"After America," by John Birmingham, (New York: Del Ray Books; 2011), 502 pages.
ISBN 978-0-345-50292-6
After America by John Birmingham is the second book in a series of three fictional alternative history books based on the premise of “what would the world be like if one day the United States ceased to exist? The first book in the series Without Warning covered the consequences and immediate impact of the disappearance of most of the people within the United States. After America is set three to four years after Without Warning. It expands on Birmingham’s premise that the world would be a much worse place without the United States.
Birmingham uses a shifting narrative to tell the story. The first perspective is that of the President of the United States, a former engineer from Seattle, a man who was ill-prepared for the role who has to face multiple complex problems. These vary from the challenge to his authority from a former general now governing Texas to overseeing the restoration of order and the basic necessaries and conveniences of life in Kansas City, the emerging federal government dominated city in this new America. The most pressing issue for the President is the military campaign in New York, where battles are fought against opportunistic pirates (systematically looting the city of its wealth and shipping it to other countries) and the battles against Islamic fighters intent on bringing a holy war to the United States for the purpose of establishing Islam as its dominant religion. Birmingham tells the story of the battles from the perspective of an Islamic revolutionary, an American soldier, and a private treasure hunter performing a search and rescue mission for a wealthy client. Birmingham also shifts the narrative to a migrant family from Mexico settled in Texas to raise cattle. Their new life is turned upside down by bands of raiders that roam the countryside to loot and kill. The new settlers suffer greatly at the hand of raider and form an alliance with other like minded families to commence the long and dangerous trek to the comparative safety of Federal protection in Kansas City. Their journey faces multiple difficulties that include other bands of raiders and the hostile elements. Birmingham also includes a sub-plot that focuses on a highly experienced female assassin who seeks revenge on an old enemy that made an attempt on the life of her family. This vengeance tale takes her to parts of the United Kingdom, Europe, and eventually the United States (particularly New York) where her story merges with battle for New York
After America naturally appeals to readers of alternative history/fiction and speculative military fiction. Birmingham succeeds in making a fascinating and gripping story. His success with this series of books may be due to the fact that he lays out in detail just how cruel and unpleasant the world would be without the stabilizing influence of the United States in its present form. Birmingham’s vision reminds me of the aftermath of the collapse and “balkanization” of Yugoslavia, but on a much larger scale.
The obvious difficulty with this book is that it presumes knowledge of the back-story from Without Warning. Most readers would have already read this book, so they are aware of the back-story; however, if you haven’t read the first book in the series, you may not know exactly what has happened and how the world got into this situation. My advice is to read Without Warning before you read After America. This book also suffers from being the second of three books. It starts and ends abruptly; at the end many issues are left hanging, presumably to be resolved in the third and final book. Such quibbles aside, After America is an entertaining and enjoyable book for all readers, not just for science fiction readers, military campaign readers and lovers of alternative history. It’s a good story, but not uplifting and at times bleak. Birmingham has done well though, and he succeeds in getting his readers to want to know what will happen next, wonder if things will work out, and of course buy the third book in the series to get those answers.
