The Breakers Omnibus

Books 1-3 and Prequel Novella

By: Edward W. Robertson

Narrated by: Ray Chase

Length: 42 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Books 1-3 and the prequel novella of the Breakers series. In the Breakers series, humanity faces not one apocalypse but two: first a lethal pandemic then a war against those who made the virus.

©2012 Edward W. Robertson (P)2015 Podium Publishing

So glad I downloaded this one.

Where does The Breakers Omnibus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This series took me completely by surprise. It ranks right near the top of the list of audiobooks I've had the pleasure of listening to.

What other book might you compare The Breakers Omnibus to and why?

The obvious series to compare it to is the Cycle of Arawn, given the same author, however I would put it with the Wool Omnibus, The Mistborn Series and oddly enough Adrians Undead Diary. I have to admit I really enjoyed this book.

What about Ray Chase’s performance did you like?

At first I was really having to work to not focus on the breathy and oddly nonrhythmic way he was performing the prelude (Book 0) but I got in the groove and the story really sucked me in. I was really happy I stuck around, In Books 1, 2 and 3 he doesn't use the same manner of speaking as book 0 and is a wonderful performer. His various characters are really well done, great variety and all very appropriate to how I envisioned the characters. I was completely engaged by both his performance and the story.

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

It was definitely a book I couldn't "put down". Its such a monster of an Omnibus I kept fearing the end of the individual volume was the end of the entire tale and was thankful at the start of each new volume. When I realized I was on volume 3 (the fourth if you count 0) I was relieved to see there are more in the series as stand alone books.

Any additional comments?

I was really feeling stuck in a rut and struggling to find new audio books to listen to. This was a book I only gave a shot because I realized it was by the same author as the Cycle of Arawn and figured I could always return it. I am so glad I gave it a shot. The evolution of the story and the characters is awesome, the way they all split apart, both geographically and chronologically, and tie back together is oddly rewarding, visiting familiar events from various perspectives and via differing roads. As the story progresses there really is an evolution, through the disease and its causes and the aftermath. I have been voraciously listening to audiobooks since first subscribing to Audible in 2004 and I listen to books constantly, both from here and elsewhere, to help with my ADHD and wandering mind. That's meant I have periods of really feeling like there isn't anything I feel like listening to (While I'm waiting for the next Sanderson novel, the years of waiting for each Game of Thrones novel or the next book in one of the many series). This one was one that I am very glad I stumbled upon.

Good Story

Good story. Great characters. Lots of interesting ideas and events. Could have done without the plethora of masturbation reference though.

Almost quit every book (only read 1-3)

Would you try another book from Edward W. Robertson and/or Ray Chase?

The author - it's hard to say; The narrator - yes

If you’ve listened to books by Edward W. Robertson before, how does this one compare?

no

Which scene was your favorite?

???

Was The Breakers Omnibus worth the listening time?

This is been the first book I have had a really hard time listening too.

Any additional comments?

I feel like the main characters never win, and each book has a different set of main characters. Listened to the Novella first and it threw me for the other books... because Ellie and Dee don't appear until book three. I'm confused about this series and don't know if I will continue after book 4 (I have to see what happens with Ellie and Dee)

Interesting story and characters, but sometimes grating narration

I really enjoyed the storyline: people struggling to survive after a pandemic plague, and society falling apart is a very intense setting.

There were a number of different characters, and each was quite interesting and engaging, even the ones who were clearly unlikable.

But the narration left something to be desired. The reader had a near constant smugness to his voice which kind of bothered me, and his rhythm was repetitive. Plus, his voices used to differentiate characters would often drop so low in the register that I couldn't hear - this seemed to be the case for several female characters.

This is the first time I've actually been distracted by the narrator - maybe I've just been lucky.

Enjoyed the story

I enjoyed all three books. There were a good amount of story line and character changes throughout. The reader had a rough voice but you get used to it quickly. I'm excited about picking up the next book.

The Breakers

When I first started reading this book, I didn't think I would like it. But by the time it was over, I was sad that it was over. I actually wanted to hear more!!!
I really did like the story and characters and I loved the performance by Ray Chase. I just love his narrations, so expressive!!!!!
I hoping there will be more like this!!!

great series, not sure how they would stand alone

narration is a bit dull but overall a well written exploration of post apocalyptic world, it glosses over some details and the science is a bit fuzzy but that's forgivable since it isint the focus of the story, releasing these as a collection was definitely a good move my rating for any one of them on their own would be much lower but as a series they are remarkably strong

A decent Story with horrible Narration

Would you try another book from Edward W. Robertson and/or Ray Chase?

Author Yes - The story line was interesting and i did make it through all 3 books... but will not finish the series as the narration just plainly sucked.Narrator No!, boring monotone narration, could not really do a woman's voice well, whispered most of them. Volume was an issue especially if you are driving. Such a slow meandering read that I had to crack it up to 1.25 speed (thank you Audible app) just to have a decent pace to the narration vs story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

A very slow boring read book - Could not do a woman's voice at all, and there are quite a few women/girls in this, with allot of interesting story for them but ruined by a bad voice for them.

Any additional comments?

NOTE to Author - Find a new narrator!

I want more, twisted and turned all over the placs

the darn thing even had the nerve to kill key characters.. what? who does that? It was well crafted and executed. Bravo
Narration was great, you felt the characters, make or female.. again Bravo
now i want more

omnibus of back stories

The best part of the book is the narrator, Ray Chase does a fantastic job.

Ed Robertson is very good at painting a mental picture and creates a fairly diverse group of characters.

That being said, I struggled to finish listening to the book. there were parts that drew me in and held my attention and unwilling to stop listening... but more often than not I kept asking myself why I was trudging on. All that happens is a group of people go through their struggle surviving and then the next group of characters comes out for their turn from the beginning. over. and. over. a small part of it is setting up for a brief encounter with each other but most of this omnibus is a bunch of characters and their detailed back stories and very little forward movement.

It's a very long time killer at 42 hrs. If it was abridged down, I think it would have been a lot more enjoyable.