Blackout

By: Boyd Craven III

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's Summary

Westley Flagg isn't your usual lawbreaker. He's a poacher, a moonshiner, and a prepper, out of necessity. Despite trying to live on the straight and narrow, he knows the law can turn things on you in a heartbeat. When Wes has to come up with money for his Grandpa's surgery, he gets involved with an unsavory group. Living deep in poverty for most of his life, he's become resilient and flexible, but college education can only take him so far. A solar storm sends the northern lights as far south as Texas, and cascading failures in the grid cripple the nation. Now, without communications, Flagg has to prove he has what it takes to still survive.

©2018 Boyd L Craven III (P)2018 Boyd L Craven III

Familiar plot with exceptional characters.

After some of the books I’ve been listening to lately I was ready for a good book. Thank goodness for Boyd Craven and Kevin Pierce. Blackout is the opening salvo to an apocalypse/survival series featuring a small town community’s reaction and response when the lights go out due to a CME. In this scenario martial law is declared rather quickly and the military waste no time in rolling into town to confiscate weapons and excess food supplies. The character development and personal lives of the main characters continue throughout most of the book, which may sound tedious, but the characters are quite likable and the accounts are excellent; especially Raider (you’ll see). Then, we are fortunate to have Kevin Pierce narrating and that is always a huge plus in my book. I enjoyed this opening tale quite a bit and wish I had the next book(s) to follow up with. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

Raider is the Real Star

4.75 out of 5 stars

Blackout tells the story of a down-on-his-luck guy Wes.  He lives with his grandparents, is looking for a job, and oh yeah - sells moonshine on the side.  He's a likable guy who seems like he would do anything for the ones that he loves and cares about.   Insert Raider - the dog that stumbles upon Wes and his family one day.  He decides he's going to train Raider since he's part German Sheppard. Little does Wes know just how quickly he'll rely on Raiders help.

You can tell that Craven loves dogs (or maybe his dog?) I own an Imo Ino (American Eskimo/Shiba Inu Mix) and he does some of the things that Raider does in Blackout.  He chuffs and will huff when I'm talking to him and he doesn't want to hear it. He'll sigh when I'm talking about him in the same room, etc, etc.  This is the third story by Craven I've read where there was a dog main character and they are three of my favorites.

The story itself starts off a little different than the typical CME story (thank you, Boyd, for not calling it an EMP, thank you, thank you!) We get to know Wes, his grandparents, and a little about their history being bootleggers. I found that part just as interesting as I did once the lights went out. It was a totally unique take on the main character and it made him much more believable and real.

The insertion of the dog trainer (and her entire background later in the story) was unexpected and something that I did not see coming at all.  Wes, the trainer, and a third party (trying not to spoil anything) and their interweaving stories also added another dimension to Blackout that I enjoyed quite a bit.

This isn't a perfect five because I'm mad at Craven. I was driving home and I stopped at the store to grab something.  I thought I had at least 10 more minutes in the story.  Then I heard the dreaded "the end". Wait, what? Craven! Don't do this to me! Sure I want to read much more about Wes, Raider, and the families but that felt cold man. (I'm not really mad, I was just genuinely surprised that the book was already over).

Overall I thought that Craven did a great job making a dog a better character than most main characters in Post-Apocalyptic books I've read. Combine that with narration by Kevin Pierce and you have a winner. If you enjoyed the two Opus stories by him - you'll enjoy this one, too.

I was voluntarily provided with a free copy of this book. It has not affected my review in any way. If you enjoyed this review, please vote for it! Every vote helps.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

a new and refreshing twist on the theme.

Average(?) country boy can survive. I liked that it wasn't the usual uber-prepper takes on the world.

Kevin did an excellent job with the narration. He disappears and leaves you just the characters.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

The start of what I know will be another great series

Love all of Boyd’s work and Kevin is there best narrator ever!
I like Boyd’s work because even when he shows the evil parts of humans he also does it in a less graphic way. He know how to write characters so that you fall in love with them or hate them. He writes in a clean way too. I don’t mind profanity or smutty books but I know some do & you’ll not find that here. His characters are true and real and who you’d expect to meet in your every day life.
I can’t wait to see where Wesley’s relationship with Jessica goes. I also can’t wait for Raider to meet Jessica’s dogs.
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great audiobook

I really enjoyed the story and I thought the narrator did a great job
Thank you for such a great story

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great characters

This book is very different. I have read a few of these survival type books and they usually bog down in the events leading up to the collapse or piles of information about prepping. Characters don't really stand out and are along for the ride.

In Blackout, you get to know Wes and his family. It's a slow burn that I didn't mind at all. These characters could stand out in any genre due to the care that was given to them. By the time the event happens you are invested.

The only drawback to this story is the abrupt end. It would have been nice to have a subplot to resolve.

I received a free copy in exchange for an unbiased review. Have a great day.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Interesting Twists on a Prepper Theme

Kudos for the author in making a pretty familiar EMP Prepper storyline interesting. There is some solid prepper information as well as it seems a good amount of moonshine research. Probably a lucrative and useful skill should things go downhill as they do in this book. The characters are interesting and overall the story line is pretty good. Well narrated as always by Kevin Pierce the voice of this genre.
This is part one of what I hope will continue to be a good series.
I was given this free audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Not your average survival story.

Blackout: Still Surviving is not your average survival book. What do I mean by that? Well we don't jump right into the 'survival' aspect of the story until we are like a third of the way through the story. So what is the focus of that first third? We spend that time getting to know West Flagg, his family, and the community he lives in. West is a bootlegger and we get to see what that means. I have to admit it's quite interesting, and I liked the characters the personal drama. Then we had the 'event' occurred and the surviving aspect came into play. Even then Blackout wasn't your typical survival story. It's more of a personal tale about the conflict West has with one particular person and his friends. It was entertaining from start to finish ...and speaking of the ending...dang, that was a cruel way to end it. I don't know that I would call it a cliffhanger per se, not in the traditional sense, but I will say I am dying to know what comes next.

As always Kevin Pierce delivers a spectacular performance. He is THE voice of survival fiction and never disappoints.

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an honest review

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Fantastic for the Genre

If you're a fan of the EMP/CME genre you'll like this one. It is well written, well delivered, and entertaining to the end. It isn't corny or over the top like a lot of the books like it can be. The charachters are written realistically and in a way that makes you care about the outcomes, and the story is rich and detailed without treating the reader like a child who needs their hand held through every detail.

Kevin Pierce proves that if you give him the right material he can deliver. I've heard a couple of books that he's done that I didn't care for and I was worried that his would be more of the same, but with the right writing he shines.

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair review.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

moonshine, blackout and a collapse. Great!

I have read or listened to quite a few of Boyd Craven III 's books. good fences, the Opus series ( a favorite) and many more. This book is a good one especially if you liked the Opus series as a furry friend is central as well. The main two characters are a Moonshiner that finds a dog and meets a female ex Army dog trainer with two well trained and large dogs.

The lights go out and the world starts to deteriorate quickly with the bullies becoming empowered and Government trying to help by controlling everything and using it as a power grab.A great backdrop to a good story. I like the characters as well as the story. Mr. Boyd makes his characters with depth vs. ex Navy SEALS that happen to have an hidden arsenal. I look forward to the next one in the series ....I really enjoy the style of Mr. Craven's books and I am definitely a fan


I was given this book to review and the options are my honest thoughts and feelings after listening to the book

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

another gem

Another great read. I could listen to his voice every day. it's just perfect for these books.
Can't wait to hear the nxt one.