The meek have not inherited the earth.

The world isn’t how they left it. When the bunker airlocks release them after twenty years in hibernation, the survivors find a silent, barren world outside. But they are not alone. There is a presence here, alive in the dust—spirits of the earth, benevolent and malicious as they interact with the human remnant.

Milton is haunted by a violent past he’s unable to escape, despite the superhuman speed the spirits give him.

Not interested in bearing the next generation, Daiyna is determined to destroy the flesh-eating mutants lurking in the dark, pierced by her night-vision.

Luther is a man of conviction who believes the Creator has offered humankind a second chance, yet he’s uncertain they deserve it—and he’s perplexed by the talons that flex out of his fingers.

Willard is a brilliant engineer-turned-soldier who refuses to leave his bunker, afraid of becoming infected and willing to destroy any obstacle in his way.

As their lives collide, the mysteries of this strange new world start unraveling, culminating in the ultimate life-or-death decision one survivor will make for them all.

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from the author. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

After the Sky is about various characters 20 years after an apocalyptic event. They were chosen to stay in different bunkers for their skills that would be needed after the All Clear. Well, skills or procreation. It’s told from the view of some of those characters which made it helpful knowing what they were thinking.

It begins with Milton who is the only person left in his bunker. He is sure others survived, so he starts walking, and he is eventually saved by Daiyna. They’re the two most important people in the story, but there are many more.

I liked most of the characters. The only one I really disliked, besides the zombies, was Willard. Although he’s in power, he is a weak coward. Seeing things from his POV was interesting but didn’t make me like him any more.

There are a couple of twists that make After the Sky unique, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

About the Author

Milo James Fowler is a teacher by day and a speculative fictioneer by night. When he’s not grading papers, he’s imagining what life might be like in a dozen alternate realities. So far, his fiction has appeared in more than 150 publications, including AE SciFi, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Cosmos, Daily Science Fiction, Nature, and Shimmer.