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Third leg of the stool. Texas author Ernie Gammage has had one since he was born. The other blossomed in the 1970s, and the third? Happening right now.
At 77, Ernie released his first book of speculative short fiction, WHAT AWAITS?. At age 80, his second book, the post-apocalyptic thriller, AFTER THE BEFORE, is out this year. What’s this all about, these legs of a stool?
“I always new I wanted to do all of these things,” he says. “I’ve been a musician all my life, started working in acrylic and oil pastels in the early 1970 while living in England, and have been compelled to whittle away at that third stool, writing, in my late 70s, now 80s. The thing that binds all these together, that creates a well-made stool, is stories. It’s all the same: the stool is stories.”
A fan of science fiction since his youth and enamored of medieval history, Ernie’s combined these elements into his new novel. “I’m not pulling medieval history, per se, into the book, but rather the casual way life—and death—was treated during the medieval period. Yeah, it has whacko zealots and bloodthirsty sentient machines, but at heart its about finding one’s way,” he says.
As a musician, Ernie’s written, performed and produced music for over 60 years. In 2016 he was inducted into the Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame. As an artist, his work is available on his website and at art fairs around Texas.
Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite
After the Before by Ernie Gammage shows us a hauntingly beautiful post-apocalyptic landscape, where memory, mystery, and survival weave together in unexpected ways. Scavengers Sophie and Markus stumble across a mysterious sealed box buried in the ruins, hundreds of years after a global collapse. Driven by curiosity and the faint hope that it contains answers, or maybe even salvation, they set out across a ravaged world to reach a legendary city. Along the way, there are monstrous machines and fanatical zealots that threaten to tear them apart, along with their own inner demons. When Sophie is captured, Markus must dig deep into a past he’s tried to bury to mount a rescue and confront what the world has become.
Author Ernie Gammage has a real sense of visceral tension, and he delivers more than just another survival story because of the heart and soul of the characters. I was struck by how deeply human Sophie and Markus felt, especially as their relationship evolved in a world that’s lost almost everything. The central mystery of the box is compelling, but it’s the emotional weight packed with issues of grief, trust, fear, and hope that gives the journey its power. The imagery is gritty and haunting, and the antagonists, especially the machines, add a terrifying sci-fi edge. I found myself thinking about legacy, about how much of the past survives us, and what future we dare to hope for. Overall, After the Before is an emotionally rich, atmospheric adventure that dystopian and speculative fiction lovers will absolutely want to explore, and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
