Salvation

The Burning Tree: Book 1

By: Christopher Artinian

Narrated by: Kim Bretton

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The bunkers were built for the apocalypse. Just not the one they expected.

Life was bad and getting worse in the depths of Salvation. It did not take the people of Level Three long to realize that the only reason they had been spared from the cataclysm was to become a slave class. Now, a single accident has changed everything.

Fear is spreading like a virus. Rumors become facts the moment they’re spoken. Neighbor is turning against neighbor. And time is running out fast.

For most, this signals the end. For Callie and her friends, there is just one hope, but to find it, they’re going to have to fight through the most terror-filled night of their lives. Can they escape the horror that awaits them? Or will these next few hours be their last?

©2021 Christopher Artinian (P)2021 Christopher Artinian

Compelling!

Christopher Artinian is one of my favorite authors in the zompoc genre and this foray into a new genre is just as good as his zombie apocalypse books. Wonderful characters, great world building and a great story make this a must read. The author's ability to build relationships between characters and make the reader care about them is one of the best things about his storytelling. But, there is plenty of action as well!

Kim Bretton's performance adds a lot to this book and makes the reader experience the story in a whole new way. The addition of the mournful music throughout the book really sets the tone in a perfect way. And, the song "The Burning Tree" is one that will stick with me forever.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read, even if this genre isn't your usual one. I can't wait to continue this series and see what happens next!

Excellent but disturbing dystopian fiction

The main protagonist is a teenager, but don't let that that fool you into thinking that the author is going to pull his punches with plot. Callie is brave but vulnerable, with a well-oriented moral compass and more empathy/compassion than many people I know. There is a lot - A LOT - to unpack in this story about society and human nature. I liked the theme about stepping up and taking a stand, even if it might risk embarrassment or physical harm. I liked the theme of community over self-interest. I liked the theme of action over hand-wringing. I especially liked the theme that people have very different ways to respond to bad events and bad people in their lives - sometimes hiding under the bed is the best response, but avoidance or denial may also get you subjugated or killed. I'm someone who gets immersed in well-written stories and I have to admit that this story was sometimes deeply uncomfortable to read because it compelled me to envision what I would do if I were any of the main characters. So even though the protagonist and her friends are teenagers, things get pretty deep and dark as the story progresses. No pun intended.

This is the first book in a series and there are many different directions and storylines and themes that can be addressed in future installments. The author has done an absolutely wonderful job of setting up a rich chessboard of potential moves. The only reason why I gave the story a lower rating was that it started slow. Real slow. As in, I stopped reading (listening) a few times in the first part of the book because it wasn't very interesting for me. I couldn't seem to find much energy to continue. But part way through the book, the plot wakes up like a sleeping dragon and grabs you by the throat and won't let go. By the time you reach the final pages, there are still many other innocent looking but danger-red plot threads that are lying about on the ground like downed hydro wires. I'm mixing metaphors like heck, but believe me, the dragon hasn't been vanquished yet.

The narrator was perfect for this project. And a beautiful singer, too. No complaints (rare for me, since I usually find something to nitpick about when it comes to narration - narrators are important for me, they help or completely inhibit my ability to immerse in a story), would listen to another audiobook from her anytime.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

What Salvation??

I totally enjoyed this new start of a series, a bit different apocalypse from author. Loved the characters of Callie, Dani, Jiang, Tania, and Phil. It is about families living in underground bunkers after topside was about to be destroyed and how they feel they made a mistake going under and want to improve people lives and find a group with the same idea then disaster strikes again. Cannot wait for Rebirth. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. THANK YOU

Highest recommendation

Chris is one of those authors you know it’s gonna be great no matter the genre
A master of the character driven story this was an intense one to say the least
Kim out does herself with the narration on this one
If you’re a fan of end of the world scenarios this is a don’t miss
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review

Excited for more

This is an intense and thoroughly enjoyable take on the apocalypse genre. This looks like the start to another great series from Mr Artinian

Excellent story and fabulous performance!

This is truly a wonderful performance. It feels like the characters are just locked down and ruled with an iron fist, possibly without a way out. But no matter how bad things get, Mr. Artinian never fully takes hope away from the characters. In turn, he also gives me hope for humanity through the story. Mrs. Bretton does an outstanding job with this story. I loved it!

Well done post apocalyptic production!

Nice addition to post apocalyptic fiction. It took a bit to get to the meat of the story, seeing this is at least a three part story, author needed some time to set the stage.
This is a trilogy (that I can see so far) book one still “ended” nicely without the dreaded cliffhanger.
The narrators did an excellent job too!
I will purchase the the next book as I am vested in how the characters progress.

RETURNED IT

Boring and tedious to listen to!
The narrator uses a voice to make characters at times sound like they are talking with a monotone, sexy, seductive person...male & female. Absolutely does NOT fit the character OR situations!!
He is good with some character voices in his changes, but some just do NOT fit.
The first few hours had really NOTHING to do with zombies. In fact rarely ANY zombie attacks. It's basically a handful of characters and how they are surviving or preparing or God knows what some are even doing. Like the Bags character.... really?? WTH is that even about a few hours into to darn book and yet STILL don't get why?!?!
If your looking for zombies and heart racing moments... DON'T BOTHER WITH THIS BOOK THEN!
If you want to have background noise or sleep help, then this book could be for you.
Maybe it might have been a LITTLE better, IF the narrator had a better idea on how to do voice changes to fit characters better and how to read with the correct emotions to fit the situations of each event happening... instead of making a teenager talking to a little girl with a voice like she's trying to seduce her instead of help her. Lol

Long story short, no zombie fights to make your heart pump within the 1st few HOURS of the book. Infact, nothing to make one even WANT to know what happens next moments! No humor that makes any good one liners, not for lack of trying though. Even the moments that are SUPPOSED to be sad did not work, mostly I think cus of the lacking of the narrators ability.
I DID give it a chance too, listened for no less then 2 hours, then returned it!
Infact if you want a GOOD zombie series then head to Mark Tufos Zombie Fallout!

Save your credit & money!!
Removing the series from my wish list now too. The 1st book was bad, so I'm sure the next ones will not be any better.

How Far Will A Person Go?

Christopher Artinian created a world where humans have moved underground because a meteor is headed towards Earth. The people are separated into tiers depending upon their abilities and knowledge, or how wealthy they are. When an accident occurs, life becomes untenable for those people living in the bottom tier. This book was absorbing and thought provoking. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series and I recommend it to others who like this genre. Kim Bretton's narration is exquisite. I really enjoyed her rendition of the song titled, "The Burning Tree" which can be found on youtube.com also. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily left this review.

Global warming is real!

The book was intriguing and suspenseful. I listen to this book because I love safe Haven and the end of everything by Christopher Artinian. If you haven’t listened to those two series I would get them right now. They were great! Now Salvation is depressing for me, because we should be doing more about global warming and there’s only one political party that is interested in doing anything to stop global warming and our other political party is doing everything they can to block you anything from being done. We have known about this problem for many years yet the world is doing very little or at least not enough. So what I’m saying this book it’s a little too close to home it’s good. However I like the zombies genre tale