4.5/5 stars

After the Fall is a standalone speculative science fiction from Edward Ashton. After the fall of humanity, the grays reclaimed Earth and subjugated the remaining humans. A hundred years later, humans are raised to become bondsmen contracted to serve whichever gray purchases them. John is bonded to Martok, a gray who may be destitute and borderline manic, but who treats John like an actual person, even a friend he would never raise a hand against. But when Martok gets caught up in one of his harebrained money-making schemes with John’s bond as collateral, John has to make sure Martok’s plan to turn an abandoned house on the outskirts of their colony into a wilderness retreat for wealthy grey succeeds. Between feral humans in the woods hunting pet humans like him, misunderstandings spiraling out of control, and Martok’s continued obliviousness, John has his work cut out for him.

This was a really fun book with an interesting premise. While the concept itself may not be especially groundbreaking, the execution feels incredibly fresh. The story never goes where you expect it to, and the narrative continually surprised me with every new turn. It’s a quick read that’s humorous almost to the point of absurdity without ever actually becoming absurdist. (There’s definitely a distinction there, even if I can’t fully explain it.) The tone stays consistently light even as the story takes a few darker turns, and it just hit a lot of notes that are always going to work for me. I do wish it had been longer, though, because it feels like there was still so much story left to tell. The pacing moves extremely fast, racing through each story beat in rapid succession even as the plot continues to surprise.

The book also packs a ton of heart into both John and Martok individually and into their relationship with each other. John is a pragmatist who has accepted his lot in life and tries to make the best of it. Martok is a chaotic alien who stands apart from his peers, treating John with kindness and warmth at every turn. You can genuinely feel that Martok loves John as his only family, even as he seems incapable of recognizing the imbalance in their dynamic. The book raises compelling questions about how genuine a friendship can truly be when one person ultimately holds all the power. There’s such an earnest warmth to both characters that you completely buy into them as this unlikely duo.

The book also introduces a second human, Six, whom Martok takes on in the story, though I’m not sure her inclusion was entirely necessary. I think the novel would have worked just as well focusing solely on John and Martok and leaning fully into the buddy comedy dynamic. That said, Six does provide an outside perspective on their strange relationship and serves as the voice challenging John whenever he grows too complacent.

After the Fall is an unexpectedly heartfelt and funny science fiction that completely won me over with its strange little found family.

*Thank you Rebellion/Solaris for the eARC via NetGalley

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This was a fascinating and very cool concept. We follow John who is bonded to Martok. Martok is part of an alien species called grays who have taken over Earth and now use humans as labour, they are far physically bigger and stronger than humans. They take humans as children from crèches and bond them. John’s gray is poor and bumbling, but far nicer than most other grays. However John finds himself in a terrifying position when Martok makes a financial gamble, using John’s bond as collateral.

Throughout this book, John’s forced to challenge what he’s always been told, learning more about the history of the grays and how humans ended up in this position. His position is highly precarious and there’s a race against time to help Martok succeed before John is potentially forced to go to a far worse gray, which could be deadly for him.

I thought the pace of this was great, thoroughly tense with the looming deadline, but also interjecting new information in timely bursts. This did make this an easy read to fly through.

There’s a level of humour to this, balanced with threat and violence. Martok often feels slightly ridiculous though he doesn’t realise this himself, and some of the anachronisms of the grays are odd. An entertaining read that felt quite unique.