Burning Down Boise

Book One in The Way of Dan

By: Franklin Horton

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Sometimes the story of an apocalypse isn’t one of tragedy, but one of opportunity....

Dan Slaughter has given up on appearances. With his wife dead and his kids grown, he’s slowly reverting back to the east Tennessee boy he used to be three decades earlier. He quit cutting his hair and started smoking pot. He drinks when he wants to and sings along with the classic songs of his lost youth.

When his childhood friend Carl dies suddenly, Dan agrees to help Carl’s mother with the estate, even when it means traveling across the country to Boise, Idaho. Worse yet, Dan has to fly and that’s no easy task for a paranoid hillbilly not used to following rules.

Once he arrives in Boise, it doesn’t take long for Dan to figure out that there’s a lot more to his friend’s death than he’d been led to believe. He begins to suspect the overdose was actually murder and he can’t let it rest.

Only days after arriving, a mysterious solar event traps Dan in the city, leaving him with no prospect of returning home anytime soon. Rather than panicking, Dan readily accepts the new state of things. For him, the apocalypse is an opportunity. With no law enforcement, his plan to deliver a dose of Tennessee justice in downtown Boise just got a whole lot easier.

©2020 Franklin Horton (P)2020 Franklin Horton

Wonderful Character Study

This first book in a new series by Franklin Horton, 'Bringing Down Boise', has been anticipated by me for a while now. I'm subscribed to Mr Horton's newsletter and he wrote that it would be a little different than some of the more typical post-apocalyptic survival stories. In it, Dan, the main character, would use the opportunity caused by the chaos to exact some personal retribution. I took a chance that a free review copy of this audiobook was available, at my request. I was generously provided with the book and made an agreement to post a review after listening to it.

The book opens with a quick chapter on Carl, Dan's best friend. His perspective is shown very briefly, but we need this background to better understand later events. The story then moves to Dan's perspective. Dan is informed of Carl's death and asked to settle his estate in Idaho. Carl moved there from Nashville a few years prior. Dan agrees and prepares for his trip, despite the reports of a solar storm that may affect electrical functions. Once in Boise, he soon learns details that lead him to believe Carl was murdered. After the solar storm does indeed affect all electronic equipment, he makes the decision to seek some hillbilly justice on those responsible for killing Carl.

This story does have its great post-apocalyptic moments, but for me the more interesting element is the character study of Dan. Dan is a middle-aged man, recently widowed. He spent more than 30 years with the same employer. He raised two children that are now grown and living on their own. He's now let himself go; his hair has grow out, he smokes weed and drinks whenever he likes. When he goes to Idaho, the reader sees the man he was for his wife and children; he's a planner, he makes lists and knows how to prioritize. After learning that his friend was murdered, he starts to revert to who he was before he had a family. He sees it as inevitable if he is to revenge his friend's death.

The reader also gets a lot of post-apocalyptic action. There's a lot of suspense. There is ingenuity, well-thought-out planning, and violent encounters. Franklin Horton has given the reader plenty to anticipate in Book Two.

Kevin Pierce is one of my favorite narrators. Every book of his that I've listened to he has delivered a spectacular performance. This book is no exception.

Highly recommended. Come for the apocalypse; stay for the brilliant characterization.

Good until last hour ... Then a stupid manual

Warning...spoilers

Carl a good musician /entertainer. Good character development of Cal. Then murdered.

Dan, best friends with Carl since childhood . Dan marries, has 2 children, is a loving family man and a good employee.

His wife dies of cancer. The grid goes down . He makes good, kind, loyal, smart choices for awhile. He had a right to use lethal force to defend himself.

But when he decided to pursue vengeance instead of leaving the city with the police woman, his behavior and thinking repelled me. Stopped listening with 45 minutes to go. I wanted to like this and get the sequels, not going to now. Disappointing

Love Dan

I’m so excited for this new series! I finished this book in one day and can’t wait for the next one. Thanks, Franklin, for another great series.

Save your credit

Starts well then it just drags. It was a struggle to finish the thing. Very predictable, very disappointing

Another great book

Franklin Horton never fails to deliver. I hope the 2nd book comes soon. This series promises to be a different type of apocalyptic story and I love it.

Ready for book 2

True Friendship Can Be A Burden But Is Well Worth!

Franklin has reached deep into what makes true friendship and pulled out a winner of a story line. It is entertaining with a touch of apocalyptic humor thrown in.

Franklin Horton never disappoints!

I can’t wait for more books about Dan! Keep up the good work. Thank you for the entertainment!!

Incredible

Mr Horton has done it again! Great storyline, characters and setting. Having lived in the area of the plot, the story follows the area well.
Kevin Pierce kills it as usual, definite must listen.

Killed it!

Franklin Horton does it again. This is a must read!! His other series are fantastic Mad Mick, Locker Nine, etc. but this one is icing on the cake. It has humor, seriousness and concern that humans can relate to and also reminds me of a few family members I lost. If you like post apocalyptic books without all the rainbow bullcrap, check this out.

Best not to upset Dan - he is relentless

Dan is an ordinary man. He is in charge of logistics for a mobile home manufacturer. His wife has died and he is tired of his job. His children are grown and gone. His best friend for three decades is dead, allegedly by suicide. Dan, who hates to fly, flies to Boise, Idaho from East Tennessee to close up his friends house. He finds that his friends death does not appear to be suicide. Instead, Dan believes it was murder. Dan intends to get to the bottom of the matter and bring justice to the killer. As terrible as it is for an EMP to take out everything electronic and plunge the world into darkness and chaos, it does help by giving Dan the freedom to wreak havoc on the killer. Can an ordinary guy do it? Go Dan!!!

Kevin Pierce is one of the best narrators in the business. His voice is very distinctive. I recognize it from the first few syllables and I fall under his spell. I am glad he was chosen to narrator the first book in this series. If he narrates the next second book, I will continue with the series.

Read it a 2nd time it was so good

I read this again today to remind me of where we were at before reading the 2nd book and boy was it a good read even if it was a 2nd read!!! loved it and couldn't put it down again!

Entertaining

A really enjoyable read, with non stop action. I received this book in exchange for my honest review.