This Is The Next Century: Aftershot (Volume 1) Is Released (January 2024)
This Is The Next Century: Aftershot (often just called Aftershot) is a travel-adventure memoir that continues Jonny Blair’s life story on the road after he’d already visited 100 countries — a milestone he reached in his earlier Backpacking Centurion series.
🌍 What It Covers
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Time Frame: March 2015 – June 2016.
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Adventures & destinations: The book takes readers from the deserts of Tunisia through places like Bangladesh, The Faroe Islands, and a series of tiny or quirky self-declared states such as Austenasia, Podjistan, Adammia, Karakalpakstan and Ladonia.
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Highs and Lows: Blair doesn’t shy away from the stark and sometimes brutal realities of travel — including visits to sites of historical horror such as Chernobyl and Auschwitz, and unusual experiences like a football stadium nicknamed the “Taliban Stadium.”
🧭 Style & Approach
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Personal and reflective: The narrative mixes anecdotal travel tales with personal reflection, blending humour, curiosity and honesty about his experiences.
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Lesser-known places: Blair often gravitates toward off-beat or unusual destinations rather than typical tourist routes, giving readers insight into worlds many travellers overlook.
📚 Context in Blair’s Work
Aftershot is Volume 1 of a new series called This Is The Next Century, which traces Blair’s journey from country 100 up toward 200 and beyond. It follows on from his earlier Backpacking Centurion books that documented his road to 100 countries.
🧑🎓 About the Author
Jonny Blair is a Northern Irish travel writer and blogger known for his long-term backpacking lifestyle and his blog Don’t Stop Living. He’s visited well over 200 countries and territories and lives in Poland, where he continues to write and teach.