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I read this book twenty years ago, and it's always been one of my favorite "Apocalyptic" novels. I was so happy to see it released as an audiobook.
While some novels of this ilk don't stand up to the "technology test of time" -- written before the proliferation of cell phones and computers -- this one does, for the most part.
Niven and Pourelle's great characterizations make this a wonderfully compelling read, and one that is hard to put down. However, there are a LOT of characters, so it may help to go to a website that allows you to "look inside the book," and print out the beginning pages that list the "Dramatis Personae." Easier to jog your memory on a long listen like this one.

This is a new series to me (though I've read Forstchen's "One Second After" and recommend it to anyone and everyone) -- and it was an entertaining listen.


As several other reviewers mentioned, the author's choice of adverbs is a bit limited and repetitious. If it had been written in software that has a word search, one could eliminate abut 75% of the uses of "evenly" and not lose a thing.


There are some other "oops" moments, as well, as Forstchen seems to forget occasionally that the protagonist has but one arm, and would have a bit of trouble leading a charge on horseback while brandishing a sabre or firing a weapon. There are several instances in which characters of different cultures and different languages have no trouble conversing without an interpreter... But the striking omission to me is the lack of attention to the feelings of the regiment over losing the link to ALL their loved ones in the "tunnel of light" event. The author devotes just a couple of paragraphs to this, which would have an overwhelming effect on everyone in the regiment.


Despite all that, Forstchen really knows how to write battle scenes, and keep them exciting and engaging. Lawlor's narration is fine once you get used to him, and I liked the listening experience well enough to order the next one in the series.

Visceral. Profane. Gritty. Real.
This was a powerful historical novel by a prolific author who knows his stuff. The reading was beyond compare... Charles Keating brought life to the charcters in a masterful way and made me a fan of his narration. Not for everyone, but for anyone who isn't offended by the rough dialogue of 15th Century British warriors, this is a "can't wait to be in the car to listen to the next section" listen. One of my favorite downloads to date.
One caveat: Very annoying musical interludes battle with the narration from time to time for no apparent reason.

Maybe 60 years ago, this was a good book. In 2009, it's not a good listen.
Great start, but the protagonist turns out to be lazy and a bit stupid. The author gets us through the first few months after the Apocalypse, then skips through years, with the only description being the "naming" of each year. What? How about schooling the young? How about trying to rebuild civilization? How about making a effort to improve the situation? In thirty years of time, they never got around to building the pump house to give them running water.
The most difficult part is that the reader has no one to identify with or like throughout the entire book. I listened out of obligation to the purchase, but wouldn't recommend this "classic" to anyone I respect.

Just finihed my second listen of this. There will be a third.
This work of fiction should scare anyone who reads it, as it could easily be our future. Forstchen has done us all a favor with his research and compelling writing... this is a hard book to walk away from. The narration is first rate as well; Joe Barrett nails all the voices and remembers them. Quit hesitating -- spend the credit and LISTEN to this one.

Krakauer is a good author, Scott Brick is excellent at narration and characterization.
Krakauer states late in the book that this "isn't the book he set out to write," that it became quite different after his research. As the "reader," it wasn't quite what I expected either. Billed as an in-depth look into the murders Brenda and Elizabeth Lafferty in 1984, the book started out there, but quickly delved into a detailed description and history of the Mormon religion. After a tireless string of examples, I became tired, and it was a long time before we ever got to see how this affected the "incident" at the heart of the book. I know Mormons who considered this book an attack on their religion, and it is easy to see why, though Krakauer keeps his text accurate to history and published works. As a listener, I found the book very interesting and educational, if not a compelling listen.

Really a compelling listen. Tense, exciting writing, hard to put down. Author's choice of characters was unique and a bit unexpected, but managed to tie things together at the end. Epilogue was somewhat of a letdown... the huge mystery was left unrevealed, but I understand there are sequels in the works.
Narration was a bit gruff, but it worked for most of the characters.

Rand's "magnum opus" audible book is a great concept, a good story, a wonderful narrator... and stretched from a tidy 6 hours of material into a 52-hour marathon. I had heard this was a landmark book and downloaded the unabridged version because I didn't want to miss out on what the author had to say. In retrospect, the abridged version would have been much smarter.

I did enjoy the storyline, albeit contrived and quite unrealistic at times (it IS fiction, after all,) but was put off by Rand's "agenda," which reflects her early years in Russia before emigrating to America.

The manifesto that the protagonist delivers in part seven is over three hours long, and makes the point in the first 15 minutes.

I realize I am in the minority among many glowing reviews, but this opinion needs to be here as well.

Listening to audio books, like viewing art, is a subjective exercise. I was amazed at the negative reviews. This was classic King -- showing his expertise as one of America's finest WRITERS, without being pigeonholed into the genre of horror.

As other reviews noted, "N" is worth the price of the download. Incredible story, and the multiple readers make it sing.

My favorite story was "The Things They Left Behind," which entertained me through three listens over a two-week span.

I enjoyed "The Gingerbread Girl," but thought Mare Winningham's read was bored and uninspired. Ms. Winningham is a fine actor, but sounded barely interested in this story.

King's read of "Harvey's Dream" showed that his reading skills have improved... and that particular story is short but excellent.

Bottom line -- if you are familiar with King's work and enjoy it, you will truly love this download.

I hesitated before ordering because I generally don't like ABRIDGED works, but there was plenty here.

The story was an amazing part of history in ultimate detail, and I was left feeling that the author included every bit of his research in the book. The detail was so thorough that I wondered what an unabridged version could have added. I'm not saying this was a good thing... the drama added to the depth of detail resulted in a drawn-out narration full of (supposed) exclamation marks. The description of Booth actually pulling the trigger of the gun during the assassination was longer than this review.

The read by Richard Thomas was only fair. While I have always been impressed by Mr. Thomas' acting credentials, his read was pretty much "John Boy" all the way through, without much variation for the various characters quoted.

The two star rating is for the fascinating story told here -- despite the cumbersome writing and laconic narration, it was interesting to listen to all the facts that were unknown to most before the publication of Manhunt.