In May of this year, the reading app Fable launched the LeVar Burton Book Club. Open to all subscribers, the club allows readers to discuss seminal works in a positive community led by Burton himself.
Since its launch, Burton and other members of the club have read classics together like James Baldwin’s Go Tell It on the Mountain, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, and Jesmyn Ward’s The Fire This Time.
Beginning October 27th, the LeVar Burton Book Club is starting a new read: Burton’s own debut sci-fi novel, Aftermath.
Originally published in 1997, Aftermath was released as an ebook in July 2021, featuring a brand-new author’s note.
The gripping novel takes place after 2019, in an eerily-familiar world destabilized by civil war, climate change, and the assassination of America’s first Black president. As Burton acknowledges in the author’s note, “There have been significant changes, both positive and negative, in America since this novel was first published in 1997.” The book’s prescient vision of the future makes it a rich source of discussion about race and power in present-day America.
Despite the dystopian setting, Aftermath isn’t a grim read. It has the same optimism and humanity as its author, whose authenticity and conviction as an advocate, host, and actor has endeared him to generations. And there’s no better way to experience Aftermath than by reading it along with Burton himself.
Take a sneak peek at a discussion post from the book club below!
But you don’t have to take our word for it: readers who buy the book on Fable can enjoy a unique social reading experience. Club members can highlight, comment, and share links, photos, and other media right inside the text with fellow readers (including Burton). It’s a great way to share the joy of reading with others, and a rare opportunity to read an acclaimed novel alongside its iconic author, who will be sharing memories, thoughts, and additional context with readers throughout the book.
