Shane Joseph tells a captivating and exciting story of heroism, survival, love and betrayal. He uses Tolemac and its leading citizens to explore the essentially human elements that underpin our political and moral principles on both the right and the left, the moral and the immoral, the self-centred and the caring.
Intrigues throw light on what daily practice demands to establish and maintain a society founded on principles that strive to deliver the best of lives for all.
In their tangled lives of love, jealousy, ambition and the difficulties inherent in maintaining virtue, Shane Joseph’s candidly human characters show what “the good life for all” can -=- and cannot – mean. Samson, Agnes and Delia, David and Sonya, Sean and Ethan – fiercely attracted to or repelled by one another – vividly show personal, ideological and economic forces at play in brutally honest relationships between husband, wife and lover, hero and beloved, saint and sinner.
Shane Joseph explores the essential, questions of our time – good and evil, avarice and benevolence, trust and uncertainty, sexual desire and virtue, and much, much more -- through the lives of seemingly ordinary people who like us are also extraordinary.
Will Tolemac, its civic ideals and its well-meaning idealists survive? As with Camelot many factors threaten to topple it: discord among its leaders, open feuding, jealousy, sexual attraction that might lead to an adulterous affair, even murder. Can principled men and women overcome or are all Utopias bound to self-destruct?
Shane Joseph’s After the Flood: A Dystopian Novel of Hope answers these questions in the mast dramatic of ways.
Ideal circumstances in which to create perfect countries with perfect nations? To form polities with ideologies that accurately represent the desires of their citizens? Indeed, many of the new North American “countries” peopled by like-minded survivors appear to have done so. The security and protection of each is guaranteed for those who subscribe.
Tolemac, the tiny remnant of North Eastern America, where the post-flood narrative takes place, is based on the humanitarian principle: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Capitalists have created parallel states that embrace the “Winner takes all” ideology
Tolemac (a play on Camelot that conjures up an idyllic Arthurian land) is a tiny country founded by Samson Arthurs (another scent of the Arthurian idyll?). Samson Arthurs and his Executive Committee preserve the equity and happiness of all of Tolemac’s inhabitants and all policies and procedures that contributes to the good, the just, and the stable. Racism has been wiped out and moral righteousness reigns.
For those who delight in literary allusions, this is a treasure trove. You’ll find not only the Arthurian legend and the Old and New Testaments, but also Karl Marx and his nemesis Hayek, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.
Shane Joseph searches for an understanding of our contemporary political predicament as Alexis de Tocqueville sought to understand the meaning of democracy in America.
Neighboring New Eden founded on capitalist ideologies compete with the principles of Tolemac and maintain an open-door policy, welcoming those with ambition and innovative ideas.
Because no single country can supply all of its own nutritional and technical needs, trade between the capitalist and the humanitarian states occurs – welcomed by the Capitalists, regarded warily by the Humanitarians.
Against these polarizations that bear such contemporary significance in our all-too-real world, Shane Joseph tells a captivating and exciting story of heroism, survival, love and betrayal. He uses Tolemac and its leading citizens to explore the essentially human elements that underpin our political and moral principles on both the right and the left, the moral and the immoral, the self-centred and the caring.
Intrigues throw light on what daily practice demands to establish and maintain a society founded on principles that strive to deliver the best of lives for all.
In their tangled lives of love, jealousy, ambition and the difficulties inherent in maintaining virtue, Shane Joseph’s candidly human characters show what “the good life for all” can -=- and cannot – mean. Samson, Agnes and Delia, David and Sonya, Sean and Ethan – fiercely attracted to or repelled by one another – vividly show personal, ideological and economic forces at play in brutally honest relationships between husband, wife and lover, hero and beloved, saint and sinner.
Shane Joseph explores the essential, questions of our time – good and evil, avarice and benevolence, trust and uncertainty, sexual desire and virtue, and much, much more -- through the lives of seemingly ordinary people who like us are also extraordinary.
Will Tolemac, its civic ideals and its well-meaning idealists survive? As with Camelot many factors threaten to topple it: discord among its leaders, open feuding, jealousy, sexual attraction that might lead to an adulterous affair, even murder. Can principled men and women overcome or are all Utopias bound to self-destruct?
Shane Joseph’s After the Flood: A Dystopian Novel of Hope answers these questions in the mast dramatic of ways.
February 8, 2019
This book was enlightening and puts a twist on money in the modern world.
March 7, 2021
Brilliant story! Loved it. Perhaps a prophecy from Shane Joseph of what's to come???
October 7, 2021
I enjoyed reading Shane Joseph's book. It kept my attention through out. Super good!
April 21, 2010
“After the Flood” By Shane Joseph
The good, the bad, and the ugly in the new world, after the Flood.
Shane Joseph’s futuristic novel is indeed something original, and a refreshing read, when compared to other similar novels wherein the world, predictably, following a cataclysmic event is a dystopian place with a bleak future. Shane’s characters lead normal lives, much like in their earlier world, unlike the survivors in the other stories, where they have to survive in—hard to believe and imagine—shattered buildings, bleak landscapes, and face not only food shortages but genetically mutated antagonists! Herein lays the charm of Shane’s novel. The characters are real, whom we can relate with, and are drawn into their new world with all its former characteristics and inhabitants’ good, bad and ugly wishes. As noted in the Synopsis “… the human ability to create havoc through the weakness of desire is still alive and well …” This setting provides a unique opportunity to bring out the strengths and frailties of mankind, which Shane has delivered in an absorbing novel that will make us ponder our own lives for some time after closing the book.
In selecting the time period of his story, Shane, appears to have taken a page out of an ancient Mayan almanac that had ended its calendar in 2012. Hence, quite believably due to ecological changes, the flood occurs that year to cut off parts of North America from the rest of the world. Shane’s characters, through diligent hard work—typical after a disaster—have rebuilt their former city—possibly Toronto—into a city-state and named it, “Tolemac.” The choice of that name tells a lot about the story itself and is a pleasant surprise when its reason is revealed.
Characteristically, the new world also gets divided into factions of have and have-nots and those with capitalist and socialist—called Humanitarian—values. The story takes on a bit of the charming “Peyton Place” style, when strangers arrive in town. The desires and wills of the residents are tested. Some remain resolute while others succumb to temptation, which leads even to a murder. Following an absorbing trial with a satisfying conclusion, where possibly Grisham might have ended his novel, Shane’s story continues (much like a Bollywood movie) into a thrilling fourth act.
The writing and dialogue use is superb. Some of the discussions and speeches made by the contenders during the election campaign in Tolemac will remind us of our North American politicians. Shane has employed wonderful techniques and props to bring that age of the new world alive from the pages into our mind’s eye. For instance the information and communication device used by those people is called a “Communicator,” which appears to be a combined, radio, TV, PC, telephone etc, device. Could it be a future version of the latest iPad?
Shane Joseph’s novel is aptly subtitled: “A dystopian novel of hope.” To those of us who are concerned about the prospects of our World, and with the year 2012 in our minds, it will hearten us to realize that indeed there is hope for a tranquil future.
Review by Waheed Rabbani (http://tiny.cc/wrabbani)
The good, the bad, and the ugly in the new world, after the Flood.
Shane Joseph’s futuristic novel is indeed something original, and a refreshing read, when compared to other similar novels wherein the world, predictably, following a cataclysmic event is a dystopian place with a bleak future. Shane’s characters lead normal lives, much like in their earlier world, unlike the survivors in the other stories, where they have to survive in—hard to believe and imagine—shattered buildings, bleak landscapes, and face not only food shortages but genetically mutated antagonists! Herein lays the charm of Shane’s novel. The characters are real, whom we can relate with, and are drawn into their new world with all its former characteristics and inhabitants’ good, bad and ugly wishes. As noted in the Synopsis “… the human ability to create havoc through the weakness of desire is still alive and well …” This setting provides a unique opportunity to bring out the strengths and frailties of mankind, which Shane has delivered in an absorbing novel that will make us ponder our own lives for some time after closing the book.
In selecting the time period of his story, Shane, appears to have taken a page out of an ancient Mayan almanac that had ended its calendar in 2012. Hence, quite believably due to ecological changes, the flood occurs that year to cut off parts of North America from the rest of the world. Shane’s characters, through diligent hard work—typical after a disaster—have rebuilt their former city—possibly Toronto—into a city-state and named it, “Tolemac.” The choice of that name tells a lot about the story itself and is a pleasant surprise when its reason is revealed.
Characteristically, the new world also gets divided into factions of have and have-nots and those with capitalist and socialist—called Humanitarian—values. The story takes on a bit of the charming “Peyton Place” style, when strangers arrive in town. The desires and wills of the residents are tested. Some remain resolute while others succumb to temptation, which leads even to a murder. Following an absorbing trial with a satisfying conclusion, where possibly Grisham might have ended his novel, Shane’s story continues (much like a Bollywood movie) into a thrilling fourth act.
The writing and dialogue use is superb. Some of the discussions and speeches made by the contenders during the election campaign in Tolemac will remind us of our North American politicians. Shane has employed wonderful techniques and props to bring that age of the new world alive from the pages into our mind’s eye. For instance the information and communication device used by those people is called a “Communicator,” which appears to be a combined, radio, TV, PC, telephone etc, device. Could it be a future version of the latest iPad?
Shane Joseph’s novel is aptly subtitled: “A dystopian novel of hope.” To those of us who are concerned about the prospects of our World, and with the year 2012 in our minds, it will hearten us to realize that indeed there is hope for a tranquil future.
Review by Waheed Rabbani (http://tiny.cc/wrabbani)
November 11, 2010
This is my second go around on this book and I am picking up more associations and details from the book. Shane Joseph has included a good readers guide that is worth looking at. In fact after reflecting on some of the questions I decided to re-read the book. Here is one question I thought about:
2. In his Author’s Note, Joseph disclaims that this is a work of science fiction. Would you agree? If not, why?
While there are some allusions to future technological advances such as the ubiquitous “communicator” device (sounds like an iPad to me), the emphasis on science per se is minimal. After the Flood is more of a cautionary tale regarding human propensities that lead to the misuse of our creations, our communities and our conceptualities.
A good parallel may be the Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) that place future speculation in the context of theological, ethical and moral categories. One also thinks of the original Mary Shelly's Frankenstein warning against Prometheanism in science. The broader class of Speculative Fiction might well be applied to After the Flood, so as not to constrict its genre too rigidly.
2. In his Author’s Note, Joseph disclaims that this is a work of science fiction. Would you agree? If not, why?
While there are some allusions to future technological advances such as the ubiquitous “communicator” device (sounds like an iPad to me), the emphasis on science per se is minimal. After the Flood is more of a cautionary tale regarding human propensities that lead to the misuse of our creations, our communities and our conceptualities.
A good parallel may be the Space Trilogy of C.S. Lewis (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength) that place future speculation in the context of theological, ethical and moral categories. One also thinks of the original Mary Shelly's Frankenstein warning against Prometheanism in science. The broader class of Speculative Fiction might well be applied to After the Flood, so as not to constrict its genre too rigidly.
July 26, 2010
What would happen if a cataclysmic event destroyed the world as we know it leaving remnants of the population to start over? That is by no means a new question but Shane Joseph gives it an interesting new spin in “After the Flood”.
His post-flood world is a fragmented one where contrasting societies emerge in different parts of North America separated physically and symbolically by water. The city-state Tolemac has reverted to fundamentalist principles. On the other side of the scale, New Eden embraces unbridled capitalism. Will one prevail over the other?
Shane Joseph takes you on an intriguing ride through the evolution of Tolemac and the pendulum of human behaviour that threatens its ideals. The flood may have changed the landscape but the Tolemacians are not so different from you and I.
“After the Flood” reminds us that we have personal choices to make that have implications far beyond our own lives. It is a thought provoking and enlightening read. I highly recommend it.
Michael Dyet
Author of "Until the Deep Water Stills: An Internet-enhanced Novel"
His post-flood world is a fragmented one where contrasting societies emerge in different parts of North America separated physically and symbolically by water. The city-state Tolemac has reverted to fundamentalist principles. On the other side of the scale, New Eden embraces unbridled capitalism. Will one prevail over the other?
Shane Joseph takes you on an intriguing ride through the evolution of Tolemac and the pendulum of human behaviour that threatens its ideals. The flood may have changed the landscape but the Tolemacians are not so different from you and I.
“After the Flood” reminds us that we have personal choices to make that have implications far beyond our own lives. It is a thought provoking and enlightening read. I highly recommend it.
Michael Dyet
Author of "Until the Deep Water Stills: An Internet-enhanced Novel"
March 8, 2011
I liked it but, at first, I found it hard to relate to it...haven't figured out why yet. I especially liked the last part told from David's point of view.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews