Dead on Arrival

A Sci-fi Thrill Ride (The Maddy Young Saga, Book 1)

By: Nick Pirog

Narrated by: Liam DiCosimo

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

The only thing Maddy knows for certain is that he died.

I died. And I came here. To a place they call Two. They say one out of three people who die come here. Berlin is here. She’s seven. She forgot to take her insulin. Darrel is here. He drowned. Dr. Raleigh is here. He’s the head counselor at the Two Adjustment Facility (TAF) I’m at. He died in an avalanche. Perry Whitcomb is here. I connected with him on Deadbook, Two’s version of Facebook. He was on my soccer team in middle school. He collapsed during one of our games. And get this, Heath Ledger is here. (Yeah, the Joker, himself.) He just had a new movie come out.

Anyhow, it’s been a lot to handle, this new world, this second life, but I think I’m starting to come around. I was about to take the bar exam, for the third time, the day after I died. They say I can take it here. They say I can become a public defender just like I’d planned on. We’ll see. Sure, I’m starting to adjust, but I still have lots of questions: Why can’t women get pregnant here? Who are this group called “Borns” that no one will talk about? Why do They always seem to know exactly where you are every second of every day? I’m not certain of a lot these days, but I do know one thing for sure: there is a lot more to Two than people are telling.

©2020 Nick Pirog (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Pretty Good

A bit confusing and certainly did not like the ending. I have mixed feeling about the whole thing. Narration was kind of goofy. Not at all what I was expecting after the awesome Prescott series!

Trust the Pirog!!

Never lets me down! Awesome as usual, I couldn’t stop listening! You will not be disappointed.

Mixed bag but loved the premise

This story had me hooked from the beginning. I kept wanting to know more. The narration was mixed—inflection and tone were fine, but transitioning from one scene to another wasn’t always smooth. I had to go back and listen again several times because something didn’t make sense. There wasn’t enough pause or verbal clue that a scene had changed.

I was worried, as I got near the end, that things would be too hastily wrapped up. That wasn’t the case so the end wasn’t disappointing in that respect. However, it’s clear that there will be (needs to be) a sequel because there are a lot of unanswered questions in both the main character’s and readers’ mind.

A bit boring.

It drug out.Got boring I had a hard time staying focused. Over all, I guess it was ok

Scalzi-esque Frolic

Pirog fans know he isn’t always PC. Now we know biochemistry isn’t his bag either. (Change genres; skip the pseudoscience and just call it magic.). Frivolous humor is his strong suit and there’s enough to make this worthwhile maybe memorable. Berlin is a cool character, I’ll expect great things from her in the future.
The narrator didn’t help. Shell out the big bucks and get Wil Wheaton for the next one.

can't wait for part 2

OH MY GOSH, this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Trying to figure out what 2, is are they dead, what's going on with Berlin... so many questions?

Such a great book! I definitely recommend!

The story, the characters, the mystery... So well put together, so well done! Loved the twist and turns, a must read!

Interesting premise

I’m rarely unaware how a story line will play out but Pirog always surprises me. Cool idea and nice narration

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND GET THIS BOOK!!!!

I really like Nick Pirog. I like the way he can seamlessly move through the genres. His Thomas Prescott and his 3:00am series are just two examples.
This book is a strange mystery, it’s not a who done it kind of mystery. It’s more of a Twilight Zone kind of story where the protagonist (Maddie/Madison) wakes up in a whole new world. The surroundings are similar to what he remembers but not quite. Everything is kind of off kilter. He’s told that he died and this is a place he can “live”. It’s some kind of middle place where you still function as if you were alive.
Maddie does not quite swallow everything he’s been told. He start’s trying to figure out the truth and is warned off. Told never to ask about certain people there. Reluctantly he goes along until one night out with a “deceased “ friend, someone slips a note in his pocket. It says the HE didn’t die. So if he’s not dead what is he and what is this place? And why is he and every other resident being lied to?
The ENDING Is FABULOUS! My heart was pounding and not many books get this kind of reaction from me. At some point in the future I will listen to this book again.
Liam DiCosimo does a really super job narrating.

THIS BOOK HAS MY VERY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!!

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Decent, Matrix-ish, Gaps to fill in next books

I’m a Pirog fan, but this one wasn’t my favorite. Maybe need to hear the subsequent books? Kind of like the Matrix…maybe it will make sense at the end?! It felt like there were/are a lot of gaps and disconnects in the storyline. *SPOILER* Everyone’s dead, they aren’t dead, it’s the future, some people appear from the past randomly, some don’t, don’t trust anyone but trust some people, people fight over memories…idk. I will listen to the next book(s) bc I like Pirog and (think) I trust them to polish off the storyline.