Collapse

New America, Book 1

By: Richard Stephenson

Narrated by: David Gilmore

Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

America is falling, ready to join the Roman Empire as a distant memory in the annals of history. The year is 2027. Tired and desperate, the American people are deep in the middle of The Second Great Depression. The Florida coastline is in ruins from the most powerful hurricane on record; a second just like it is bearing down on the state of Texas. For the first time in history, the Middle East has united as one and amassed the most formidable army the world has seen since the Third Reich. A hidden army of terrorists is on American soil.

This is the story of three men: Howard Beck, the world's richest man, also diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Richard Dupree, ex-Navy SEAL turned escaped convict. Maxwell Harris, a crippled, burned out Chief of Police of a small Texas town. At first they must fight for their own survival against impossible odds. Finally, the three men must band together to save their beloved country from collapse.

©2012 Richard Stephenson (P)2012 Richard Stephenson

Entertaining Story but not very realistic.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed listening to this book and will listen to the series as I have many questions about what's next? Although I enjoyed this book very much I don't think it is a very realistic scenario. If you have ever read or listened to "One Second After" or "Patriots" those are more realistic. Still I do like what I have heard so far.

Have you listened to any of David Gilmore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I like Mr Gilmore's delivery. I found him to be an entertaining performer.

Did Collapse inspire you to do anything?

I think we should all prepare and be ready for whatever is coming. The US economy is teetering on a fine line right now.

C. Coleman Review

Love it, Great story line, this book needs a movie and I can play Richard...lol.. would love it

Interesting

Would you consider the audio edition of Collapse to be better than the print version?

I liked a few of the story lines better than others, typical

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really, but I liked it

Great read

I really enjoyed this book and the three main characters. Each were very different and you were able to be drawn to each on a very different level. I loved the way the writer used current situations and spun them into possible future scenarios for his book such as the current issues with Iran, global warming, political unrest and terrorism spreading into our nation, oil shortages and another Depression if we don't turn to alternative sources for fuel. Also the barely veiled discord between the government and our President, where our elected officials seem to want to get rid of the President altogether and make themselves and those they choose in charge of this country and force everyone to do as they please.

Not really a survival novel

Good story but not really a survival novel. Very interesting story for dramatic social change.

Skip it!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The characters in this story are so unbelievable, and not fleshed out.

Was Collapse worth the listening time?

No. Better books out there.

Decent story, poor writing, horrible performance

Performer turned all women's voices into questions with an upward lilt at the end of each sentence regardless of punctuation. The story and ideas were decent but unfortunately the writing was of a high school level.

It was just OK

Some characters were certainly more interesting than others. The narration was not good. The most grating was the pronunciation of Roberto Jimenez. Anyone who would have that last name pronounced "JIM-in-ez" would likely go by Robert, not Roberto.

The Start of a Great Story

I was completely taken with this book. I couldn't stop listening to it. I think I finished it up in two days.

Collapse is the first of what is supposed to be a four novel series - though with all the storylines set up in the first book I have to wonder i there won't be more than four.

Collapse follows three main characters and many minor characters as the USA falls apart due to natural and man-made disasters and attacts. Stephenson takes us on a detailed exploration of the main characters, dipping into their pasts which builds a rich understanding of what makes Howard, Max, and Richard tick. As we get more involved with their world, and learn how the Collapse happened, we see the three main characters slowly being drawn to the same place. It may seem like a whole book is a lot to use to get to the final point of the book - but the stories are so beautiful woven together that you just have to enjoy the journey. It's been a very long time since a "world" that was created by an author made me want to know more and more of what's happening. I'm so looking forward to the sequel after reading the first few chapters of it.

I'm pretty sure I've found a new author to add to my "must read" list.

The only minor critique I have has to do with the production. I had a bit of a problem understanind what was being said when the "loud speaker" sound effect was used. And I was just confused by the name of one of the characters. It's been a long time since my high school Spanish classes but I thought "Jimenez" should be pronounced with an "H" sound. As I said, it's minor and I wouldn't ding the performance for just that.

Narrator doesn’t help the author

I might have enjoyed this more with a better narrator. He was bad. On a minor point who in this day and age doesn’t know how to pronounce “Jimenez”, someone who is sheltered I guess. Otherwise I thought it was a computer reading it at times. Or that multiple characters sounded whinny. It made it hard to get into the book.

There is a good premise to the story, but it seemed to disjointed to me. The main characters came together far too late. There was a lot of data dumping, backstory and telling, not showing. I found it humorous that I think the author took the climax of the book a little too literally.

Maybe if I read it instead of listened to it I would have enjoyed it more.