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August Ansel

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After the Pretty Pox: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Tale (Book One The Attic) Kindle Edition

by August Ansel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 283 ratings

Book 1 of 3: After the Pretty Pox

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“It’s worse than that. God will ignore us entirely.”
A searing act of bioterrorism. A catastrophic plague they call the Pretty Pox.
Most of the human race is dead, and for two years Arie McInnes has been alone, riding out the aftermath of the Pretty Pox, waiting for her own inevitable end. Hidden in the attic of her ruined home, Arie survives by wit and skill, ritual and habit.Convinced that humans are a dangerous fluke, a problematic species best allowed to expire, she chooses solitude…even in matters of life and death.

Arie’s precarious world is upended when her youngest brother – a man she’s never met – appears out of nowhere with a badly injured woman. Their presence in the attic draws the attention of a dark watcher in the woods, and Arie is forced to choose between the narrow beliefs that have sustained her and the stubborn instinct to love and protect.

In Book One of August Ansel’s captivating post-apocalyptic series, After the Pretty Pox casts an unwavering eye on what it means to be human in a world where nature has the upper hand, and the only rules left to live by – for good or ill – are the ones written on our hearts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

November 7, 2016
EDITORS' PICK Autumn/Winter 2016

After the Pretty Pox: The Attic is the first ever Editors' Pick from our editorial panel at e-scribes.com. It blew us away!

When we receive submissions for consideration for an editorial review, rarely do we find several editorial reviewers--working for 'big five' publishers in their day jobs--proclaiming the book one of the best they ever read. That's what happened here.

As one of those reviewers, I found my heart in my mouth, every sense almost frighteningly awakened. I had a deep desire to run into the street and tell everyone they must, must read it.

I don't recall ever having such a strong feeling about a book before, in fact. It stole my heart and imagination.

While many post-apocalyptic novels cleverly portray the visual and environmental devastation and the friction of the relationships and struggles ensuing, After the Pretty Pox: The Attic shows the deeply personal, gentle-paced, introspective sense of isolation and human suffering and then the overcoming of it.

Characters come alive with sentience; you can almost reach and hold them, and in fact, you'll wish you could do so, to fold the suffering ones in your arms and deliver them to safety.

To try and describe the book's story line and contents would be to do a disservice, because for us,this book is about everything; it's about each of us and the world we know--or, at least, the one thought we did.

The language used is strikingly, hauntingly beautiful, relatively formal prose perfectly selected;in places, we found this a literary work of art, and we devoured and savoured each sentence while holding fast onto the next breath, hardly daring to exhale.

After the Pretty Pox: The Attic is a wordsmith's feast, yet there is nothing pretentious about this novel; its words ripple through the reader's mind like a calm stream, free of hyperbole and unnecessary affect. It does not need to try too hard; we find it sublime as it stands.

A truly incredible,inspirational book and a feat of literary achievement, at e-Scribes, we all consider this is an outstanding, thought-provoking, self-questioning must-read.

After the Pretty Pox: The Attic is the first in a series; while we find it stands alone, on its own merit, we will devour the second with equal relish.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01HW7E12G
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Look Ma No Hands Publishing (July 28, 2016)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 28, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3489 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #725,361 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #5,739 in Dystopian Science Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #6,038 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)
- #7,189 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 283 ratings

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August Ansel

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August Ansel is the pen name (and alter ego) of author Carla Baku. It’s August who is forever wedging beloved dog-eared novels by Shirley Jackson, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill in among the works of Toni Morrison and Tobias Wolff. Working from a tiny garret overlooking the lovely Myrtle Grove Cemetery, August prefers to write novels longhand while sipping bitterly strong tea and wearing an atrocious pair of bedroom slippers.

Readers are most welcome to peruse all August Ansel books at www.carlabaku.com, and to follow on Facebook at CarlaBaku/AugustAnsel.

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4.4 out of 5

283 global ratings

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Heather Allen

Remarkable Story

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2022

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Just when I was sure I had read every good book on Amazon Kindle Unlimited I stumble upon After the Pretty Pox series by August Ansel. Ansel is an amazing storyteller. The story completely sucked me in. So few authors can paint such a vivid picture that the reader feels they are an actual witness. What was so unique was the strangeness of this world. It’s our world but not our world. I wanted to know what the heck was going on and was so totally immersed from page one. I love that feeling of, “Oh boy. Here’s a page turner to settle into.” It’s actually a relief. I was never bored even though I had so many questions that took some time for the answers to reveal themselves. Normally I will read reviews to determine if I want to read a book. My favorite reviews are the ones where reviewers give a brief synopsis of the story. But I can’t do that because I’d rather all of the tale unfold to the reader without preconceived notions. It’s that good. I don’t’ know if book two will be as amazing as book one but I can’t wait to read it. I highly recommend this book. It is so well written that I could see it on a future booklist one day. I also must recommend Kindle Unlimited. Through the relatively inexpensive service there are so many amazing authors I have discovered like August Ansel.

4 people found this helpful

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Bakojim

This was a good book--one of the best dystopian books out there

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2016

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I ended up reading this book twice! I was very impressed by the story line, the depth of the characters while not revealing everything about them to the reader, the reseroucefulness of the survivors and the addition of a dog as a character. When I read the book the 2nd time it took me a few chapters to realize I'd already read it before but I was so hooked (again) that kept reading. This was a good book--one of the best dystopian books out there. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024

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So many books are filled with characters that you don't care for or about. that is not true for the characters in this story. I was so emotionally invested in each of them. They survived when 99% of the world was wiped out. That was the easy part. This was a great read!

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Joanne Meshew

An engrossing tale of survival and humanity after the world's collapse

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2016

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I consider After the Pretty Pox: Book One, The Attic, as my reward for downloading free, 99 cent or other inexpensive stories. This book is the reason I'll keep buying them, even after finishing or not finishing all those stories, that make me want to throw my kindle against the wall.
I'm a fan of apocalyptic, end of the world, and zombie stories, and read a lot of them. After the Pretty Pox was a different take on the end of the world disaster genre.
It opens up several years after much of the world's population has been decimated, rather than during the disaster's unfolding. Few hints are given for why the pox has occurred. We only see the aftermath. The world building is believable and frightening, and the characters' behavior seems realistic.
I like the fact that the main character is much older than the usual survivors in such stories. Her backstory tells us she had a leg up on surviving such a catastrophe, in knowing how to hunt, and grow her own food. But she's managed to keep her humanity and spiritual core intact despite adversity.
She accepts a brother she's never known, and a small group of refugees into her home, even though her own existence is precarious.
I found the story engrossing and read it with some anxiety, and fear for the safety of the characters. I looked forward to reading the story each night, and a little pang in that each new page brought me closer to the end of their journey.
There's very little that I would fault in the telling of the story. The characters were appealing, and the natural threats they faced terrifying. There was violence toward the end of the tale, and a group of human thugs that makes their survival even shakier.
To me, After the Pretty Pox was great, with characters you care for, and a suspenseful story that held your interest all the way to the end. I loved the stunning book cover. I'll gladly buy the next book of the story.

2 people found this helpful

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KayDoubleYou

The Pink

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016

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This book ends in a soft cliffhanger. It can be read as a stand alone if desired, but if one wants to clear up loose ends from the first story, the expected second story is needed. According to the author the second book should be available in the fall of 2016. There are no graphic descriptions of sex or sexual acts, but rape is touched on. There is no significant blood or gore until near the end. This book is suggested for adult readers.

The world is gone. A plague called Pink has wiped out all but a tiny percentage of people, and the survivors have been reduced to scavenging and dangerous behavior. Ari, (female), has lived in the attic of her grandparents' home for almost two years, since the plague began. Having run away from her father's cult at fifteen, she is content to be alone.

However, much to her surprise and annoyance, she finds herself with a brother she has never met and a young woman with a terrible injury. As she collects others she becomes the target of a petty dictator holed up in the local school. The confluence of these people changes her life.

When we are introduced to Ari, she is an older woman in her 60's. She has made a small but safe home for herself and is content to be alone after fleeing her large, loud family. Having lived alone after her Grandmother dies, then after the plague, she doesn't realize she is missing human companionship until her brother finds her. Once she has people back in her life, she longs for her peace and silence again. This dichotomy, wanting and not wanting, defines her character.

Ari and her eventual companions are neatly described. The reader is able to follow as each character changes in reaction to actions and environment without feeling that important information has accidently been left off the page. The plot moves smoothly, without tedious over description or multiple plot devices. As the primary point of view is Ari's, and she practices a kind of zen, the story avoids the hysteria often present in end of the world books.

This reader found the book a pleasant, quick read with characters one easily becomes invested in. The lack of conspiracies, hysteria and zombies, makes this an unusual apocalypse story.

12 people found this helpful

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Portneuf

Survival Living Raw

Reviewed in Canada on October 13, 2022

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A very riveting story. I enjoyed the regular pace of the story telling, the vivid characters with their strengths and flaws. Let yourself be drawn into the "telling"!

Pete Hall

Beautifully written and surprisingly original

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2024

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I was drawn to this novel by the beautiful cover and intriguing title.
It's is a wonderful post-apocalyptic story which avoids falling into the standard tropes. For a start, the protagonist is a 52-year-old woman surviving in an attic with no special skills. What a refreshing change for the protagonist to not be an ex-special forces superman.
We are introduced to Arie’s daily battle for existence in exquisite detail and find out she has survived by keeping under the radar and avoiding everyone. Her life as a hermit is rudely interrupted and her relationship with the interlopers forms the major thrust of the story.
However, half-way through the book, the real antagonist appears, causing the story to move up a gear towards a thrilling climax.
The book is beautifully written with plenty of plot twists and surprises. I look forward to book 2 in the series.

helen

Excellent Post-Pandemic Story

Reviewed in Canada on July 25, 2020

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I absolutely loved Talus (the dog) in this well-written, clean, inspiring story. The author has done a fantastic job with character development as the reader is drawn into each of the attic's inhabitant's lives. Arie’s survival skills - her snares, gardens, tools, heating source, cooking, and preserving abilities - all give a sense of reality to the story. And Arie, a middle-aged woman with painful joints, presents a more genuine character than some Rambo-like individual.

...Storms had blown over a great many trees, more than a few power poles (which had been trees once, too) and dragged useless lines down into snarled nests. All those entertaining pulses of data and power, all those houses tethered like angular fetuses on twisted umbilici, all silent now.

...The wind thrashed outside, and the lights of the kerosene lamps flickered so that their shadows rose and fell, faded and sharpened.

Peter Wenham

Thoughts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 21, 2020

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I read a lot and rarely leave a review unless a book is exceptionally well, or poorly, written. Post apocalyptic novels are a dime a dozen, this one is definitely above the crowd. The characters are well drawn and act in a way that can be believed in such unimaginable circumstances.

My only criticism is that the plot, which has such a different take to start with, centreing on the inner thoughts and interactions between the group; but at the end veers back into the inevitable clash with “the bad guys". I realise its entertainment, but it ever seems that the temptation to come up with some kind of second cataclysmic cliffhanger, prevented the exploration of a much more likely, extremely difficult, voluntary separation of the group and its outcome.

Certainly the fire and its results make for a more outwardly exciting bridge to part two of the series, but Aries character needed more analysis and development under less dramatic terms. Although bad things really do happen in life, for most people they are few and far between and such extremes seem to me to be too contrived to be believable. A small bad turn of events can be just as devastating as the big dramatic play, and the transition from a thoughtful exploration into the dramatic disaster is what dropped the rating to 4 stars.

There is one more book in the series, but I hope that the author continues to write other stories as her style has clarity and structure.

One person found this helpful

FamilySpurrier

Wonderful and Intriguing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2024

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I really enjoyed the storyline and the way answers were slowly revealed throughout the book about the past and the events that had led up to the story line.
At first I didn't take to the main character Arie but by the end of the book i think I was her biggest fan.
I can't wait to read book 2

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After the Pretty Pox: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Tale (Book One The Attic) Kindle Edition

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August Ansel

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