• Benton: A Zombie Novel: Volume One

  • By: Jolie Du Pre
  • Narrated by: Angie Hickman
  • Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (29 ratings)

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Benton: A Zombie Novel: Volume One  By  cover art

Benton: A Zombie Novel: Volume One

By: Jolie Du Pre
Narrated by: Angie Hickman
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Publisher's summary

Zombies have killed everyone in the Benton household - all except 20-something Jennifer. She's escaped her bedroom, but what now? Waterbank, Illinois, is overrun. Where can she go?

A chance encounter with seven other young survivors points her toward Texas. A charismatic, handsome young man named Mark says he can lead them all to his family's ranch. He's sure they'll be safe there. Jennifer wants to trust him, with her life and possibly her heart.

There's no place else to go, there's no way to escape the zombies but through, and there's no telling if Jennifer and Mark will live long enough to act on the emotion building between them.

©2014 Jolie du Pre (P)2014 Jolie du Pre

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What listeners say about Benton: A Zombie Novel: Volume One

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

a straightforward post-apocalyptic journey

If you are a fan of television shows like The Vampire Diaries, Dawson’s Creek, or movies like Mean Girls or Twilight… you’re probably going to love Benton: A Zombie Novel volume one by Jolie Du Pre . Perhaps even more so because it’s a short listen at just about two and a half hours.

Benton is advertised as a young adult dystopian novel so I went into the listening of it as such. The story’s protagonist is a teenaged girl from Illinois named Jennifer Benton who is the daughter of a survivalist. When the story begins her family has been devoured by the dead, and she must leave home and find shelter, food and safety on her own. The first book in the series chronicles her early struggles with that journey, and her chance encounter with a group of teenaged survivors that she joins.

In terms of plot and execution Benton is a fine book. While the story doesn’t go anywhere unexpected, it doesn’t disappoint as a result. It’s a straightforward post-apocalyptic journey with all the troubles and trials you’d expect. There are jerk survivors, jerk zombies, a little bit of guns and gore, and difficult decisions being made as the group gets strong-armed by a member into a trip south to warmer Texas for safety and to reunite with friends and family, despite the odds of making it there.

I did find the language of the book to be a little troubling in the light that it is supposed to be young adult. There were well over a dozen uses of the f-bomb, as well as many other sections of crude language as well as a very strangely placed oral sex encounter later in the story that felt… shall we say inserted… to play on the romantic notions of teenaged readers. If you’re a parent with a teen that wants to read this book, be advised the language and sex felt much more mature to me. Closer to the 16-19 age range than the 13-15 year olds. I wasn’t impressed with how the relationship was portrayed (think; silly crush for shallow reasons that turns sexual quickly), but then again I’m not a teenaged girl trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

The characters are decently portrayed, the dialogue is suitable for the most part, and the book is reasonably well done.

The prose is very easy to read and arguably has been written too simply to inspire. Adjectives are plain and the action scenes especially suffer. There are frequent exchanges like; “I shot the zombie. It fell.” Not much to inspire the imagination in terms of descriptive text. It felt to me as I listened to be a book written in the zombie genre to try and capture the Twilight audience.

If you’re looking for light post-apocalyptic fare that plays it a bit safe on the gore and is suitable for later-year teenagers, Benton is a fine choice.

Having said that the recording by Angie Hickman is excellent. She uses considerable talent to bounce between characters and bring life to the book and reads at a rather quick pace that felt easy to follow, and should easily grab the attention of younger and older readers alike. I’ll be looking forward to her reading other stories, and I’m looking forward to listening to her narrate Benton’s second volume.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

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

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A decent zombie story

Where does Benton: A Zombie Novel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a quick listen, with mild gore and some interesting characters. Definitely not as deep as many of the other zombie books I have listened to, but it was still enjoyable. There are many different characters with different motives all tossed together and it works.

Which character – as performed by Angie Hickman – was your favorite?

Angie Hickman did a good job with different voices, and made the annoying character have an annoying voice. Is it wrong to want a character to die because you don't like the voice? Since Katie has a tendency to freeze up, I don't see her lasting all that long in a future book.

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

I did listen to it in one sitting, multiple times.

Any additional comments?

This audio book was provided by the author for an honest review.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

rough

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I felt that certain scenes just did not fit in and were poorly timed. Okay we are running from zombies and are teens but we are going to fall in love in a week and we are going to have sex out of nowhere.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

honestly nothing stands out to me on either side.

What three words best describe Angie Hickman’s performance?

just okay.

Could you see Benton: A Zombie Novel being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Benton: A Zombie Novel

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

Yes. this was a good story and the first audio book I have listened too. I was able to just close my eyes and listen to the story and pictured it all as if I was watcing a movie.

What did you like best about this story?

The consant changing problems that the group always was running into. Zombies every where and trying to find a safe place to stay and not get eaten. You were always waiting for something to go wrong or someone to get taken out b a zombie or their self.

Which character – as performed by Angie Hickman – was your favorite?

It was a toss up between a few. Angie had some interesting voices. This mae it easy to know wat character was speaking.

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

Yes. Angie Hickman reading this story so well made it very easy to listen to and she read it at a nice speed that didn't leave you wanting replay someting cause you didn't catch a part of it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Benton, VOL 1

If you could sum up Benton: A Zombie Novel in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, intrigue & Romance.

What did you like best about this story?

I Like the character development, The author creates characters that you love or hate almost instantly, good story plot and a goal, also events seemed realistic as they might happen during an apocalyptic event.

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

I don't know if i can say Angie Hickman brings anything to the story that I would have missed reading the book, As I did read the book, I am an Avid reader. but I must say absolutely nothing is lost with Angie reading the book she reads at a tone and pace that just feels right. some narrators try to read to fast some are slow, But Angie's pace matches just right with the way the book is written. I would listen to other books read by her she has an easy to listen to voice and yet is clear and concise so that nothing of the meaning of any of the dialogue is lost.

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

yes I actually listened to it twice as the first time I was distracted being the driver for DR visits. so when I got home I finished then restarted and listened in one sitting I can do it in one sitting or broken up by Real Life events but found this more enjoyable in one quiet listen

Any additional comments?

I hope whatever deal Jolie has/had with Angie is good for all the books in the series, I hate when narrators are changed in the middle of a series it just gums up the works

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A Zombie book for 12 year olds

No horrible but obviously not researched or thought out. This is another teenage angst, the zombie apocalypse is such a great matchmaker.

Dr. A

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Yawn of the Dead

This book has horrible narration and storylines that defy common sense. So much so that I was ashamed to even keep it in my library. I really think a horror loving 10 year old would be critical of this book. The only good thing I can say is that it was short and didn't waste too much of my time. Save your money and time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not a great book for audio format.

The storyline was alright, and the narrator did a pretty good job.

Unfortunately, I found the way the story was written (in the format of the main character "Jennifer" telling this story) was very difficult to listen to.

Way too many pauses for:
<blah blah "he said">
<but, blah "she responded">
<blah! "I said">
<blah blah blah "he said...">
<blah blah "I say">

And so on, and so on...

I think I may have enjoyed it more if I read the book instead of listening.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

More survival story than zombie bash

Set in modern-day small town Illinois, Jennifer Benton must first escape her house. Everyone she knows, including her family, have turned into zombies. She’s been holed up in her room for weeks, with her zombie mother right outside waiting for something living to cross her path. But escape she does and a chance encounter puts her in a closed garage with 7 other folks. Now, they must make a plan for the future as supplies won’t last forever, especially with winter coming on.

This is another fun addition to the zombie genre. Jennifer Benton is easy to connect with and isn’t a silly lass. In fact, she is quite practical and willing to add to her list of skills, zombie killing being at the top. She’s in her early 20s, so she’s past the silly teen stage yet still young enough to know how tender and encompassing love (or lust) can be. And with the handsome Mark around, there is definitely temptation.

While this book does has a romantic plot line to it, there is so much more going on. Primarily, it is a survival story. Can Benton trust everyone in their little group? Probably not, much to everyone’s woe. Then there are the roving bands of other humans to consider. And those pesky zombies. Since many of their group are locals, killing zombies is a bit emotionally draining as they were once friends or family. I am glad the author explored that aspect of it.

There is one sex scene and it is sweet. However, we’re shown how the man will be pleased, and only told how the woman was pleased after the fact. I would have liked a little more equality there as media in general tends to shy away from the female orgasm. I think we all know that more humans would benefit from some instructive fiction in how to obtain a female orgasm.

Overall, this was a great addition to the survival genre with focus on human interactions and trust. It steered away from the gory horror of zombies that many zombies books focus on.

Narration: Angie Hickman was a good choice for Jennifer Benton. She had a young woman’s voice but didn’t sound like a teen. Hickman also had distinct voices for both male and female characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fun

Well done great listen! I enjoyed this one it was not overdone! I was given the book free for honest reveiw and i would love to hear more from both the writter and the narrator was top of the line!

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