The Afterward

The Afterward is an homage to, and a reconsidering of, classic quest fantasies, in particular The Belgariad by David and Leigh Eddings. In Johnston’s story, a mostly-female quest party searches for a jewel that can defeat an evil god. They are successful; the kingdom is saved; and the now-famous questors continue on with their lives, with varying degrees of success.

The two narrators/protagonists are apprentice-knight Kalanthe and thief Olsa who fall in love with each other during the quest. They can see no way to be together afterward, however, because Kalanthe’s knight-oath requires her to marry a wealthy man in order to pay off her apprenticeship debt.

The narration alternates between Olsa and Kalanthe in the “Before”—during the quest—and “After”. After the quest, Olsa returns to thieving because she refuses the king’s charity and can think of no other way to make a living. Kalanthe tries to protect Olsa, but she has to travel out of the city to meet a potential husband, and, in her absence, Olsa is condemned to death for thievery. Meanwhile, the godsgem they brought back from their quest is causing problems, and the questors have to reunite to deal with it.

The focus of The Afterward is not on the quest, the defeat of the evil god, or the powerful godsgem. There are scenes from the quest and the final battle, and from the later encounter with the godsgem, but the disjointed narration makes any action and adventure feel like backdrops for Johnston’s development of character, rather like the action of Hamlet becomes the backdrop for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. This is a story about the motivation for heroism and the effects of it. It examines the roles people choose and the ones they are forced into. It questions faithfulness, friendship, obligation and love. The significant moments of this novel are in between the action when the characters are talking to each other and thinking about each other.

There is a love story at the heart of The Afterward, but, as with the adventure, the romance is not the focus. Rather, the narration considers the consequences of love. What is its place in everyday life? Where does it fall in the priority of demands on a person based on their chosen role, their duty to themselves and society?

The Afterward is diverse in multiple dimensions, with female, male, trans, hetero, lesbian, bi, ace characters of varying skin colours playing various roles in the story, without comment or even notice from the other characters. In Johnson’s world, diversity is accepted, matter-of-fact, normal. Any question the reader has about something being accepted then automatically becomes a question about our own world.

The Afterward is a thoughtful book that challenges assumptions and questions everything. Readers hoping for fast-paced sword-and-sorcery will find this novel slow, confusing and possibly dull. Readers who have imbibed many classic quest fantasies and are looking for a different take on the tradition will appreciate the sly spoofing of the genre and the reversal of narrative expectations. Readers eager to see traditional fantasy become more inclusive and representative will love this novel.