Blackbirds

Miriam Black, Book 1

By: Chuck Wendig

Narrated by: Emily Beresford

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Miriam Black knows when you will die.

Still in her early twenties, she’s foreseen hundreds of car crashes, heart attacks, strokes, suicides, and slow deaths by cancer. But when Miriam hitches a ride with truck driver Louis Darling and shakes his hand, she sees that in thirty days he will be gruesomely murdered while he calls her name.

Miriam has given up trying to save people; that only makes their deaths happen. No matter what she does, she can’t save Louis. But if she wants to stay alive, she’ll have to try.

©2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.; 2012 Chuck Wendig

Critic reviews

"Blackbirds is a story of loss and what it takes to make things right. It’s a story about fate and how sometimes, if we wrestle with it hard enough, maybe we can change it. It’s the kind of book that doesn’t let go even after you’ve put it down.” ( Stephen Blackmoore)

if rough language offends, avoid; else, enjoy!

Any additional comments?

Rough, raw, gritty language and violence. Very funny in places. Excellent writing and plot. Highly recommended. I'll be listening to other books on the series soon. Narrator did a nice job. I wish she was better at "voices," but I'll gladly listen to her again.

Very original story

great read very original story. buy it you won't be sorry. I'm buying the next one

Dark but interesting

The book had an interesting premise, and some good characters, and it was very well performed. That said, the main character was very angsty, and the book get very dark at times.

Always a hell of a ride.

Chuck Wendig's stories are not restful, and the excellent narration on this audio book means you can't miss a single word. Best of all, there's three books in this series...

stay with it

In the first few chapters I was turned off by the steady stream of foul language and the inner rage of the protagonist BUT I am so glad I hung in there and heard the rest of this awesome story. It couldn't have been written any other way. It's rare that I actually give in to outright laughter, fist pumps, and tears while listening because I do most of my listening in public places like the gym, but I couldn't help myself. I will be reading/listening to the rest of this series for sure! Well done, Wendig! And Emily Beresford did a superb narration.

A Story of Fate and the F-word

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

I have been following Chuck Wendig for a few years now, and I have come to enjoy his writing style immensely. The story of Blackbirds is dark, following the story of a troubled young woman who can see when you die, and can't do anything to change it. The writing is fluid, the characters are interesting, and the plot is riveting.

My only critique is that the main character sounds much like Chuck, or at least sounds like the voice he presents during interviews and on his blog. This is not a bad thing, per say; but, it distracted me from remembering that the character was in fact a troubled woman, and not the middle aged self proclaimed pen monkey that entertains almost daily.

It's a cooling breeze on sweltering night in June????

The reader was such a refreshing delight. I can't say how much I enjoyed her. A very diverse talent with a great bag of tricks. Her voice was the perfect voice for the atmosphere of the story, and played well with the dark humor.
Chuck Wending was unknown to me, but what a wonderful talent. I'm looking forward to the next books so much. The story is very dark, but so funny the women in this story are so great, well written characters. It was a great time it everything from tragedy, to laugh out loud humor, some truly scary stuff, one time I had to grimace along with characters. This is a good audio choice, with a great catcher and a ton to keep you interested.

I liked the story but the cursing was excessive,

I liked the story but the cursing was excessive, but creative, even for the type of character being presented. The book comments "...she curses like a sailor. " I never met a sailor or soldier that cursed that much.

Engrossing, if not particularly enjoyable

This is one of those weird cases where I'm not sure if I really ENJOYED this book, but I couldn't put it down. Miriam Black has a really crude attitude and vocabulary that didn't really resonate with me. I wouldn't consider her badass so much as a bad-mouther -- she has enough self defense to keep herself safe(ish) in her transient lifestyle, but she talks rougher and cruder than her skills can really support. But regardless of my relative apathy towards her and most of the characters, the book moved quickly and was action packed, simply pulling me along in it's wake. This book culminated with a feeling of setting a stage for much more expansion in the next installment, similar to the end of a TV pilot, and I would be interested to see if the series improves for me.

Very fun urban magic tale

I’ve enjoyed this genre for the better part of twenty years. I’ve read a number of books and this is a really fun character driven story.

The lead is relatable and frustrating. She acts a lot like I did at her age and it brought back a bit of the nostalgia of being 22.

It’s nice to find an under powered character who has to use problem solving to get around problems as opposed to utilizing her power.

There’s a bit of the Steig Larsen “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” vibe with a hint of magical abilities.

I enjoyed it and I’d recommend it.