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After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall: Finished Reading **SPOILERS**
By Candiss · 10 posts · 24 views
By Candiss · 10 posts · 24 views
last updated Dec 20, 2016 10:26PM
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall: Roll Call & First Impressions **NO SPOILERS**
By Candiss · 6 posts · 15 views
By Candiss · 6 posts · 15 views
last updated Dec 06, 2016 11:50AM
What are you reading in February 2019?
By Shel , Moderator · 33 posts · 46 views
last updated Feb 28, 2019 07:27AM
What Members Thought
After a world-wide catastrophe (or series of catastrophes), only a few humans survive. They are trapped inside a bunker, with sufficient water, air and food (unvaried though it may be) but too much genetic damage to continue the human race. In hopes of keeping their species going, they start traveling into the past and kidnapping the healthy babies they find. This part of the story is told through the eyes of Pete, a rather stupid teenager who was born in the bunker and views the world of the pa
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Nancy Kress has put together an interesting and frightening book about what we as humans are doing to the Earth. The theme is woven into the story but the words “we did it to ourselves” do not appear until the very end of the book.
I usually have problems with books that flash back and forth in time but in After, Before and During the Fall that format works exceedingly well. By flashing back and forth the entire story is told in just 189 pages. We get to see life in 2035 and the contract with li ...more
This novel is pretty much summed up by the title. As always with apocalyptic books, and especially near-future ones, I was terrifically disturbed by the premise. Kress did a great job of weaving timelines and characters. I loved the structure; she managed to create suspense despite telling us the (almost) end right in the title. She is a master of structure and pacing, and she literally wrote the book on beginnings and endings. A moving cautionary tale.
As an aside, the descriptions of Pete remin ...more
As an aside, the descriptions of Pete remin ...more
'lab rat literature' is a subgenre of Science Fiction. Take a small group of strangers, enclose them in limited space, add various puzzles and challenges without user guides. Then, watch the emotional games. Kress does this well, and BTFDTFATF was a can't put down read. There was not a single idea in the novel that had not been done many times before by many other authors. Reminded me of Benford's Tmescape, for example. Kress wrote a short story, The Kindness of Strangers, also excellent and had
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In the year 2035, all that’s remaining of humanity is a group of twenty-six people who live in the Shell, an enclosure built two decades ago by the alien race known as the Tesslies when an environmental cataclysm made our world uninhabitable. The six genetically mutated children who were born inside the Shell are mankind’s final hope of survival, also because they are the only ones who can use the Tesslie technology known as the “Grab”: a brief ten minute trip back into the time before the Earth
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John’s complete 3.5 star review for:
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall (ARC edition) is available at Layers of Thought.
Here is a brief summary:
A twisted science fiction morality tale set in the near future containing a strong ecological theme – or maybe it should be considered an ecological warning. ...more
After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall (ARC edition) is available at Layers of Thought.
Here is a brief summary:
A twisted science fiction morality tale set in the near future containing a strong ecological theme – or maybe it should be considered an ecological warning. ...more
I liked how the characters were drawn, and the gradual reveal of life in the Shell.
The interludes that described environmental changes didn't quite work for me -- they should have been ominous, but instead they were just repetitive.
What really irritated me was (view spoiler) ...more
The interludes that described environmental changes didn't quite work for me -- they should have been ominous, but instead they were just repetitive.
What really irritated me was (view spoiler) ...more
Sigh, I'm somewhat disappointed in this. While I liked the way the apocalypse played out, the entire exercise felt familiar, and the characters were just not compelling enough for me. Pete was pretty insufferable, and Julia's narrative never really came together fully. The writing style didn't work for me as well - at times too clinical, at times attempting to be more casual, but failing. I did like the framework of the story, and the way that it was told, but this novella just didn't hit the ri
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I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I did figure out what was happening before the very satisfying ending...
Mar 06, 2012
Shanshad Whelan
marked it as to-read
Jul 08, 2012
Retta F
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Kelly Flanagan
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May 29, 2015
Banner
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Jul 12, 2015
Tipper
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Aug 15, 2015
Steve
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Nov 24, 2016
Richard
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Nov 19, 2019
Carrie
marked it as to-read
