The Weller

De: Adam J. Whitlatch

Narrado por: A.W. Miller

Matt Freeborn is a weller, one whose job is to seek out the most valuable commodity in the wastes: clean, potable water. The weller's precious cargo makes him a prime target for attack from savage road pirates, grotesque mutants, ravenous cannibals, and ruthless private armies. Armed with his trusty sidearm, the Well Digger, Freeborn is fully prepared to handle any of these terrors, but there are still things even the weller fears: the bogeymen of the wastes...distillers.

©2013 Adam J. Whitlatch (P)2015 Adam J. Whitlatch

Better than “The Gunslinger”

I didn’t listen to this audiobook: I consumed it voraciously, having sat on it for far longer than was appropriate for how good it was. Matt Freeborn, in many instances, reminded me of Roland from Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” — the principle difference being that I actually really liked Matt. The environmental and political messages were well done, even if they traded subtlety for the no-nonsense bluntness of an apocalyptic novel, and the banter between Matt and the people he encountered in the wastes was perfect, parched snark in the desert. If you’re a fan of science fiction, post-apocalyptic settings, or body horror of any kind, then “The Weller” is the book for you. My only complaint is that it wasn’t longer.

Hoping for Book 2....

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, much of the land is a waste. Food, water, shelter, and decent people are in short supply. Matt Freeborn lost his parents young and his granpa raised him to be a Weller, one who can find clean water. While his existence with his granpa is tough, there is also joy satisfaction in it. Sadly, that won’t last because this is a book about how Matt gets scammed and beat up and shot and left for dead. He’s in for a tough time of it.

There’s lots that I really liked about this book, and one thing I didn’t care for. So, let’s get that out of the way – Dude! Where are all the women? You can’t repopulate the world without women! There’s several no-name ladies scattered throughout the book and one (count her exactly – 1) woman named Phoenix who has a plot relevant role. I want more women in this gritty, harsh world. The author can write female characters, as he proves with our lone female character or note.

This book was a joy to read. It had that mix of action, and desperate every day fight to live, and the nostalgia of better days lost. Our hero, Matt, is quite a mess. He’s decent enough, given the circumstances, but he’s going to make some bad decisions that give him a world of hurt. I really enjoyed that not all went his way all the time. I like to watch the heroes suffer and fight for what they want, and of course, overcome and be victorious. However, in this water barren world, ‘victorious’ might only get you a tiny tub bath of cold, undrinkable water.

I’m really hoping the author returns to this world and gives us another book. He’s created this rich backdrop in which we could have more adventures, with or without Matt. I’m sure the Distillers (folks who aren’t above stealing water out of people) have an interesting story or two to tell. They were quite chilling and ruthless in this book.

I received a copy of this audiobook at no cost from the author (via the Audiobooks GoodReads Group) in exchange for an honest review.



The Narration: A. W. Miller was a good choice for this book. He had this kind of old cowboy voice that was full of gravel for Granpa. I also liked his younger voice for Matt. He did a great job of getting Matt’s emotions across.

Like Reading an Action Movie!

The storyline was engaging and exciting, pulling me along effortlessly. I kept thinking through the whole thing that this would make one heck of a Mad Max movie - plenty of excitement and car chases and close calls and daring rescues.

The audio did start out a bit quieter than expected, but evened out after a little while.
Narration was smooth and pleasant, with just the right skin-crawliness for the mutants. Ugh! Only a few oddly pronounced words, easily forgotten.

Looking forward to the next one!

Even better!

I have to say, this still isn't my favorite genre of story, but I really did enjoy listening to it more than reading it! I had fun with this!

Looking for book 2

What made the experience of listening to The Weller the most enjoyable?

I really liked the story line. I thought it was interesting to listen to. Mark is a Weller. A Weller finds clean water for people after a nuclear war. It's a dangerous life for the Weller's on the road always looking for clean water and trading with the people that are left from the war. Mark has many run ins with the people he comes across. So the book never seems to really slow down.
This is a great book. I recommend listening to the Weller. Hopefully the author makes this in a series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Weller?

When Mark had seen his friend in trouble and decided to enter into the fight to one save his friend. Than after to help his friend. Things got very crazy for a while. I was on edge when they were captured by the distillers.

What about A.W. Miller’s performance did you like?

Great voice for The Weller. I don't think I've heard another of A W Miller's performance's before. So this was new and different to me.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Mark runs into cannibals with his grandfather. I was sad that he was losing his grandfather but I felt his need to fight and take care of business when he got away from the cannibals.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audio book at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com