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Time of the Fairies: Afterlight, End of the World
This is the end of the world. The end of our world. What went wrong? Why do the angels, once guardians charged with our protection and safety, now hunt us to extinction? As we become fewer and fewer will the questions be answered, or lost in the fires of ritual? When all things fade in the Afterlight...What will be left of hope? Time of the Afterlight, End of the World is the first of a four part graphic novel series featuring the photographic art of J. Corsentino.
98 pages
First published July 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 10, 2011
This is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. I personally think the story was weird and very creepy. I have a difficult time trying to accept the idea of evil angels….then I have the dilemma, are they truly evil? It certainly seems so – mostly. But this series starts at the end, AND I am so eager for the next installment so I can hopefully find out what happened that brought about this bleak future.
The bombs have detonated across the world, only a small group of humans remain alive, struggling for existence in Los Angeles 2078. A few shape-shifting warriors do their best to protect the small human band. The situation truly is dire. With the world mostly depopulated, Angels – those beautiful immortal beings who once protected humanity – now must feed off the diminishing supply of energy, or life force, called Kai, from individual people; because, now, even the immortal Angels face extinction. There is one Angel who vows to fight the hunger but will her efforts be enough?
The imagination inherent in the amazing illustrations is just astounding! I read this book on my computer since I have a regular Kindle only and I wanted to experience the breath-taking beauty of the images in their full, colorful glory. This book has superlative illustrations on every page. The beautiful artwork alone will blow you away. This is the first installment in a planned series, and it is not to be missed - it promises to be an expansive new mythology that is sure to set all sorts of creative benchmarks.
This book was given to me by the Author in digital format, coordinated by Bewitching Book Tours, in return for my candid review. I am under no obligation to write a glowing or even favorable review, and I have not received any monetary compensation.
Laurie-J
The bombs have detonated across the world, only a small group of humans remain alive, struggling for existence in Los Angeles 2078. A few shape-shifting warriors do their best to protect the small human band. The situation truly is dire. With the world mostly depopulated, Angels – those beautiful immortal beings who once protected humanity – now must feed off the diminishing supply of energy, or life force, called Kai, from individual people; because, now, even the immortal Angels face extinction. There is one Angel who vows to fight the hunger but will her efforts be enough?
The imagination inherent in the amazing illustrations is just astounding! I read this book on my computer since I have a regular Kindle only and I wanted to experience the breath-taking beauty of the images in their full, colorful glory. This book has superlative illustrations on every page. The beautiful artwork alone will blow you away. This is the first installment in a planned series, and it is not to be missed - it promises to be an expansive new mythology that is sure to set all sorts of creative benchmarks.
This book was given to me by the Author in digital format, coordinated by Bewitching Book Tours, in return for my candid review. I am under no obligation to write a glowing or even favorable review, and I have not received any monetary compensation.
Laurie-J
September 14, 2011
Time of the Faeries is such an ambitious project! Congratulations, J. Corsentino for all the hard work!
The images are gracefully treated and the story is very cohesive, presenting great fantasy elements. The concept and production are satisfying together. Some of the images are a mix of photographs and heavy editing while others are illustrations with a strong photography setting. As I didn’t read this in print, I could find some editing flaws when defining the bodies of the models. I don’t know if that would be visible in print, but the eBook version can distract you with a couple of them if you’re into details.
I also found some problems with the plot. The pacing wasn’t good and the writing could be a little better. Another negative issue that bothered me was the visual edit of the text, aligns and spaces could have been better used. I believe the second part of this story won’t present such issues, as there was clearly a lot of care and dedication to it! And yes, it can be better and I have faith in it! I love how the important names stand out, it’s very important to the reader.
Time of the Faeries is an impressive artwork and incredible graphic novel. Beautifully done!
http://readingromances.wordpress.com/...
The images are gracefully treated and the story is very cohesive, presenting great fantasy elements. The concept and production are satisfying together. Some of the images are a mix of photographs and heavy editing while others are illustrations with a strong photography setting. As I didn’t read this in print, I could find some editing flaws when defining the bodies of the models. I don’t know if that would be visible in print, but the eBook version can distract you with a couple of them if you’re into details.
I also found some problems with the plot. The pacing wasn’t good and the writing could be a little better. Another negative issue that bothered me was the visual edit of the text, aligns and spaces could have been better used. I believe the second part of this story won’t present such issues, as there was clearly a lot of care and dedication to it! And yes, it can be better and I have faith in it! I love how the important names stand out, it’s very important to the reader.
Time of the Faeries is an impressive artwork and incredible graphic novel. Beautifully done!
http://readingromances.wordpress.com/...
December 11, 2011
AFTERLiGHT–End of the World by J. Corsentino is the first book of a trilogy in which humanity has found itself on the brink of extinction (or extermination) after a series of wars that have all but eliminated the human race, but there are survivors. Those who have lived through the devastation find themselves facing a new and more horrible confrontation: the angels whom people once believed were saviors are now feeding upon the last remaining humans in order to ensure their own survival, revealing the less than angelic nature of the winged women from E’ven.
While angel fiction may be getting worn around the edges lately, AFTERLiGHT: End of the World is a refreshing new take on the genre. Even better is the fact that this is a graphic novel that breaks past the barriers that usually confine most of its peers in that it incorporates artistic elements such as ethereal photographs of real people who have been digitally enhanced to include scenery, special effects, and (and in some cases) lots of skin.
AFTERLiGHT has quite a lot going for it. Simply put, the book is gorgeous. Black, glossy pages. Vibrant photos. Lovely designs. Interesting characters. Gorgeous female angels. Not to mention, it features a clever dystopic story that feels new. It’s also a nice combination of short story, picture book and graphic novel. Each page has blocks of text paired with a corresponding image(s), but not in a panel format. Instead, each page has one to two images depicting an important scene, character or event. While this isn’t a unique way to tell a story, the method is used regularly in children’s books, the eye-catching design and use of digitally enhanced photo images paired with a prose based story gives AFTERLiGHT a very grown up, next-generation feel.
The story is interesting and engaging, but I did have two small nitpicks. The first is that it struck me as odd that the angels were all scantily clad gorgeous women, wearing white shreds of cloth compared to the human men and women who were all dressed in heavy layers. I just kept wondering why the angels were reduced to wearing shredded clothing and rags. The second is that I felt like the dialog and prose could have been edited and paired down a little more in order to better complement the graphic novel structure.
The question that really hooked me in AFTERLiGHT is: Where are the male angels? What happened to them? Were the male angels in hiding? Were they stuck in E’ven? Did they send the females to earth? Were they killed? Did they never exist? Whatever the answer, it’s a question that has stayed with me, and I look forward to finding out what happened to them.
Overall, I found AFTERLiGHT’s premise and story very enjoyable. The characters were all interesting, especially Annavere who seems to be walking along the edge of light/dark. That paired with the lovely graphics made me glad to have had the opportunity to read and review this next generation graphic novel because it wasn’t something that had been on my reading radaar. It is a great start to the series, and I look forward to reading the next book.
This book was provided to me by the publisher.
While angel fiction may be getting worn around the edges lately, AFTERLiGHT: End of the World is a refreshing new take on the genre. Even better is the fact that this is a graphic novel that breaks past the barriers that usually confine most of its peers in that it incorporates artistic elements such as ethereal photographs of real people who have been digitally enhanced to include scenery, special effects, and (and in some cases) lots of skin.
AFTERLiGHT has quite a lot going for it. Simply put, the book is gorgeous. Black, glossy pages. Vibrant photos. Lovely designs. Interesting characters. Gorgeous female angels. Not to mention, it features a clever dystopic story that feels new. It’s also a nice combination of short story, picture book and graphic novel. Each page has blocks of text paired with a corresponding image(s), but not in a panel format. Instead, each page has one to two images depicting an important scene, character or event. While this isn’t a unique way to tell a story, the method is used regularly in children’s books, the eye-catching design and use of digitally enhanced photo images paired with a prose based story gives AFTERLiGHT a very grown up, next-generation feel.
The story is interesting and engaging, but I did have two small nitpicks. The first is that it struck me as odd that the angels were all scantily clad gorgeous women, wearing white shreds of cloth compared to the human men and women who were all dressed in heavy layers. I just kept wondering why the angels were reduced to wearing shredded clothing and rags. The second is that I felt like the dialog and prose could have been edited and paired down a little more in order to better complement the graphic novel structure.
The question that really hooked me in AFTERLiGHT is: Where are the male angels? What happened to them? Were the male angels in hiding? Were they stuck in E’ven? Did they send the females to earth? Were they killed? Did they never exist? Whatever the answer, it’s a question that has stayed with me, and I look forward to finding out what happened to them.
Overall, I found AFTERLiGHT’s premise and story very enjoyable. The characters were all interesting, especially Annavere who seems to be walking along the edge of light/dark. That paired with the lovely graphics made me glad to have had the opportunity to read and review this next generation graphic novel because it wasn’t something that had been on my reading radaar. It is a great start to the series, and I look forward to reading the next book.
This book was provided to me by the publisher.
December 26, 2011
I asked for this book for Christmas a few years ago because I absolutely loved the cover and what I saw of the illustration throughout. I finally got a chance to sit down and read it and was a bit disappointed. All of it is okay but the pictures throughout don’t really do much to enhance the story which is a pity because a lot of the pictures are pretty neat.
This is the start of a story that talks about the downfall of humanity and its redemption by Angels. However when the humans fail to make a great comback, and the life force on earth dwindles, the Angels are forced to feed on human life force. As the angels drive humanity to extinction one of them, an Angel named Halyon, thinks that maybe the angels are wrong.
The illustration throughout is basically a bunch of photography of models souped up with photoshop to look really cool. It is very pretty and neat to look at. However absolutely everyone featured is a super hot looking model type with heaving cleavage (well not the couple guys in here but the rest). Which normally I wouldn’t mind except that these images contradict the story a lot.
So as mentioned there is a lot of contradiction both between the illustration and the story itself. In the prologue it talks about how none of the structure humans built are left standing anymore, then it goes on to deal with a tribe of angels who is squatting in the skyscrapers of LA. I mean...uh..okay...didn’t you just say that none of these buildings were left?
It goes on like this. For examples one of the female character is described as having “a face that looks like it’s been under one too many engine blocks. Guns are strapped across her frame.” and then the picture shown is of this super hot scantily clad chick with absolutely no weaponry (she barely has a top on at all). The whole book is plagued with weird inconsistencies like that.
After the Foreword by the author talking about the seven year effort it took to put this together I was left confused. The whole thing seems a bit slapped together and awkward.
Overall okay but flawed. I liked the pretty pictures, I liked the idea behind that story. However in the end there were a lot of inconsistencies and the writing was pretty poor. This is more of a lookbook than anything. I wouldn’t recommend picking this up...it just felt too unfinished and cobbled together.
This is the start of a story that talks about the downfall of humanity and its redemption by Angels. However when the humans fail to make a great comback, and the life force on earth dwindles, the Angels are forced to feed on human life force. As the angels drive humanity to extinction one of them, an Angel named Halyon, thinks that maybe the angels are wrong.
The illustration throughout is basically a bunch of photography of models souped up with photoshop to look really cool. It is very pretty and neat to look at. However absolutely everyone featured is a super hot looking model type with heaving cleavage (well not the couple guys in here but the rest). Which normally I wouldn’t mind except that these images contradict the story a lot.
So as mentioned there is a lot of contradiction both between the illustration and the story itself. In the prologue it talks about how none of the structure humans built are left standing anymore, then it goes on to deal with a tribe of angels who is squatting in the skyscrapers of LA. I mean...uh..okay...didn’t you just say that none of these buildings were left?
It goes on like this. For examples one of the female character is described as having “a face that looks like it’s been under one too many engine blocks. Guns are strapped across her frame.” and then the picture shown is of this super hot scantily clad chick with absolutely no weaponry (she barely has a top on at all). The whole book is plagued with weird inconsistencies like that.
After the Foreword by the author talking about the seven year effort it took to put this together I was left confused. The whole thing seems a bit slapped together and awkward.
Overall okay but flawed. I liked the pretty pictures, I liked the idea behind that story. However in the end there were a lot of inconsistencies and the writing was pretty poor. This is more of a lookbook than anything. I wouldn’t recommend picking this up...it just felt too unfinished and cobbled together.
November 1, 2011
Review by Patti: I was pleasantly surprised and thought that this book was intriguing. I usually do not read graphic novels and never understood why they were so popular. Reading this book has definitely changed my perception. I thought a graphic novel was similar to a comic book but this is so much more beautiful and intellectual. I haven’t read any other graphic novels so I am not sure how this would compare to others but I did enjoy it. I also enjoyed the story but the artwork was so striking that I felt like I melted into the scenes on the pages. The artwork is amazing and for me that was the bigger draw.
The story itself presents an interesting twist on what angels could be to us and to the world. The story takes place in the future, the angels believe they need to kill all of the humans left on the planet for them to survive and return to E’even. There were a few times when I had to page back and clarify what I was reading and once I actually had to consult a dictionary. The story is interesting and I am looking forward to reading the next book. In doing some internet searching I discovered another book that has the same name of “Time of the Fairies” it was published in 2007 and I believe I should read it. I believe it may be a prequel that will answer a few questions I have. I am captivated with some of the characters enough to care what is going to happen in the next book.
It is a dark and sometimes disturbing story and from what I read I don’t think I would even say I could guarantee a happy ending after the series is over. I am glad to have had the opportunity to have read Afterlight but I would definitely only recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy but not necessarily to someone looking for a HEA because that remains unknown at this point in the telling.
Favorite Quote: Do you want the BBC or American version?
Uh, American?
“Alright then. Be scared. The winged menace has arrived, they know we’re here, and they will not stop until every last one of us is dead. Attack is imminent, and death is probable. And now for some commercials!” Raph barks a short, mirthless laugh. “Funny thing is the BBC version is pretty much the same, it just uses the word threat instead of menace.”
The story itself presents an interesting twist on what angels could be to us and to the world. The story takes place in the future, the angels believe they need to kill all of the humans left on the planet for them to survive and return to E’even. There were a few times when I had to page back and clarify what I was reading and once I actually had to consult a dictionary. The story is interesting and I am looking forward to reading the next book. In doing some internet searching I discovered another book that has the same name of “Time of the Fairies” it was published in 2007 and I believe I should read it. I believe it may be a prequel that will answer a few questions I have. I am captivated with some of the characters enough to care what is going to happen in the next book.
It is a dark and sometimes disturbing story and from what I read I don’t think I would even say I could guarantee a happy ending after the series is over. I am glad to have had the opportunity to have read Afterlight but I would definitely only recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy but not necessarily to someone looking for a HEA because that remains unknown at this point in the telling.
Favorite Quote: Do you want the BBC or American version?
Uh, American?
“Alright then. Be scared. The winged menace has arrived, they know we’re here, and they will not stop until every last one of us is dead. Attack is imminent, and death is probable. And now for some commercials!” Raph barks a short, mirthless laugh. “Funny thing is the BBC version is pretty much the same, it just uses the word threat instead of menace.”
December 12, 2011
Time of the Faeries: Afterlight, End of the World is lush, splendid, gorgeous. It's like nothing I've read before. I can observe how much effort Corsentino has put into creating this breathtaking, detailed graphic novel.
Corsentino's artworks are gorgeously detailed, where he views himself on stage narrating a story about the end of the world, where the Faeries discover that they are no longer immortal, and finally revert to the forbidden way of sucking humas' Kai (energy) to sustain their lives and return to E'ven. Thus, a battle between the beautiful, unearthly winged creatures and the desperate humans begins.
There is a striking contrast between the text and the background colors which are usually a darker shade to suit the atmosphere of the story, which makes it easier for the readers. Without using the usual borders and grids, Corsentino creates a great experience for the readers as we wander through his imaginary world filled with with Kai-sucking, predatory faeries and a few pitiful groups of humans who are desperately fighting for survival.
Done with the visual arts... now I'm commenting on the writing. The story starts with a prologue which, while giving the readers an idea of what is happening, is a little too long and has too much information cramped together that I have to reread the whole passage again to understand it better. It would be better if the prologue is short and simple, giving readers just enough information to pique their interest.
Although the book portrays a world which is damaged beyond repair, with traces of civilization wiped out and humans on the brink of extinction, the author did offer a glimmer of hope to the humans in the form of a lone faery, Haylon who ponders the possibility that what her sisters are doing - killing humans - is wrong. Will she submit to hunger and carry out the faeries' barbaric, inhumane acts? Or will she betray her own kind to assist the humans?
Time of the Faeries: Afterlight, End of the World is a dark, exciting journey to a futuristic world which is slowly stepping towards a seemingly unstoppable annihilation. Reading this book is certainly a one-of-a-kind experience - one which is very much appreciated.
Corsentino's artworks are gorgeously detailed, where he views himself on stage narrating a story about the end of the world, where the Faeries discover that they are no longer immortal, and finally revert to the forbidden way of sucking humas' Kai (energy) to sustain their lives and return to E'ven. Thus, a battle between the beautiful, unearthly winged creatures and the desperate humans begins.
There is a striking contrast between the text and the background colors which are usually a darker shade to suit the atmosphere of the story, which makes it easier for the readers. Without using the usual borders and grids, Corsentino creates a great experience for the readers as we wander through his imaginary world filled with with Kai-sucking, predatory faeries and a few pitiful groups of humans who are desperately fighting for survival.
Done with the visual arts... now I'm commenting on the writing. The story starts with a prologue which, while giving the readers an idea of what is happening, is a little too long and has too much information cramped together that I have to reread the whole passage again to understand it better. It would be better if the prologue is short and simple, giving readers just enough information to pique their interest.
Although the book portrays a world which is damaged beyond repair, with traces of civilization wiped out and humans on the brink of extinction, the author did offer a glimmer of hope to the humans in the form of a lone faery, Haylon who ponders the possibility that what her sisters are doing - killing humans - is wrong. Will she submit to hunger and carry out the faeries' barbaric, inhumane acts? Or will she betray her own kind to assist the humans?
Time of the Faeries: Afterlight, End of the World is a dark, exciting journey to a futuristic world which is slowly stepping towards a seemingly unstoppable annihilation. Reading this book is certainly a one-of-a-kind experience - one which is very much appreciated.
October 3, 2011
Time of the Faeries is a stunning book. The photographic illustrations are incredible - I can't imagine the hours spent photographing, editing, Photoshopping and tweaking these photos to get the amazing effect. Then to think that this is only the first book in this series - what an ambitious project! The dark tones and moody lighting of the photos perfectly reflect the dark and bleak story being told.
I found that I loved savouring this book and the pictures. The story was engaging, but I wanted more. I could see that Corsentino was building the post-apocolyptic world and how it got that way in this installment. There was a lot of description, which I am hoping is world building and that there will be more interaction in the next installments.
One of my biggest complaints was the actual text. I received this is digital form and read it on my computer to get the best effect - an ereader would never do this book justice - but in making the text look worn and weathered, it was also difficult to read at times. This completely stopped the flow of my reading in several places. Hopefully, this is not an issue in the print copy.
The imagination displayed in this story is different and rich - it is the year 2078 and the Angels are killing off the last of the humans because the Angels believe they need the human's energy to survive. It is interesting to cast the Angels in such a negative light, and to show humans as their victims and I love it when people create new mythologies. I look forward to seeing how the Faeries fit into all of this.
I would recomend this book for those who like graphic novels and for those who like fantasy and are looking for something very visual. This is not a chidren's book, however, and is probably best suited for young adult and adult readers.
I found that I loved savouring this book and the pictures. The story was engaging, but I wanted more. I could see that Corsentino was building the post-apocolyptic world and how it got that way in this installment. There was a lot of description, which I am hoping is world building and that there will be more interaction in the next installments.
One of my biggest complaints was the actual text. I received this is digital form and read it on my computer to get the best effect - an ereader would never do this book justice - but in making the text look worn and weathered, it was also difficult to read at times. This completely stopped the flow of my reading in several places. Hopefully, this is not an issue in the print copy.
The imagination displayed in this story is different and rich - it is the year 2078 and the Angels are killing off the last of the humans because the Angels believe they need the human's energy to survive. It is interesting to cast the Angels in such a negative light, and to show humans as their victims and I love it when people create new mythologies. I look forward to seeing how the Faeries fit into all of this.
I would recomend this book for those who like graphic novels and for those who like fantasy and are looking for something very visual. This is not a chidren's book, however, and is probably best suited for young adult and adult readers.
August 27, 2011
To read my review go to:
http://www.romancing-the-book.com/201...
http://www.romancing-the-book.com/201...
April 17, 2012
Love all kinds of fairy art!
Want to Read
July 16, 2012feel like reading good fiction.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews