Fight to Survive

After the Outbreak, Book 1

By: Dave Bowman

Narrated by: Andrew Tell

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Could you push past your limits to survive the apocalypse?

After the deadliest virus known to man, law and order have collapsed. The surviving few are left to find their way among the ashes of civilization. Chaos reigns.

What if your preparations weren't enough?

Nick thought he was ready. He has a lodge in the mountains in New Mexico, packed full of supplies and ammo. He thought he could protect his family, but the virus took them anyway. Soon, he finds others that rely on him. With everything lost, can he find the strength in himself to go on?

Could you face your greatest fears?

Liz is trapped in Albuquerque. A dangerous battle rages around her, and she doesn't have long to live if she stays. The only way out is through the mountains, and there's only one man who can take her. But can she put her faith in a stranger's promise?

Only a few survived the outbreak, but that was just the beginning. Now they'll have to fight harder than ever to stay alive.

Fight to Survive is book one in a post-apocalyptic thriller series about people pushing past their limits as they try to survive the end of the world.

©2017 Dave Bowman (P)2017 Dave Bowman

❤️

It’s a great start to a new series. There was nothing terribly surprising about the story but it was enjoyable and kept me hooked. I definitely want more.

Really enjoyed the narration. Very well done.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

Plausibility problems

Predictable. Doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. Scenario is a rapid pandemic, that plays in out a matter of days, leaving between 2% and 8% survivors. Naturally, the story centers on the typical crusty, secretly heartbroken, hero who bugs out to the mountains. Because that where ALL survivors go, of course. The hero rounds up a small group of allies, and then fights off the rest of the remaining survivors, who have gone ferally evil.

The problem with this scenario is that the rapid pandemic progress would leave tons of resources behind in the stores and houses. There's very little reason for the evil ones to think that taking from the heroes holed up in an isolated cabin on a mountain is easier than just busting into the nearest mall or grocery store. Once the scenario is setup, there's no plausibility to the climax sequence.

None of these stories ever answer the question of WHY someone turns evil. WHY is taking from a fellow survivor easier than taking from an abandoned store or house? Write the story that explains that, and you might do something to elevate the genre.

An Above Average Post-Apocalyptic Story

The Smiling Sickness leaves people dead in a few days with a smile from ear to ear like they died doing something they loved.  Before then - they are mysteriously gray and unknowingly passing the disease among family and friends.  There are a few who have managed to come out of it without the sickness but having lost everyone they loved.

The virus in Fight To Survive was pretty well written.  I'm usually someone who wants more about the disease and less about the preparedness (I love Bio-Thrillers), but I thought that Bowman gave me just enough to be curious without giving too much that I could shoot holes through.  I love that the little girl knew the percentage of people it had killed off before anyone else did.  I can't imagine what a world that lost 96% of its population would be like.

At first, all I could think is "oh no, is this going to be one of the stories where everyone is completely nice and they pick everyone up on their way to the lodge?" Thankfully, Bowman cut that out after the beginning (it was a nice set up to get everyone in one place though).   It's hard with how many post-apocalyptic books for me to not find something I dislike - in Fight To Survive it might be just how quickly things hit the fan.  I think that dealing with what was described would take a little while for people to even realize what was going on - let alone turn to the dark side.  Sure, for the pacing of the book, it's totally understandable though.

Bowman did a nice job at creating characters that were unique to each other with their own strengths and weaknesses.  I like that a "city girl" was thrown into the mix who wasn't familiar with guns, homesteading, or farming. It's not to throw a wild card into the fire like that because then it's not 5 people who know what they're doing against the world.  It was also nice to see a bit of naivety shown by everyone in the group.  Most of the time people just know what to do when everything falls apart but the reality is that most people would be scared to death and make mistakes.

Overall, Fight To Survive could be the start of a really interesting series.  Adding Andrew Tell's narration - I'm betting that this series will surprise me.

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.

good listen

zombie free post apocalyptic story. narrator does an excellent job . looking forward to the next book. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Love love loved this!

This book was buried in the mass of titles I have on my phone. I had forgotten about it. It was amazing. I read a lot of books in this genre. Dave Bowman has been a favorite for a while. So glad I dug deep & looked for things I’d missed.
Can’t wait to read or listen to more in this series. Narrator was great too. (Andrew Tell always is)
The characters are true and make mistakes like any of us could.
I loved the smiling laughing deaths.... great new idea. Want to know more about the virus.

I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator.

Fight to Survive

Good book. I like the group of survivors that finally meet up. I've listened to this narrator before. He continues to impress me. I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom for my unbiased review.

I like this one!

I received the audio version of this story and was not disappointed with it. I believe I received the audio version for free in exchange for a review and am very glad I did. I am now going to procure the other books in this series and will be looking into other books Dave Bowman has written.

Highly enjoyable.

I love WSHTF books. its is very hard to find good ones. I found this one to be great. Its about a virus that takes over the wold. and kill 95 plus% of the population. then about banding together, and trying to survive. - great book! I can't wait till book two!

Andrew Tell is amazing! He does a super job on this book. As well as the others I have heard him perform.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Well written but very formulaic post apoc tell

Fight to survive has promise in that it was very well written. The characters were not 2demensional. They lived, they breathed (thank you too to Andrew Tell for that) and you actually care about what will happen to them. There were even moments of true grief that were conveyed very well.
That being said, the story itself was very formulaic. End of the world due to a flu outbreak and people try to survive. No reinvention of the wheel but definitely has potential. It is a nice setup for what could possibly be a really good series.

The narrator did an excellent job at bringing the characters hopes, dreams and fears alive. Keep up the good work.

I received a review copy of this audiobook at my request and am leaving a voluntary review.

Well Written, Well Paced, and Well Told

After the Outbreak looks to be a good post-apocalyptic series with family as its focal point.
This first book in the series – Fight to Survive – did a good job setting the pace for the series and let us find out who was who and who makes up this family of refugee’s. There was some action in places but for the most part this book just mosies along at its own pace and gets the job done. Some might think it too slow and dragging along so if you are prone to those issues you might wish to pass on this one. But you will be missing a good start to what looks like a good series.

Andrew Tell did an excellent job narrating this story and his voice fit the story well. Characters were easy to identify and follow throughout the story.

This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Pure fun!

I can't shake the feeling that I've seen this book as a movie,
I might be wrong and it might just be a similarity but it's not bad and a great book to just pick up and enjoy, have fun, I sure did and I hope that book 2 will continue on the same path.
I can easily recommend this series, the preference was done perfectly.
Lately authors work really hard to make Their books as complicated as possible so it's refreshing to find a series that is simple on the brain and just lets you relax and enjoy.

Yes on recommendation.

An Average Post-Apocalyptic Survival Story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Unfortunately, not.

The Story was OK but a little predictable and felt like many other end of the world survival story, nothing new seemed to be brought to the table here to make it feel original. I was glad this was a short book and was tempted to stop reading part way through.

What will your next listen be?

The Rage War Series by Tim Lebbon and John Chancer after a recommendation.

Would you be willing to try another one of Andrew Tell’s performances?

Again, unfortunately not.

Andrew managed to make each character individual and voices could be easily decerned as to which character was supposed to be speaking but there was something in the way he read I just couldn't get on. It kind of felt like a surprised Captain Kirk was narrating this and I found it distracting.

Did Fight to Survive inspire you to do anything?

I'm afraid not.

The hosta virus

The Hosta virus, named after an attractive plant and which leaves it's victims grinning.
An excellent quick to read start to a new series which combines intelligence with a feeling of plausible reality.
After the virus sweeps around the world killing an estimated 96% of the population, four adults and a child come together to try to survive. They head out to a lodge in New Mexican,, but are any of them prepared for what lies ahead?
Andrew Tell's narration is excellent, the reading clear and well paced with good differentiation of character voices. A pleasure to hear.
I look forward to the next book of this hard action but, unusually, non hysterical series