AFTER THE BEFORE: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel

AFTER THE BEFORE: A Post-Apocalyptic Novel

No one can open the box.

Three hundred years after the fall of civilization, scavengers Sophie and Markus uncover a sealed, translucent box buried deep in the ruins of The Before. What’s inside might hold answers to the apocalyptic origins of The After and a path to a safer future—if it can be opened.

Hoping for help, they set out for the faraway City where a reclusive historian may have the knowledge they need. The trek takes them across the cratered plain, bombed almost into oblivion, and infested with unstoppable humanoid machines hungry for human flesh.

When a religious fanatic derails their mission, Sophie and the box disappear. Markus enlists unexpected allies to help find her, pushing into the heart of his worst fears and opening bitter wounds and testing loyalties.

What’s in the box may lead to a better future—but it just might cost them each other.

Robin’s Review

Triggers: Violence, religious fanaticism, dystopian survival themes, techno-horror elements

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

What Did I Just Walk Into?

A mysterious plastic box, mechanical flesh-eaters, and a world that’s basically Earth after we hit “Delete System32.” After the Before drops us 300 years post-civilization, where humanity is just barely clinging to the edge—and even that’s optimistic. Scavenger duo Sophie and Markus discover a sealed box that might hold the key to… well, everything. Naturally, opening it isn’t simple (because plot), and their journey toward answers turns into a post-apocalyptic scavenger hunt featuring crater-hopping, machine-dodging, and one very inconvenient religious nutjob.

It’s giving Mad Max meets The Terminator—with fewer explosions and more existential dread.

Here’s What Slapped:

Mr. Gammage knows how to set a mood. The desolate landscape, the eerie silence of abandoned tech, and the creeping dread of the ever-watching A-Eye machines all deliver real tension. Characters like Sophie and Frenz breathe scrappy heart into the rubble, and the pacing—while uneven—ramps up just when you start to wonder if this is going to be more desert walking or actual plot. The writing leans poetic without being fluffy, and the themes? Surprisingly thoughtful for a book that features killer cyborgs.

Here’s What Could’ve Used a Reboot:

Worldbuilding, I love you, but you’re drunk. If it’s been 300 years, why are books still readable and electronics still fixable? Did we invent post-apocalypse-resistant batteries and not tell anyone? Also, Markus occasionally reads like a placeholder protagonist—tragic backstory: loading… Still, the story carries enough intrigue to overlook a few logic potholes in the cratered terrain.

Vibe Check:

Dusty, dangerous, and quietly hopeful. This isn’t your glittery dystopia. It’s raw survival mixed with a whisper of what-if redemption. Think: rusted cities, haunted memories, and characters who may or may not know what they’re doing—but they keep trying anyway.

Perfect for Readers Who Love:

📖 Post-apocalyptic journeys with actual emotional stakes

📖 Mysterious artifacts that may or may not explode

📖 Killer robots + religious chaos (what could go wrong?)

📖 Found family, damaged people, and one big maybe-future

📖 Hopeful endings that still make you squint suspiciously

Reviewed by Robin for Robin’s Review

Walk With Me Into the Dark