November SFFKit 2025: The day after

Let's read about the day after... after the big event (declaration of war, invasion, magical happening, meeting with aliens, etc.) but also after the war is won or lost, after the hero becomes king or win his goal, after some closure has been attained.
Many books stop there but for exemple, Tchaikovsky in Redemption's blade imagine what happens after the "dark lord" is killed. Marko Kloos in Aftershocks does it too. I'll be interested in books tackling what happens after the great deed has been accomplished. Robert Greaves mentionned So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens as fulfilling the same theme.
Let's play with foreseen and surprising consequences.

I'm planning to read One Day All This Will Be Yours by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which appears to be an "after the war is over" story. New author to me, so no idea what to expect.

Any recs on how to search a TBR for this sort of subject without just going book cover to book cover reading blurbs? I'm a little lost on how to search for ideas for this one lol.

I am planning to read The Road to Winter by Mark Smith. This Dystopian book is set after a deadly virus and resulting violence have changed the world. Now the characters must focus on survival.

I also have Wreckage Road on my TBR. It is set after deadly earthquakes and tsunamis have changed the landscape of western U.S.A.. Now the survivors must try to move east-ward and find a safe haven.

Just a heads-up that I have created the 2026 Category Challenge group: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24919/2026-Category-Challenge. Stop by to get a head start on planning next year's challenge!

(Cross-posted to a bunch of threads; sorry if you see this a thousand times!)

>3 whitewavedarling: maybe look at tagnmashes with “Postapocalyptic“?
I found quite a few books that I think would fit this theme on that list. Station Eleven, Oryx and Crake, The Girl with all the gifts.
Maybe an “Invasion” or “Occupation” tagmash would yield some results.

>6 amberwitch:, Oh, that makes sense! I think I was thinking too literally--as in thinking of books that would happen within hours or a day or two of a 'big event' vs. taking place after it in general.

>7 whitewavedarling: I do think it is a difficult there to search for. I also looked at books tagged “first contact”, and I thought only a few books on the list would fit, like Speaker for the Dead and The War of the worlds.
So I am also still considering this one.

I just read Dating After the End of the World - a new release on KU - which would fit for this perfectly. It was ok, a quick read.
One I really loved and recommend is The High House by Jessie Greengrass.

>6 amberwitch: >7 whitewavedarling: I was having problems searching for something involving the immediate aftermath as well. But if it's more generally after X, then

The Healer by Antti Tuomainen and
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris

have been sitting on my shelves for a while.

I think I'm going to end up reading The Future Second by Second--it sounds like it should fit well since the aftermath doesn't need to be immediate, and it's from Stelliform Press, which has become my favorite indie publisher for SFF.

I'm not sure if it's really SFF but one of my Halloween reads is The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix about a therapy support group for survivors of slasher film type mass murders.

The setup topic for the 2026 SFFKit can be found here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/375093

Please stop by and let us know if you'd like to host a month!

>12 Robertgreaves: that sounds like it fits the theme in a very amusing way.

I read Nevil Shute's On the Beach, in which a bunch of very nice Australians wait calmly and politely to die after the great powers destroy the world in nuclear war.

Hi all, just an FYI that CAT voting is in progress over at the 2026 group! Polls close on Saturday, November 15, so be sure to submit your votes by then to help choose next year's CATs: https://www.librarything.com/topic/374659#8995115.

(Cross-posting this at a bunch of threads.)

Finished The last Murder at the end of the world, about the last post-apocalyptic colony left on Earth, and the society build on the leftovers.
Not really my taste, but it was well-written and easily read.

Hollow Kingdom

How delightful! I'm not really a zombie apocalypse reader, but this book has a very refreshing take, being narrated by a crow with a colourful vocabulary. This book might have the strongest voice and some of the most creative and delightful prose I've read all year. Although the humans in the story are all dying, this is ultimately a story about family, hope, and healing.

Full review on my thread. Highly recommended.

Decembers thread has been posted: https://www.librarything.com/topic/375621

I am not going to get to The Road to Winter this month so hae set it aside for nother time. I did read Wreckage Road and really liked it. Currently I am reading bout the days following a zombie outbreak with Zombie Fallout by Mark Tufo.

>18 GraceCollection: Glad to hear this was good. It's been on my TBR for a while now. Will be moving it up the list to hopefully get to it soon! I've also got her newest one, Tartufo on my radar. Hopefully that one is good too.