After The Revolution

Paperback, 380 pages

English language

Published Jan. 14, 2022 by AK Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-84935-462-2
Goodreads:: 59645604

What will the fracturing of the United States look like? After the Revolution is an edge-of-your-seat answer to that question. In the year 2070, twenty years after a civil war and societal collapse of the "old" United States, extremist militias battle in the crumbling Republic of Texas. As the violence spreads like wildfire and threatens the Free City of Austin, three unlikely allies will have to work together in an act of resistance to stop the advance of the forces of the white Christian ethnostate known as the "Heavenly Kingdom."

Our three protagonists include Manny, a fixer that shuttles journalists in and out of war zones and provides footage for outside news agencies. Sasha is a teenage woman that joins the Heavenly Kingdom before she discovers the ugly truths behind their movement. Finally, we have Roland: A US Army vet kitted out with cyberware (including blood that heals major …

What will the fracturing of the United States look like? After the Revolution is an edge-of-your-seat answer to that question. In the year 2070, twenty years after a civil war and societal collapse of the "old" United States, extremist militias battle in the crumbling Republic of Texas. As the violence spreads like wildfire and threatens the Free City of Austin, three unlikely allies will have to work together in an act of resistance to stop the advance of the forces of the white Christian ethnostate known as the "Heavenly Kingdom."

Our three protagonists include Manny, a fixer that shuttles journalists in and out of war zones and provides footage for outside news agencies. Sasha is a teenage woman that joins the Heavenly Kingdom before she discovers the ugly truths behind their movement. Finally, we have Roland: A US Army vet kitted out with cyberware (including blood that heals major trauma wounds and a brain that can handle enough LSD to kill an elephant), tormented by broken memories, and 12,000 career kills under his belt. In the not-so-distant world Evans conjures we find advanced technology, a gender expansive culture, and a roving Burning Man-like city fueled by hedonistic excess.

This powerful debut novel from Robert Evans is based on his investigative reporting from international conflict zones and on increasingly polarized domestic struggles. It is a vision of our very possible future.

1 edition

Tak! reviewed After The Revolution by Robert Evans

4 stars

After the Revolution is kind of a mashup of The Last Girl Scout and Dogs of War, with a hint of Handmaid's Tale. Honestly, if you haven't read any of those, go read them first and then come back.

The premise is that the US has dissolved into a handful of warring nation states (what's happening in the rest of the world? who knows or cares), at least one of which is a christian fundamentalist oligarchy, and the story follows a handful of people in the conflict between that and the Republic of Texas.

It's an engaging read, if not always an easy one. I feel like some of the characters' progression arcs (Sasha) were inconsistent and handwavy. The House of Miriam situation felt almost naively mild in comparison to what would actually happen to those people in that situation, but on the other hand I don't want …

After the Revolution is kind of a mashup of The Last Girl Scout and Dogs of War, with a hint of Handmaid's Tale. Honestly, if you haven't read any of those, go read them first and then come back.

The premise is that the US has dissolved into a handful of warring nation states (what's happening in the rest of the world? who knows or cares), at least one of which is a christian fundamentalist oligarchy, and the story follows a handful of people in the conflict between that and the Republic of Texas.

It's an engaging read, if not always an easy one. I feel like some of the characters' progression arcs (Sasha) were inconsistent and handwavy. The House of Miriam situation felt almost naively mild in comparison to what would actually happen to those people in that situation, but on the other hand I don't want to read about the more realistic scenario, so maybe it's a wash.

content warnings: implied rape, graphic and excessive violence, suicide, graphic and excessive drug abuse

CowsLookLikeMaps reviewed After The Revolution by Robert Evans

I haven't binged a book like that in years

5 stars

Robert's absurdist sense of humour paired with the thrilling plot made this one a page turner. Yet at each turn, there were elements that made you ponder heavy hitting questions.