Sunday, October 13, 2019

After the Flood - Kassandra Montag: First 80 Pages Are About Perfect. Now What?

Is anyone else reading Kassandra Montag's After the Flood right now? I started the book yesterday because I have to return it to the library in just a few days, and I have to tell you that I am loving the experience. Dystopian fiction is a favorite genre of mine, and I have read some good ones, but this is the first time in a while that I find myself so fully immersed in a novel. The first 80 pages of this one are just about perfect. So perfect, in fact, that I find myself wondering what will go wrong with the book's last 340 pages. It's slowly building toward a thriller-type climax right now, and that's where many an otherwise-wonderful plot turns into a B-movie. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Montag avoids the trap.


It is about 100 years into the future, and a combination of rising floodwaters and heavy rains that last for years at a time, have just about completely flooded the planet. Humanity is down to living in just a few mountaintop colonies that are not exactly thriving. One woman and her small child are managing to stay alive, but now the woman learns that her older daughter (who was kidnapped by her husband who disappeared with the girl) has been spotted in a colony somewhere in what used to be Greenland. The girl is just about old enough to be moved onto a "breeding ship," so her mother knows that she has to act quickly if she is ever to be reunited with her daughter. But she can't do it alone, and she fears that she will end up loosing both her daughters if she goes anywhere near The Valley.

So you can see that the last part of the book is destined to be thriller-like - and that's not always a good thing in any kind of novel. Have any of you finished it, and if so, what did you think of it? Am I going to be underwhelmed / disappointed by the turn that After the Flood takes in its second half? (Without spoilers, of course.) Thanks.

8 comments:

  1. I've only heard good things about this one...but I haven't read it yet myself.

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    1. So far, it is great. I'm on page 225 and still fully immersed in that flooded world. This is good stuff, and it looks like the "thriller ending" is going to be well thought out.

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    2. Sounds like I need to move this one up my To Read list. :)

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  2. I like dystopian fiction, but have not read this one. Let us know if the "thriller ending" is satisfying!

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    1. it's working up to that point very thoughtfully and realistically so far. I'm on page 314 of 417, and it looks like the author is going to make it all the way to the finish line.

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  3. I haven't read this one yet, but it's definitely on my list. I'm still a big dystopian fiction fan!

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    1. That's one of my favorite genres going all the way back to my childhood. It still fascinates me. This is one of the better dystopian novels I've read recently, and I think you'll enjoy it. 60 or so pages to go...

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