299 Days

By: Glen Tate

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

Meet Grant Matson: lawyer, father, suburbanite husband who awakens to the fragility of modern society and embarks on a personal journey that introduces him to a world of self-reliance and liberation. 299 Days: The Preparation, the first audiobook in the 299 Days series, depicts the inner struggles Grant must face as he exists in a social system he recognizes as unsustainable and on the verge of collapse, but one in which he has built his life around. What begins as a return to his roots, self-sufficiency and independence, becomes a full blown move to prepare for what may come.

Engaging, insightful, and a bit suspenseful, follow Grant's transition from a self-perceived "sheeple" to a full-blown "prepper". Will his fears come true? Is he an extremist? What if nothing happens? What if something does?

©2012 Glen Tate (P)2014 Sellerman and Sweeney, LLC

Planted Reviews - be careful with your purchase...

I have a weakness for prepper & disaster books and was very aware this series was coming out in the near future and planned on picking up the first one right away, and all of them if they were good. I was surprised how quickly the reviews for this series appeared... and was delighted everyone liked it.

My friends, most of these reviewers only own one audiobook and have only done one review... I know because after I forced myself to listen to the entire book... I went back to see who the idiots were that gave the book a 5 star award.

I don't expect the writing to be amazing in this genre, but I would at least like to learn something or a creative slant. This is just a tangential, unedited, repetitive, boring, semi-autobiographical, plot less, self-important, extremist political rant... by a prepper podcaster with a following... who I honestly think means well.

I wanted to like it, wanted to find the good in it and kept thinking... it will get better anytime now. But it didn't happen. There is no violence, swearing or sex in this book, just a little pissing off the porch and repetitive gun purchases. No incredible information either, though... sorry. And the writing... is just wrong, you will know what every character in the book is thinking, jumping from head to head to head in the same short sentence.

The narrator wasn't bad in other books I've listened to... but the material he is reading combined with the poor flow of sentences... makes him sound slow and the listen painful.

Watch closely, I am about to have major not helpful votes attached to my review.

Just not that good.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story is not very well written and the characters are pretty one dimensional. It's repetitive and just in bad need of editing. Book 1&2 could have been done in half the time. Its just not all that exciting and its pushing a specific viewpoint, no depth to the story,. I was surprised at the quality of the writing it after seeing all the great ratings and I actually returned it. But someone else in the family wanted to hear book 2 so I was honest and repurchased book 1 but returned book 2 after it was no better- I just can't see how this could be worth a 10 volume story ($150) and all the five star ratings.

What could Glen Tate have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Having someone edit it more and cut the length in half and it might have been a reasonable story. Also written characters that had more depth to them, the wife just doesn't ring true to an ER doctor at all and their are errors in the book such as thinking he had PTSD straight after an event - an ER doctor would not make such an obvious diagnostic mistake or spend most of the book crying or yelling or being shocked at peoples behaviour - just not realistic.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Kevin Pierce?

Yes, Kevin is a very good narrator.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It raises issues about the current state of affairs and about prepping for events that could happen, might help people think about how prepared they are for a disaster and get started on preparing.

Any additional comments?

I love dystopian novels and spend many hours listening to all kinds of audio books, this just doesn't make the grade for me. If you like a quality novel then give this a a miss and try Alas Babylon, Swan Song or One Second After.

Just plain boring and poorly executed

I was very disappointed with ‘299 Days: The Preparation’. I’ll start by saying that I really like the premise. It’s a solid idea which could be good, maybe the whole series is, but this book is just poor. Here are my issues with this book: 1) The plot doesn’t go anywhere. The guy spends the whole time discussing how he’s putting food and ammo away and getting a bug out location all while ranting about liberals. Which brings me to my next issue. 2) The execution of the book is poor. He keeps pounding on liberals bringing up big government examples like the auto bail out. What did you say that was orchestrated by republicans? Never mind your details liberals are bad and then republicans are good. Then he shows this by having a republican elected to change things but that guys doesn’t do anything other than start running for office. Instead of showing his dissolution as the system he just bad mouths liberals some more. Both parties are corrupt and both should be demonized equally (it’s my review so I can put in my opinion). 3) The main character not likable. In the preface the author tells us he’s supposed to be a normal person with flaws and not some hero which again I like the idea of but he doesn’t any ANY redeeming qualities. He admits to being lazy and not helping his wife around the house until he starts prepping. Then once he starts prepping he has to continuously lie to his wife. Also the author tells us that he and his wife are perfect together but never shows it. They’re constantly bickering, never do anything that a normal person would construe as being selfless for each other and even at the beginning of the book we know they end up living apart. Why are these guys made for each other again? Also the outside voice makes him sound sort of mentally deranged. I guess if you’re ultra conservative and want to read all the books (just one is such a boring waste) if it a shot otherwise don’t even bother.

Mr. Pierce does an OK job with the narration but there's not a lot of differentiation in the characters so it's almost more of a reading.

As a prepper I enjoyed this book

I wished we could all have a setup as perfect as the character in the book. There were some good suggestions for beginner preppers too. Unfortunately most of us don't have the money or space to do so. Also, I really struggled to identify with the character as a hillbilly lawyer
Mr Tates political bias really showed. I'm sure that was on purpose. In my experience the Libertarians are a little too extreme. I'm not ready to give up on the system just yet.

Good series.

Any additional comments?

This is a good series. Overall good story line and kept me interested long enough to listen to the whole series.

Much to do about what????

Would you try another book from Glen Tate and/or Kevin Pierce?

I have managed to stay awake through the first leg of this story(???) leaving about two thirds of the monologue left to cope with. Am afraid I can no longer pay attention to a writer who obviously knows everything there is to know about firearms but very little about telling a compelling story. I was faced with a choice of trying to figure out when the story might eventually provide some semblance of a compelling tale or signing off on it. I chose the latter and would apply for a refund were I to know how.Tracker303

Has 299 Days turned you off from other books in this genre?

wish I knew what genre it might fit in other than "boring"...I certainly would most certainly not lay out any money for book2 of this series.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

monotonous monologue...little if no effort made to differentiate between the few characters I have come across so far.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment to be sure.

Any additional comments?

Put it out as a special.....someone with a lot of of patience might not mind spending a few dollars to learn how many types and configurations of firearms there are on the market and who uses what!

1 hour 45 minutes of nothing. I'm out.

If you listened to somebody read the ingredient list off the back of your favorite fabric softener box it would be more entertaining than this book. The first 20 minutes of this mess is the author reviewing other books and how they all got it wrong. Luckily Audible has a fast forward button.

Then you hit the actual story. Or, you think you do. The book begins in the time just after anything interesting happened in the story. You hear over and over how the last 299 days were terrible, and the lessons learned in the last 299 days, and 299 days, and 299 days, and 299 days. Never once actually hinting at what those events might be, but everyone was apparently hungry.

If from there you expect the story to tell you about those events... YOU WOULD BE WRONG. Instead we back up the tale of our protagonist a bit. And by a bit, I mean to his birth. Yes, that's seriously how far back we go. So we went from the time just after the actual events we wanted to hear about to 40 years before them. Then it's a sorrowful story about how daddy was mean and didn't love me.

I'm done with this steaming pile. It's being returned. I really tried. I gave the story a full hour and a half after I hit boredom just in case SOMETHING might happen. Save your credit, save your money, stay away.

Right Wing Propaganda

I'm halfway through it. Considering returning it. The first half has been an anti-government rant focused on blaming Democrats. The author paints them as evil and as being the reason for big government without even acknowledging any programs that came under Republican administrations such as the Patriot Act. I'm not a fan of either party or politicians in general. I think the majority are corrupt. It becomes propaganda when you focus on one to blame, though. He even uses one guy as an example saying something like, "I've been a Democrat all this time and so are all my friends. How could so many people be so wrong?"

It gets worse. The first part of the book is an intro from an author trying to come off as reasonable and not some nutjob extremist. But, in addition to the above, his lead character has a come to Jesus moment and suddenly (I kid you not) starts hearing a guiding "outside voice". So, we are to believe that he is not a nutjob, but he hears voices telling him to do these things?

I'm a prepper. The intro made me think that we'd finally have a reasonable book that wouldn't make us all sound like paranoid super religious crazy people that think God is directly talking to them. . . literally. Instead, the book seems to work to cement the stereotype in place. I could have dealt with the Right Winger thinking the Left is evil part considering that just because he left out the bad things on the Right doesn't mean he was far off the mark with the Left. Adding in the hearing voices aspect turned the main character from far Right Winger to paranoid schizophrenic.

Sophomoric Libertarian Manifesto

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Libertarian doom-and-gloom survivalists.

Would you ever listen to anything by Glen Tate again?

Unlikely

What didn’t you like about Kevin Pierce’s performance?

It may have been the material, but the reader was slow and flat.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This sophomoric Libertarian manifesto should be referred to as a wordy chapter, not a book. “Book 1” as it is called ends abruptly without logic, planning or closure. It feels as though someone arbitrarily flipped though the manuscript, and randomly selected a page, paragraph and sentence as the point at which ‘book one’ shall end. Technically: not abridged, but genuinely overpriced. There is no hook or cliff-hanger that leaves the reader with any desire or expression of urgency to order book 2. If anything, the reader will want a refund.

Any additional comments?

This story is a predictable one demonstrating little imagination. The world economy is fragile, U.S. bond ratings are slipping, and the U.S. debt is a monumental burden to the ignorant youth and their unknowing offspring. Unemployment is on the rise, and the government and employees thereof are satanic evil-doers. Only those extremist-dittoheads that prepare for the forthcoming fiscal collapse of the United States will survive. Become familiar with the concept of fecal matter hitting the proverbial fan, because the phrase is used repeatedly. Sh*t hits the fan, when the sh*t hits the fan, and what happened… the sh*t hit the fan, over and over; it’s not if, it’s when. In short, stock pile weapons, ammo and dry goods because the world’s supply will be diminished and largely unavailable, and that which remains will be grossly overpriced. The eventual devaluation of paper money will make bartering the traditional method of payment for goods and services. Learn a skill, buy a cabin, arm your family, build a fence and prepare to shoot any that dare to encroach. The author’s self-righteous foreword implies that he had to edit the manuscript after completion, because amazingly enough… he predicted future events, and was compelled to adjust the plot accordingly. One-star.

Kevin Pierce is always the best!!

I have follows Kevin through every teacher book and literally search by narrator now. This series is long 10 books currently. Not sure if it will be more in time as this is book one. I've very much enjoyed it though. 12 hour day for me with lots of driving so listened to it happily all day non stop. Already downloaded book 2 and 3!!

Loved this whole series, skip book 10 tho

What did you like most about 299 Days?

The story was really alive for me

Who was your favorite character and why?

the sherif

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The time the team first met

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

Not really

Any additional comments?

First 9 books of this series are awesome

Patriot propaganda

This book is filled to the brim with tea party propaganda and government hating patriotism. Its also filled with guns and constitution.

As a norwegian living in the worlds most happiest country, who also has one of the largest governments in the world, while also having some of the lowest crime rates in the world, i laugh alot of the politics uttered inside this book.

But bad propaganda aside, the story is very entertaining. I like to call this a guilty pleasure, or dumbtainment. My mind shuts off and i enter the universe of the Matsons, and thats exactly what i like about this series.

I am now in book 5, and i have just decided to buy the 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well. I am going through these rather fast.

Left wing liberal democrats beware!

Where does 299 Days rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Its one of my favourites.

What did you like best about this story?

The author clearly shares a lot of similar points of view to myself so of course I enjoyed the book. Following a person becoming aware of preparedness and the detailed course of his journey was enjoyable as the first part of a series.

What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?

Kevin pierce has an ok narration style, he is not my favourite but it seemed to fit with the story type.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

Ok, so a lot of mixed reviews on here. I was unsure at first whether to take a chance.As I stated in my title if you are a left wing liberal democrat you will not like the book.If you dont like guns you will not like the book.If you have faith in your government you will not like the book.If you want a stand alone book you will not like this book.If you are interested in preparedness and survivalism you WILL like this book.If you are a republican you will like this book.If you are interested in guns you will like this book.Hope this helps clear things up I have tried to be clear as to whether you should spend your money or not :)

Disappointing !

This pre apocalyptic tale should be the most believable and hence the greatest in its genre as its is based on a more reasoned and thoughtful build up to the end times. However, for me it was like pulling teeth, the pace of the story is sooooo slow you find yourself praying for the end to come. I do now have a great understanding of weapons but have abandoned the series as I simply can't put myself through that again.