Joshua

By: John S. Wilson

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

He had to keep moving, that the man instinctively knew. He had to get away, from the rioting, the lawlessness, the killing. Away from the brutal gangs that ruled the highways. Then there was the boy that he found along the way, an orphan with no place to go. He couldn't leave the child behind; that would be murder. Together they had to make their way across the razed landscape of post-collapse America, west to where there was safety, a chance to begin again. If only they survived the journey.

©2012 John S. Wilson (P)2013 Podium Publishing

Truly messed up plot

What disappointed you about Joshua?

I have never been one for torture and I hate unfairness. This was an extremely unfair book, with no redemption or satisfaction for the reader.

What was most disappointing about John S. Wilson’s story?

First rule of creative writing: make the reader care about the characters. Second rule: don't make your readers angry. Third rule: If you must make your readers angry, give them satisfaction. Wilson succeeded with the first, bombed with the last two.

Which scene was your favorite?

The county fair.

What character would you cut from Joshua?

Michael.

Any additional comments?

If I had written the man's reply to the woman who was trying to defend Michael, I would have said this: Laws and rules are there for the SURVIVAL of society. I stole so that Joshua and I could survive. Michael told me I had broken the rule of trespassing but that I had been forgiven because of the circumstances and yet even though he knew why we stole, he punished me for a crime that I had committed out there were there was no society and where he had no jurisdiction over. And while I'm at it, where did you guys get YOUR food and guns? Your medical equipment? Did you buy it from the government or did you just take it?

I am leaving because of Joshua, because one day he is going to break a rule that someone decides needs punishing. I need Joshua to learn and understand rules that don't change on a whim of whomever is in power.

This is not good

I'm confused by this book. "The Man" is a very frustrating character. Yes its annoying that he never gets a name during the story. But what is much more annoying to me is his need to constantly put himself and the child in danger in a post apocalyptic world without good reason. Also the character conflicts himself. A lot. He seems to have strong Christian beliefs but commits some pretty unthinkable acts which just don't make sense. And why the hell does it take them so many years to get to where he is going ? I didn't like this at all. I wish I could unread (listen) to it. Stay clear of this. There's a sequel but I wont be checking it out.

Tedious Boring and soulless .

I am several hours in and try as I might I just cannot continue . This book is poorly written and digesting its content is too much of a strain.
I got bored and felt estranged with the plot and characters early in the book and it just got worse.
Even Jonathan Yen whose narration I usually enjoy couldn’t save the wreckage. I am sorry to say that Stating the obvious and being awkwardly redondant and wordy should not make you a writer.

The Man ...who cares!

What disappointed you about Joshua?

Firstly, the narrator was just so boring, I had to really focus to stay with it, the drone would have me fading out. Secondly, never giving "the Man" a name resulted in a lack of care even a dislike of the character - his moral standing was conflicted, he felt bad about stealing but it was OK to shoot people. The writer fleshed out the story in the most uninteresting parts and skimmed over parts that could have been fascinating.

Has Joshua turned you off from other books in this genre?

This is one of my favourite genres, this book is just poorly written

How could the performance have been better?

A different reader, one with more inflection in the voice and an ability to inject various levels of build up and excitement.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Joshua?

I stopped reading 2 thirds of the way through....twice, ( 1 year apart) so can't say

Any additional comments?

The idea Christians are the only decent moral holding citizens on the planet is ridiculous, I found the constant god references being shoved down my throat tedious.

A Screed

Ayn Rand meets Ted Nugent. If that's your cuppa, then go for it. But not for me, thx.

Wow this is not a good book

Any additional comments?

I don’t understand how a book like this can get published, the writing is horrible. If the main character was not given a name so that we might all think “this could be me”, that failed miserably. Trying to connect with someone just called “The Man” is hard and to hear that over and over again is annoying. I don’t have time in my busy life to list all the terrible writing examples in this book.
I love post apocalyptic stories but this one should be skipped.

I had to put the book down to warn other readers

Read the reviews by Nan and Wayne before you decide to buy, from what I have listened to so far I agree with them. Although the auther has a lot of his facts straight, his style is stilted, and uncomfortable to listen to. I don't care much for the narrator so far, but that may be the fault of the book itself.

I can't stands no more!

Borderline viable narrative served by graceless prose with a witless economic back story. I am several hours in and have no idea why it's named for the boy. Maybe Joshua is special but I have seen no indication of it yet. I don't care to follow this "Road" any further. Cormac McCarthy did it infinitely better.

Worst book I've downloaded.

Sorry, I have a 12 year old with more imagination and writing skills. I turned it off at the end of chapter 3.