The Afterward

De: E. K. Johnston

Narrado por: Lisa Flanagan, Meera Simhan, Adenrele Ojo

"I love this book so very much." (Robin LaFevers, New York Times best-selling author of the His Fair Assassin trilogy)

Romantic high fantasy from the best-selling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka and Exit, Pursued by a Bear.

It's been a year since the mysterious godsgem cured Cadrium's king and ushered in what promised to be a new golden age. The heroes who brought home the gem are renowned in story and song, but for two fellows on the quest, peace and prosperity don't come easily.

Apprentice Knight Kalanthe Ironheart wasn't meant for heroism so early in life, and while she has no intention of giving up the notoriety she's earned, reputation doesn't pay her bills. Kalanthe may be forced to betray not her kingdom or her friends, but her own heart as she seeks a stable future for herself and those she loves.

Olsa Rhetsdaughter was never meant for heroism at all. Beggar and thief, she lived hand-to-mouth on the streets until fortune - or fate - pulled her into Kalanthe's orbit. Now, she's reluctant to leave it. Even more alarmingly, her fame has made her profession difficult, and a choice between poverty and the noose isn't much of a choice at all.

Both girls think their paths are laid out, but the godsgem isn't quite done with them, and that new golden age isn't a sure thing yet.

In a tale both sweepingly epic and intensely personal, Kalanthe and Olsa fight to maintain their newfound independence and to find their way back to each other.

©2019 E.K. Johnston (P)2019 Listening Library

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Johnston’s love for storytelling is catching."—The New York Times

"I love this book so very much. It's an epic quest, with female knights and female camaraderie and companionship. I so love how E. K. Johnston took all the epic's tropes, then not so much subverted them as reinvented them in her own female-centric image."—Robin LaFevers, New York Times bestselling author of the His Fair Assassin trilogy

★"Both the world-building and the LGBTQ romance are well done and appealing.... Delightful."—SLJ, starred

Everything I've Ever Wanted in a Fantasy Novel

This novel is amazing! The characters are all so complex and fully fleshed out. The world building was rich and immersive. When the book ended, I instantly wanted more of the characters and just any stories set in this world Johnston created.

Often times, people will excuse the lack of racial diversity and the strong sexism found in typical fantasy books by saying it's somehow more realistic. With this book Johnston shatters that idea by presenting a casually diverse universe with gender equality. That's right, this book is centered on women of color fighting demons, struggling with class issues, becoming knights, and falling in love. It's high fantasy at its best.

I Think I’m Going to Read the Physical Book

This book was sweet and entertaining, but the narration was very hit or miss. The first narrator was solid, and I enjoyed her soft snark as Ulsa. She was good at distinguishing the characters from each other, both through different voices and through her general tone. I wish she had narrated the whole book, and I’m not sure why she didn’t.

Unfortunately, while I appreciate the second narrator’s efforts, I feel their style did not match well with this book. Their cadences and emphases were awkward at best, and their general lack of emotion made the story difficult to follow. I often found myself repeatedly replaying entire chapters, and I’m still almost certain that I missed important dialogue and plot points, simply because their narration was so awkward and disengaging.

The story itself is serviceable, with some lovely heartfelt moments. I expected it to be a lot darker than it was, but most of the struggles were interpersonal rather than plot-related, by narrative design. I’m sure I’d be more enthusiastic if the first narrator had just read the whole book, because her sections are the only ones I really remember, and I just finished the book five minutes ago.

Overall an easy listen, with some fun found-family characters in a fairly realistic-feeling medieval setting, even with the fantasy elements. But if you’d like to fully engage with the material, I recommend reading the physical book. I think I might do just that.

Diverse Fantasy

I really enjoyed the diverse characters. It was sometimes difficult to figure out which point of view was presented at the beginning of chapters. Overall this was a satisfying fantasy story!

Great book, one good narrator out of two

I really enjoy stories that concern themselves with what happens after the "happily ever after". I also enjoy stories that treat LGBTQ+ folks as normal people, not weird exceptions.

I was a bit disappointed in the performance Meera Simhan turned in as the "before" narrator. Her verbal punctuation put about 3 periods in the average sentence, and it was very distracting.