After the End of the World

By: Jonathan L. Howard

Narrated by: Ari Fliakos

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

After the End of the World by Jonathan L. Howard brings the H. P. Lovecraft mythos into the 21st century.

The Unfolded World is a bitter and unfriendly place for Daniel Carter and Emily Lovecraft. In this world the Cold War never happened because the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1941. In this world the Nazi Großdeutschland is the premier superpower and is not merely tolerated but indulged because, in this world, the Holocaust happened behind the ruins of the Iron Curtain and consumed only Bolsheviks, Communists, and others the West was glad to see gone. In this world there are monsters, and not all of them are human.

But even in the Unfolded World, there are still bills to pay and jobs to do. Carter finds himself working for the German secret security service to uncover the truth behind a major scientific joint project that is going suspiciously well. The trail takes Lovecraft and him to a distant, abandoned island and a conspiracy that threatens everything. To fight it, Lovecraft must walk a perilously narrow path between forbidden knowledge and soul-destroying insanity.

Fortunately, she also has a shotgun.

This dark, captivating audiobook will send listeners into a twisted version of the world they will be thankful not to inhabit.

©2017 Jonathan L. Howard (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

A bit aimless after the first

The cliffhanger from book 1 is immediately resumed in this second installation and we get to see what life is like on the other side of the fold.

Sadly, aside from the cool "oh, it's like THIS over here", there's not much interesting about it. It boils down to the Nazis never lost and the US treats them as equals.

Most of the story revolves around Carter & Lovecraft bumbling from one fateful encounter to another while being obviously manipulated from afar.

Although much DOES happen in this book, it doesn't feel like anything has really happened at all. We know a smidgen (and the tiniest of smidgens it is) more about what's going on behind the scenes, and Lovecraft grows a bit more into her own as a useful character (beyond being book smart). Carter, unfortunately, is pretty much the same, and is surprisingly incompetent in many situations which his background would lead you to believe he shouldn't be.

No cliffhanger here, just an obvious opening to anoher entry that I think I'll likely pass on.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Fantastic fun, eldritch horrors, and a cliffhanger

Second entry in the series and it opens with a doozy -- WWII mostly averted by the destruction of Moscow by the Nazis. Which means our eponymous protagonists (Carter & Lovecraft) live in an alternative reality where the Nazis are a few decades into that promised thousand year Third Reich, the US never entered the war, Japan was never bombed, their was no Holocaust against the Jews but rather one against Bolsheviks and Communists, and Britain faded away without the heroics of that Great War (and thus the world is without the James Bond films). In this Unfolded World things are simultaneously similar and jarringly different -- there hadn't been the massive awakening for social justice without the impetus of the Holocaust, so wandering around the streets of America people look at you in horror if you use the "n word," only in this world the n word is Nazi (it's rude to call someone that just because they are in the party). Germany is an ally of the US and the great world power, and the US never rose to dominance and sadly never made it to television's golden age (much to Carter's dismay).

Carter & Lovecraft are making their way in this world, the former continuing as a PI and the latter still owner of a bookshop in the Unfolded World's version of Providence (Arkham). Yet again, the inhuman and ever-smiling Weston shows up and sets into motion another adventure, this time implicating German special agents, super-advanced science, and cosmic horrors. The book ends neatly, but with plenty of promise for another entry. Though left in the Unfolded World, there may be powers and knowledge in reach to return home. Now readers just have to wait patiently for Howard to deliver again.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Twilight Zone meets Night Stalker meets X-Files

Not only is the story’s plot gripping but the high quality of the writing and performance ensure maximum impact to the listener. In particular, Ari Fliakos’ delivery of the finely tuned rhythms of Howard’s rapid-fire prose are reminiscent of Rod Serling’s Twilight Zone episode introductions.

The result is deliciously stimulating to the intellect, creep-out receptors and funny bone in well-blended measures.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

fatmoster

Amazing. Narrator hooked me after one chapter. Story is great, and you end up loving the badass characters. Can't wait for the next book!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fantastic modern Cthulhu fix

Dying for future books in the series. Highly recommend the series. Start with Carter & Lovecraft

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

worth it for CoC and HPL fans

having read many of the stories, and played much of the table top game, I enjoyed this second book. esp as I sought to identify the 'players' before the characters .

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

loved it

this is the 2nd book in the series I've listened to, both are a fun story, ready for some more!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Delicious pulp fiction/cosmic horror

JLH figured out a plausible way for an aryan Gestapo agent to pleadingly ask the black protagonist not to call him the "n-word" (Nazi). I'm pretty sure he wrote the rest of the plot just to setup that line. Totally worth it.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Interesting

Well, we are working on making the stories more complicated. Which in some ways is good and others not so good. Actually I have no complaint about it. It is a way to travel through the world of H. P. Lovecraft without having venture back into the old world. The alternate world concept is interesting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

If you liked the first book

Then you will love this one. Carter is back and just as hard boiled as ever and Lovecraft is even more of a BAMF with her boom stick....there are fish monsters and scientists with guns. It was everything I wanted it to be.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

A good listen

more of an adventure than the last books crime/horror mash up. good all the same.

Easy listening and fun

Quite a fun listen playing on the lovecraft mythos and parallel worlds but gets a bit too technical with the weaponcraft