After Hope Dies
by Lilly Haraden
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date 20 Oct 2018 | Archive Date 15 Feb 2019
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Description
This is what happens after America dies: the monsters take over.
A young prostitute’s reanimated soul prowls the streets, seeking revenge against her killers. The reclusive nerd who lives next door suffers from a serious problem that goes far beyond the time-bending demon infesting his body. And across town, an occult guide owns a brothel where you can buy a child for cheap.
Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this dark literary fantasy debut examines life for the most disadvantaged who call post-prosperity America home.
Modern Fantasy, Dystopic Future, Magic Realism, Literary
Fiction, Metafiction
A Note From the Publisher
50% author royalties will go to charity until publication costs recovered, and a higher percentage thereafter.
Advance Praise
Review highlights:
"Stunningly beautiful language..."
"Excellently written. The characters are well developed and the plot is unique."
"The publisher's warning should definitely be taken seriously."
"I did not take the publisher's note seriously."
"Of course, if you read the description then you are going into the book aware that it will cover some uncomfortable topics..."
Take the publisher's note seriously.
Marketing Plan
Please contact the author at lillyhara@tutamail.com for any requests, feedback or friendly chats.
Please contact the author at lillyhara@tutamail.com for any requests, feedback or friendly chats.
Available Editions
EDITION | Ebook |
ISBN | 9780648392002 |
PRICE | $6.99 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Thank you first to Lilly Haraden and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review!
The publisher's warning should definitely be taken seriously, I can see where there are multiple upsetting themes and rough language used throughout. On the flip side the author also uses some stunningly beautiful language, such as any time when the cranes appear. It feels like an intentional balance the way the passages are placed.
i believe there is one more round of editing happpening, there are still author's notes and a handful of typos but nothing crazy or too distracting. The language forced a slower read for me to keep track of what was happening at times, and I got the feeling that the reader is supposed to shrug and accept the supernatural - much like the characters.
The story has some unique aspects such as the characters creating monsters that create more monsters/spirits/ entities, very cool. Some of the supernatural aspects were hard to follow, but interesting, and I really did enjoy the hope, despair and death imagery. I loved Hugo's character, and most disliked the vampire because she felt thrown into the mix and unrelated.
As a social commentary the book does it's job, if nothing else evoking some steong feelings and making us think about class, race, desperation, and despair among brighter aspects. It definitely is not meant to be a happy story but it is a good one.
I would rate 3.5/5 stars and recommend this to those with a strong stomach and big imagination. Fans of the supernatural and fantasy won't be let down.
(I included the link to my blog but got the impression that the author wants the review posted on it's release day, so I will do so at that time. It will be a slightly reformatted review!)
I did not take the publisher's note seriously: "This story includes racist content, depictions of rape and strong themes of child sexualisation/exploitation." I have a strong stomach, but After Hope Dies was brutal in it depiction of rape and child prostitution. If you can get past that, the book is excellently written. The characters are well developed and the plot is unique. I'm not sure what genre it belongs in, racial dystopian fantasy?
Author/Publisher/Reviewers Note: This book deals with darker themes including racist content, depictions of rape, and strong themes of child sexualization/exploitation. If ANY of these subjects make you uncomfortable, then this is not the story for you.
My dearest reader, if the above paragraph in bold as well as the brief description above has not already convinced you, let me state it AGAIN - this book contains disturbing imagery. It is NOT for the faint of heart or easily offended. There are numerous passages that require the reader to have a strong constitution. Several of the reviews I have seen, the person reading it did not take the warning seriously and sadly suffered for it.
All of that aside: After Hope Dies is an excellent book. It provides a truly scary "What if...?" that once the reader finishes the book - including the epilogue - will leave them wondering just how much could potentially occur.
In three short stories, After Hope Dies, follows several individuals in a not to distant future. The city they are in could be anywhere in the United States and the persons the overall story centers on live in one of the poorest sections. Drug use as well as vices of other kinds run rampant and all of the characters are affected in one way or another.
While each individual story has its own main character, they also cross over in to the other stories. The child prostitute in the first story is the next door neighbor of the game playing introvert of the second story, and she goes to school with the younger sister who features in the third story. The introvert runs in the same gaming circles as the older sister in the third story. And between them all is the brothel owner and his assistant. They all play off of one another, acting and reacting to events as they occur.
Each person has their own story and Haraden does an admirable job of delving in to each one. It is certainly not an easy task, some of the jobs that these characters take on could be described as distasteful, yet they all do what they must. They make deals with demons with the intent of living another day.
Haraden's writing is smooth and strong. As disturbing as some scenes are, they are penned in a way that is not difficult to imagine. The stories are easy to follow and the characters can be related to by most. As someone who is whiter than the proverbial sour cream, I will never be able to fully relate to the discrimination (both internal and external) faced by many. Reading After Hope Dies however, gave me a tiny inkling and takes me one step closer to understanding.
At times hard to read and hard to stomach, it is an engrossing book and one I simply must recommend.
I received an arc of this book through NetGalley. I put off reading it because I thought it might have me in my feelings. It did.
I used to forge ahead and read things with trigger warnings. Sometimes it's a little easier to digest than others.
This is to one of these times. Don't let that turn you off though. The subject matter, while sensitive is what's happening to so many young girls all over the globe. Abused, raped, murdered, forced to do things they do not want to do.
Its about how the author handles the situation. While we're not hand held, it's still a good read.
The reanimation of a young girl seeking revenge is what drew me to the story. It's a great fantasy slightly supernatural debut effort.
It's not what you re going to call an "enjoyable" read. Where you curl up and laugh, cry and enjoy the fictional tale. But it might be a necessary one. Because it's closer to reality than it should be.
This book is a hard one to describe. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s dark and beautiful, it reads almost like poetry. After chapter 6 I want to be the authors BFF. I feel that anything I write about it, wouldn’t give it justice. Let’s just say that readers of Nicholas Sparks should probably not read it. I’ll just leave it with this “John Green” quote (wink, wink): “Challenging...powerful, a testimony to the enduring spirit of womankind.”