posted on 26 Feb 2025

After by Pádraig Kenny

Twelve months ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Pádraig Kenny’s innovative science fantasy novel, Stitch, which played creatively with some of themes developed by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Now Kenny is back again with another sci-fi thriller, After, which this time has unmistakable echoes of the classic movie, The Terminator.

At some unspecified date in the future, Jen and Father find themselves trying to survive in a world where some disaster (is it natural or man-made?) has depleted the population and its technology and cities are left as wildernesses. Jen is always looking to find libraries – not just for the books but because there might just be a tablet or computer with some residual power left in it that she can access.

Father seems a slightly mysterious figure until an incident reveals that he is in fact a cyborg – a robot in convincing human form who has taken on the responsibility of protecting Jen. We also discover that what’s left of the human race has a huge mistrust of any machine because some event involving them has led to the destruction of civilisation. We won’t find out exactly what’s happened until later in the book but, for now at least, Father has to try and pass as human whenever they encounter other people.

It’s a dangerous world too because of the scavengers – feral gangs who take what they can by force from anyone they encounter, so when Jen and Father come upon an established community that seems peaceful and eventually even welcoming, Jen sees the chance of a new life. There’s only one problem – Father. If the community spot he’s really a machine, they will cast them out or even worse and Jen can’t imagine a life without Father, who has taken on the name John to try and seem more normal.

But if John is hiding his real identity, he’s not the only one. As the story unfolds we discover there’s a whole hidden history behind people’s antipathy to machines that Jen has never been told. We also slowly start to discover that the leader of the community is also disguising his past and that when the truth comes out about what he’s really up to, what’s left of humanity faces its final challenge.

Fast-paced and a real page-turner, After, will leave you guessing about what’s going to happen to Jen, Father and their new comrades until the very end. It’s also a book that poses some uncomfortable questions about just what makes us human and the role we’re allowing technology to play in our social structures.

Highly recommended for readers of 10+. Available now from Walker Books, you will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop – who will, of course, be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Terry Potter

February 2025