Post-Apocalypticon (The Apocalypticon Series) Paperback – October 30, 2018

When I finished Apocalypticon, it was one of those cases where I had to ask myself, 'Well, how the hell am I gonna top that?'. It was pound for pound one of the most entertaining reads of my life. Thankfully, I just so happened to have purchased its sequel.From jump it felt immediately familiar, with all the peculiar twitches and mojo present and accounted for. Its takes place a couple years after the first, but you don't feel the gap at all, as the story fleshes out perfectly from the first volume into this new story. Ones the horses leave the gate, the action doesnt stop. Between the laughs and hanging on to the edge of your seat action, Mr. Smith takes you on a ride that barely gives you a chance to catch your breath. But when it does, however, it will absolutely break your heart.In my review of the first book, I noted that Mr. Smiths strength was in his ability to write a great character and that quality absolutely shines in Post Apocalypticon. I had to set this one down more than once to collect myself.I cannot wait for the third installment!

In Smith's followup to "Apocalypticon", we reunite with an embittered Ben who's even more cantankerous and impatient than before. When raiders steal something of great importance to him, he embarks on an epic journey to retrieve it. He weathers predicaments ranging from ridiculous to horrifying while pursued by a gigantic woman who seems hell-bent on Ben's destruction. Even though he's never met her. Clayton Smith sets a frenetic storytelling pace, intertwining humor and wit with surprisingly poignant moments set against the brutality of a post-apocalyptic world that's getting even worse, if that's possible. This is a no-brainer for Smith fans, but I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a story with quirky, flawed characters, sudden violence and hilarious situations.

With Apocalypticon, Clayton Smith reinvented the end of the world and turned it into a madcap road trip filled with humor, horror, and heartache; with Post-Apocalypticon, he reworks the buddy story and transforms a bleak doomsday desert wasteland into a backdrop for restoration and redemption, and the training ground for a (mostly) unexpected hero. The result is a book that's beyond magical, an equal partner to its initial outing.Ben Foglevee is back, a little older and so much wiser now, this time in the starring role - once held by his best pal, Patrick Deen, who vacated it at the end of book one. Ben has found purpose as the keeper of the Red Caps, trainer of the Amtrak's top men...though all of them generally linger near the bottom of the "takin' care of business" scale. This becomes all too apparent when Horace’s (he’s back, too!) pride and joy is besieged by bandits who steal a Treasure of Untold Significance and carry it off into the desert. Being the conscientious, responsible sort that he is, Ben heads into the hinterlands to retrieve it...but not for the reasons you might think. Along the way, he meets a new cadre of strange survivors, madcap and menacing in equal measure, and makes something of an enemy in a mysterious, lumbering colossus of a woman who seems intent on destroying everything in her path—including Ben. No spoilers, but he’s also accompanied by the memory of someone very familiar...someone who completes the set and keeps the rollicking banter we so loved from the first book rolling along throughout, while paving the way for some incredible emotional depth by fleshing out the time between the end of Act I and the beginning of Act II. And it’s sincerely and supremely heartbreaking this time, as much as it was the last; learning what happened in the years After Patrick as Smith slowly unspools those moments is a study in anguish built by poignance and suspense, and a grace note among all the other enchantment. The shading he gives his characters when least expected—moments of breathtaking sadness sandwiched between passages of soaring hilarity—brings them even further to life in a way that few authors are capable of, and serves as a testament to his amazing growth as a storyteller and a writer in the years since Apocalypticon. For a thrilling comedy about what happens after the world ends but YOU don’t, the story is again imbued with genuine emotional resonance that leaves you spent and recharged at the same time. Not an easy thing for an author to achieve in a first story (though he absolutely did), let alone continue in a sequel. But he does it with aplomb. Pat and Ben stand as one of the most enjoyable literary buddy teams ever put on page...the idea that they get another story to play in is electrifying for anyone who fell in love with their sweet-yet-snarky bond in the first act, which only grows richer and deeper in the second. They are cinema-ready, and Hollywood would do well to snatch up the rights to the franchise and get it to screen as soon as possible.For anyone out there asking if there could ever possibly be a worthy follow-up to the novel that breathed fresh life into stories about the death of civilization, the answer is a resounding YES. If it’s been a while since you read the first book, it’s a solid idea to reread that one beforehand and sail right into the second one so you have the full scope and scale of it all directly in front of you, for maximum impact. And if you haven’t read the first one? Well...start now so you can catch up with the rest of us. You’re in for the ride of a lifetime.

This is an amazing continuation of The Apocalypticon story. Apocalypticon is one of my favorite books (it's in the top ten) and I absolutely love these characters. We are BFFs...well not the bad guys or the zombies or the crazies...so maybe not BFFs. More like those family members that you don't mind seeing every other holiday so you can hear how messed up their lives are and then you think "wow, I am killing it at the adulting thing cause Uncle Jim is nuts." What I'm trying to say is that you really connect with all the characters in this book and you feel real empathy for all of them, good and bad.The dynamics of these characters are just so real. This IS what real people would do if the world ended. The author is excellent at making you want to end it all but you just keep on trucking with Ben because in the end we as humans assume there must be something more to this world, to life. It's a roller-coaster ride of laughter, tears, fear, hope and friendship. It gave me all the feels. If you haven't read the Apocalypticon you should before you read this one because there are a lot of inside jokes that you won't get if you don't. Also it AWESOME! You won't regret it.

I loved the first book and I love this book too. I’m not going to get into the story, there are other reviews for that. I just came here to say that I have been a voracious reader since the first grade. I eat books for breakfast. I’ve read hundreds of books, but I NEVER review them. But this book? I just had to come here to say how much I loved this series. I inhaled it! It was bittersweet, sad, hilarious, ludicrous and altogether wonderful. The world is a tough place and the Post-M Day world laid out in this book is even tougher, but there is hope, and hope is the last thing to die. Buy this book, it is so worth it.

I enjoy the sense of humor in such a desolate world. I would recommend this book to people interested in post-apocalypse settings.

Hilarious as expected and couldn’t put it down. Just hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next one Clayton!!! Def recommend to anyone looking for a quirky, funny, adventure!

I read Apocalypticon when it came out and I loved it. I was over the moon when I heard there was going to be a sequel and I really wasn’t disappointed.For those that read Apocalypticon and felt you knew Patrick and Ben personally then this is a must read to find out how Ben’s adventures continue. Will he survive without Patrick or will he curl up into a ball? I’m not telling you but trust me, this book is well worth it to find out.If you haven’t read Apocalypticon then you have you have my sincere apologies for your sheltered life and you should still read this book (although I’d recommend you do read Apocalypticon first)

Loving the book so far, but amazon? Sod off on asking for book reviews the day after we download them