Afterlight Paperback – January 1, 2011

I read Last Light by Alex Scarrow and enjoyed it so much that I picked up Afterlight. Last Light was a wonderful novel based on the simple premise of what post-oil civilization would look like, telling the story of the rapid breakdown of civilization as we know it when the oil tap is turned off, through co-ordinated acts of sabotage, told through the eyes of one family. Afterlight is a worthy sequel, detailing how the family copes with the aftermath, establishing a colony of survivors on an oil rig and gradually fighting their own battle for survival before they begin to re-establish civilization. A very well written tale, with strong characters, good pacing, the various threads working well together. So, on the whole a novel I would recommend- in fact, I would recommend that anyone read both Last Light and Afterlight for a satisfying read.Being a writer myself, I don't like to get pretentious and slam any fellow writer on reviews- since I know how easy it is to criticize someone else's creation and how tough it is to create something yourself. But what I would offer up as a build to what would have made Afterlight even more complete- the dark powers behind the oil crisis aren't really revealed and we aren't told anything more about them. Even as Afterlight reaches its conclusion, the reader is left wondering what happened to them and what they are up to. If their whole plot was to take over control over the world, where are they now? Perhaps I had all these questions since I was so immeresed in the story, and perhaps Mr. Scarrow has another sequel up his sleeve to close this loop. If that's the case, count me in as someone who will read it as soon as it's out.

Author is right in the epilogue - there is a lot of post-apocalyptic movies or books focused on times right after the crash. That is why this book is so refreshing as the action happens 10 after the oil stops flowing. It presents a compelling vision of how rebuilding the world might look like. I liked the ending very much (no spoilers) and that's why this book deserved its 5 stars.

The book started off so slow that I actually put it down and started another.In previous reviews I have commented that when "bad things" happened that they happened at 10k feet. This is not the case in "Afterlight". Graphic is what you get here!The Reviewer that made an analogy to the fine BBC program "The Survivors", where the children were rewarded with video games, has a point. However, in the series the children were sent out to forage, where these kids were more reminiscent of the child soldiers in Africa, in that they are also given access to drugs, alcohol and even women.I do find it somewhat implausible in that a non military bureaucrat would succeed in not only separating the boys from the girls for his special brand of brainwashing, but also to convince 30-military and 27-police officers to simultaneously turn over their firearms for a weapons test! I mean could anyone really be that stupid?Yes, there are soapbox messages about peak oil and consumerism run amok. However, in the context of "Afterlight", it doesn't bother me as much as it might due to the simple fact that the disaster was engineered as an exercise in population control that went too far and could not be re-started.The ending was a little too neat for me and I doubt that there will be a 3rd, as the Author has a highly successful teen series.

In my review of the first book in this series, Last Light, I wrote that what followed from that story would make for more interesting material. However, in this follow-up, the author chooses to pick up the action ten years after the world ran out of oil. I was most curious about how people would pick up the pieces immediately following such an event. Scarrow does flashback throughout to show how England suffered as a result but most action takes place years later. Like the first novel, the premise is extremely frightening as is the speculation of what would happen to society.Throughout the book Scarrow lectures on materialism, commercialism, consumerism, short-sighted government planning, and the impact of 8 billion people on the environment. Ten years following the targeted terrorism that shut down refineries and its supply, a character in the novel diarizes "People no longer tucked away in isolation surrounded by an Aladdin's cave of mail-ordered possessions; no longer tapping anonymously on keyboards to an internet world of other lonely people." The author's message is a need to return to simpler values and stresses in his afterword that we cannot "go on consuming the way we're doing now".Beyond the strong messages, the book was on par with Last Light. Curiously, there seemed to be a couple of plot lines or situations closely reminiscent of episodes from the BBC's remake of The Survivors (children rewarded for certain acts by being granted video game time, a leader who who once taught history and sets up a feudal state). The ending was a little too neat but he has hooked me again...I now wonder what the survivors will do from this point forward.

item as expected and seems to be as advertised.

good plot and lively action. hope the action will continue in follow on sequals. could not put it down once I started reading.

I love it.5 dystd

I preferred the first in the post-apocalyptic duo-logy "Last Light" which was a gripping tale of what happened when the oil ran out. Afterlight picks up ten years later with the main survivors of the first book living in a community, ironically on an oil rig. Keeping out of the way to keep safe after all the looting and pillaging of the apocalypse.There are a few bits of this book that are disappointing. For instance the whole rap-gang culture parts of the hoodie thugs in the other community based in the O2 arena. It all felt a bit awkward reading it - like some racial stereo-typing that makes the reader feel uncomfortable. Every bit of the story set there made me cringe. Then Jacob and Leona setting off from safety to go and see if anyone survived in London - although Leona had an ulterior motive of wanting to go and commit suicide in their old house that their Father was murdered in during the first book (Cheerful isn't it?) - only, it just didn't tally that they would do this. There were a few other character inconsistencies that niggled too.I have to say that when I first finished the book I rated it 5 on my Kindle. Now, I come to write the full review and I think back about it, it was just all a bit silly and gets a three.

A decent enough and fast-paced post-apocolyptic tale. Easy to read, almost YA, and don't be expecting to much depth. Although the commentary on modern life provoked some thought.I've knocked off one star because there are so many things in the book that just simply wouldn't happen, or that people just wouldn't say, or that they just wouldn't do. Starting with the big one, mis-use of the term 'peak oil' as if the oil is 'running out', to the way the kids talk (some ridiculous phrases used), to being 'stoned on coke', to referring to SA80s as 'guns' with 'clips', just too many to even recollect. Not a dealbreaker but very noticeable throughout.

Following on quickly. I dove right into the aftermath of Last Light, couldn't wait to see what happened next. I'm glad I did and thoroughly enjoyed the author's imagination once more. A brilliant read!

There is so much to say about this book but finding words other then amazing, heart wrenching, heart warming, frightening, exiting and inspiring.The story and even more, the characters are so well thought out and written that you become hopelessly lost inside the rich world.There where times that I felt such involvement and an intense bond with the characters that I had to stop reading a while as I was so frightened or deviated by twists and turns in the story.There is a wider message to be had also. Not just the obvious warning of the oil age we live in but also the bonds we have with others, the way we live our lives, the choices we make. What makes a good person good, an evil person evil and where the lines between them are drawn.On a slightly lighter note due to reading this and more so 'Last Light' the first thing I think when I enter a shop is what would be looted first and where a 'good find' might be had. I have also many a thought about what my 'crash plan' would be, how would I survive and also, being deadly serious, what would I be prepared to do, how far would I go to protect my children?

An extremely two thought provoking books (Lastlight & Afterlight) and I must recommend both to any new readers of this author.