Deep Shadows

Remnant Series, Book 1

By: Vannetta Chapman

Narrated by: Rebecca Mitchell

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Life in Abney, Texas, is predictable and safe - until the night a massive solar flare wipes out all modern technology.

Shelby Sparks, novelist and single mom, had one goal: to provide for her diabetic son. In the wake of this global disaster, her mission hasn't changed. Only now, medication is a priceless commodity and the future resembles an apocalyptic nightmare.

Max Berkman and Shelby were once sweethearts, but he lost his chance at claiming her love years ago. When the abrupt loss of power ushers him into a leadership role, he rises to the occasion. But his highest priority - to keep Shelby and her son safe - could prove to be the biggest challenge of all.

As the brilliant northern lights give way to deep shadows, Max and Shelby's faith will be tested like never before. Only one rule remains: Find a way to survive.

©2016 Vannetta Chapman (P)2017 Tantor

I can't wait to read the next book

Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
Story Rating: 4.5 stars
Narrator-Rebecca Mitchell: 4 stars

What I liked:

• The author caught my attention right from the beginning and drew me into the story with the opening scene with the Aurora Borealis in Texas. I was engaged in this story from the beginning until the end.
• The writer's words painted clear pictures that helped me to visualize the scenes and the emotions of the characters. The author's writing style was concise vivid, and clear.
• The descriptions of locations and emotions were well done, easy to visualize, and to feel. I felt like I was a part of the scenes with Shelby, Carter, and Max.
• There were many twists and turns to this plot, which kept my interest. This book was not predictable.
• The pacing of the story was neither too slow nor too fast.
• There was a smooth, coherent flow to this book.
• This story had a satisfying ending and was a great starting place for the next book in the Remnant Series.
• This was a clean read and I appreciated that.
• This was a Christian apocalyptic novel. Religion was a part of the characters' daily lives. No religious lectures.
• The narrator had a pleasant voice.

I am looking forward to reading more of the Remnant Series and learning how Shelby, Carter, and Max deal with the situations life deals them.

Narrator is terrible

I'm only about half way through the Audible book. The narrator is just terrible. She has no personality. All the characters sound the same. Unusual pauses.

Great narration

The storyline is a bit tame however, it is still interesting. That being said, I think I would’ve lost interest early on if the narrator had not done such a good job.
I appreciated her ability  to portray the appropriate emotions in a way that was not to bland or to over the top. I also appreciate that she had no predictable quirk such as:every female did not go up in a high note at the end of each sentence and every male did not sound like she was talking with her chin on her chest. So annoying when those traits ruin what would otherwise have been great books. her tone was strong and engaging. Good female narrators with substance and mature tones seem to be hard to find. Good choice.

Reader is Horrid

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

No, while the story is engaging, the performance is almost unbearable. It sounds like a machine is reading it in some places.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Shelby is well developed. The reader tries to give her an accent that the writer did not write into the story effectively making her sound much less intelligent. She leaves the "G" off of most -ing endings even though the writer did not write it this way (I checked the sample download of the Kindle version).

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Rebecca Mitchell?

Anyone else!

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

It was very engaging and hard to pause once I got used to the awful narration.

The most realistic, possible, food for thought sci-fi I've read in a long time!

The author did an outstanding job of revealing to us the terrifying possibilities of a cat ostrophic natural event. I've found myself taking stock of my current provisions on hand! I think it hit me a bit closer to home being I live in the TX hill country!

It’s ok

There’s a bit too much religious ideology in this book for me. It was a good story up until that point.

It’s an Alright Dystopia

I think Deep Shadows is probably better than I give it credit for. I really do. The premise is really engaging, and Chapman considers the ramifications of a mass power outage with surprising attention to detail and authority that are genuinely thought provoking. And each individual scene is a desperate, emotional, or idyllic vignette that Mitchell sells with a heap ton of poignancy. But when you put all those scenes together, they honestly say less than the sum of their parts.

Unfortunately, the story lacks progression. The main emotional undercurrent is protagonist Shelby learning to trust her lackadaisical son and her ex-boyfriend Max. But her son is hard working, Max is loyal, and the only real sign she lacks trust is that she’s reluctant to kiss Max—other than a confusing argument about if she should hide out at his parents’ house. To me, even when she does make character progress, it just seems to happen at the end, with nothing really to do with her journey.

I would be more okay with this is if understood the other themes. The characters mostly complain that they weren’t more prepared, but most of them are excessively more prepared than probably 90% of America. They know how to use firearms, have non-electric alternatives, have stored food, and are completely comfortable working copious amounts of manual labor without complaint. Everyone seems a little too perfect. And that’s the other thing: Does chaos lead to unity or chaos?

I can’t tell if the point is complex or ambivalent: People are generally good, but they’ll also eat each other when things get bad enough? Should we follow the laws, or should we live like we’re in the wild west? Even the Christian themes are rather inconsistent. Chapman presents church life more compellingly than I’ve ever really seen, but sadly like most Christians, it has little to do with how the characters actually live their lives.

I don’t know. I feel like I should like this story more, but it feels too intellectual to be genre fiction, and just not polished enough to be literary.



*CONTENT ADVISORY*
Near constant peril, including the deaths of several named and unnamed characters on and off screen by age, fire, and gunshots. One death is detailed with blood and a description of the life leaving the character’s eyes, causing a lot of distress for the characters.

I don’t recall any references to drunkenness or drugs, but one character is addicted to smoking, which he and other characters criticize.

The are some intimate moments of hands touching and leaning in close where characters think about kissing the other, and the man is a bit forceful, even kissing his friend without warning, a relationship, or consent.