For Us the Living: Judgment Day

By: R. A. Peters

Narrated by: Kevin Clay

Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

The war lasted minutes, but the fight's far from over....

Sergeant Danielle Walker is on a hostage rescue op in Yemen when a mysterious EMP strike changes the world. Cut off from civilization and deep within insurgent-held territory, Walker and her team must team up with old enemies to defeat a merciless invasion force...a foe that's already mopping up their worldwide conquest.

In the post-apocalyptic ruins of America, her prepper husband, Dixon, struggles to bug out of Judgment Day. None of Dixon's expensive preparations are enough in a world on the brink of annihilation. With nothing but his wits and the clothes on his back, Dixon must survive a cutthroat new-world order to save himself and his stepdaughter.

©2015 Richard Peters (P)2015 Richard Peters

Enjoyable story.

I really love Post Apocalyptic and prepper stories, so was really eager to read this. I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this! I absolutely loved dual POVs!

The story is told from the POV of a man and his step daughter. The man considers himself a prepper but during the apocalypse non of his plans go right and he ends up going through multiple plans whilst trying to survive. He also has to deal with a step daughter who tries his patience at every step. He does his best with what he has and I loved that about these characters!

The other POV was from the mans wife! She is on a hostage rescue op in Yemen when the Apocalypse happens and as the blurb says, "Cut off from civilization and deep within insurgent-held territory, Walker and her team must team up with old enemies to defeat a merciless invasion force…a foe that’s already mopping up their worldwide conquest." must do what she needs to to get home to her daughter and husband.

The characters are all well written and developed. It's a refreshing change to have a character that's a prepper, but he isn't rightly prepared for the end of the world. His plans don't go as planned and non of his fancy equipment will help him. He needs to survive on his wits and knowledge! It's a nice change from all the other books where the preppers know everything and it all falls into place.

The plot was fast paced and action packed. We are brought into the story basically right from the start and it doesn't let up! The writing was descriptive and engaging and I really enjoyed everything about it.

Kevin Clay seems to be narrating a lot of Post Apocalyptic books, but he also seems to have the voice for it. His tone is smooth and he has a no nonsense tone when reading the aftermath of the EMP. He is easy to listen to I always enjoy his narration.

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affects my thoughts.*

There's No Geneva Convention Covering Armageddon

First, let me start of saying this. I know this is science fiction, but I think the publisher blurb describing Dixon as a prepper must have come from Dixon himself. Like they asked him "How would you describe yourself" and Dixon goes "Hmm, a ruggedly handsome prepper, ready for the end of the world". And the publisher goes "OK, we'll go with 'prepper'". In no universe can I imagine anyone, let alone an end of the world preparing prepper who would willingly give up their guns and step into a FEMA camp run by a instantly identifiable by Dixon as a suspect looking Department of Homeland Security "person" ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE APOCALYPSE. It wasn't like they were desperate. They weren't really doing too bad. No injuries, can't say they were starved or frightened or desperate. And to add insult to injury, a couple of days later, when things started going real bad, he was just laying in bed, sleeping in late, and gets woken up by his teenage stepdaughter. If he's a prepper, I'm the President... This story aspect took it beyond sci-fi and into the realms of fantasy... :P

Jokes aside, this was a fantastic story. I enjoyed the way it was laid out, split narrative between Dixon, in Florida, and his wife Danielle, in the middle east in the armed forces. The swaps were easy to follow, and not spread among so many characters you end up getting lost, especially in an audiobook. The apocalypse itself was I felt very unique, and I was wondering what on earth was going on, and who or what was behind it. What is going on? And it didn't leave me unsatisfied. The pace and spacing of the reveals I felt pretty perfect. It didn't feel to me force like a lot of books where you feel they are unnecessarily withholding information, just to tease or annoy you. I really hate books where you have a smug author writing scenes with a smug lead character who discovers something of importance, and the author lets you know the lead character discovered something important, but they then proceed to withhold that information from you for another couple of hundred pages. Just like Lee Child Reacher books. I really do not like that in books. Just feel... arrogant. The storydid leave me wanting more though. I will be looking out for the next book. Danielle's daughter Rachel was also a pretty good semi major character, and actually seemed more together than her stepdad Dixon, who she was stuck with. Her name doesn't even get a mention in the book summaries, or most reviews, and that is a bit sad. She had some of the best lines in the book. My review title was a quote from her: "War has rules. But there's no Geneva convention covering Armageddon".In fact of all the people in the family, "prepper" Dixon was the most clueless. He did show eventually some pretty good useful post apocalypse skills, but he really did not have his stuff together. But you know, that is part of what I really liked about the book. It wasn't just done from the perspective of some super skilled survivalist. I felt that added to the realism, and more set it aside from other books, where from hour zero the main character knows what he/she has to do...

I did get this book as a free review copy from audiobookblast, but it is a genre and narrator I'm really fond of. Kevin Clay is great, and in my library he seems like the go-to guy for post apocalyptic fiction.

I really loved the story and presentation. Recommended.

Another great book - I am on a roll!!!

What did you love best about For Us the Living: Judgment Day?

Ok, I have listened to so many PA books (I love them) that I was hesitant to review and read (listen) to this one. I am glad I did. It had all the standard PA scenarios in there, along with a alien twist (if you don't get into aliens, don't let that hold you back, I don't usually get into them myself, but it just belongs in this story). HOWEVER, this was the second book in a row that I could simply not put down. I am becoming sleep deprived here. I enjoyed the characters, the author switched back and forth between 2 different areas and I was always wondering what was going on and had to keep listening.

What other book might you compare For Us the Living: Judgment Day to and why?

Hmmmm, this is a hard one, because of the alien aspect. I am currently in the middle of a trilogy called The Exiled which is slightly similar except in that one Earth was totally decimated.

What does Kevin Clay bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I am not a picky listener. I have heard people complain about lovely readers. I feel as long as I am into the book and not focused on the cadence or tone of their voice and I am lost in the book, then the person is doing a great job. A narrator in my opinion should never distract from the story, but should allow the listener to embrace the story. Thats what Mr. Clay did.

If you could rename For Us the Living: Judgment Day, what would you call it?

Thats kind of a stupid question. The author named the book just fine.

Any additional comments?

I was given this book in return for a fair review. You know, I almost hate saying that because I feel like people will think that my review will be biased because of that. I suppose that I am nicer with my wording but it doesn't change my rating or recommendation one bit. I did write a pretty harsh review on here, that in hindsight I would soften, but there's no going back once you hit that submit button. Bottom line, I will happily spend a credit on another book in this genre if the author writes one : )

More please!

I've been reading sci fi almost exclusively and was excited to receive this for review. Wow! Loved it. Great story and narrator, which so often ruins a good story, was fantastic! If u love end of the world drama, this is for you!

Interesting Apocalypse Tale with ISIS & Aliens

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was entertaining and had some interesting plot lines and twists.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The two storylines were very detached and almost felt like two different books. They needed more intersection and similar conflicts.

Do you think For Us the Living: Judgment Day needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It pretty much has to have a follow-up book due to the cliffhanger ending.

Any additional comments?

No zombies in this one, just an interesting mix of EMP, ISIS and Aliens. It seemed a bit disjointed as it jumped from the US to the Middle East and the overall EMP / Alien crisis seems to not carry over between locations. At times it felt like two different books. Some scenarios were a bit hard to swallow like entering a FEMA camp and surrendering weapons and then escaping shortly after. Some of the "hippie" characters were a bit over the top and reacted unbelievably in a crises situation.
Using a female in a special forces role was a nice twist although at times situations were a bit contrived. The ending leaves you hanging for the next installment.
The narrator did a good job with a variety of characters and locations.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Situations And Reactions Were Unrealistic

It was an okay story, but the story suffered from operational, equipment, and human nature flaws. There were several sections that set off the BS alarm. Further research and hands on would help improve future writings. The enemy was a fresh storyline.

Fantastic sci-fi

This is a fantastic book. it starts of a little slow but once it hits it's stride you won't be able to stop listening.

Disappointment

What disappointed you about For Us the Living: Judgment Day?

The anti US gov't tone overwhelmed the story-line. To each his own but this was grossly laden to the point I lost interest.

What could R. A. Peters have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The story didn't flow well. There were too many factions and aliens battling one another at the same time.

How could the performance have been better?

The characters were cliche and predictable.

Any additional comments?

The reader was not a good fit for the story-line.

A grand story in both scope and delivery.

Would you listen to For Us the Living: Judgment Day again? Why?

Yes enjoyed very much

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sergeant Walker. Great detail and good character insight from the author.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Clay’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

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

Are you ready for judgement day!!

Good book following the devastating attack on earth, it follows a husband and wife who are separated at the time. Sergeant Danielle Walker, is at war but the tables change as an alien invasion means the rules have changed. Dixon is stuck in LA with his step daughter and faces a struggle to survive, as neighbours turn on each other to survive.

Good performance from Kevin Clay, who tells both story lines well. An abrupt ending with no real conclusion, that leaves the series nicely placed.