Broken Stories

Stories from the Broken World Series

By: Kate L. Mary

Narrated by: Kathleen Miranti

Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

Broken Stories is a compilation of short stories and novelettes that accompanies the Broken World series. From California to Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Colorado, listeners will get a glimpse at what other people went through before, during, and after the zombie virus outbreak.

Some of the characters featured in these stories have close ties to the main characters in the Broken World series, while others are brand-new. It’s an emotional, intense, and exciting look at how the zombie apocalypse has changed the world.

©2015 Kate L. Mary (P)2020 Kate L. Mary

Broken Stories

Broken Stories by Kate L. Mary was really good and I enjoyed it so much. It really adds to/continues the stories from the Broken World Series because I didn't want it to end.

Short zombie reads

7 short stories that take place in the Broken World setting. All about people dealing with the zombie apocalypse. Each story was interesting, but I would’ve been fine without really reading any of them; I don’t think they add much to the overall world. Still some good stories though. Entertaining little snippets.

Listened to this on Audible. Don’t like narration; too robotic/unnatural. She just sounded weird, but I finished the listen.

1. When Karma Bites You in the Ass

This one is about Roger and Cassie. They both live in a trailer park; separately, but know each other because she went to school with his daughter, when the zombie apocalypse starts they team up. They both are a bit gross and have their priorities wrong. He treated his family horribly, and she uses sex to get ahead. They work together to find fancier shelter, and survive the zombies. Despite not liking the characters, they do make for an interesting story. This one is a bit depressing, but the author did a good job showing the complexity of Roger.

2. Until Death Do Us Part

This one is about couple Sara and King; they’ve been together since they were kids, but their relationship isn’t doing so good. When the zombie apocalypse happens, they need to work together to survive. This one is heartfelt, but sad.

3. The Escape

This one is about Jane and Victoria. They were being imprisoned in the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, where the women have been raped and tortured. Luckily, they are about to be broken out of there, but they still need to make it out of there alive; zombies and bad guys are still on the loose. Good action in this one.

4. Embracing the Insanity

This story is about Brady from the book, The Sweetest Torment. This story was at the end of that audiobook, so I had already heard this one. It's a longer version of the story he tells Regan in that book; about Him dealing with his wife dying at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

5. Thank You, Daddy

This book mainly featured Blake and Emma, who were side characters in The Loudest Silence. This story was already featured at the end of The Loudest Silence audiobook. It's about how Blake and Emma met at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, the trauma they've suffered, and how they found themselves with a group of survivors. It was a good backstory for Blake and Emma, but it's sad because after getting their current story in the full book; I know things don't quite go well for them. Still liked getting to know them more. Entertaining story.

6. Starting Over

This one is about Mike, who is a wall watcher; he watches for zombies and other dangers, in New Atlanta. We get some information about the CDC trying to find immune people to find a cure, and about the early stages of New Atlanta.

7. Something Special

This story connects with the previous story. This one is about Anna in Key West, who is hiding out from zombies and dangers with her young brother, Mikey, and her boyfriend, Vince. She finds out something unknown about herself, and they find themselves meeting a new group. Things take a crazy, sad turn.

Great Read

Broken Stories: Stories from the Broken World Series Broken World #0.5) was another good read by Kate L. Mary. This is a compilation of short stories and novelettes that take place in the Broken World Series. These stories give a glimpse of what people went through before, during and after the zombie virus outbreak. I enjoyed reading this book by Kate L. Mary.

I liked the rest of the series

I did not like the narrator stories are ok but hard to listen to

Entertaining collection of stories!

I had a great time with this audiobook! I am a fan of Kate L. Mary's work so I was eager to give this collection of stories a try. As a reader of her work, it was nice to see a few familiar characters and other characters that have been talked about but I also think that this would be a great place to start. I found this to be a very quick and enjoyable listen.

This collection has a nice variety of stories. Some stories are longer while others are pretty quick but they all grabbed my attention and held it throughout the story. Usually, with short story collections, I have found that one or two stories will be more of a miss for me but in this collection, I found that I really enjoyed each of the stories. I liked the fact that these stories gave some insight into a few familiar characters without spoiling any of the full books in the series.

This is the first time that I have listened to Kathleen Miranti's narration and I thought that she did a great job with this collection of stories. There were a few stories that were pretty emotional and I think that she did a great job of conveying that emotion through her reading. I think that she had a very pleasant voice that was easy to listen to for hours at a time.

I would recommend this book to others. I really enjoyed getting a chance to experience a wide range of experiences these characters were facing in the zombie apocalypse.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author.

Stories of the Zompoc

I have enjoyed reading the books in the "Broken World" series, as well as others written by this author. It is always nice to read some background stories that are linked to a series you enjoy. This book features some characters that are directly tied to others in the series while other stories are just a further look into how things might be if a zombie apocalypse happens.

There is plenty of action as well as emotion in these tales. How would you cope when a loved one dies and turns into a zombie? What would happen if you are the only person who seems to be immune to a zombie bite? How would you want to spend your last moments on earth? All of the stories were entertaining and well-written.

However, the narration was horrible. If I hadn't been a fan of the author's writings, I would have never listened to this book. I was immediately turned off after the first few minutes. The narrator's voice reminded me of the stereotypical Valley Girls and everything was overly emoted to the point of ridiculous. And, her attempts at male voices was awful! All of the male voices, no matter their age, sounded like old men who had smoked for 50 years.

If you are a fan of the author and/or series, it is worth trudging through the bad narration. Otherwise, don't bother.

THIS IS THE WORST NARRATION I have EVER heard!

I LOVE all of Kate L. Mary's books! LOVE THEM! They are amazing stories and she has woven together a masterful world with all the books. That being said, this narration of this particular book is so awful I couldn't even get 20 mins into it and HAD to turn it off. It's like nails on a chalkboard. The narrator sounds like a cross between a Simpsons character and a whiney teenager. She accents and almost sings out the last syllable of every sentence. It's so awful and now I'm stuck with it because I paid money for it and can't get a refund.

COMPLETE WASTE OF MONEY! SKIP this one, read the book, you'll enjoy it much more!

narration like a robotic teenager

bad narration... yikes. I love this series and I listened through the narrator to finish the book but it was hard. it didn't matter if you turned the speed high or low, her voice was awful. please don't narrate anything else ever.

Disappointing

Not worth the wasted credit. The narrator was so bad it was like listening to fingernails scratching a chalkboard and she could not say “apocalypse” right. I really liked the Broken World Series but this sucked