After

The Shock, Book 1

By: Scott Nicholson

Narrated by: Kevin Clay

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A massive solar storm erases the world's technological infrastructure and kills billions. While the remaining humans are struggling to adapt and survive, they notice that some among them have...changed. Rachel Wheeler finds herself alone in the city where violent survivors, known as zapheads, roam the streets, killing and destroying. Her only hope is to reach the mountains where her grandfather, a legendary survivalist, established a compound in preparation for doomsday.

Other survivors are fleeing the city, but zapheads aren't the only danger. Rogue bands of military soldiers want to impose their own order in the crumbling ruins of civilization. When Rachel discovers a 10-year-old boy, she vows to care for him even at the risk of her own life. And the zapheads are evolving, developing communal skills even as they lay waste to the society they will eventually replace.

©2013 Scott Nicholson (P)2015 Scott Nicholson

Nicholson is an awesome story teller

This time we were not responsible, well, not really. The zapheads, as they are referred to, were the result of a massive, world-wide solar storm that wreaked havoc on the world’s technology killing and changing billions of people into zapheads. The world is different now, everyone is different somehow.

The zapheads don’t eat people but they do seek to kill in a most bloody fashion and they are learning to plot, strategize and attack.

There are three groups of survivors the story follows as well as the legendary survivalist grandfather. The survivors include a group of military like goons who are not very nice, two beer drinking surfer dudes, Rachel and then the group who treat the zapheads as deities.

Unlike most zombie books, Nicholson states what caused the zaphead affect – the solar storm; but not why some were affected and some were not.

Nicholson is an awesome story teller. He manages to find what the scariest part of life is and twists it into a horrifying tale that strikes close to home. We are all afraid of what technology will do to the human race if it goes away or takes over, we are all afraid of being alone, and we are all afraid of what happens when we stop living … and lastly, what makes each of us different. Who would survive a catastrophic event such as this and who would become a zaphead?

Well written, Nicholson develops the characters as he moves the story along giving insight into the main characters. He draws the listeners into the story making them feel the same excitement and fear as the characters. He has a lot going on but not too much; it is still very easy to follow the plot and characters. There are slow moments where the action is building; but he is providing enough backstory to make the plot move forward.

If you enjoy zombies, action and a good story then Nicholson’s books are perfect for you! This is a good solid, interesting, captivating book but then again Nicholson never disappoints!

Kevin Clay, narrator, did a good job of narration. I enjoyed hearing him read the book.

There were no issues with production.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Can't do it, give me back my credit please.

Bad from the start and just kept getting worse. Narration is lacking, story line is more than lacking. The bugs on my windshield were more interesting.

A unique take on Zombies.

Any additional comments?

First things first, this is my first book by this author and I have to say that I really enjoyed his style. I will definitely check out more by him.

The plot of this was easy to believe. A massive solar flare occurs and shorts out all electronics. It also wipes out the majority of the world in the blink of an eye. The ones left behind are either normal or Zapheads. The Zapheads are caused because the flare did something to their brains and now they are basically aggressive zombies. Now they don't eat each other (yet anyway ;), they are mindless killing machines. No matter what they are like, they were scary non the less!! As the book progresses though, we see that maybe they are either evolving or not all of them are mindless! It was intriguing and I cant wait to see where the author takes them.

There is multiple characters in this but all are well written and developed. I loved seeing the story develop through their eyes because each person is so different. It definitely added a little extra to the book.

In all this was a fast paced and thrilling read. I didn't know exactly what to expect when I started reading but I got a book that grabs you and pulls you in. I am really looking forward to the next one in the series!!

The audio of this was fantastic. I thought that Kevin Clay did an amazing job of differentiating each character and bringing them to life. There are quite a few of them but at no stage was I confused.

*I received this for review from AudioBookBlast in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Written like an amateur writing his first book!

"End of the world" is a popular subject and many of them are exciting, thrilling and creative. This one is not. A few characters could be developed but this reads like a first draft effort.

The Earth has turned upside down - what do you do!

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

I have read/listened to a number of Zombi/Post Apocalypse books lately. This rates along with the upper tier of books of this genre.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like the old survivalist in the mountains. Interesting character. Live and let live. Good common sense, in an environment of whacked out crazy people.

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

Kevin Clay was interesting to listen to for several reasons. His delivery was professional, and captured the accents and characters, pretty much true to form. On another level you begin to feel like you are living story, vs. listening to a book narration. Nice job!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it had a good flow. There are a series of characters seen in different chapters whose fates are intertwined. Some of the action or story line is predictable, with a number of surprises along the way. If I listened to the book on my way to work, I couldn't wait to pick up where I left off on my commute home.

Any additional comments?

Disclaimer: this book was gifted in exchange of an honest review. Writing a book and performing as a voice artist is a tough job. Both the writer and narrator lay it all out there for their audience to invest their time to make a judgement on this body of work. Frankly, for me, writing a review is easy. Did I like the story? Did the narrator bring the characters to life? Did I learn anything new from this book? Would I recommend someone else read this book? Yes, to all. This is another book in the zombie apocalypse genre. The characters are true to form. The story flows. The author keeps the story cohesive, while progressing the story line. Yes, I could relate to some of these characters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes the zombie/survivalist type stories. I will re-listen to "After The Shock" again, chilling out on the beach, sitting on my porch with an ice cold drink, and on my daily work commutes. I give it five stars, because I liked it, and Kevin Clay did a nice narration. Waiting for the companion books to come out!

Not Your Typical Zombie or Post-Apocalypse Book

What did you love best about After?

As opposed to most of the post-Apocalypse/zombie books, the cause of this Apocalypse is a massive solar flare which in addition to rendering all electronics useless, thereby thrusting mankind back into the stone age, the radiation also seems to "short-circuit" the brains of the majority of the human race, turning them into murderous psychopaths. The characters are very well fleshed out and not one-dimensional, so that you actually cringe when one of them is in danger of getting killed off!

What other book might you compare After to and why?

This book is like a cross between Mark Tufo's Zombie Fallout series perhaps, and One Second After, by William R. Forstchen.

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

I thought the narrator did a fabulous job with all the voices and inflections! I've actually stopped listening to some audiobooks because the narrator wasn't very good. This was NOT the case here at all, I am happy to say! I was completely engrossed and enthralled! :)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have LIKED to have listened to it all in one sitting, but I took two days. My family likes things like food prepared for them and laundry done.

Any additional comments?

I would definitely recommend the audio version of this book, and will be recommending this book to my friends! :)

A different kind of "zombie" story

In spite of my love of apocalyptic stories, I'm not a fan of zombies. I have never read a zombie book with a good explanation for the actions and behaviors of said zombies (e.g. eating people), and that bugs me when I'm reading. "After" does what no other zombie book has. Okay, so they aren't real zombies in the traditional sense. No actual eating people. However, an explanation for both the change itself AND for the behaviors of the changed people afterwards had me cheering.

The story followed 3 primary groups of people as they escape from the changed people. Towards the end of this book, we see how all three groups will eventually come together (in a future book, I assume). At times, the story seemed slow, and the requisite prepper had a few too many explanatory soliloquies. Other than that, I mostly enjoyed the different characters and how their actions shape them.

The narrator of the audiobook was decent. He certainly didn't detract from the story in any way, neither did he do anything to really add to the story. I would listen to this narrator again.

I would definitely continue reading the series.

Audiobook provided by the author in return for an honest review.

Interesting start to a new series for me!

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

Sure if they liked post apocalypse books,,,

What other book might you compare After to and why?

Well the premise is similar to another book I read recently, Killshot.....solar flare storm...people changed from it...some dangerous....

What about Kevin Clay’s performance did you like?

Kevin has a beleivable voice and is soothing to listen to..I would listen to him again...

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

This is a serious book, there was a little humor...but mostly struggle!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

This book jumps around a bit...lets start with what has happened...a solar flare storm has devastated the world and turned some people into what they call Zap-Heads....they want to eat people...but they dont have the ability to turn others....We have several groups of people here and I will break it down for you a bit...

We have Rachel...she is where it all begins...she begins this journey alone, but shortly meets up with Divonte, who at first she is afraid of...but they come to an understanding and befriend each other...they find a little boy named Steven....and on there Journey they run into some bad people and cross paths with many...

We have Jorge and family...they worked on a farm and end up being the only survivors....as they make an attempt to escape there little girl gets sick and they run into Franklin who is a bit of a survivalist who helps them and gives them a safe place to stay...

We have Campbell and Pete 2 guys trying to survive who also run into some crazies and have to escape them...and briefly cross paths with Rachel....

Arnoff...a crazy survivalist with a group of not so nice people....

And there is a military militia group that are not very nice people either who are taking people hostage for what they call zap-head bait..

this book jumps around a bit as I said, but it intrigued me enough to make me want to continue the series...I recommend to anyone who is a fan of this genre!

Thank You Audiobookblast(dot)com

After Series is Awesome!

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

I loved the print version and the audio version.

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

Kevin Clay brings life to the characters. He doesn't just read the book, he acts it out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Scott Nicholson Rocks! His books have never disappointed me and the After Series is a wonderful story ride. I read the books and now listening to them makes them that much better.

AFTER

Any additional comments?

Another great book from Mr Nicholson. The premise is very real, a series of solar flares that shut down the world. The survivors are a very diverse bunch and, oh what a bunch. I really enjoyed this book from the very first page and can't wait for the next. It is full of suspenseful moments.