I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
World After by Susan Ee Published by Skyscape on November 19th, 2013
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, YA
Goodreads
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?
Ah, my dear bookish folks! Where do I begin?! You all know by now that I’m a little obsessed…ok a lot, OBSESSED with Angelfall by Susan Ee. It’s just so amazingly epic! So, in an effort to keep this review on track I’ve recorded a vlog! Just hit play!
Ok scratch that last part. I had a vlog all recorded and edited and pretty just for my Mac to say “Girl I don’t have no space for that!”. So now I must revert to just writing a review which scares me since there is no way that will do this amazing book justice. Let it begin!
I read Angelfall in March of 2012. MARCH OF 2012 PEOPLE! Which means I had to wait a year and a half to get my grubby little hands on World After. A year and a half to experience the perfection that is Penryn and Raffe. A year and a half to flail, die, come back then flail and die again. I thought there was no way World After could possibly live up to my ridiculous expectations, and I prepared myself to be let down. Seriously. I went and grab one of those tiny, yet adorable tubs of Häagen-Daz and settled in for my heart to be broken, and while I did eat that ice cream thanks to World After it wasn’t because the book didn’t live up to my own hype. It was because it surpassed that hype and made my feels go into overdrive.
The story picks up where it left off, with a paralyzed Penryn, a seriously tweaked/deformed/enhanced Paige and no Raffe *insert ugly cry here*. I think this stressed me out more than Paige’s condition, or the return of the crazy scorpion monsters. This need, this sense of urgency to see how and when Penryn and Raffe would meet again. And while that thought was always in the back of my mind Ee did a flipping AMAZING job of showing us that Penryn could hold the story on her own for a bit. Yes, I wanted my two favorite characters of all time to be together again, but I still ultimately cared about Penryn and what happened to her. Even though Raffe wasn’t in the picture! Think about it! How many books have you read where the love interest split up and character A graciously holds the story on their own? Where they still have you totally invested and content and then character B steps in and you about die from euphoria? None. That’s how many! And if you say any different I will need PROOF! Erm….sorry about that.
I’m starting to ramble I know, but it was just so darn good! Just so good! The writing, the plot (oh my gosh the PLOT!), the characters, the despair and courage and desperation! Agh! I feel like I’m about to go off the deep end again! I know I’m not doing a gold star worthy job of reviewing World After but I swear that’s only because there really are no words that can be formed that can properly convey the importance that you grab a copy, a tub of ice cream and a box of kleenex and settle in for one of the best rides of this year.
And now, an INTERVIEW!!
Angelfall was my first experience with the whole angel phenom, and it is my all time favorite book (seriously read it 3 times in one week….I may have a problem). What made you take angels, something most people immediately link to “good”, and make them so deliciously bad?
Thank you! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it so much. I think the fact that most people think angels are sweet, cuddly, and kind prompted me to show them in a different light. Old-Testiment angels are associated with destroying entire cities and turning people into pillars of salt. They’re also heavily involved with the Biblical apocalypse. Yet somehow, modern people think of them as sweet cherubs and guardian angels.
I’ve always thought of them as warriors and badass street soldiers. It was time to see what would happen if they came down in all their legendary glory!
Like the rest of the End of Days fanatics I’m a bit in love with Raffe. You took this perfect badass being, stripped him of his tough exterior, his kick tush sword and his brothers/sisters and made him tangible. Did you find it difficult finding this healthy balance between the many sides of Raffe?
I’m a bit in love with Raffe myself. 🙂 He’s a tough character to expose. He’s a soldier in enemy territory and is not inclined to give out a lot of information or expose his softer side. But Penryn seems to be getting under his skin, so we get to see more of his true self as their relationship progresses.
I’ve had the awesome pleasure of reading and LOVING World After. That book has some pretty intense scenes in it! Was there a difference in writing these intense scenes in comparison to the intense scenes in Angelfall?
I’m thrilled you loved World After! The World After intense scenes were harder for me because I’ve spent a lot of time with these characters by now, and it’s tough to watch them go through dangerous times. But for me, that just makes their good times and triumphs that much more meaningful.
So, I know there will be a book 3 (after that ending how could there not be!), but how many books total will be in the Penryn & the End of Days series?
I’m still not sure. I’m guessing 3-5.
And of course my gushing wouldn’t be complete without a….. GIVEAWAY! That’s right! One lucky (US ONLY) person will receive a paperback copy of World After thanks to the fantabulous Skyscape Publishers!
