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Wednesday, June 5, 2019

After the Lights Go Out

After the Lights Go Out is an Australian end of the world story set in the outback town of Jubilee. Pru Palmer and her sisters Grace and Blythe are always ready for when the "big one" hits- or alternatively, when the SHTF (shit hits the fan). They practice trekking to the bunker on their property and their father has drilled into them that family comes first, and that others are not to be trusted. So when the end literally comes while their father is away, their training comes to the fore- but at the same time, as events spiral out of control around them, they have to ask themselves- should they keep to themselves, as their father taught them, or should they help others? 

Pru is in town when it happens, and she's just met a guy named Mateo, who's Puerto Rican by way of New Jersey, and to say that he sticks out like a sore thumb is an understatement. He and Pru develop an attraction, and it's partly this relationship that causes Pru to question the things her father has taught her. When the power goes out, and doesn't come back, Pru and her sisters have to decide how much to share with others- and also what they want to do in the event their father doesn't return. 

I liked this and it's a fascinating look at what the end might look like from the Australian outback. So often stories like this focus on cities and the catastrophic events that occur when society breaks down- and it does break down here, but there are also moments of heroism and selflessness. This runs counter to everything their father has taught them, however, as he constantly preached trust no one. And you can kind of see his point- I mean people are unpredictable, and there are plenty of bad sorts who will take advantage of the weak if society were to break down, but at the same time Pru is challenged when she sees hope and love flourish amidst the chaos. 

At the same time though this book irritated me at times, specifically some of the decisions Pru made. One of her earliest decisions flies right in the face of everything she's been taught, and while I feel her skepticism of her father's teaching is justified later in the story, I thought it was way too early for her to just throw everything out and do what she does. 

In the end I had too many issues with some of the decisions made and the characters themselves. It's a fine read but again, some of the reactions- like when Mateo discovers that Pru has been keeping secrets from him- I mean, what did he expect? She's a teenager, like him, raised a certain way- what exactly does he expect she would do in the early days of a crisis, and yet he gets all judgmental- it just felt forced to me.  

Spoilers


I cannot believe Pru left her sisters behind (and in the care of slimy Keller) right at the outset, to go with a guy she just met, some eighty kilometers through the desert in a possible apocalypse, when her dad has spent years training her to do the exact opposite. Get her sisters to the bunker and ride it out- stay safe. Yeah her dad may be a whackjob, but she's fifteen and totally devoted to her sisters- but then she leaves- knowing she doesn't even have enough gas to get there!

The townspeople really pissed me off when they blamed the girls for having supplies in a bunker. That was their dad's doing, and he trained them to be survivalists, so why they're bitching at the kids for doing what they were raised to do is beyond me. And then they take all their stuff! I mean, that's probably what people would do, and maybe it's the right thing to do for the community, but I didn't like how the town distrusted the girls for something their dad did, and just unilaterally decided how their stuff would be divided. 

Having said all this, I do kind of like how the author made me angry but then subverted my expectations a bit. Maybe that's effective storytelling and I should be admiring it, but again there were just some character decisions I couldn't get behind. And there seemed to be a hole in the story regarding Rick, the dad- he was missing for most of the story, and when he came back he was clearly a nutcase, but four months of staying away because he wasn't sure if the girls were compromised? It just felt like a complete plot contrivance to keep the dad away until the end, and then explain it away sloppily.  

19 comments:

  1. Guns. If you buy it, if you store it, you have the right to defend it. It is called theft and thieves should be shot. Dead. I realize this takes place in Australia, but I'm kind of surprised the dad didn't keep a cache of guns and ammo and teach his kids to use them. Food won't do you much good if anyone can just take it from you willynilly.

    Just in case you couldn't tell, I feel strongly about this :-D

    We have a 6month supply of survival food on hand and currently I'm looking at canned goods as an alternate solution.

    Bookstooge.wordpress.com

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  2. This sounded an interesting take on the usual apocalypse story shame there were some plot irregularities that irritated you.

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  3. I've been eyeing this one and after your review, I think I'll give it go. Great review Greg!

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  4. Sounds like there were a lot of issues with this story, which is too bad because I love the idea of the Australian setting😁

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  5. Love the cover on this one. Also like that acronym, SHTF. LOL!!! Sounds like a good one! One I would have devoured a while back. Thanks for sharing, great review!

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  6. I'm not a big fan of this kind of story usually but the setting intrigued me. However I think there are a few too many issues and inconsistencies for me to risk it. Too bad as it sounds like it has a lot of potential.

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  7. That would just drive me batty. Having been raised all their lives to do one thing and they don't do it when the bad thing happens? Then the town taking their supplies and deciding what to do with it. Yeah, not right at all.

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  8. I’m usually all for an end of the world story and watching from the sidelines as society breaks down, but I’m going to pass of this one. Seems like are too many inconsistencies with characters (specifically Pru) making decisions that don’t make sense based on her background.

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  9. Eep! I don't know. I was excited about the Australian Outback angle because I just love that setting but the things that irritated you would drive me batty so I'm not sure.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  10. I really like the sound of this one, especially with it being set in the Australian outback. That's definitely something new that I think would really appeal to me as well. Great review!

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  11. Looks like an interesting story! I love Australia.

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  12. I like dystopian novels, so I'll be looking for this one. Good review.

    And thanks for so clearly labeling the "spoilers section" of the review. I stopped right there because you already had me hooked.

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  13. I usually love these kind of stories, but Pru sounds like a very frustrating character. And that thing with her Dad? I'm not sure I'd like this one.

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  14. sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this one as much as you hoped. Always sucks when a characters actions detract from a story rather than adding to it

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  15. I think the premise sounds so great, I love "end of the world" stories, but I think the characters and some of their decisions would bug me, too!

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  16. It sounds a bit like On the Edge of Gone. That one is set in The Netherlands and they are in a small town, not a big city. You might like it because the characters' actions were all pretty realistic to me. 👍✨

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  17. Sounds like I better give it a miss. Pity as I'm trying to find more apocalypse books set in different countries.

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  18. I can definitely see where their dad is coming from, there *are* good people, but you don't know which ones are the good and which are the bad if you don't know them. Anyway, it does sound like the characters made some weird decisions, and wow that father being away thing sounds super contrived.

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  19. Idk how I missed this when you first posted it but alas. This is why you need an email subscription option, just saying. ANYWAY.

    I do think you're right about a convenient way to keep dear ol' dad away. Though I think he was probably a raging psychopath from the start, we just didn't KNOW until the end? But you're absolutely right about it being the easy way out. I hated their decisions too, but I also understood a lot of them- considering how they were raised. Like you, I found the townspeople and Mateo's nonsense much more infuriating because they didn't really even have a reason to be so ridiculous. But it was definitely a fun book, and I definitely loved the setting!

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