The Park Service

Book One of the Park Service Trilogy

By: Ryan Winfield

Narrated by: Michael Braun

Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

If Eden doesn't kill you, the Park Service will.

In the post-apocalyptic future, a fifteen-year old boy stumbles on a paradise where the few remaining humans live on the run from deadly drones controlled by a mysterious Park Service. Now this boy must learn to survive in a world he never dreamed existed while searching for answers to why everything he was taught is a lie.

©2012, 2013 Ryan Winfield (P)2014 Ryan Winfield

How do I say this delicately

I really wanted to get into this series. However, the author doesn't seem smart enough to write genius characters. The boy's internal world and decision making strategies as portrayed don't reflect the type of intellect he would have to have to be the book-smart, test-acing kid hand-chosen by the outgoing reigning genius. And then the author's plot development heavily relied on coincidence for forward movement. Also, I wonder if the author didn't get the chance to research child brainwashing much, but the book would have been stronger if he had.

Not my cup of tea

This was not a book I can recommend even tho I am sure there are people who will love it. It dragged on too long for me.

Second listen.

This trilogy is my second listen, first time I listened I did not fully understand what was going on. The second listen woke my imagination fully and I enjoyed the trilogy. Even though the narrator was a bit on the "bland" side I found myself so intrigued I could not turn it off, this author is a good writer, and will give his work a better look.
Great series!

wonderfully captivating book

Once I started I couldnt stop, the story draws you in, makes your heart race and washing you with emotion.

Interesting concept

I enjoyed the idea behind this book, but the book moves along slowly. The narrorator is enjoyable to listen to.

You only think you've read this story before

A dystopian story set in a post apocalyptic world ... the surface of the Earth uninhabitable and humans surviving underground, waiting for the surface to be safe again... Ruled over by a powerful centralized government about which the common people know nothing...

You've read this story before, maybe more than once, by different authors, sometimes written decades apart, right? Well, not quite. There is enough originality here to make it a unique and worthwhile read.

I also happen to be a National Park junkie who thinks that a small minority of eco-Nazis within our Park Service (though I appreciate and admire most) are inclined to go too far. Only a small minority, but that's all it takes. But how far do these future post apocalyptic Park Service ruling entities go? Well, Nazis in Europe in the not-too-distant past were bent on genocide. These eco-Nazis of the far distant future? Well, read for yourself.

There is a love relationship that is a central theme in this story that is not something we've seen in all of the other dystopian stories, let alone a YA dystopian story. Certainly not the cookie-cutter teen romance...

The narrator, Michael Braun, delivers a passable performance, though he tends to be a bit too enthusiastic and amped up when delivering what should be calm descriptions about, say LED lights (read it, you'll appreciate the reference) but that does improve as the series progresses (or I became habituated to it).

Overall, I give this series a recommendation. It's not a 5 star review, but it is a recommendation.

Book good. Narrator bothersome

I enjoyed the story but the narrator was annoying. I am an avid listener so I am picky about narrators.

An interesting if implausible story

Was The Park Service worth the listening time?

I enjoyed the book, although I'm not sure I'll spend the time to listen to the other two volumes. The story is so implausible that I found myself thinking of it more as fantasy than as science fiction. That's not inherently a bad thing, but so much to listen to, so little time!

Captivating story, interesting premise

What did you love best about The Park Service?

This is a book with a premise worth thinking about, discussing, even arguing about. What if the only way to save the world was to wipe out the human race? I really love a story that leaves me something to think about.

What other book might you compare The Park Service to and why?

The underground colony makes me think of The City of Ember. It's a different future, but the life in a limited world, then escape into the larger world is reminiscent.

Which scene was your favorite?

I suppose the scene when Aubrey learns to clean fish got to me in particular. The older man had seemed like he would never accept Aubrey, and then he gave him an important lesson and gifted him with his knife.

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

It made me angry when I thought of how much cruelty most people endured because of a few scientists who couldn't find a better way to deal with the dilemma of humans versus nature.

Any additional comments?

You really need to read all three books. This one just hints at what's coming next, and you won't expect most of the turns the plot ends up taking.

Give Me A Red Eye, Stat!

I should have known better than to continue on when I first thought Aubrey was a girl based on the narrator's breathy, soft voice. (Yeah, I did think it rather odd when the story mentioned she/he took off his shorts for the shower but no other clothes, but to each her/his own. TG they clarified that shortly thereafter.*) But the story sucked me in. The narration did not. No, the snail paced droning snooze fest left me careening towards the nearest Starbucks, screaming for a Venti Red Eye with 4 extra shots, just to wake up ... hardly the experience I was searching for when I picked up this number.

I thought perhaps it'd improve as characters were added. Nope. Jimmy is described as having a "higher pitched voice" but what does our illustrious narrator do? Deepens his voice whenever Jimmy speaks. WTH?

I made it 6 hours in before calling it quits. Sadly, truly a case of a good story ruined by the performance as the story itself is quite lyrical and interesting, although much lighter on action than most dystopian novels I read/listen to. (So, if you like to listen before bed, maybe give this a go? Can definitely recommend on both the story and the snooze factor.)

But now, I'm chortling down the Dan Ryan listening to Armageddon The Musical. Guess I'm just a sucker for aliens manipulating mankind via their own reality TV ... and more so a narrator adept with voice caricatures.

*on second thought, a society with topless women might have made me overlook the incessant droning of the narration