Dark Recollections

Adrian's Undead Diary, Volume 1

By: Chris Philbrook

Narrated by: James Foster

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

For the first time, the Internet phenomenon is now in print! Beheading a zombie isn't easy in a world where you're more afraid of the living than the dead. Adrian Ring's simple life is thrown into chaos when the world is ripped apart by a plague of undead and legions of desperate survivors. Retreating to Auburn Lake Preparatory Academy, Adrian attempts to rescue friends and family on the way while dancing around his impending insanity over who and what he left behind, and evading maniac survivors. He saves his cat Otis, but shoots his mom. Pretty successful, all things considered.

Dark Recollections is the first part of Adrian's own story of how he survived after "That Day". Told through his eyes as he talks to his laptop, affectionately named 'Mr. Journal", and through short stories that entwine with his tales that bring forth dark visions of a world being eaten alive by an unimaginable evil. Adrian's Undead Diary is an eight-part epic about a solitary, guilt-stricken man who didn't think he deserved to live, but realized very soon that he survived and suffered for a reason. Dark Recollections is the first book in the AUD series. It covers Adrian's journal entries from September 21st 2010, to December 1st, 2010. Intermingled with his personal diary entries, book one also contains the short stories "Phil's Story", "McGreevy's Report", and "Soccer Mom".

©2010 Chris Philbrook (P)2014 Chris Philbrook

Dear Mr. Journal....shot my mom

Would you listen to Dark Recollections again? Why?

Yes. Have many times. Great zombie story with a unique tell and twist. This is a keeper.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Recollections?

Banana box for the win. I'm saving them up for the zombie horde. oh ya, and Ottis is my homeboy.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

listened to this series a double digit number of times...just love it. Extreme reaction? I dream of being in this book on a weekly basis.

Any additional comments?

Swearing and dick jokes for the win. You'll be surprised how much you jerk off during a zombie appocolypse.

Funny

This series made me laugh several times and held my attention. I liked how he spoke/wrote his story to Mr. Journal, good job on this atyle of writting!

A man who is more mystery than anything else

The audiobook intro, you know the part that says “…presents Adrian’s Undead…” made me fear that I was in for a home made tinny hollow sounding narration. Thank God that changed as soon as the real book started.

Dark Recollections is the diary of an everyman named Adrian. A man who is more mystery than anything else and more is revealed throughout the story little by little adding to his interesting character. Told in the journal style that I expected and was happy to hear that it worked very well. This is something, in my mind, that would be difficult to pull off. The author has to remember that it isn’t straight action and what not as many people would leave certain thing like that out of their diary and Philbrook remembered that.

Adrian is alone through most of the story, except for his pal Mr. Journal. Reconstructing the tasks and events that take place for him to build a secure hideout. The day to day work of clearing infected and gathering supplies.

There were a few side stories that veered away from Adrian’s point of view and they were welcomed by me. They added more depth the outbreak epidemic.

While it was slow paced, there are so many different direction the story could go. I want to listen to more and more of Adrian’s adventures and cannot wait for book 2 to come my way.

I wasn’t sure, right away, if I was going to like James Foster’s performance or not. Mostly because of the opening few words that I mentioned above. But the more I listen the more I was mesmerized.

Foster sounds like a regular guy, not a news caster or movie preview guy, not polished. Just real and raw storytelling. Good characterizations, great ability to emphasize humor and terror. I will be looking for more from him.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator.

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zombie fun

great and entertaining read by James Foster. A fun story that makes light of a dark situation. The hero is a bad #ss with a sweet heart. a teddy bear with a shotgun & a sword.

A little disappointing, but ready for the next one

Any additional comments?

I've heard great things about this series, and plan on continuing to follow it.

The main character, Adrian, is your basic bad ass that doesn't really care for others. I can't say that I like the character yet, given his lack of compassion from the onset of the zombie apocalypse. That doesn't mean his story is bad, though. Adrian is who he is. Now, one issue I did have with his "character" was how he dealt with death. I know the author was playing on the fact that he was a combat veteran from Iraq, and because of this was somewhat immune to effects of watching people die or killing people himself, but I didn't think it was portrayed as most people would be. Of course, if that is how Adrian is, he was probably numb to that kind of stuff before he went to war. This is just coming from my own military and combat experience.

The first installment is a little disappointing as far as story goes. I can feel there is one growing, but as far as book 1, most of it is rinse and repeat of clearing buildings and houses and gathering supplies. There was no grand fight or epic scene that grabbed me. The ending was abrupt. There was no climax or cliff hanger. I would like to have seen one or the other.

I am a big fan of the diary format when it comes to zombie stories. However, I got lost a little in this one. The time jumps can be a little confusing, going back and forth. I think some of that is because it is an audio book and I'm not keeping track of the dates as much as if I was reading it. I also have to say jumping to third person in a diary formatted book is something I'm not a fan of, but the author does it well. Usually, it distracts from the main story/character too much, but since each side 3rd person story had to do with an event Adrian had went through, it fit pretty well.

All and all, I had to give the story 3 stars because, unfortunately, there wasn't much of one. Unless, of course, you consider his day to day survival the story, in which case I could have given it 4 stars. But even in my zombie books, I like to see a little more plot than just getting by day to day.

That being said, the survival part of the story was good and the description of the initial outbreak both from Adrian's and other's point of view was really good. I just wish there was a event towards the end.

After reading reviews for book 2, I will definitely follow this series for now. Hopefully more of a story plays out in the next installment, but either way, the "story" of surviving the apocalypse is great!

J.D. Demers

Definitely worth my your time!

Intriguing, interesting and honest take on zombie apocalypses. Really enjoyed! Already purchased book number two.

Dear Mr. Journal

This book was well done. It is told mostly from the perspective of Adrian's journal entries as he survives the first months of the ZA alone at a boarding school. Inserted in the books are short stories of people who experience the same events at the beginning of the outbreak. They are some of the best parts of the book. The author is very good at writing the cycles of human emotion, how guilt can turn to self perseverance and loneliness can give to fear of others. I will be listening to the second in the series soon.

Excellent series

What made the experience of listening to Dark Recollections the most enjoyable?

The main character is flawed and conflicted. The book does an excellent job of balancing his character development with full-on zombie adventure

Who was your favorite character and why?

Adrian.

Which character – as performed by James Foster – was your favorite?

Adrian.

The zombie diary that hooks and reels you in!

Great book! This was my first time listening to it on Audible. I must confess I actually read this before and have the print copy. The narrator did a great job! The story holds your attention and also tells the stories of other people that Adrian Ring had interactions with. I personally think tbis is way better than The Walking Dead or Fear tbe Walking Dead. Now to move onto book 2 in Audio format!

Great short story/journal

Loved the narrative style and great choice for audio. The zombie descriptions and behavior were more realistic to me.