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Milo James Fowler's new book came out yesterday, and it is a tour de force.
It is quite an accomplishment of prose.
When Man at last wrecks havoc upon Nature,
will She take it personally?
Here is my book review:
TO END THE NIGHTMARE
ONE MUST FIRST WAKE UP
AFTER THE SKY, BOOK ONE of Spirits of the Earth
series, is one that will stay with you for a long time after you turned the
last page to look off into the shadows reflecting on the epic tale you’ve just
finished.
But be warned, it will not be finished with you.
It is a suspenseful, grim cautionary speculative fiction
that asks the important questions:
WHAT MAKES US HUMAN?
ARE WE MORE THAN OUR PAST?
DOES ISOLATION FESTER THE DARKNESS WITHIN US?
ARE WE COMPELLED BY OUR VERY NATURES TO SELF-DESTRUCT?
Dystopian futures are a reflection of our current fears.
We may well arrive in a future not too
dissimilar from the one presented in AFTER THE SKY if our leaders are not wiser
than our past ones have proven to be.
The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it
will hate those who speak it.
AFTER THE
SKY highlights the quandary to that thought: who determines what is THE truth?
The world to this novel is vast in its perspective and scope
… which is why the author uses multiple points of view.
One of the key benefits of multiple points of view is the ability
to show the reader what multiple characters are thinking and feeling.
The
reader gains a greater sense of the relationship between the characters and the
overall world because they have more perspectives and more data.
The reader then knows more than any one character.
This
provides the opportunity for the author to create dramatic irony, where the
reader thinks “No don’t trust him!”
because they know what is behind that
man’s easy smile and manner while the character does not.
Dramatic irony is a great
technique to create tension, suspense, and faster pacing.
And Milo uses it
expertly.
The story is bigger than any one character, so multiple
points of view was needed to get all of the plot points and information to the
reader.
Seeing into the fractured minds of certain characters was like watching
a ticking bomb hidden from the rest of those around him.
AFTER THE SKY reveals the truth of who we are and who we may
become.
But beware: truth revealed is
like lighting a match; it can bring light to your world … or burn your fingers.
I truly enjoyed this
novel.
Pick it up and find yourself
swept up into a tale you will not be able to put down.
Go to its book page on Amazon,
check the LOOK INSIDE,
and see if you agree.
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