World After (Penryn and the End of Days, #2)

World AfterWorld After
by Susan Ee
Rating: ★★★
isbn: 1477867287
Series: Penryn End of Days #2
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Pages: 438
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Skyscape

I couldn’t wait for the paperback; I had to see what was going to happen next. iBooks wasn’t selling it and I gave in to weakness and bought it from Amazon. Ultimately, I should have just waited and bought it in paperback.

If you haven’t read Angelfall and you think you might want to, beware there might be spoilers here for you

World After, for much of the first half of the book, was just too Science Fiction for my taste. All those scorpion/locust chimera’s and Angels performing science experiments. Not for me. The whole thing just felt too contrived. While Angelfall didn’t feel like a book written with the YA demographic specifically in mind, World After did. It was still a good read; I just felt like some of the suspension of disbelief needed in this book would be easier for someone closer to that age group.

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I really liked the way the author used Raffe’s sword to share with Penryn and the reader Raffe’s POV and some of his long backstory. Also, the sword’s way of using those memories as training exercises for Penryn – not that she ever used the lessons as far as I could tell. Once past the halfway-ish mark, the story started pulling me in again. It’s no coincidence that it’s also about the same time Raffe makes his re-appearance in Penryn’s life. The two of them together are a more intriguing story to me than they are apart.

There’s a soupçon of humour in this book that was all but missing in the first one. I’m still shaking my head over “Pooky Bear” but can totally appreciate the naturalness of how the name came about. Put me in the same scene in place of Penryn, and I’d have responded in much the same way to Dee/Dum. Though I’d have probably said “Twinkle Toes” or something equally obnoxious.

Generally, enjoyable.

 

Why would Angels need science if they have magic?  Why would they need human doctors?  Human-derived technology?  None of this is explained in either of the two books so far.

INSERT SPOILER TAG HERE

I really liked the way the author used Raffe’s sword to share with Penryn and the reader Raffe’s POV and some of his long backstory.  Also, the sword’s way of using those memories as training exercises for Penryn – not that she ever used the lessons as far as I could tell.  Once past the halfway-ish mark, the story started pulling me in again.  It’s no coincidence that it’s also about the same time Raffe makes his re-appearance in Penryn’s life.  The two of them together are a more intriguing story to me than they are apart.

There’s a soupçon of humour in this book that was all but missing in the first one.  I’m still shaking my head over ‘Pooky Bear’ but can totally appreciate the naturalness of how the name came about.  Put me in the same scene in place of Penryn, and I’d have responded in much the same way to Dee/Dum.  Though I’d have probably said ‘Twinkle Toes’ or something equally obnoxious.

I read somewhere that 5 books are planned for this series.  If that’s the case, I predict, even though this book ends with the tides seemingly turning against the Angels, that they will rally in the third book.  It’s hard to imagine stringing this out for more than 3, 4 books at the most, but I’m sure the author has much more in store for everyone.

Just please don’t let it be more science fiction.

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