Horizon (Aftertime, #3) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Sep 03, 2011 Regina rated it really liked it

Shelves: zombie, dystopia, post-apocalyptic, arc-publisher-netgalley-edelweiss, favorite-authors

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Sophie Littlefield concludes her Aftertime trilogy in the same way she delivered parts 1 and 2 – realistically and not shying away from writing about pain and loss. This is a series that will break your heart and at the same time you will remain a fan.

Horizon begins months after Rebirth ended, there is a slight time lapse and the characters’ positions and relationships have changed. Ms. Littlefield drops the reader in to the book and there is a bit of catching up to figu Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Sophie Littlefield concludes her Aftertime trilogy in the same way she delivered parts 1 and 2 – realistically and not shying away from writing about pain and loss. This is a series that will break your heart and at the same time you will remain a fan.

Horizon begins months after Rebirth ended, there is a slight time lapse and the characters’ positions and relationships have changed. Ms. Littlefield drops the reader in to the book and there is a bit of catching up to figure out what is going on - -not a lot but some. Cass is still damaged, still struggling and still making mistakes. What Sophie Littlefield does so well in this trilogy is write characters who are in pain, who are damaged and who make decisions and act as damaged characters would. But she also writes characters who have tremendous potential – so in a nutshell that is Smoke, Dor, Sammi, Ruthie and Cass. They are all individuals who are hurting, who are damaged but who have amazing potential to overcome their past and do great things.

Once it gets going, Horizon is filled with action, drama (in the good way) and revelation after revelation. It was a treat to read. I recommend this series, especially for people who are okay with their characters starting off troubled and much less than perfect but who progress and change over the series. Cass (the main character) will make decisions and choices that feel like a betrayal, but they are real, they are raw and that is what made this series so great.

I really like the direction that Horizon went; I can see that it may upset many readers and fans of this series. But I loved it. I am warning you, that if you read ahead there will be spoilers.

Smoke was wonderful for Ruthie and Cass during the brief time they had together, but Cass never truly had him. Cass was never Smoke’s priority, he needed to save the world and atone for his past and Cass just didn’t fit into that. Dor I liked from the beginning, I liked him in Rebirth and the resolution of the story was very satisfactory, well at least in part. I understand this is a Harlequin book, but true love in how we experience it in our world now doesn’t seem to be able to fit in to Afertime. But what Dor and Cass have, makes sense. It works for them in Aftertime.

I did have some problems with this book, maybe I missed them and am open to hearing about that; but these missing elements bothered me. The storyline about Ruthie being “special” that was introduced in Rebirth was just completely dropped and not revisited. The first 30% of this book was very choppy and at times hard to follow due to the switches in points of view – new points of view that did not exist in the first two books. There were some holes in the storyline, for example how did the traveling party manage to fill all of their vehicles with gasoline? How did the walkers keep with up with the driving vehicles? For much of the end of the book, during the travel part – Ruthie was not included and then would suddenly be included; it just seemed odd, obviously Cass was caring for her during the trip and the care of a 3 year old on a foot travel into the mountains is not easy. Her absence seemed to be an oversight and well, just not complete. Why were the beaters adapting? Why wouldn’t the dangerous plant grow in the new location – if it had been spreading east that seems to imply it could survive colder climates.
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Sep 03, 2011 AH rated it really liked it

Shelves: dystopian, zombies, babr-reviews, arc-netgalley, post-apocalyptic, horror, zzread-nov-2011

Why is it that in zombie books, the humans never seem to run out of bullets?

All kidding aside, what an incredible ending to a great series! Set in a world devastated by biological warfare, the human population subsists on a plant called Kaysev. Unfortunately, the wrong strain of the plan was released and the blue-leafed variety caused people to turn into zombies. These zombies or Beaters as they are called in the book are one of the threats to our survivors.

The Beaters are not the only threat. Why is it that in zombie books, the humans never seem to run out of bullets?

All kidding aside, what an incredible ending to a great series! Set in a world devastated by biological warfare, the human population subsists on a plant called Kaysev. Unfortunately, the wrong strain of the plan was released and the blue-leafed variety caused people to turn into zombies. These zombies or Beaters as they are called in the book are one of the threats to our survivors.

The Beaters are not the only threat. Groups of survivalists abound, each with their own agendas and levels of violence. Society has become dangerous and groups of people band together for protection.
Cass and her daughter, Dor, and Smoke have hunkered down in New Eden. While the situation seems idyllic, Cass is relapsing back to her old self; her addictions have returned. Cass is not well liked by the female population of this community. She often acts selfishly and because of her addiction has become careless.

Of course, all good things come to an end and New Eden is threatened by Beaters. The small community packs up to head North with another group of settlers. The journey is long and dangerous, and their escorts are not what they seem to be.

It felt as if each character was tortured or damaged by an event in their past. Finally, those events are revealed and was I ever surprised. The ending was perfect and I did need a few tissues.
I feel the need to address the love triangle. I understand that many readers hate love triangles, but this has got to be one of the best handled love triangle I have read. Cass must choose between Smoke and Dor and she loves them both. In the end, I believe that she made a good choice.

While I enjoyed this series, there were a few things that bothered me about this book. The story is told in multiple points of view: Cass, Dor, Smoke, Sammi, and another character. The points of view are not clearly identified and I found that I had to flip back and forth to figure out whose voice was used. It made for an abrupt and distracting read. I also found Sammi’s voice to be a little annoying. I could not understand why she was so angsty, especially after the events of Rebirth.

The Aftertime series is an engaging read. I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to try Sophie Littlefield’s other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Books for a review copy of this book.

Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.

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Nov 14, 2011 Alisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

(Review originally posted for Book Lovers Inc)

Okay, so first things first. There is simply no way I can adequately convey how much this book–and by extension, this trilogy–bowled me over and amazed me. What I mean by that is that the book has so many elements and minor details and memorable bits that I would have to write an full-on essay in order to convey my thoughts.

That said, I’ll say this: Horizon was a magnificent trilogy ender. It had the elements that made the first two Aftertime books s (Review originally posted for Book Lovers Inc)

Okay, so first things first. There is simply no way I can adequately convey how much this book–and by extension, this trilogy–bowled me over and amazed me. What I mean by that is that the book has so many elements and minor details and memorable bits that I would have to write an full-on essay in order to convey my thoughts.

That said, I’ll say this: Horizon was a magnificent trilogy ender. It had the elements that made the first two Aftertime books so powerful: epic plot, grim and chilling situations, highly nuanced characters, and a solid thread of realism–the last of which is remarkable, the book’s being a post-apocalyptic paranormal tale.

This story takes up only some months after Rebirth ends (review here) and no more than a year out from the first book, Aftertime (review here). Taken together (as they must), the three stories chronicle the harrowing journey of one Cass Dollar as she struggles to survive not just the external threats of a post-apocolyptic landscape, but also the internal scars of a long, hard, traumatic life, lived when society was “Before.”

The characters, particularly Cass, don’t pretend to be heroes. They’re survivors, intensely flawed and prone to grave mistakes and inadequacies….but as Littlefield writes them, they’re beautiful–at the very least, fascinating. (Well…Sammi, the petulant teenager who has some narrative time in the book, tested my damn patience ^_^, but in truth, even her character was honest, a realistic reflection of youthful frustration and growth). The author never once shies away from putting her main cast through fairly impossible situations, and it’s something that kept my eyes glued to the page and had me thinking about the characters well after finishing the book.

This specific installment closed out the trilogy with balance and a clear connection to the books that came before it. Much of Horizon‘s strength does come from those two books, so I would highly recommend reading those first before starting this one. Horizon is full of revelations that won’t have the same impact without the context.

Along those lines, the connections between characters were so very complex, so multi-layered…the characters hurt each other, they love each other, and it’s hard to swallow sometimes but it’s real and honest. This book is not “a romance,” but the romantic elements were stellar, providing more nuance than one might find in any given book fully classified as “romance.”

As with books one and two, this story has a sharp sense of visuals that lend to a high chill factor. The zombies (“Beaters”) are back with a vengeance, and every action scene is intense, creepy, vivid. Another area where the author doesn’t shy away from detail. ^_^

Now, I originally had this book set at a rating of 4.5, owing mostly to the fact that the first quarter of the book for some reason was harder to get into, and to the fact that some of the mechanics of the tale pulled me out of the illusion a handful of times. But I couldn’t keep my rating as it was. This book deserves a five for being unique, riveting, exciting, powerful, and totally memorable. I actually went back and reread much of the trilogy right after finishing this book, because I knew any other book that I read would be a bust, through no fault of it’s own. ^_^ Compared to anything outside of the trilogy, it’s phenomenal.

If you like dystopians; if you like zombies; if you like anything that is highly intense… do yourself a favor and pick up this book and the two that precede it. Horizon is the perfect end to a perfect series that will stay with you for a very, very long time.

Note on the ARC vs. Final copy
I've seen some reviews very correctly observe a considerable amount of mechanical issues found in the ARC version of this book. I just wanted to note that I read half of the ARC, stopped due to these issues, and bought a final, post-release copy when it became available. I then read the whole final copy, and compared the two (based on notations in the ARC). The vast majority of the mechanical stuff (grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage, etc.) has been cleaned up. I wonder if a different copy editor was used, or if perhaps the editorial process was rushed, because the end product did still feel a teensy bit different from the previous books. Ultimately not a big deal, particularly in the final version of the book. But wanted to reassure those who'd read the ARC. ^_^ ...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Lisarenee rated it it was amazing

We've all got our burdens to bear. Some are worse than others. So is the case with Cass. In the Before time, Cass struggled with both an alcohol and sexual addiction. Sexually abused by her stepfather for years, she was just overcoming her addictions and coming to terms with what happened to her when the apocalypse hit. In 'Aftertime', she seemed to be recovered, but relapses are sometimes part of the course to recovery. While she didn't sink as low as she did in the Before time, Cass will need We've all got our burdens to bear. Some are worse than others. So is the case with Cass. In the Before time, Cass struggled with both an alcohol and sexual addiction. Sexually abused by her stepfather for years, she was just overcoming her addictions and coming to terms with what happened to her when the apocalypse hit. In 'Aftertime', she seemed to be recovered, but relapses are sometimes part of the course to recovery. While she didn't sink as low as she did in the Before time, Cass will need to meet her inner demons full on, and this time do it not just for her daughter. She'll need to do it for herself.

At the end of 'Rebirth', Cass and Dor managed to rescue both Smoke and Sammi from the Rebuilders. The rescue had landed everyone in a new predicament. They found themselves at the mercy of a new group of survivors whose status--friendly or hostile--was unknown. Thankfully the group, who lived in a settlement called New Eden, was well organized and welcomed them into their midst.

In 'Horizon', Cass will need to come to terms with what Smoke did and whether or not she can forgive and forget. Plus, the relationship is further complicated by what happened between her and Dor. She'll have to decide if Smoke truly is the man for her, but before that can happen, Smoke will need to come out of the coma he fell into. 'Horizon' starts up two months after 'Rebirth' left off and the Beaters are becoming smarter and their attacks more organized. Just as everyone is starting to feel like things are starting to get back to some sort of normalcy, that false feeling of security is blown to bits as the survivors are forced to run once again for their lives.

I truly love this series, and if this truly is the last book, I will be extremely sad. I love how the book was nothing like I expected and the emotional connection to the characters was so real. The threat of becoming a Beater is still a constant threat either by the bite of a Beater or the eating of blueleaf which still creeps into the gardens of the survivors.

Cass, as I stated before, has fallen off the wagon. Hurt by Smoke's betrayal and trying to deal with the fact he's in a comma, she's reverted to some of her old bad habits. She's begun drinking again, and the affair that she and Dor were supposed to end once their rescue mission was complete is still going on in secret. Cass has slowly reverted into herself and is becoming withdrawn. In 'Aftertime', she worried what she'd done in those lost days between when the Beaters dragged her off and the day she found herself aimlessly wandering on her own. That is something that still haunts her thoughts and is yet another thing that drives her to drown out some of her pain at the bottom of a bottle. In 'Horizon', we finally find out what events took place in that blocked out time period. Plus, we find out what happened to her real dad, the one who left her and her mother all those years ago.

There is so much going on in this book. New Eden is very different from the Box and Cass has a hard time adjusting. I think she's filled with guilt and self loathing and just feels like her life is out of control. The only thing that keeps her even remotely grounded is her daughter Ruthie. I love how in this book we don't only see how Cass is affected, but how the teens such as Sammi are as well. There is a lot of action and many twists, turns and surprises I didn't see coming. I loved this one as much as the first book in the series.

Why is the book titled 'Horizon'? Well, while there are several mentions of the horizon in the book, none of them truly seem to define the title. If I had to take a stab at why 'Horizon' was picked as a title, I would have guessed it was because Cass and the rest of New Eden are traveling East toward the horizon. Plus, if you look up the definition of horizon one of its definitions is 'range of perception or experience' and the perception of those from New Eden is that the East is what holds the best chance of survival. Yet, the true answer as to why the title was picked lies in the official book synopsis where it's stated, 'But she, and all of the other survivors, will fight to the death for the promise of a new horizon….' Thereby, they're looking for a new beginning like the dawn of a new day which incidentally, starts in the east with the rising of the sun and can be noted on the Horizon. I'm loving the title.

I felt it had a great blend of action and drama. If you love the series so far, I doubt you'll be disappointed. This one focused so much more on the main story then on the romance, even though there is romance intertwined throughout, that I'm opting not to rate it on my romance rating scale. Overall, this book gets 5 out of 5 roses.

Order of series:

Aftertime (Aftertime, #1) by Sophie Littlefield

Rebirth (Aftertime, #2) by Sophie Littlefield

Horizon (Aftertime, #3) by Sophie Littlefield

To read more of my reviews, please visit my blog at www.seducedbyabook.com ...more

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Mar 10, 2012 Sense361 rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, sci-fi, several-pov

This is the best post apocalyptic trilogy I have ever read. It is so grisly and so realistic, that at times it is really terrifying. But I liked the hope, I liked these not so perfect people, their development and their journey. At times it was frightening, and at times it was touching. You hope and despair together with the characters. The story is beautifully balanced and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. And I hope that you will too.

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