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Light and Dark Shades
After the Before follows a pair of scavengers navigating the ruins of a collapsed world who uncover a mysterious box, only to wind up on an adventure filled with religious fanatics, deadly mechanical beings called A-Eye, and a stark landscape marked by craters and threats. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The original title of AFTER THE BEFORE was “Plassik,” the material from which the sealed, found box is made. The scenario of finding the box created the landscape, the characters that people it, and the story’s chain of events. I liked having a mystery from the get-go, a mystery that’s not solved until the very end of the book. Imagining what a world would be like 300 years after an apocalyptic event was challenging. Even the language was changed. All the imagining was fun!
Your story has some very interesting characters that have their character flaws but are still likable. How do you go about creating characters for your story?
Character flaws are what create interesting characters. A character would need to be a complete psychopath not to have some likeable trait. Backstories or lack thereof provide enough information for a reader to like even a creep like the religious fanatic.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
At heart, AFTER THE BEFORE is about four women, from young to old, who live their lives in this forlorn landscape. They each want something different: one wants closure, one wants purpose, another needs freedom, and another wants love. Love is really at the core of everything in the story. Together, these women explore loss, longing, loyalty, desire, and grief. It’s a broad palette with light and dark shades that offer great avenues for emotional exploration.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
Yes, this is the first book in the AFTER series. AFTER THE BEFORE took three years to finish. I hope to have book two, IN THE AFTER, out much sooner! Some of the characters from AFTER THE BEFORE will be returning.
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Three hundred years after the fall of civilization, scavengers Sophie and Markus uncover a sealed, translucent box buried deep in the ruins of The Before. What’s inside might hold answers to the apocalyptic origins of The After and a path to a safer future—if it can be opened.
Hoping for help, they set out for the faraway City where a reclusive historian may have the knowledge they need. The trek takes them across the cratered plain, bombed almost into oblivion, and infested with unstoppable humanoid machines hungry for human flesh.
When a religious fanatic derails their mission, Sophie and the box disappear. Markus enlists unexpected allies to help find her, pushing into the heart of his worst fears and opening bitter wounds and testing loyalties.
What’s in the box may lead to a better future—but it just might cost them each other.
AFTER THE BEFORE: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel
After the Before is a gritty, post-apocalyptic journey that follows Sophie and Markus, a pair of scavengers navigating the ruins of a collapsed world known only by the mythic shadow of “The Before.” When they uncover a mysterious box during a routine dig, their discovery sets them on a harrowing trip to the City, accompanied by the enigmatic Jen and the quiet, foreboding Barth. Along the way, they encounter religious fanatics, deadly mechanical beings called A-Eye, and a stark landscape filled with craters and threats. The book weaves together themes of survival, memory, trust, and the search for truth in a fractured future.
I found myself pulled in by the writing right from the first chapter. Gammage has a way of crafting scenes that feel raw and alive. The world is bleak, but there’s something beautiful in how it’s described, grimy yet human, desperate but never hopeless. The dialogue is clean and believable, with just enough punch to feel natural. The pacing struck a good rhythm, alternating between tense action and slower, character-driven moments. I especially liked how Gammage peeled back layers of history and emotion without ever dumping too much at once. The whole story feels personal, even as it tackles big, almost mythic ideas about civilization, memory, and identity.
But what really got to me were the relationships. Sophie and Markus have this bond that’s never overly defined, and that ambiguity felt real. I also appreciated Jen’s quiet strength and Barth’s silent loyalty, which made his eventual speech hit even harder. Luther felt a little too on-the-nose as a symbol of corrupted faith, and sometimes the A-Eye threat drifted into the background when I wished it had more weight. I kept waiting for the machines to play a bigger role. Still, the story never lost my interest, and even the quieter stretches had a kind of anxious tension that kept me turning pages.
After the Before left me thinking about where we’re headed and what we choose to remember. It’s not a flashy book, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s thoughtful and full of grit. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes post-collapse fiction that isn’t just about survival but about what it means to live with a past you barely understand. Fans of Station Eleven or The Road will feel right at home here.
Pages: 236 | ASIN : B0F8F25BN3
LITERARY TITAN 