Cattle

The Fearlanders

By: Joseph Duncan

Narrated by: Ian M. Walker

Length: 7 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The Dead Have Awakened

It is 10 years after the global apocalypse. The Phage, the zombie virus that brought the world to its knees, has mutated, restoring the minds of its undead victims: their personalities, their memories... even their dreams. The living dead are no longer the mindless monsters that drove mankind to the brink of extinction.

But they still possess their insatiable hunger for human flesh.

Kept Like Animals

Brent Scarborough is a veteran survivor. He has been dodging the undead for nearly a decade. When he learns there is a city controlled and populated by living human beings, a place they call Home, he and his companion, Harold Killian, head immediately for this refuge of the living.

But they are captured on the last leg of their journey. Harold is killed, and Brent is imprisoned in a terrible zombie gulag, a nightmarish facility where the living are kept like animals and forced to breed for their hungry zombie masters.

Refusing to be defeated, Brent forges alliances with his desperate fellow inmates. His only goal is escape, but bearing down on the facility is a herd of mindless chompers, zombies who have not yet reawakened, and it is the largest and most destructive herd the living and dead have ever seen!

Set 10 years after the events in the popular zombie novel Mort, Cattle is a no-holds-barred action horror novel that is as original as it is fearless. Author Joseph Duncan (who formerly wrote under the pen name Rod Redux) has pulled out all the stops in his latest post-apocalyptic novel.

©2014 Joseph Duncan (P)2015 Joseph Duncan

worst narrator ever.

I read the book months back, & like to get audio books for when I have a migraine & can't read. This narrator was British but tried to preform American accents, which made most of the characters sound like they're from the south. This guy even pronounces things odd, like "ar-kansas" for the state "Arkansas ", lol. But what pissed me off was the fact that a couple of the characters, max & amy, were completely unable to understand. Also when he preformed any of the zombies, if I hadn't already read the book, I wouldn't be able to put together any of the things they said either. I'm writing this during chapter 26 & not sure if I can be patient enough to listen to the rest. I'm pissed I wasted a credit on this. I'd recommend you read the book & save your $/credit!!

Good book, not so great narration.

I loved this story. It is dirty, ugly, and quite interesting. The narrator's zombie voices are difficult to understand a lot. His narration was good but the voices were not.

FRESH MEAT

HE MIGHT NOT BE THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE SILVERWARE DRAWER
Holly Cow, this is really good!!! This is the best book I have listened to all year. I have repeatedly said that Cell by King is my favorite Zombie book and I have read a ton, but now that has changed. This catches your attention right from the start and you might be a little worried that is going to become the same old same old and then the story takes an about face and becomes like no other Zombie book you have read. Such a unique take on the genre. The story continues to build, get better and get better as it goes along.

YOU APOLOGIZE A LOT
Warning, do not attempt to eat a meal, while listening. There are some gut wrenching gross moments in this book. It is not full of them, but the ones presented do the trick. Off hand I am thinking of a certain amputation scene. There are also others. They are included in order to further the story, they are not gore for gore sake. I'M SORRY

OF COURSE I CAN, I'M FROM TENNESSEE
Now for another very strange part of the listening experience. The narrator is extremely different. At first you may think he sounds a little YA or amateurist. Keep listening, I promise he will grow on you. The naïve voice he gives to the main character actually plays into the horror. The narrators' voice, often sounds like he has cotton in his mouth. I was convinced that he and the writer were from Australia or some British Colony. I figured he was talking weird to sound American Southern. It is like a cross between The Swedish Chef on Sesame Street and Forrest Gump. Instead of Arkcansaw, it is R-Kansas. His friends or not his buddies, but his chums. Rear lawn instead of Backyard. A Gain instead of again. I looked the author up and he is from Southern Illinois. Anyways, it works, it works very well.

This is a horror, and done well. My first Joseph Duncan, but not my last.

Interesting but....

I liked this story. It has an interesting twist on the zombie genre, however, the narration leaves a bit to be desired. Narrator has a British accent but attempting American voices, most of which come out sounding a bit southern without much difference between each character, except for a couple which I really, really struggled to understand at all. That would be my only observation, but not enough of a concern to keep me from enjoying this listen. I would recommend it.

Chewing through Cattle...

While not usually a reader of zombie fiction or sci-fi in general I enjoyed the book and particularly liked the narration The story was well written, story line was clear and moved along nicely and I got involved with the characters and cared about then. It also had some deeper ideas to offer as allegory in our present way of life. Nothing to blow your mind, but nevertheless a good read.

Uhhhh. What do you say?

What does one day about a book like this? It was a terrible story! Not terribly written, in fact the writing as well as the narration were both superb. The story, however, is awful. It made me feel ill a few times but for some reason I couldn't quit listening. Morbid curiosity I guess.

The ending was satisfying or it would have gotten one star. It's a fascinating take on the zombie genre and made me consider many, many moral dilemmas.

I would say that you need to hear this book at your own risk.

A incredibly unique take on Zombies.

Any additional comments?

A Unique and Energetic Read.

I had no real idea what to expect going into this but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. It was such a refreshing take on the Zombie genre. The blurb above sums up the book so I'm going to get to my thoughts.

One of the main things that stand out for me in this book is the Zombies. I adored the fact that the author took the Zombies and put his own twist on them. Zombies are scary anyway, but add in Zombies that talk and are sentient, well then you have something even scarier! The zombies of the Phage are coming back, but a few of them are coming back to almost human. The only thing (apart from appearance) that separates them is their thirst for blood and hunger for flesh. These zombies then decide that since humans are becoming scarce, they will capture and breed humans to have sustenance. Being captured by Zombies is bad enough but being forced to have sex to feed these things is worse!!

Another thing that stands out are the characters. They are so well written and developed that they jump off the page. Brent has been on the run since the Phage first came and has thus far managed to stay safe, but all that changes when he makes a silly mistake. He is captured and sent to a "Breeding Camp". He knows he needs to escape but how can he pull it off? Brent was such a likable character and one you feel for. He is just an all round nice guy and when he was caught, I was like Noooo!! He keeps his head the whole way through and is such an awesome hero.

Anyway, I loved this. It was fast paced, well written and a refreshing Zombie tale. You are drawn into the book right from the start and it's pretty much non stop the whole way through. I started the book and had it finished within a day because I could not stop listening to it!! I had to see what happened next. I really hope we see more from these characters and from this world!!

The narrator did an amazing job with this book, he really brought the book to life. His tone for the Zombies was so creepy and gave me chills. He gave each character his all and it shows.

Addicting

Would you listen to Cattle again? Why?

Yes! It was great. This is one of my favorite's now.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Brent following his life kept me on edge. Through out the entire book.

Have you listened to any of Ian M. Walker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the 1st audio I've listened to by Ian M Walker. He was great. Perfect zombie voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes when Brent was locked up as a breeder. I also loved how he never gave up and trying to break out and run too freedom.

Any additional comments?

This was an OMG great audio book. The author did a great job coming up with a new and different zombie apocalypse book. I do not normally listen to books like this but I would listen to this one again.
The book starts out following Brent through this terrifying new world for humans. Yes your worst fears have come to life in this book. We are the cattle. And of course the Zombie's have intelligence. Which is even scarier. I got so hooked on listening to what happens next to Brent. I couldn't turn the audio book off. I thought the author did a good job trying to make this a real life situation. Which keep me going all the way to the end. I couldn't tell you how many times I thought. Yeah I could see that happening in an apocalyptic world.
Brent is so interesting. I liked that the author tried to keep him a decent guy in a world gone wrong. I felt to many emotions listening to the audio. I found myself rooting for the characters. Especially things like run, run and run faster!
The narrator Ian M. Walker was amazing. I loved the voices he used for the characters. My favorite voices were the different zombies. He did the rough zombie voices perfect! He also had a great character voice for the black girl. I felt so sorry for her and any woman that would be caught up in this world.

I received this audio free in exchange for a honest review.

A great surprise

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

Yes this book was a great surprise the story was outstanding and the narration was easy to follow and understand, brought the story to life

Which scene was your favorite?

couldn't pinpoint one in particular as it was a complete story.

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

yes and i did.

Any additional comments?

Took a chance on this book but it was well worth it.

Incredible, captivating tale of zombies.

What made the experience of listening to Cattle the most enjoyable?

Experiencing the book in audio version was for me by far the best way to hear this zombie tale.
The narrator brought each character to life with unique voices, a real talent.

What other book might you compare Cattle to and why?

I haven't read or listened to lots of zombie books so any future ones would have to live up to this one.

What about Ian M. Walker’s performance did you like?

Every character had its own unique voice, I was in awe at how he did this, it took a tremendous amount of skill in this field.
I didn't struggle to know which character I was listening to at all.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I really enjoyed the warehouse part of the book, the characters thoughts and feelings.

Any additional comments?

Would recommend this audio book to new comers to zombie stories as it has me hooked.