Survivors

The Morningstar Strain, Book 3

By: Z. A. Recht, Thom Brannan

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 12 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Survivors is the all-new soul-shattering climax to the postapocalyptic trilogy, featuring a deadly virus, military action, global devastation - and zombies.

A lot can change in three months: Wars can be decided, nations can be forged...or entire species can be brought to the brink of annihilation. The Morningstar Virus, an incredibly virulent disease, has swept the face of the planet, infecting billions. The infected hosts rampage, attacking anything that remains uninfected. Even death can’t stop the virus - its victims become frightening and deadly cannibals. Scattered across the world, embattled groups have persevered. For some, surviving is the pinnacle of achievement. Others hoard goods and weapons. And still others leverage power over the remnants of humanity in the form of a mysterious cure for Morningstar. For the survivors, the peril remains, and the search for a cure goes on....

©2012 Z.A. Recht (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

hard to write but painfully necessary

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I'm not sure. Perhaps someone who has more patience and isn't too hung up about story pace and or details.

What could Z. A. Recht and Thom Brannan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Frankly, I had read some great reviews about all books in the series but also a few that weren't so great. The first book was, in my opinion, pretty decent, and I hate quitting on a series... i just didnt want to give uo hope!... but by the end of this book I regretted that I should have just listening to something else altogether. I think this last book felt really rushed and a bit choppy. Almost like ticking off a list of things that had to happen and filling in the rest with fighting or banter, etc.

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

Oliver wyman did an excellent job capturing emotion and giving life to the characters. His narration was what kept me listening, not the actual content. I am actually enjoying another book read by him right now.

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

I think I would have done more than cutting scenes.?

Any additional comments?

I feel as though I am being a bit brutal, but after listening to so many books, I felt a review was necessary. Audible has so many fantastic books read by some really wonderful narrators, that maybe by writing this I can help someone else avoid this gamble.

worse choose for a Ghost Writer EVER!

You can definitely tell where the new writer came in...

The heart and soul left the book and he killed off so many of the characters that made the series loved. He butchered it like he was Jack the Ripper.

I Have Never Been So Upset With An Author!

When I was around half way through this book, I decided that I was going to give it 3 stars. All 3 stars for effort. As most of you know, a ghost write wrote this book. It is NOT written by Z.A.Recht! (Recht passed away suddenly in 2009 at the terribly young age of 26.) That's why after 3 years, the final installment of the series is finally being released, under another author.
After listening to Survivors, I firmly believe that Recht left absolutely no notes for the ghost writer to go by. Either that, or Brannon decided to disregard those notes and make this his own book.
It took me several days to get through this book, when the first 2 books took me only a day each. This first part was super boring. It's mostly just rehashing of scenes from the first 2 books. That's where my idea of a 2.5 rating comes in. Since there's no 2.5 stars, I settled on 3. But when the author starts killing off the characters, I became upset.
Recht is known to the world as the author of the Morningstrain Strain books. That's what he'll always be known for, except to family and friends. And I had/have so much respect for him because of his age. What a young age to die. The young man had so much talent and was only beginning his career. This series is his legacy. These characters were his life's work. You can tell by the first 2 books that he loves these characters and had plans for them. He spent years building them and writing about them. And then for another writer to come in and kill them like is was nothing, is down right disrespectful. There's scenes where a bad guy comes up, holds a gun to someone's head, kills them and that's that.......beloved characters from the first books, killed with only 5 to 10 seconds spent on their death scene. Characters are brought up, just to be killed suddenly. Why not just leave them alone and let us think that they lived happily ever after? D list new characters were given more time than the old characters.....and they actually got to live. And the "turning" at the end.....where did that come from? Just out of the blue, an important character turns. Weird and completely from left field. The only thing that allowed me to get through this book, was I wanted to see how many of our beloved cast got killed. But at the end, my only question was "Who LIVED?"
I had waited years for this book. I'd revisited the first 2 several times, the most recent being right before Survivors was released. I'd like to think that I had a good feel for the direction of the story and characters. If this is the best that could be done to the ending, they should have just left the series alone. Let Recht's work be remembered for what it was.

I can see what all the screaming is about.

I was hesitant to get this series based on the reviews of other listeners. But the reviews for the first two books were so good I felt I could risk the complaints about the third.

I understand the complaints now.

My first concern was: was there an obvious transition between authors? No, not really. The pace and tone and style don't change noticably.

The disappointment comes from some of the story choices made. There's a fairly large event about half-way through the book that completely defies all logic and sense. Even if the world was in such a state of decline, I can't imagine anyone following those orders without question. The really odd part is that this act was foreshadowed in Book 2, which leads me to believe the orignial author intended the story to go there. But even now I shake my head in bewilderment.

The second disappointment derives from similar events towards the climax of the story. I know "random" events can befall anyone, but an author knowledgable enough to know the color of a stipe around a particular type of munition should be smart enough to know that two crew members aboads a helicopter are not going to instantly know the exact source location of every round fired at them in the heat of battle.

At the end it felt a little like logic was taking a back seat to a plot element checklist.


Overall I think it the entire series was worth the listen. But there are some pretty significant holes in some of the character development, and some minor holes in the plot. That said, there are also some characters whose experiences are explored quite well.

The narrator was very good throughout. My only issue was his tendancy to give all the minor military characters the same "red neck" accent, which he also gave to one of the major characters, which occasionally caused some confusion.

Should have wrapped this series up in 2 books

Is there anything you would change about this book?

There was a lot of hashing over items that happened in books 1 & 2. Not a lot of new stuff happened until close to the end. I feel the author was trying to force this into 3 books and he just didn't have enough material.

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

Nope

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

Well, I had to double check to make sure this is the same person who was suppose to have narrated books 1 &2 and it was. I think he does a horrible job with this book. Was he drunk?

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Nope. The series made into 1 movie, yep. Stand alone. Nope

Any additional comments?

Disappointed.

A definite 'do NOT read'

Would you try another book from Z. A. Recht and Thom Brannan and/or Oliver Wyman?

Before I read this novel, I would have said, 'yes.' But, unfortuately, I have read it, and would not subject myself to such disappointment ever again.

What could Z. A. Recht and Thom Brannan have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

They might have stuck to the same style and quality portrayed in the first two books.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator was fine. But with content so severely lacking, no narrator could have made it better.

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

None.

Any additional comments?

Saying anymore about my reasons would reveal too much of the story line, and ruin the reading for those who don't know me well enough to believe my opinions. Suffice it to say that all I had dreamed would occur did not, while all my worst fears were most certainly realized.

Hard to Blame Anyone

What would have made Survivors better?

No disrespect to Thom Brannan, but it just seems like the story wasn't cared for. Bad circumstances; I understand. If the story wasn't so much a description of unimportant details it would have been better.

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

Not at all! I'm looking for undead redemption.

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

Oliver Wyman is the man! Makes me wish Correia would put out some more stuff. I miss hangin' with Z on the commute.

What character would you cut from Survivors?

It feels like they all have been cut.

Any additional comments?

I really really hate to say it, but I simply wish that more thought would have gone into the last installment. If I had known the last book would be this bad, I wouldn't have started the series.

Let down of an ending

Would you listen to Survivors again? Why?

I would not listen to this book again.. Out of the three books in this series, this was my least favorite. The story ran on a bit about non interesting things. It also built up side plots that went nowhere and the ending itself was a bit confusing. The final scene, ending the series, was a major let down; I literally said out loud "That sucked"

What about Oliver Wyman’s performance did you like?

Oliver Wymam's performance was on point as usual. He brings life to the characters and at times saves the story it's self through his pro narration.

I Have Never Been So Upset With An Author!

When I was around half way through this book, I decided that I was going to give it 3 stars. All 3 stars for effort. As most of you know, a ghost write wrote this book. It is NOT written by Z.A.Recht! (Recht passed away suddenly in 2009 at the terribly young age of 26.) That's why after 3 years, the final installment of the series is finally being released, under another author.
After listening to Survivors, I firmly believe that Recht left absolutely no notes for the ghost writer to go by. Either that, or Brannon decided to disregard those notes and make this his own book.
It took me several days to get through this book, when the first 2 books took me only a day each. This first part was super boring. It's mostly just rehashing of scenes from the first 2 books. That's where my idea of a 2.5 rating comes in. Since there's no 2.5 stars, I settled on 3. But when the author starts killing off the characters, I became upset.
Recht is known to the world as the author of the Morningstrain Strain books. That's what he'll always be known for, except to family and friends. And I had/have so much respect for him because of his age. What a young age to die. The young man had so much talent and was only beginning his career. This series is his legacy. These characters were his life's work. You can tell by the first 2 books that he loves these characters and had plans for them. He spent years building them and writing about them. And then for another writer to come in and kill them like is was nothing, is down right disrespectful. There's scenes where a bad guy comes up, holds a gun to someone's head, kills them and that's that.......beloved characters from the first books, killed with only 5 to 10 seconds spent on their death scene. Characters are brought up, just to be killed suddenly. Why not just leave them alone and let us think that they lived happily ever after? D list new characters were given more time than the old characters.....and they actually got to live. And the "turning" at the end.....where did that come from? Just out of the blue, an important character turns. Weird and completely from left field. The only thing that allowed me to get through this book, was I wanted to see how many of our beloved cast got killed. But at the end, my only question was "Who LIVED?"
I had waited years for this book. I'd revisited the first 2 several times, the most recent being right before Survivors was released. I'd like to think that I had a good feel for the direction of the story and characters. If this is the best that could be done to the ending, they should have just left the series alone. Let Recht's work be remembered for what it was.

Knew something was wrong...

Any additional comments?

I'm totally disappointed. I bought the first 2 books in the series through audible and LOVED THEM!
I listened to the first part of the 3ard book and LOVED it, but then, it got weird. I couldn't put my finger on it but it was all wrong. It was so wrong that I did some checking online and found that Recht had passed away in 2009. Come to find out, another writer (unknown) had finished the 3ard book. I was devastated. I knew it wasn't going to end well... and it didn't.

Don't get me wrong, the person who took on the task of finishing the 3ard book took on a near impossible task. However, in my personal opinion, the unknown author strayed far from Rechts direction and maimed the story unrecognizable. The ending was beyond disappointing. Rechts masterpiece of genius was destroyed.