The Remaining

By: D. J. Molles

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 20 feet below the basement level of his house, a soldier waits for his final orders. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Someday soon, the soldier will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his mission: Subvenire refectus. To rescue and rebuild.

The Remaining is the first book in the best-selling series, which tells a gritty tale of survival, perseverance and fighting to get back what has been lost.

©2012 D.J. Molles (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

GREAT SERIES !!

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

Impressive narrator. This series will hold your attention and he did a good job of bringing it to life.

Any additional comments?

Gets better with every book. Looking forward to the next one.

Die Hard Meets 28 Days Later

This author must have gone to Stephan J. Cannell school. The action is intense, the bad guys are pure evil and protagonist constantly finds himself in situations that go from bad to worse. Unlike Cannell, this is much grittier and apocalyptic in scope.

I gave this series a try since the reviews were so positive, though I don't typically go for zombie type fiction. However, I was very surprised at the quality of writing and narration. I have gone on to listen to several more in this series and they all hold up to the same quality. I wouldn't call this a "zombie" series because the "infected" humans are more capable and enduring than walking corpses. They are relentless though. D.J. Molles does a terrific job of conjuring up a fairly unique story with good character development. The story is action packed and it's hard to pull away from, like getting on a roller coaster!

Be warned that there is a LOT of cursing. As the story advanced it seemed that the author took glee and inserting as many F words as possible. It does add reality to a point but at times it's too gratuitous.

Overall this is a wonderful audiobook to try if you are getting board with your other favorite audiobook series.

Is that all there is?

I have never had any interest in the living dead. I have seen a couple movies which, in the end, seemed rather unimaginative in their approach to generating a reliable adrenaline rush and not much more. Still, though I clearly don't share it, I have always recognized that the topic holds an intrinsic fascination for many people beyond the simple shoot-them-in-the-head-and-don't-get-bitten basics of the genre, and perhaps I was missing something I simply had not connected with as yet. So when I saw "The Remaining" at reduced price, I decided to take the plunge and see if I could get used to the water.

Unfortunately nothing about this book gave me any reason to read another zombie thriller, whether it be the next in this series or one of the others which have been so successful lately. Even these supercharged hordes were not enough to make up for the fact that the scope of the plot and the action is so limited by the basic premise. Even when you add the presence of petty local war lords energized by the loss of societal structure, the possibilities of situation and character are sadly circumscribed. A writer, certainly a run of the mill writer, has very little leeway given the requirements of the genre. It is not a formula which encourages really interesting character development or a finely crafted plot.

I suspect that the real appeal of the genre lies in the question, "What would I do and could I survive," and I might be able to get caught up in that challenging world of the imagination if it were not for the fact that nothing about the story line is believable. Main characters make foolish decisions to provide a path to the next confrontation with the hordes or the thugs. Then the characters we are supposed to care about overcome the swarms in completely unrealistic action sequences because they must in order for the story to go on. And the story going on seems, really, to be the actual point of this particular book. It is short and ends very much in the middle of things in hopes that our curiosity will drive the sale of the next in the series. Is that all there is? No, no, there is much much more to come, but I am reasonably certain that none of it will be anything "more" at all. I'm out.

A Really Good Start!!!

Another good zombie series,, not all zombie books are good, specially when they are realistic a bit, but this one is fantastic!!!!

i liked the plot, I liked the story, and I liked the main character... The challenges are good, and the twists too.

For those who like Zombie books you will like this one.

Characters you can believe in

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

Some apocalypse books spend (I feel) too much time dealing with the emotions of the survivors. D. J. Molles does that but with a careful hand. He stays well on the side of action/zombies/thriller but still gives us characters to root for and some to hate.

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

Christian Rummell does, I feel, a really excellent job. I've read other books he narrated and, actually, he's the reason I chose this series.

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

How the World Ends, Again.

Jerry's coup is definitely, I feel, another end of the world - an end of the world Lee and the survivors had created.

Any additional comments?

Very happy with the series and look forward to more.

Not nearly as good as Day by Day Armageddon

A good narrator but a story that couldn't quite keep me engaged---despite this being one of my favorite genres.

Stop doing dumb s***

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Not sure, on 2nd book and still scratching my head.

What about Christian Rummel’s performance did you like?

very good

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

the main guy is trained and yet act kinda dopey

Any additional comments?

I'm having a problem with the main guy in the story, I like the premise, so all i'm saying is they should have spent some more on his training in people and negotiation skills, not killing people. One bad choice after another, and dig up your bunker for crap sake, maybe its cause I am in construction, but lame logic has made all things worse.

No ending.

Well, there is a new take on the zombie story here, but just be warned that the book follows the disappointing trend of being an ENTIRELY incomplete story, requiring the reader to buy another book just to get even the smallest closure.

Many authors have the skill to write books in a series, others ( or their publishers ) have one story, and break it into several books. I think it's a cheap ploy. I may think the story is moderately interesting, but not enough to buy the next book when listening to the first gives no reward for the effort.

By far one of the best if not the best in genre

This book is so good, I've listened to it twice. Not only is the story tight with action and suspense, the narrator is absolutely the best. Christian Rummel deserves an Audi for his performance on the series!

Pretty Damn good

I am a sucker for post apocalypse fiction, I have listened to a lot of it and I just can't seem to get enough. I would put this book in the top 30%. The story is great- I love the premise for how and why the hero is in the situation he is in. Characters are pretty well developed, not 2 dimensional cardboard cutouts and I have to hand it to the author, he doesn't let them off the hook- ever. There were several times in the first two books I was waiting for the characters to catch a break, to not have to deal with some brand new threat before they have had a chance to catch their breath. Nope, the only easy day is yesterday. Also, DJ seems to be pretty knowledgable about the military. I don't have any military experience but am always annoyed when an author is clearly clueless and making stuff up but DJ seems to get it.

If you like post apocalyptic/zombie/survivalist fiction you will enjoy this.