Going Home

By: A. American

Narrated by: Duke Fontaine

Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

If society collapsed, could you survive?

When Morgan Carter's car breaks down 250 miles from his home, he figures his weekend plans are ruined. But things are about to get much, much worse: The country's power grid has collapsed. There is no electricity, no running water, no Internet, and no way to know when normalcy will be restored - if it ever will be.

An avid survivalist, Morgan takes to the road with his prepper pack on his back. During the grueling trek from Tallahassee to his home in Lake County, chaos threatens his every step but Morgan is hell-bent on getting home to his wife and daughters - and he'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Fans of James Wesley Rawles, William R. Forstchen's One Second After, and The End by G. Michael Hopf will revel in A. American's apocalyptic tale.

©2013 A. American (P)2013 Penguin Audiobooks

Fun book can't wait for more!

My new favorite post apocalypse series! With a good blend of action, plot development and practical prepping information “Going Home” is a fun read which draws you in and keeps you interested from start to finish. Although it’s not, the writing made me thing of more of a journal being told (mostly) through the eyes of the main character Morgan. It has a great bit of detail and takes you through his thought process making it easy to get engrossed in the story. The characters are a bit static and the author’s ideology comes through loud and clear, but the story is just too good. Also, I’d like to give a big thanks to the author for writing a series where the story continues from book to book but makes each one stand alone! I am certainly going on to the next book but with this one being wrapped up so nicely I don’t feel as if I’m being made to read the next book to get the whole story!

The narration was very good!

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

Very good series!

Normally after 3 books a series gets stale, however, A. American has managed to hook me in, and now I'm waiting for book 4 to come out this summer.

A mix of 1 Second After, and the failure of society after a Zombie attack, this time the "Zombies" are the DHS; who doesn't like to hate the DHS?

I wouldn't want to call this a "Prepper" book, however, I like that this book made me think about the story, even after listening to the 3 books in the series. If you're thinking about becoming a "Prepper", this book is going to make you think more then you may have before. Are you really ready?

Fontaine does a really good job keeping you in the story, so even with 3 books it's not sounding old.

17 of 19 people found this review helpful

Still intense the 2nd time around!

If I enjoy a book, I usually listen two or three times. I did this a couple of years ago when I first found this one.

I just now picked it up again, and it is still a thriller! I will have to listen to the whole series again now.

A American did his homework and created an intense tale.

41 of 47 people found this review helpful

Loved it!

What a great book! For those of us out there that enjoy a good SHTF novel...this is a good one. Not as good as One Second After in my opinion, but still a very good book. This one was a little different from a lot of the others in that the story follows a few people as they attempt to get home after everything falls apart. They are stranded a few hundred miles form home and the journey to get home is what this book is about.

I think that some of the situations, and the short amount of time it takes for society to completely degrade, might be a little bit of a stretch...but then again, who knows. We, as a society, MUST spend some time and make plans for how we are going to handle these kinds of possible scenarios. The thing that I really like about these kind of books, is that IT COULD REALLY HAPPEN! When you read this book, it's almost like you are reading a self-help book. I love to take the situations that the characters are put into and think about how I would handle them. Would I do something different....would I be able to, emotionally or physically, do what needs to be done. It is something that I think about a lot, and personally prepare for. LOVE IT!

The narrator also did a fine job. Great, consistent characterization and voicing. This one is a winner!

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

Promising, but.....

I just finished Book 4 which should be the final of this series, I hope. Book 1 started with the protagonist being quickly thrust into a grid down, lights out situation while stranded hundred of miles from home. At first I thought this was going to be a dud, but the more I listened the more compelled I was to continue with this journey. I know that most listeners will find it distracting at how the author describes in detail the survival supplies and gear that the lead character (Morgan) uses along the way, but I found it to be somewhat informative and well thought out. Obviously things go from bad to worse and Morgan encounters drunk rednecks, thugs, bandits and eventually, the government. Although it's becoming more common in the survivalist book genre, this is the first series I've listened to that seems to latch on to Alex Jones notions of a hostel national takeover by government agencies such as DHS, FEMA, IRS and others. It's a sobering notion to consider and this first book really convinced me to buy Book 2 and find out what happens.

Book 1 wasn't great. The narration is mediocre at best and some of the subplots were too formulaic. Books 2, 3 and 4 didn't improve in the narration department and took things too far by introducing characters and subplots that just became stupid. Some of the dialog between characters was idiotic. Book 4 especially. In fact, Book 4 had quality of writing you'd expect from a teenager. I totally lost interest in the characters and story. It is obvious that the author was stumbling around trying to build a suitable story and explain why the world fell apart. Book 1 set a standard that Book 2 barely met and the other books completely missed. Books 3 and 4 should have been condensed into one book. They don't deserve your credits like the first two.

15 of 17 people found this review helpful

Intriguing "prepper" story, terrible writing.

After reading this story, I decided to write a review. I sat down at my desk, and turned on my HP Pavillion desktop computer, running 32 bit Windows 7 Pro on an Intel Core i5 650 at 3.33 GHz. I turned on the computer, listening to the whir of the fans and the clicking of hard drive starting up. When the screen came up, I logged in with my regular user account, rather than the admin account I created for emergencies. As I did so, I thought about my other computer, my favorite actually, that is a Dell desktop with a Phenom II motherboard running Linux Mint 16 Cinnamon with a modified desktop, a custom dock and 4 standard workspaces. Once the OS booted, I saw that I had 14 new emails, many of which could be about work. Then I ran Chrome version 32.0.1700.107 m, as I like it better than IE 11 or Firefox, and I logged into Audible.com. I navigated to my library and found the option to review this book there. I considered what the best headline would be for quite a while, not knowing how to capture my feelings about this book in one statement. I finally arrived at "Intriguing 'prepper' story, terrible writing", and typed it in. And, so I wrote a review in the style of writing that the book is written in - with waaaaaay too much irrelevant detail and technical jargon that bogs down the whole experience immeasurably.

I did enjoy the story somewhat, and find it an interesting "what if" about the cause and aftermath of the downfall of our technological society, but that was in spite of the very poor quality of the writing. The story unfortunately has the feel of a first draft rushed to publication (maybe to get it out there before the electricity stops flowing), which needs some hefty revising to become even moderately polished - like a great idea for a story that hasn't yet come to fruition. There were times when I didn't want to put it down, but there were also at least as many when I yelled "Come on!! DO something! I am not interested in what brand of knife that guy was carrying, what the specifications of his rope are, or how he cooked breakfast, and I don't even know what an SVG is!!" at my car stereo.

If you like exploring the concept of what may happen when the lights go out for good, don't mind your head spinning a bit from a barrage thinly veiled product endorsements, can deal with some right-leaning anti-government paranoia*, and can hold your nose through the rough writing, I recommend this book. It fits into the genre including The Road and One Second After, although it is at the opposite end of the quality scale for writing. As the first in a series, it would get about 3 stars as well, as I am intrigued to check out book 2, although I'm not willing to pay full price or to spend a whole credit on it - I'll wait for the next sale.

Enjoy! And, someone tell me what the hell an SVG is, please.

(* which, I think, is fairly healthy and well-deserved in this day and age)

174 of 222 people found this review helpful

Interesting Twist

I read a lot of EOTWAWKI type books... my favorites being "One Second After" and "Alas Babylon." The premise of "Going Home" is an EMP while the main character, Morgan, is away from home and family... very similar to the premise of "77 Days" or "The Walk," except Morgan is a prepper and walks home with a complete inventory of supplies. Like "Patriots" this book states brand names of supplies, but honestly it was less blatant... no model numbers. Although I'm pretty sure if you liked Patriots you will like this, they fill a similar niche in teaching along with the story.

There is a lot of gun violence, but I appreciated that it was in self defense by likable characters who didn't want to harm others (unlike "The End"). Swearing is a lot more than I would like but is limited to specific characters and much less than in "The Walk" which I couldn't bear. There is un-witnessed sexual assaults reported and a few sexual innuendos. If made into a film it would have to be R rated but the book felt PG-14 to me.

The writing is very basic, the narrator not great, some internal inconsistencies... and you do have to suspend your disbelief regarding the government takeover. That said... I loved this book and its characters...didn't want to go to bed and shut it off. The twists are different than any EOTWAWKI books I have read and the author does a great job of showing us the many and varied ways people and communities might respond.

Now for the series... yep, I have finished all three available this week and the next isn't due out until June of 2014. This book is the best of the three and there is a logical end point where you can stop and be content. Books 2 & 3 do not stand alone and leave you hanging. I am frustrated the 4th isn't available and am worried there might also be a 5th... as the 3rd book is much, much shorter... marketing game? Well I guess it worked as I will certainly buy the next when it comes out.

24 of 32 people found this review helpful

This is how we wash the dishes...

Funny book this. As mentioned by other reviewers, there's enough 'gear glee' to make you think the author works for the marketing department of some survivalist supplier. But more than that, just as the story starts to get going we pause to wash the dishes, pack the backpack, make dinner, wash dirty clothes, make hot chocolate, wash the dishes again, put on socks, tie our shoes, make the bed…seriously, most of us know how to do these things.

Really bad writing, so I think the narrator was actually doing the best with what he had, and the politics will be off-putting to some. I hung in till the end though, so author must be doing something right. I'd be interested to see if book two has the same attention to minutia. Oh, no wait: That would mean I have to buy it.

85 of 121 people found this review helpful

Story pretty good, writing mediocre at best

Would you try another book from A. American and/or Duke Fontaine?

I doubt I'll try another book by A. American however Duke Fontaine did a fine job with what he had to work with so I would definitely give him another shot.

Any additional comments?

Some mixed feelings but overall I'm pretty disappointed with this one. The storyline was somewhat intriguing and the book had decent potential but there were so many minor irritants that not turning it off was sometimes like trying not to scratch a poison ivy rash.

I think a lot of these issues would have been quickly dealt with by any decent editor but not here! There were MANY repeated sentences/phrases (*not a quote from the book but to illustrate a point* - "I came to a paved road. I listened and I didn't hear anyone on the road so I ran across the road quickly with my backpack and into the woods on the other side of the road while I listened") which quickly got irritating, inconsistencies in dialect and character personalities, and a lack of detail in important areas while overindulging in detail in areas that added absolutely nothing to the scene. The authors' glossing over equipment specifics throughout the book while explaining in monotonous, childlike detail processes such as how Sarge cooked "taters" for his "boys" (not potatoes, even though this section was narrated in the third person) simply left me wanting.

I've noticed that the EOTWAWKI "Prepper" perspective novels can often provide excruciating detail about equipment and procedures and, although it's sometimes annoying, I found myself wanting more of this and less of the monotonous detail found in "Going Home".

It was also frustrating to deal with the author's bigoted stereotypes (dirty hippy burnouts, spoiled brat white girls, black criminals, stupid hillbilly drunks, etc, etc). I usually have a lot of tolerance when this type of character development or identification makes sense to the storyline or is perhaps tactfully acknowledging a sad state of reality, but the nonstop bombardment of the authors obvious feelings about the differences in people around him portrayed through the thoughts and actions of the main character simply destroyed the character's credibility for me.


I'm not sure if I will continue the series but it isn't likely.

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

Ready for the next one

Would you listen to Going Home again? Why?

I love these "how to survive" after zombies, asteroid hits or in this story the gov't goes nuts!. Realistic, great character development and I like the small details. Just finished vol 1 last night and have downloaded vol 2 to keep going today. And just to be ready for vol 3, I have downloaded it also!

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

A review for the whole series so far books 1-5

I have just finished book 5 in the series and thought I would write a review on the whole series (so far) as I loved all of them the same.

So if you've read the synopsis you'll now that Morgan was on his way home to his wife and 3 kids when.... the power goes out, an EMP maybe? and plunges the world back into the stone age. Now you might be thinking that there is a couple of other books on the same line and a successful TV show.

However what makes this different?
Morgans story and the situations that he finds himself in with people that are trying to survive. I continually thought "yeah, that is what would happen, thats how people would act in that situation" it is brilliantly thought through. The characters are fantastic as well all with very different backstories which really makes you care about what happens to them.

But the stand out thing is the narration by Duke Fontaine it is fantastic it probably the best I've heard, he puts constant voices on all the characters so you know every time who is talking but is still clear to understand.

The only thing I would have liked is an explanation to why Morgan prepared the way he did, it sort of does near the end of the series, its only a small thing but it bug me a little.

If you like excellent narration, brilliant characters and a believable story (with a little hollywood drama chucked in) give this a go.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

I did this , I did that !

Morgan's first person prospective became tiresome. literally the whole novel was written like this. "I took this branded cup, out of this branded pouch. I filled the cup with this branded food and set it on my branded stove while scanning the environment with my NVGS
(NIGHT VISION GOGGLES)"
Story had promise , definitely novel with an agenda for any one wearing a tin foil hat. hated the switch between first and third person naritives. I like the characters Thadd and Sarge the dialog was believable when writen in the 3rd person narritive.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

favourite of the series

this was most definitely my favourite book from this series as we were able to really get to know own the character who was a lovable character. his journey was one of captivating events and episodes that meant you really really don't want to put it down and don't want it to end. great new favourite author.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Going home. I was gripped form the start

Where does Going Home rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed this. (and the next 2 in the series) I get through about 4 audiobooks a month. I would place this in the top 10.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Difficult to decide between Morgan and Thad. Both do what has to be done. but neither like doing it.

Have you listened to any of Duke Fontaine’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Other than the next books in this series, No. But I will look for out for some. I liked his reading style. It sounded like he was enjoying the book too

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Book with a great premise but an agenda

What disappointed you about Going Home?

I do admit that as a 30 something female I am probably not the target audience for this book. But the story had an interesting premise and I thought I’d give it a ago. It started really well and I actually believed the scenarios that the main characters were finding themselves in. But as the story progressed I got slowly tired of the constant references to backpacks, guns, ammo, food rations, radios and other various 3 letter acronyms for survival gear. Once the right wing politics underpin the story it really lost me.

What was most disappointing about A. American’s story?

This is obviously guys’ book. The female characters are sketchy at best and in case of Jessie just plain annoying. Her main contribution to the story is to flirt a bit and put others in danger because she can’t deal with the situation. Luckily she is only present in the book for a relatively short time.

What three words best describe Duke Fontaine’s performance?

Solid and well delivered.

What character would you cut from Going Home?

Jessie!

Any additional comments?

I’ve been tough on this book and maybe it's more of a 3 star book than 2 star. But I just can’t shake the disappointment. The story and the characters had a great potential so I just feel a bit let down by the story’s direction.

4 of 6 people found this review helpful

Interesting story, mediocre execution

I found the plot of this book quite compelling; it was interesting enough that I was motivated to keep going to the end and listen to the second in the series. However, it’s worth noting that the story does feel, at times, like it’s pandering to the survivalist community in a sort of “Aren’t ordinary people stupid for not anticipating societal collapse” sort of way. (I believe the word “sheeple” is used at one point.)

Where I feel this book is let down is in the quality of the writing. Some of the dialogue is rather unnatural and in quite a few places, repeated words ruin the flow of the sentence. I started Going Home shortly after finishing a Stephen King novel, and the difference in writing ability was very obvious.

If you enjoy this genre, and you’re willing to endure rather clunky prose for the sake of a good narrative, then I’d recommend this book. Otherwise, you can afford to give it a miss.

Great read

Great book, couldn't put down.

looking forward to next in series and seeing where the story takes the characters .

an eye opener

loved it really puts you in the action look forward to the next installment definitely recommend it

Great Books, but A American but beware

Would you try another book written by A. American or narrated by Duke Fontaine?

No. A American has now started a subscription model for $10 a month which you need to pay to get some of the back story on Sarge.

What did you like best about this story?

All of it. Truly great.

What about Duke Fontaine’s performance did you like?

One of the best narrators around.

What character would you cut from Going Home?

Sarge, so you don't have to pay $10 a month to read his story.

Any additional comments?

Despite being a great series I wish I hadn't bothered now. I am not paying $10 per month to get some of the back story. A American has forsaken his core readers.

Disappointed

I had very high hopes for this book. I wanted to get stuck into a series. The overall storyline is believable and I wanted to get immersed in the new way of life for the characters...... the thing that let it down was the narration. The narrator was monotone and robotic. The story swings from POV to POV with no indication of who was talking until the narrator said the name or something that indicated it was one or the other. Most of the characters sounded exactly the same so I lost the story many times. Every man sounded exactly the same so it was incredibly difficult to follow. I rate my books based on how gripped I am and how much extra cleaning I find to do in my house to keep on listening. This book made me zone out especially towards the end and I lost so much of what was going on that I couldn't even finish it.
Really disappointed