After the War is set twenty years after the end of the The Shores of Spain and tells the story of "João" a young laborer who lost his entire memory during World War I. A chance encounter at a bar changes his life when he bumps into people who knew him in his previous existence—one of whom claims to be his wife. But somewhere in the depths of his memory lurks a secret, one which someone appears to be desperate to uncover. Can he remember himself in time, or will he and his new old friends be able to improvise their way to the bottom of things? You will have to wait for the end to find out.

A fun novella, possibly the best installment in that world since The Seat of Magic. I had hoped for more news of our old friends from the trilogy, but the novella format really didn't allow for much (except that Marina and Joaquim appear to have finally grown up sometime in the last twenty years). If you like your fantasies with a bit of history and mystery, this may be for you, but to truly understand everything, you'll want to start with The Golden City first. ( )