Beyond the Inferno

De: S Butler

Narrado por: Erin Rieman

The world is dark, silent except for the crackling of flames that consume the remains of what was once Chicago.

©2016 Shannon Butler (P)2017 Shannon Butler

Post Apocalyptic Love Triangle Mess

Beyond the Inferno is a story that starts out with promise and goes all over the place and ends up being at the heart a post-apocalyptic love triangle after someone released the zombie virus. That is never really made clear how it all started. Everyone in the world cant remembers how the world ended except one girl who now calls herself Rose Marie. But that's all she can remember, How the world ended. So that's the quest in the book. To find out how the world ended. For me, this audiobook never really clicked. We never really saw enough of the zombies or revenant as they are called in the story. If you want to try something different give it a shot maybe it will be to your taste.

One thing I really liked about this audiobook was the narration. Erin Rieman has a great voice and I really really enjoyed the performance in this production. I am looking forward to hearing more from her in the future. Her performance kept me listening to the audiobook until the end.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom for an unbiased review.

Unrequited Love and Amnesia

Do you think Beyond the Inferno needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I don't know if it needs one, but I'm pretty sure there will be one.

Any additional comments?

This is a confusing story. It starts in the both directions as the main character recovers her memory, sort of. There never seems to be a good explanation of . There are things that don't make sense and some really really overwrought characters and scenes. Evidently there were zombies, but no they are gone for some reason. Then they are back at the end, sort of. The main character can't make up mind about anything and ricochets between rational thought and unreasonable anger. Perhaps this is due to her amnesia and conflict, but it causes the main character to do irrational things and creates unrealistic scenarios. There is way to much inner dialog and angst.
The book is decently narrated by Erin Rieman, but is a tough listen due to the slow rambling plot.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Interesting take

This isn't the typical zombie apocalypse. The main character is is deeply sad throughout the story. Rieman does an absolutely fantastic job bringing the depth of despair the end of civilization would bring. Decent story, could have done without the love triangle, but it did tie into the story somewhat, so that's fine. Good listen!

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

A zombieless zombie book

The end of the world has come. The zombies invaded cities, with their contagious bite and lack of care. The only way to end this was bombarding most of the bigger cities, even though some innocent had to perish with them. Strangely, nobody remembers how it happened, since they just woke up to a flaming world of dying zombies. There is nevertheless a girl who remembers this terrible event, but has forgotten her previous life. She will need answers, and her new friends will join her in her quest.

This is a zombieless zombie book. There is plenty of talk about them and the horrors surrounding them but as they have died with the bombarding, none of them appear in this book. I am not generally fond of zombie novels, so I appreciated this, but for those who love to read about slow zombies dragging their feet and eating brains, they may be disappointed by this book.

This book is about a quest, not only about the origin of the zombies (which it is too), but a quest to Rose's heart. Do the memories make a person? If there is memory loss, and the person in question starts to make new ones, is this still the same person? This questions are asked again and again throughout the book. It is an interesting topic, but maybe not the one that one expects from an apocalypse book. Rose is twenty-three but most of the time she behaved like a teen, which makes this book appropriate for YA. There is also a lot about romance, and a love triangle that she can't figure it out. It was just too much for me, but I understand that this may appeal to many YA readers.

Although this is not a long book (just under five hours) it seemed to stall for the most part. Shannon focused too much on this personal quest and romance, while dropping important details about the zombi invasion here and there. There is a resolution towards the end, but the execution was far from credible and it felt quite rushed.

Erin Rieman's narration was absolutely wonderful. Checking her Audible page I am amazed at the fact that this seems to be her first book. Rieman has a very sweet voice but she knows how to use it well. She gave different voices to all the characters and her male voices were quite good. Her character's interpretations were really emotive, and the audio production was spot on. I am looking forward to future books narrated by Rieman.

I received this book in audio format from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Confusing

What did you like about this audiobook?

The plot was new and interesting.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

No

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

No information was presented.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Nothing. The performance was good.

Do you have any additional comments?

I was given this book in exchange for a fair review.

End of one world, perhaps the beginning of new.

I enjoyed this book and it was a little different from a lot of the other dystopian/zombie books. The narrator did an excellent job. I voluntarily reviewed this audio book after receiving an advanced copy.

Beyond the Inferno

This is a really good short apocalypse book.I like that it contains the whole story and didn't have a cut off leading into another book.People wake up and do not remember what happened.Only one grl remembers and she has dreams,etc.She and her new friends set out to find a truth that is shocking.Erin Rieman did a great job narrating.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Pretty good post-apoc story

Decent, but slowly-paced, brooding, post-apocalyptic story. First-person, female character and tone. A lot of inner-monologue, not a thrill-a-minute kind of story. Good tho.

young adult post-apocalyptic story

this is a slow paced story more suited to young adults. little to no sex, minimal bad language, very little violence. zombies(revenants) that are never seen.?. teen drama love triangle. more suited to ages 14-17. the narrator did a great job. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Amazing narrator, Good buildup. Lackluster Story

Would you listen to Beyond the Inferno again? Why?

No. At the beginning, you keep listening because you want to know what's going to happen next. And then almost nothing happens. And then almost nothing happens again. You think the ending will save the mediocrity of the middle but it doesn't.

Any additional comments?

The narrator did an amazing job. If you've listened to any of the 5th wave, which also has a very strong female lead, this will remind you of that and I was a huge fan of that series and audiobook series in particular. That book had great narration which led to me enjoying the book even more. This book had a great narrator but that couldn't save the story. I would definitely listen to this narrator again and I would love to see what she can do with a different story.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.