Aftertime (Aftertime, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Dec 08, 2010 Alisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ac-g, favorites

Rating: 4.5 (June 2011 Note: Really, it's a 5 star and favorite book. I just don't like changing ratings after I've posted the review; should've given the rating more thought before finalizing, but oh, well!)

Quick Take: This book had my pulse racing for much of the time I spent reading it. The lush visuals, the emotions, the mystery and (of course) the high chill-factor made this an absolutely wonderful read. I was so spooked and unnerved, but absolutely could not tear my eyes from the page.

Rev ...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Laura Lulu rated it liked it

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, i-own, zombies, dark

Eh, 3.5 stars. I liked it, I loved the world building, I like Cass, I feel her pain, but I think I might have liked her more, and felt her pain a bit more personally if it had been written in 1st person, rather than third.

But what really kept me from giving it 4 stars was Smoke. I wanted to like him, I'm always a sucker for the stoic martyr hero, but he just felt so one-dimensional--I'm hoping he gets waaaaay more fleshed out in the second book. Which I'm starting now. So I did like it, but I d ...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Lisarenee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dystopian

n the distant future....

"This ain't the apocalypse, buddy, we already done lived through that."

First, there was The Siege. Some referred to it as the apocalypse. A set of bioterrorist attacks which wiped out every major food crop and most of the livestock.

Next, there was the keysev. One of the last things the government did before it fell was to drop keysev all over the nation. The plant was a product of bioengineering and said to have enough nutrition that you could live off it. Unfortunately, n the distant future....

"This ain't the apocalypse, buddy, we already done lived through that."

First, there was The Siege. Some referred to it as the apocalypse. A set of bioterrorist attacks which wiped out every major food crop and most of the livestock.

Next, there was the keysev. One of the last things the government did before it fell was to drop keysev all over the nation. The plant was a product of bioengineering and said to have enough nutrition that you could live off it. Unfortunately, one of the last batches to be dropped in California was found to be tainted. The tainted crop, known as blueleaf, made people ill with fever and, if they survived, made them crave undamaged flesh. They are referred to as Beaters, but you and I would probably call them as zombies.

The world prior to The Siege is referred to as "Before". The time period after The Siege is referred to as "Aftertime". Hence, the name for the book.

"Before", in her first life, Cass Dollar was a recovering alcoholic attempting to get her daughter back. That was when The Siege occurred. Her life was not a happy one. She'd suffered from abuse and continued to abuse herself in various ways until she lost her daughter. That was when she decided to turn her life around so she could get her daughter back. She was well on her way when the Siege hit. Later, in the "Aftertime", she regained her daughter only to lose her once again when Cass was brutally attacked and kidnapped by Beaters. When the fever broke she had no memory of what had happened and walked around in a daze before she met other "citizens". The only things on her mind now is to survive and find her daughter. That is where this story begins.

I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. Firstly, I love the fact we don't have an innocent and perfect heroine. Let's face it most of the books today tend to have these perfect, flawless heroines. I love the fact that Cass is flawed and struggling with some inner demons. Secondly, I love dystopian novels and when you through a bunch of zombies into the fray, well, that makes it all the more fun. Thirdly, there's a dash a romance here. Perhaps not the slow moving kind that some would enjoy, but let's face it if you don't know if today is your last day (yes, I'm starting to sound like a Nickelback song) would taking it slow be on your number one list of things to do? I think not. ...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Netanella rated it it was amazing

Shelves: post-apocalyptic, zombies

Awesome good read, well worth above a 5-star rating if I could do so. I'm a fan of zombie fiction, so no surprise here, but Littlefield takes the genre, and with her own superb writing style, adds her own take. The world is ravaged by biological terrorism that has killed whole species of plants and animals and created zombie-like Beaters of most of humanity. Our main character is a deeply flawed recovering alcoholic and former prostitute who's somehow recovered from being turned into a Beater he ...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Jen (jlkish) rated it liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, zombies

Unfortunately, I think my enjoyment of this particular book suffered because my hopes had been set so high from advance reviews I had read. The story itself was interesting, and moved at a good pace, but I just didn't "click" with the main characters at all, so wasn't all that interested in seeing how they maneuvered through the obstacles the story presented. ...more

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