After the Fall - by Edward Ashton (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Part alien invasion story, part buddy comedy, and part workplace satire, After The Fall by Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (inspiration for the film Mickey 17), asks an important question: would humans really make great pets? Humans must be silent. Humans must be obedient. Humans must be good. All his life, John has tried to live by those rules. Most days, it's not too difficult. A hundred and twenty years after The Fall, and a hundred years after the grays swept in to pick the last dregs of humanity out of the wreckage of a ruined world, John has found himself bonded to Martok Barden nee Black Hand, one of the "good" grays. Sure, Martok is broke, homeless, and borderline manic, but he's always treated John like an actual person, and sometimes like a friend. It's a better deal than most humans get. But when Martok puts John's bond up as collateral against an abandoned house in the woods that he hopes to turn into a wilderness retreat for wealthy grays, John learns that there are limits to Martok's friendship. Soon he finds himself caught between an underworld boss who thinks Martok is something that he very much is not, a girl who was raised by feral humans and has nothing but contempt for pets like John, and Martok himself, whose delusions of grandeur seem to be finally catching up with him. Also, not for nothing, something in the woods has been killing people"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Part alien invasion story, part buddy comedy, and part workplace satire, After The Fall by Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (inspiration for the film Mickey 17), asks an important question: would humans really make great pets?

Humans must be silent. Humans must be obedient. Humans must be good.

All his life, John has tried to live by those rules. Most days, it's not too difficult. A hundred and twenty years after The Fall, and a hundred years after the grays swept in to pick the last dregs of humanity out of the wreckage of a ruined world, John has found himself bonded to Martok Barden nee Black Hand, one of the "good" grays. Sure, Martok is broke, homeless, and borderline manic, but he's always treated John like an actual person, and sometimes like a friend. It's a better deal than most humans get.

But when Martok puts John's bond up as collateral against an abandoned house in the woods that he hopes to turn into a wilderness retreat for wealthy grays, John learns that there are limits to Martok's friendship. Soon he finds himself caught between an underworld boss who thinks Martok is something that he very much is not, a girl who was raised by feral humans and has nothing but contempt for pets like John, and Martok himself, whose delusions of grandeur seem to be finally catching up with him.

Also, not for nothing, something in the woods has been killing people.

John has sixty days before Martok's loan comes due to unravel the mystery of how humans wound up holding the wrong end of the domestication stick and find a way to turn Martok's half-baked plans into profit enough to buy back his life, all while avoiding getting butchered by feral humans or having his head crushed by an angry gray. Easy peasy, right?

Review Quotes

"Combining two classic sci-fi tropes into one thoughtful, compelling story, Ashton's postapocalyptic alien invasion scenario tells a tale of survival and hope against all odds." --Library Journal

" Funny, thought-provoking, deftly crafted, and possessed of a surprising intimacy." --Locus

"Ashton's world-building is flawless, and his characters are delightful... With its unique take on the post-apocalyptic, alien-invasion themes and the unusual, sometimes buddy-comedy style relationship between its lead characters, the book will have Ashton's regular readers cheering, and it'll send newcomers looking for more books by this one-of-a-kind storyteller." --Booklist

"If John Steinbeck had written a novel of a post-alien invasion, it might very well look like Edward Ashton's After The Fall. It is a story of struggling to survive by wit, luck, and dogged determination. It is also equally as harrowing as it is hilarious--a balancing act that few dare try and even fewer can pull off. I didn't want the book to end. I would've happily followed John and Martok anywhere. I miss them already." --James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Moonfall Saga

"Incredibly entertaining. Funny... and so, so smart." --Lev Grossman, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Magicians Trilogy and The Bright Sword

"The best buddy road trip dramedy about a guy and his bumbling alien overlord you'll read all year. Bad decisions and deep existential questions co-exist on this thoroughly enjoyable quest to build a true found family--and maybe even a new sort of civilization." --Tina Connolly, Hugo-nominated author of Ironskin

"Enormously engaging. Ashton carefully pieces together a fascinating world full of entertaining characters and intriguing mysteries." --Adrian Tchaikovsky, Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author

Additional praise for Edward Ashton:

"Humor, interspecies diplomacy, and unexpected alliances enliven this zippy sci-fi romp... Ashton strikes an impressive balance of humor, action, and thought-provoking sci-fi concepts. It's a lot of fun watching his eccentric characters navigate sticky situations." --Publishers Weekly on The Fourth Consort

"This is a deep surprise of a story as it contemplates the perils and pitfalls of communication and the difficulty of reaching anything like understanding with a species with which one shares few if any frames of reference. Readers who found the struggle to communicate in Ray Nayler's The Mountain in the Sea will enjoy... [and] fans of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok" will find this to be a familiar and similarly complex and heartbreaking tale." --Library Journal (starred) on The Fourth Consort

"Ashton excels at creating compelling characters. Especially impressive is how believable his different alien races are: Each has its own culture and motivations, and they all make sense... Speculative fiction is a lens for us to reflect upon ourselves in interesting ways, and this is ultimately a delightful examination of what it means to be human." --Booklist on The Fourth Consort

"Reminiscent of the movie Enemy Mine (1985) and Alan Dean Foster's novel Nor Crystal Tears (1982)--but much cozier... Light and enjoyable, it's less about galactic intrigue and more about a man realizing where he stands in the universe." --The Wall Street Journal on The Fourth Consort

"Sci-fi readers will be drawn in by the inventive premise and stick around for the plucky narrator." --Publishers Weekly on Mickey7

"Mickey7 is a smart philosophical satire masquerading as an adventure novel." --New York Journal of Books

"The fun [in reading Mickey7] is trying to keep up with Mr. Ashton's twists and turns, and the extra fun is that you never do." --The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

EDWARD ASHTON is the author of the novels Three Days in April, The End of Ordinary, Mickey7, Antimatter Blues, and Mal Goes to War, as well as of short stories which have appeared in venues ranging from the newsletter of an Italian sausage company to Escape Pod, Analog, and Fireside Fiction. He lives in upstate New York in a cabin in the woods (not that cabin in the woods) with his wife, a variable number of daughters, and an adorably mopey dog named Max.