Title: After the Hell
Author: Eric Del Carlo
Genre: Dystopian / Post-Apocalyptic / Paranormal
ISBN: 78-1-62300-596-2
Length: Novel (186 pages)
Publisher: Loose Id (December 31st, 2013)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3~3.5 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Shadow Juke, post-apocalyptic gunslinger, mercenary, cold-blooded killer…red-hot lover. Forced to take on a rescue mission he never wanted, Shad must retrieve Harc, the lover of the ethereal witch the White Whisper, from the perilous Scarlet Fires Oasis. There the powerful wizard Capricorn holds the witch’s beautiful lover captive. Too bad for Shad that he himself has fallen in love with the man.
Shad is thrown down among the slaves of Capricorn’s brutal temple, only to fall in with a gathering rebellion. There, he’s forced into sexual gladiatorial games by an old nemesis.
The world of After the Hell is fraught with sex, danger, monsters, mutants, black magic, radioactive wastes, and even a porn-obsessed mad scientist. Throughout, Shadow Juke must fight his way against impossible odds. Yet if he succeeds in rescuing Harc, he may have to give up the man he loves…
Product Link: http://www.loose-id.com/after-the-hell.html
Review: Nuclear war a hundred years ago still affects the last remnants of humanity on Earth. The Hell had woken magic in this world and supernatural now walks side by side with natural. Civilization as we know it no longer exists. There are wizards and witches, and there are mere mortals trying to survive yet another day. And among them, there are… others as well.
I liked this post-apocalyptic world. I’d hate to live in such a desolate Earth where pain and suffering is a given, but it gave the read a tang of desperation that went hand in hand with the wastelands the story takes place. The Hell as it’s called in this book is the ultimate crash down of our society, humans releasing nuclear weapons and literally wiping out Earth’s bio system and life. What remained were a 10% perhaps of world’s population? The numbers are vague but we get the idea. As the Hell shattered the entire planet, it managed to open new possibilities. Magic became a given and few lucky humans got powers beyond imagination. As always with power came arrogance and cruelty. Also new creatures are introduced in this book as well as mutants. In this setting, we meet Shad.
Time… there is never enough time. Shadow Juke’s always running out of it, the only way to keep a few paces ahead taking a job. He’s a gunslinger after all and good at it. This time his mission is more complex and though they always are, Shad finds himself inexplicably attracted to his objective.
So yes, there is the instant love thing I usually dislike, however in this book it becomes almost impossible for instant love not to exist when it comes to Harc, the abducted lover of the White Whisper and Shad’s mission. Harc is one hell of a character; he’s astonishingly beautiful and almost magical himself. He’s a mystery, an unknown entity, and he manages to imprint on Shad’s head from the moment he sees his hologram from the witch. The chemistry among Shad a Harc though, while almost making it, failed. Somehow, there was a loss of connection, at least for me, and the couple just didn’t achieve to draw me in their love-web.
While trying to rescue Harc from Capricorn Shad gets captured himself by the great wizard. I think the time he spend as a slave in that temple was the strongest emotionally part of this book.
A juice that turns you into a mindless slave… Authority is an illusion. It remains strong as long as the effect of that illusion doesn’t wean. If it does, it shatters like a toy under a strong boot.
I loved the author’s way of thinking and explanations about the Slave Temple. That was something that intrigued me and I’d have loved a bit more time and story behind that Temple. The way the plot moved from the Temple on was also a powerful emotional punch. It gave way feelings of satisfaction marred with sadness and melancholy. I didn’t know what to feel for Capricorn and the White Whisper in the end, but again I think those feeling would have been way stronger if both those characters had a bit more spotlight in the book. They were too strong to be left in the shadows like that.
Is the victim really a victim..?
The book eventually ends with surprising elements and shocking answers to many questions. Harc gives us what we want to know and a bit more. However the end itself is not a happily ever after one. After all this story is set in a whipped out world and Shad is still bartering for time for in the end there is only one question still hammering its way inside your head:
Could he beat out Death..?
Overall, I found this book good enough and enjoyable, but I think that you should really be in the mood for this type of book to really appreciate it. So if you love post-apocalyptic dystopian books with hot guys and a strong erotic blend in it I’d totally suggest this to you.