When Kadie wakes up in The After she is completely out of her depth. She thought she was
just a normal woman who recently had her heart broken
Now she learns she is a character in a book. And not even
a main character – and she’s a perfectly normal woman lost in a world of
fictional characters – a world of wizards and vampires and shapeshifters and
who knows what else
Not only is she lost in this world – but she’s also being
hunted. She doesn’t know why – and nor does the mysterious Archive that
controls this world – but until they learn the answer they’re not letting her
wander into danger. No matter what she wants
It’s interesting how this series works with The Apprentice which is set in the
same world but not the same series. That book did an excellent job of setting
up the world, the factions, the way the Archive operates, the way of the world
and its characters and the setting. And this world is wonderfully complex and
involved and fascinating that it really benefitted from having that book to
introduce everything – the ideals, the concepts, who everyone is and what they
could do and why was all so very involved that that excellent book was a great
way to introduce us to the series
It also introduced us briefly to a few of the conflicts
of this series: but primarily focused on the world itself. The amazing,
beautiful, rich world is introduced and displayed.
And this book now pokes the holes. Or more of the holes.
While we saw hints of injustices in The
Apprentice this takes it to the next level. We see how Prosaics are
treated, almost shunned in the magical cities, certainly treated with contempt
and derision and even good people treat them more like small children or pets.
Awkward, burdens, not necessarily to be hated, but certainly to be at best
pitied and definitely shuffled out the way. Certainly not treated as important
or useful or worthy of making their own decisions
