Pamela M.

A friend of mine recommended this book because she knew I liked unique reads.
This book is unlike any book I have ever come across. Much of it was written in short sentences and didn’t have a flow to it that was easy to follow. It took me awhile to surrender to this but once I did I found it quite engaging. Claire Danes was monotone in her narration, however it fit the story.

This book is a dystopian fable with a frightening view of the future. Women are treated as nameless “its”. They have no freedoms or rights and are valued by their ability to birth healthy normal babies. If you’re into dystopian you will probably enjoy this if your not I think you may like it but not love it! Women-libbers are going HATE it!

Being a person who scares easily I stay away from paranormal, gore, devil, zombies & grotesque topics. I have always associated Stephen King as the Scare King and have never been interested in his books because of this. Over the years I have heard many say “The Stand” set the bar for the PA genre. This being my favorite genre The Stand has always had a special place on my wish list. However, I would quickly pass it up each time because of fear. Then one night a couple book buddies informed me this was one of King’s earlier novels and it really wasn’t that scary and they thought I could “handle it” So, I went for it!

The story is about a super flu created by the US Army as a weapon of war. Something goes terribly wrong and the flu wipes out most of mankind. The survivors form in two groups becoming the classic tale of good vs. evil.

I did get scared! I couldn’t read the book after dark and I had to mute the volume when they talked about what happened to some of the bodies after the plague. I thought the character building was spot on and there was such a variety. I found Trashcan man one of the more interesting ones. He was a simple minded arsonist who couldn’t help himself but to always do the wrong thing. Larry was my favorite.

This is the longest book I was ever listened to at 40+ hours. The first part of the story was about the plague and was a little slow but after this it really picked up and pumped at high speed until the very end. The narrator is one of the best I have ever experienced. He had so many different voices which really kept you tuned in.

After I finished the book I went on You Tube and watched the 1994 TV miniseries they did which did not do this book justice. Had I not read the book I would have found the miniseries hard to follow because so much of the story was missing from it. I did read an article Ben Affleck is going to be producing a movie on this book in the future. If I hear it is stays close to the book I am going to put on my big girl panties and go see it.

I think this book is well worth a read/listen - It has a very intriguing storyline. I was fascinated with the way Stephen King’s mind works….. It’s baffling yet entertaining; he keeps you at the edge of your seat and is NEVER predictable.

This book was a real stinker! It was supposed to be a novel of survival in the coming collapse but it read like a Preppers catalog of supplies. The book had more data on equipment model numbers and prices then an actual storyline. It went something like this “Todd looked through his binoculars which were Steiner’s Model TA6456, he bought them from Sears four years ago at a price of $64.99. He didn’t go with Steiner’s Model TA6488 because there was a glare to the lens when looking at long distance”. Kid you not this is how this book reads. The storyline (what little there was of it) got all muddled up with all the data on items. It was like having someone read you the Sears catalog. The editing on this book was awful as was the narration.

I’m embarrassed I wasted 21 hours of my life on this book. I kept thinking its has to get better it can’t be like this all the way through, YES IT CAN! The only reason why I am posting a review is because I don’t want someone else to waste 21 hours.

If you like hoards of details on items, how much they cost, where to get it and why you should have it then this book is for you. If you want a good storyline to follow go with Alas Babylon it’s a collapse novel with a great storyline and wonderful characters.

There were several reasons why this book was on my must read list, it won the first International Fantasy Award in 1951, it was one of the founding novels of apocalyptic fiction and this was the book that inspired Stephen King to write “The Stand” .

The Story follows the eyes of one man “Ish” after a plague wipes out most of mankind. Written in 1949, it’s remarkably contemporary except for a few racial remarks. I did find it compelling and a very realistic post apocalyptic novel. This is not an action packed story. There are no riots or major struggles. It was quite calm for an end of the world tale.

Most of the characters are not well developed but, I did find myself immersed in their situation. Ish is full of himself which did weigh on my nerves a bit. The audible format is 15+ hours and it takes you through 45 years of his life, but I still found the story slow moving at times. I enjoyed the beginning of the book better then I did the ending. The narration was well done which made for an easy listen.

All in All I do think it’s worth the read/listen especially for PA junkies. If you’re new to post apocalyptic stories I would start with “Alas Babylon” to see if you like this genre before picking up this one.

The story is based on a civil war between pro-life & pro-choice sides known as the Heart-Land War. The war ends on comprise between the two parties with “The Bill of Life”. It states that a human life may not be touched from the moment of conception until the child reaches the age of 13. However, between the ages of 13-18 a parent may actively abort a child on the condition that the Childs life doesn’t technically end. A process in which the child is terminated & kept alive is called unwinding. When a child is unwound their body parts are harvested and reused. The practice is common and accepted in society and is looked upon as donating. The story follows three teens to be unwound for varies reasons.

I like the way the author had everything moving at a fast pace. The story had a lot of twist and turns and was unpredictable, but it all fell together throughout nicely. It kept me at the edge of my seat making it hard to put the book down. There are a few eerie parts. One chapter has you following one of the unwinding through the operation and it was quite chilling and creepy, it made for a sleepless night.

Some schools have this as a mandatory read (gez in my time Jonathan Livingston Seagull was it) and I can see why. It leaves a lot open for debate. It even had me question on my own beliefs.

Neal Shusterman has quite a following with this dystopian tale so I am sure there will be a sequel. The way the book ended it could use one, it left me with questions (which I HATE). Yes, it’s a young adult book, don’t let that stop you I’m 35+ and highly recommend it. It is worth the read/listen.

This story follows three women, one a young white graduate inspiring to be a writer and two black maids working for white families. It takes place in Mississippi in the 1960’s during the civil rights movement.

I thought the story was charming and I did enjoy this book but it falls short of loving it! The characters were fantastic and well described (I loved Minny). The narrations were wonderful with three different ones speaking in dialect which kept me glued to the story. However, it was slow to get started and in some places it skipped around like a soap opera, this bothered me a bit. Still all in all it’s a great read/listen.

The movie did not do this book justice. I am so glad I read the book first.

This story is about John and his two daughters who live in a small town when an EMP hits. There is no electricity or technology changing everything! John who is well regarded in his town helps with the survival of this disaster.

I thought the book was very intriguing and it really gave you a lot to think about. It had a lot of good information in it, so much so that it could probably be used as an instruction manual for small town survival if something like this did happen.

The storyline is thick with a lot of events and characters and it was hard for me to stop listening at times when I should have been doing other things. Joe Barrett was a great narrator which made it an easy listen.

I did have one gripe; the author would go into great detail on town meetings or how they were going to set up a food cache and then he would totally skip over the birth of a child from a main character. I wanted to know more about the birth of that child then how big and where they were going to set up a food cache. However, it’s still a great book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes post apocalyptic thrillers.

I own this book and read it many years ago. It was then that I fell in love with Bryson’s sense of humor and his writing style. When I started audio books it was a must download for me. The book was even better as a listener!

Bryson’s wit and sense of humor make the story come alive. His friend Katz kept me laughing throughout. This book makes you want to grab your backpack and take off on the trail. I wish I had the time to hike the AT or PCT but life gets in the way. I’m glad there are books like this I can escape into and dream of being there. A wonderful way to spend your time and a credit!

This is a post apocalypse story of a family who lives out in the wilderness when everything goes to hell in the world. They for the most part had been living off the land and fending for themselves when “it” happens so for them not much changes. The story was well written and there was some depth to it. However, I felt like it was written in a way that was to pleasant for this type of subject matter, “she was as uneasy as a fox in a box” or “they were as busy as ticks in a tar bucket”. A lot of statements like this in every chapter; it just didn’t fit with this genre.

I have probably read/listen to just about every Post Apocalypse book out there and had never come across one that was as warm and nice as this. They took boxes of can goods to a town food pantry because they thought they had way to much even though they took in every stray and stranger.

The main character is a woman named Lucinda and it’s her story so why they had a man narrate baffles me. Not only was it a masculine sounding man he then tries to disguise his voice by lowering it and speaking softly trying to imitate a woman which made it worse. At first I thought maybe it’s a transvestite couple and he’s in the middle of his gender reassignment operation but that wasn’t the case (ok I’m kidding!). I never could get use to him speaking like he did and it made it very hard to focus on the story. Just imagine a man talking about birthing his children or his menstruation cycle? It’s weird and it totally ruined the story. Who would make a decision like this? Maybe they think stupid people listen to books. I didn’t even want to give it one star for narration/performance but if I would have left it blank then it would seem like I didn’t have a problem with it or that I didn’t care.

If you like warm and fuzzy Post Apocalypse stories then you might like this - BUT PLEASE listen to the sample reading before you use/waste your credit.

In 1850 little Sara watches from her hiding place as her parents are murdered in California while they panned for gold. She is then raised by wolves and grows up in the wilderness as a she-Tarzan. I know it sounds corny but it wasn’t at all. This is a very well written adventure novel with fantastic characters and lots of drama. I loved the way it explained the wolf’s behaviors and the pact dynamics. Bernadette Dunne is my favorite narrator and as always she did an excellent job. I enjoyed this story so much so that I didn’t want it to end. It’s a great listen for any age and its one of those books you’ll find on your favorite list.