14

By: Peter Clines

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Science Fiction, 2013

Padlocked doors. Strange light fixtures. Mutant cockroaches.

There are some odd things about Nate’s new apartment. Of course, he has other things on his mind. He hates his job. He has no money in the bank. No girlfriend. No plans for the future. So while his new home isn’t perfect, it’s livable. The rent is low, the property managers are friendly, and the odd little mysteries don’t nag at him too much. At least, not until he meets Mandy, his neighbor across the hall, and notices something unusual about her apartment. And Xela’s apartment. And Tim’s. And Veek’s. Because every room in this old Los Angeles brownstone has a mystery or two. Mysteries that stretch back over a hundred years. Some of them are in plain sight. Some are behind locked doors. And all together these mysteries could mean the end of Nate and his friends. Or the end of everything....

©2012 Peter Clines and Permuted Press (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A riveting apocalyptic mystery in the style of LOST." (Craig DiLouie, author of The Infection and The Killing Floor)

"A wholly original story that weaves together mystery and the apocalypse like a finely tuned band." (Evan Roy, Bricks of the Dead)

Outlandish Aliens, weird characters

What made the experience of listening to 14 the most enjoyable?

I never knew what was coming next, very creative

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like Ned the best he was a simple guy and extraoedinary things happened to him and he handled it well

Which character – as performed by Ray Porter – was your favorite?

ned

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Outlandish aliens

OMG

I honestly can't even explain how amazing this was, the story, the narration. I am totally in awe of the talents of these two men. This was one of those sit in the car longer than you have to everywhere you go so you don't have to turn it off audiobooks. Can't wait now to read more from Clines and listen to more from Porter. It doesn't even seem possible that somebody could do what they did together.

WOW what a ride!

I loved every second of this story! I wasn't expecting the genre this ended up falling into, and boy was I nerding out!

Whats behind door number 14?

This is a great story with well developed characters. The mystery involved was very inventive and fun. I found my self sucked into the the mystery myself. The book keeps giving you enough information that it moves along at a nice pace. This is the first Peter Cline book that I have experienced and based on how much I enjoyed it I would be very willing to try other books he has written.

Very similar

Liked the book quite a bit. Very similar story to The Fold. Can't say much with out giving some of the plot away but If you like that book or this then you should like the other.

Fascinating story, very science fiction twists

This story grabbed my attention fast. The mystery of everything had me thinking hard to figure things out. Several people seem to not like the twist it gives, and my guess is because it's very sci-fi. So be prepared for things to go crazy in a good ridiculous fun way.

The narrator does a fantastic job with all the different voices. Each character is so distinct it's very easy to sit back and visualize the whole story.

Also, if anyone is wondering about content, several of the characters swear quite a bit, and there are a handful of sex jokes. While the story is great I wouldn't recommend this to a younger crowd.

Solidly worth it, but could have been amazing

Where does 14 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The countless reviewers before me comparing 14 to LOST are not far off, in fact the plot, and characters remind me a lot of (what I thought) was a great show. In this book, the ending was significantly better than LOST's, but also lacked a lot of the human aspect of that show. There are about a dozen characters in the book, all but one (our narrator) or maybe two escape any sort of growth within the confines of its pages despite several playing integral and long-lasting roles in the plot.

In the end, this is a solid book with clear influences or similarities to H.P. Lovecraft stories, the novel House of Leaves, and LOST, with countless other nerd-cred references sprinkled throughout this listen. However, what House of Leaves and LOST have in character development, 14 left out in favor of a much faster pacing.

I thought this was a very solid book and very enjoyable, and could definitely make an equally great movie soon.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

With the whole point of this book revolving around the mysteries of the Kavatch Building, there were a great many plot twists. Some where fairly expected, a few were really mind-bending, and one or two were just a little silly. The ending was pretty much necessarily unexpected until the last dozen chapters or so, by which point it was inevitable.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first I felt like Ray Porter's narration was a deeper voiced William Shatner impersonation, but I quickly became attached to his nuanced voices and ability to convey some emotion on the part of the characters. By the end of the book, I had decided he was pretty damn good at this business.

Awesome!

What a great story! Absolutely did not want to put it down and was sad when it was all over.

Enthralled!

I got the book because of the Ex series. I was not disappointed! Every little clue sucked me in to the point I listened to this virtually straight through without stopping. It is different, fantastical, and entralling. very pleased! The narrator, Ray Porter did a great job on this too.

Edge of your seat! WOW!

Would you consider the audio edition of 14 to be better than the print version?

Did not read it.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Xela. She was quite a character, unusual, artsy, and smart.

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

No but I would again.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I don't know in one sitting but I certainly couldn't wait to get back to it!

Any additional comments?

This was a surprisingly exciting story enhanced by the talented Ray Porter. Twists and turns and heart-stopping action. Mysterious, too. What a treat!