Torn

Torn is a present day "end of the world" apocalypse done in the laid back style of a sit-com. The end starts innocently enough with carnivorous ants and cockroaches and from there proceeds to solar flares and killer snakes and finally to massive snowfalls. Along the way we follow the exploits of several scientists putting the pieces together along with their eclectic band of unusual people that they accumulate along the way while trying to craft a plan to survive.

While the underlying premise is reasonable (a magnetic reversal of the planet) and the strategy to survive is sound, the story suffers from overdoing too many elements. The government coverup is never fully developed. The notion that only these three scientists would figure out what is going on is just not reasonable. The absence of more survivalists is unlikely. The intermediate plan to wait out the initial killer wave only made sense in order to introduce another plot element just to add another dramatic scene. This element also required a separate introduction, quite late, of an independent character that disturbed the pace. Finally, the epilogue only serves to highlight the abject failure of all these heroic efforts.

The narration is good, although a bit hurried. Some of the characters are portrayed a bit too flip or overly dramatic, but the tone is well suited to a lighthearted, slightly comedic approach to the end of the world.

I love the way Jacqueline puts so much comedy into her stories. I wouldn't say this was believable at all, but that's not why I read it. Different and interesting ideas on how the end of the world might come about. Each event, (on the surface at least) is plausible in its own way. The characters are entertaining and the narrator grows on you. Thanks for another fun listen Jacqueline!

This story is certainly worth a listen, however be warned it is very sit-com in it's style and depth. It's a bit like " Gilligans Island" for those who know that TV show. I found the narration a bit hard to tolerate but eventually i got past it and was able to enjoy the some- what thin tale. I think the story has great potential and may inspire others to rewrite the tale with greater depth and stronger character development. The narration was too hurried and at first i found it difficult to absorbe the information as it poured out at a blistering pace. It has some qwirky end of the world ideas and covers many just not very well. Overall the story still holds up and is worth a listen.

yes

the various scientists as that was what was interesting to me

anybody - he is the worst narrator I have ever heard - I always wondered why people complained about a narrator as basic reading skills was fine by me but this guy made it hard to listen to the book - the pace was way too fast, the voices he used too often did not ring true

yes, i like this genre of book

the author is weak in building interpersonal relationships which just don't make sense or rather don't ring true but the background story of superstorm and how to plan for it was interesting - the ending was a hoot!!!

Decent writing, characters that a person can relate to, and a plot that, if not believable, is interesting.

The characters were all annoying.

No

It's probably the worst book I ever listened to - should have been "tongue in cheek", but it wasn't, it was just aggravating.

Found myself thinking 'huh?' a lot. Narrator's voices were a bit cartoonish, which made the story harder to swallow.