After: Without a past, there is only the After

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By:	Pádraig Kenny
Publisher:	Walker Books
Published:	March 2025
Pages:	240
Categories:	Childrens
Language:	English
Available as:	Paperback
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The Last of Us meets Wall-E in this post-apocalyptic tale of family, hope and survival from a multi-award-winning author Jen and her father are making their way across a deserted world after a technological collapse brought civilization as people knew it to an end. The Flood took out all all technology, but also many people who were connected to a central information hive. Those who are left behind must find each other and build a new life. But Jen's father isn't related to her by blood – he is a human-appearing AI, a glitch in the system, and a secret that must be kept, even from those she wishes she could trust... Exploring themes of what it means to be human, the value of every individual and where true danger lies – in our technological creations, or the ones who create them – this is a powerful and hopeful dystopian adventure for readers age 9+

Review

This thought-provoking, elegantly condensed dystopian novel for 9+ addresses ethics, innovation and what it means to be human. ― The Guardian Shades of C3PO and Blade Runner …In a nail-biting series of plot twists, human and droid loyalties are tested. ― The Observer Kenny is a brilliant world builder and he writes with a clarity that belies the complexity of ideas in this gripping novel. ― The Irish Times Endlessly topical, After is a short novel that has much to say on AI technology, social divisions, and humanity. Kenny's finest work yet, this is a powerful story with real emotional heart, I cannot recommend it enough. ― The Irish Examiner