Twenty Years after the earth’s population was practically wiped out, a group of teens in a desolated London meet each other, find they are connected in strange ways and face many difficult and life changing events. Twenty Years Later by E.J. Newman is a gripping and exciting story that I simply tore through.

Newman sets her story in a London that is littered with crumbling buildings, old bones and pieces of a dead society. The survivors have banded into gangs and fight for their territory and survival. In the midst of this we find Miri, a healer, who along with her son, Zane, tend a garden and live quietly. The are left on their own as they benefit all with their healing.

This book was very good and I enjoyed it, but I did come across a number of things that really grated on me. The “event” that wiped out millions was never really explained although there clearly are survivors that are still around and you would think they would talk about this. Also the author treats modern day technology as a long ago forgotten thing. I am sure that even 20 years later, the survivors still remember TV, electricity, and telephones and would speak of these things. I felt more like the “event” had happened a couple of hundred years ago.

Without giving any spoilers, there were some plot holes that jumped out at me as well. That being said, overall I really enjoyed the read. I liked the characters and look forward to having more of this story revealed in future books. Yes, this is the first in a planned trilogy, so everything was not tied up neatly at the end, but she also didn’t leave us dangling too far out there. I believe this is the author’s first book and I think it’s a great first effort and can’t wait to see where she goes next. ( )

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next. Got completely swept up in the world that was built and the characters within. It's a little confusing as the "how" is given to you in bits and pieces as the book progresses instead of all at once. But, if you hang in till the end all (well not all as some of my questions went unanswered) will be revealed. i gave 4 stars as sometimes I had a hard time tracking what was going on and found myself slowing my reading pace to be able to grasp what was happening. Other than that, fine piece of writing. ( )

20 Years Later is a book that I was aware of long before it was picked up by fledgling US publisher Dystopia Press. The publishers very kindly sent me a copy to review many months ago, but even before then I already knew a great deal about the story as Emma Newman, the author of 20 Years Later, had been podcasting the story through her website for some time. Three quarters of the way through doing this she got that publishing deal for the book, but Dystopia Press allowed her to continue hosting the podcasts on her website.

I have mentioned previously in reviews that post-apocalyptic and dystopian stories seem to be all the rage in YA literature at the moment, although the genre is one that I only tend to dip in and out of. Focusing more on the post-apocalyptic rather than dystopian side of things, examples that spring to mind are Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin (great zombie story) and Moira Young's Blood Red Road (Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome for the new millennium). Whilst I would suggest that 20 Years Later is not as polished as either of these two, it is still a hugely enjoyable read. This story refreshingly does not include any zombies, neither is it like Mad Max, and best of all, in comparison to the majority of post-apocalyptic stories published this year, it is not set in the USA, but in London.

The story starts off with a prologue, narrated by an as yet unnamed person. I'm not a big fan of prologues in post-apocalyptic stories, as they are sometimes used to give the reader a history of whichever apocalypse has occurred, be it mass-zombification of a population, nuclear war, climate change, etc. The prologue is written as if it were the introduction to a book, long lost and finally discovered many years later, with the narrator begging the reader to read on, rather than burn the book for a few more minutes of heat. Whilst it is used to divulge a little information, to set the scene, it does not give us any information regarding the nature of the apocalypse (referred to as It), but a description of London being a 'dusty, ghost-filled monument to the dead' with bone-littered streets, leaves us with no doubt at all that 'It' was pretty nasty indeed.

The London of 2032 is a pretty nasty place indeed. Areas have been taken over by various gangs, and these gangs are happy to fight to the death in order to prevent other encroaching on their territory. We have the Bloomsbury Boys, the Gardeners and the most organised and strongest group, The Red Lady's Gang. Main character Zane lives with his mother Miri in Bloomsbury. The pair are tolerated by the gang of boys that control that part of London as his Zane's mum has often been their first port of call when injured as a result of a fight with another gang. Miri has a small house, with a tidy garden, different to most of the overgrown areas in the city. Living so close to the Bloomsbury Boys is not easy for Zane; he wants to fit in with the crowd, but also feels obliged to follow the rules that his mother has laid down for him.

Zane's world is shaken to the core by several events near the beginning of the story. First off, he and his friend Dev observe a mysterious giant stalking the corridors of a long-abandoned hospital, an event that stirs up a good deal of speculation amongst the rest of the gang. Soon afterwards a small boy, dressed only in pyjamas, is discovered on the fringe of Russell Square, central in the Boys' territory. As soon as the boy sees Zane's face he becomes completely terrifed, yet Zane has never seen him before in his life. So begins a tale that sees Zane having to grow very quickly, as he comes under the influence of the Red Lady, discovers he has a strange power, and meets Erin and Titus, two other very special young people, who join him in his quest to discover what the giant is doing, and where Titus' kidnapped sister has been taken.

One of the things I really liked about 20 Years Later was main character Zane. In may post-apocalyptic stories we are given characters who are wise beyond their years, their personalities hardened by the difficult lives they have had to lead in order to survive. Zane is very different to these characters - he is one of life's innocents, and has a naivety rarely seen in books of this genre. If he had been a fully paid up member of a gang this would not have been at all believable, but unlike the other children in the book he has been brought up within the protective sphere of his mother's influence, having to work the garden and follow sensible rules. She has shielded him from the realities that have faced everyone else, and as such he is not as well equipped as others when it comes to survival. He therefore has to grow a great deal as the story progresses.

One of the things I find quite hard to believe in many post-apocalyptic stories with young characters is how every one of them so quickly acclimatise to their new situation, fast becoming great survivalists. As someone who works with children I know that this simply would not be the case - a small number might, but many would give up as soon as things got too tricky for them. Having a character who is not worldy-wise and a ready killer is, for me, a breath of fresh air in this genre. Zane has also had the finer details of the nature of 'It' kept from him; in fact, none of the Boys seem aware of the nature of the apocalypse that affected their world, and as readers we are kept guessing until very near the end of the story. Again, I quite liked this as it kept the story feeling fresh and different to many others that deal with similar themes.

As I said before, 20 Years Later does not seem as polished as other big name books in this genre. This is not the fault of the author, who I feel has created a well-paced, exciting story. The blame needs to be laid on the head of the publisher, but not too heavily. Like all small press publishers, Dystopia Press will have limited resources and less time to put into the editing process, and I think this book would have benefited from the more rigorous editing process it would have received in the hands of one of the major publishers.

20 Years Later is the first book in a planned trilogy, and as such there are many loose ends left untied come the final page. E.J Newman does end the story in a satisfactory manner, without leaving us dangling on a nasty cliffhanger, but leaves us with plenty to look forward to in future instalments. Flaws aside, this is a hugely enjoyable read and I will definitely be wanting to follow the rest of the story. ( )

Emma Newman currently lives in Somerset, England, not terribly far from where she was born in a coastal village. After graduating from Oxford, she worked in magazine publishing, web site information architecture, and had a stint as a teacher. She has also recorded audio book versions of her works. Emma has published a collection of short stories,From Dark Places, and the forthcoming novel, Split Worlds…It Begins. Twenty Years Later is her first novel.

Sporadically, I have encountered dystopian literature and enjoyed what I have read – The Lord of the Flies, 1984, Brave New World – without ever actually seeking it out. When I first heard about Emma Newman’s YA novel, I experienced a twinge of skepticism. However, she captured my attention on the first pages.

20 Years After recounts the story of London, 20 years after a mysterious event which wiped out most of the adults. Left behind, gangs of young boys occupied and defended patches of the city with violent and frequently deadly consequences. Miri, a woman knowledgeable in the field of medicine, and her son Zane occupy a garden in an area bordered by three gangs – The Gardners, the Red Lady gang, and the Bloomsbury boys. Miri tries to protect Zane from the outside world. The garden and their house provide a safe haven from the violence of the city. Despite her efforts, Zane befriends one of the Bloomsbury boys, and the outside encroaches on their lives.

Only an occasional piece of conversation betrays the youth of these gang members and reminds me I am reading a YA novel.

Not only is this a first novel for Newman but also the first novel published by Dystopia Press, a local publisher in Central Texas. 20 Years After is the first volume of a trilogy, and I eagerly await parts two and three. 5 stars

--Jim, 12/27/11 ( )

In 20 Years Later most of London (maybe the world?) has perished. Now we see quite a bit of youth with no knowledge of life before this huge unexplained disaster. Gangs have formed and they’re extremely territorial about their claimed areas. Violence is common place as everyone fights to survive. Zane and his mom have managed to make a place for themselves without joining any of the local gangs. They grow food and help heal the injured. This has made them important and bought them much needed protection from two local gangs. Much more is going on in this world than anyone realizes. Zane discovers he has a hidden talent and meets up with two others who also seem to have something special about them.

20 Years Later turned out to be nothing like I’d expected. Initially I was so confused it really impacted my reading enjoyment. It took a good 50-75 pages to really grab my attention, but once it did I was hooked.

I think the main issue was being dropped into this complex dystopian London with zero clue as to why things are the way they are 20 years after “It” occurred. What is “It"? The main characters have no clue, so they can’t enlighten us readers. I’m so glad I trudged through my initial confusion because there was a really great story lurking on the pages. Once the characters began to question the state of the world and search for answers it was almost like the fog lifted for me. At last I felt like I was submerged in a totally screwed up world which for some bizarre reason entertains me to no end.

The characters were pretty cool, but I admit I wanted to shake Zane a few times. Actually I should probably have shook his mom since she raised him in a totally messed up world without ever explaining how messed up it was. His naivety tried my patience to no end, and I was thrilled to see a more jaded Zane at the book’s end. I really loved Titus and Erin. They felt more real to me. I also found the gang system very interesting. I hope the author will explore their secrets more in the next book.

I loved how this one ended and will pick up the next in the series to see what happens to Zane, Titus, Erin and the little known about Eve. Hopefully with the world building out of the way we can delve right into the action! ( )