World After
by Susan Ee
320 Pages
Published by Skyscape, November 19, 2013
Genre: Horror, Zombies, Apocalyptic, Humor
In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world. When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.
Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?
First of all, I would just like to say Angel Fall by Susan Ee (The first book in series) was a fantastic read, a great story, well-paced and it had me coming back for more. Hence why I read World After, the second book in the Penryn and The End of Days series.
I warn you now there will be spoilers in this review so if you plan on reading Angel Fall stop reading this review now.
World After follows directly where Angel Fall left off with our hero Penryn on her way to a human resistance camp in an apocalyptic world under attack from Angels. Meanwhile Raffe, her Angel companion through mutual gain, is off into the sky with a brand new pair of demon wings he didn't want. I love Susan’s imagination.
World After adds some more world building to the series, which great because the mythology surrounding the Angels and events which led to the downfall of civilization are fascinating and essential to the story. What I particular like about this book are the Angels, they aren't the peaceful creatures of God, they are more like Viking warriors crossed with serial killers. Charming, intelligent and have a weakness for bloodlust.
World After doesn't offer much in the way of character development for Penryn but there isn't a need for it. She was the focus of the first book and the reader has come to know her very well. A great piece of character development in this book was Penryn’s sister Paige. We find out what happened to Paige during Angel Fall after she was kidnapped by Angels and we learn some very interesting things about the young girl who has now transformed into something very different. The return of other great characters like Dum and Dee the twins who offer some light humor to the story and Penryn’s mother who offer some insanity and bizarre violence which is always entertaining to say the least.
Now for the downfall of this book. It is clearly a stepping stone to Susan Ee’s next book in the series. The ending did not feel like an ending, it felt like a chapter in the middle of the story. It left me with the feeling that I wanted more but not in the same urgency as the first book did.
Overall I would recommend this book/series to all readers. It is perfect for Young adult and adult readers. It is an easy read, well-paced and entertaining throughout.
About the Reviewer:Sam Campbell co-authored Red Dust, a series of zombie western short stories. To read more about Sam's work, read The Bookie Monster's review of Red Dust.
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