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

Review: Collapse, by Richard Stephenson

This book has been on my to-be-read list for a long time, and I’m very happy to finally get the chance to read it. What I find missing in some dystopian books that I read is the beginning of the new way of life. Many books start years later with a character/resistance to take down the wicked government. Collapse is a novel that’ll bring the reader through the entire process of how America deteriorates and falls, as well as how a new government rises.

What I enjoyed most about this novel was that, as I said, it takes the reader through the fall of one nation and the rise of a new one. (I don’t feel this is a spoiler due to the New America series title and what’s said in the description.) Even though it’s known that the outcome of this book probably won’t be positive, the journey to the end is filled with much to enjoy. The book follows the struggles of a few group’s of American in the Second Great Depression. These interlaced stories about very different characters can be books all by themselves. That’s how much detail and planning seems to have gone into telling their stories. Stephenson is also able to jump around from story to story without me getting tripped up much of the time. That’s always an obstacle when carrying along with a few storylines in one book.

Whether others agree or not, I felt that much of what happens in this novel could actually happen some years down the road. For me, the fact that I could picture some of this being actual history at some point in the near future added to the emotions of the book. Some details are obviously exaggerated or too “out there” but overall, I see realism in Collapse and that enhances the “horror” these characters face. As with many dystopian books, the ability to fear realism from a book makes me enjoy it that much more. Maybe I’m just sick and enjoy reading about a dark near future, though.

The only real issues I had was that at some points in the book, the story was moved along by things out, rather than allowing the story to move things along. In this I mean some sections were written as “This happened. Then this and this. Followed by…” It wasn’t too troubling, but there were strong sections in this book, and these others were a bit dull. With as much detail of characters, events, and other elements that this book had, it’s expected that some things are glossed over though.

Book 2, Resistance, is on my Kindle now (as well as the short story Spider). I’m looking forward to the next installment of the New America series. If it’s anything like Collapse, I’ll find it hard to put down.

Excellent book, great narrator!

I don't subscribe to the negative feedback provided by some of the others. This is a good book!

Interesting Character Study

Not too hard to imagine. It is current, enough, references are recognizable. It discusses the relative merit of "The Greater Good" idea. I will follow this series.

Great story

The only issue I had is that some of the lines repeated as if it was a bad edit. Other than that it was a great lesson!

I was a little concerned at first

At first I didn't think I was going to like this book due to the introduction of Tank and his ilk. But after I got beyond that, the book really took off. I can't wait till next month so I can get resistance. I hope there will be others in this series as well.

Interesting premise... Poorly narrated

I have recently started reading post apocalyptic novels and this one had the most realistic "apocalypse"... The characters are a little flimsy and the narrator is atrocious but overall a good book. I am about to start the sequel :)

Okay story with terrible narration.

Collapse has the seeds of a great story: WWIII with Iran, conspiracies, civil war,TEOTWAWKI, etc, but its flawed in its details at times. One example is centered around vehicles. The author sets up a world with the US in the "Second Great Depression" and often mentions very few people could afford cars and gas was over $15/gallon, yet in several places he talks about huge traffic jams in cities, and check points to stop all these cars, and none of the characters ever have a hard time finding a working vehicle as they cross the country when they need one. Things like this keep the story from being great.

Secondly and most important the narration was terrible. David Gilmore would do fine if he was narrating a book like "1776" or some other non fiction book, but when he tries to do character voices he is terrible. His flat British accent is fine for the AI computer in the story but everyone else male or female he is distracting from the story. I have a kindle copy of this book and I read a chapter and found it much more enjoyable than listening to David.

I don't think I'll listen to the next book in the series particularly since it is the same narrator.

Great story line. Makes me want to get the next...

Book in the series. I was not so thrilled about the narrator as he did not read with enthusiasm. His ability to do the different characters was not the best I've heard in audible books though he was bearable. I guess we'll see who read the second book.

Great Book

Loved the characters as well as the plot! I already purchased #2 and pre-ordered #3! I felt the narrator did a great job! To be fair though, it was my first audio book.

Terrible readers ruin any book

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More feeling, more action, and nearly any reader

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

No

What didn’t you like about David Gilmore’s performance?

Hesitant, unprepared, pausing in the wrong places, no emotion, no flow - complete disappointment and totally distracting from content. I was alternatively irritated and put to sleep.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

A poor reader distracts from content and prevents listener from becoming involved in the story. It's tough to say what redeeming characteristics the book actually offered.

Any additional comments?

Please allow specific reader reviews to prevent this situation. The authors should also be aware of this disservice to their efforts.