“After the Fall” by Edward Ashton

This week’s book is actually something I bought for my husband, who loves nothing more than talking about, thinking about, and reading about aliens. He is still knee-deep in Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series, so he hasn’t read this week’s pick just yet. However, I was browsing through his to-be-read stack, looking for something a little bit different from my usual reads, and let me tell you, this sci-fi invasion story and buddy comedy did not disappoint!

“After the Fall” by Edward Ashton takes a delightfully weird look at life a century after alien “grays” step in to save the remnants of humanity from total collapse. Instead of treating survivors as equal partners, however, the aliens decide that humans make far better pets. Enter John, a compliant, genetically modified human who has spent his entire life following three basic rules: Stay quiet, stay obedient, and stay good. John is bonded to Martok, a tall, bumbling gray who is broke, wildly eccentric, and slightly erratic. Despite being John’s technical master, Martok treats him more like a trusted companion than a household animal, making John’s life surprisingly comfortable compared with the tragic fate of most surviving humans.

The real trouble begins when Martok’s get-rich-quick ambitions get out of hand. Hoping to turn an abandoned cabin in the deep woods into a lucrative resort for wealthy aliens, Martok takes out a massive loan and uses John’s ownership contract as collateral. John suddenly finds himself with 60 days to help his well-meaning but utterly incompetent owner turn a profit or risk being sold to far less friendly buyers. To make matters even more chaotic, their DIY retreat venture brings a fiery young human woman into their lives who was raised in the wild. She holds nothing but pure contempt for domesticated “pets” like John and challenges every belief he holds about his place in the universe.

As the deadline ticks down, John has to balance building a business with dodging dangerous local crime bosses and investigating mysterious, violent attacks in the nearby forest. Instead of creating a typical bleak dystopia, Ashton turns this wild setup into a hilarious, heartfelt buddy comedy packed with workplace satire and unexpected alliances. John has to rely on his wits, quiet resourcefulness, and deep patience to keep Martok’s schemes afloat and earn back his freedom. It is a lighthearted, fast-paced sci-fi adventure that manages to stay genuinely funny while asking big questions about friendship, loyalty, and what it really means to be human in a universe full of giant gray overlords.

I hope you enjoy this fun read, and don’t forget to check out my Instagram, @allison.the.reader, for more book recommendations and book talk!