Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival

By: Joe Nobody

Narrated by: D. Allen

This first book of the Holding Their Own series, A Story of Survival, is set in the year 2015, when the world is burdened by the second Great Depression. The United States, already weakened by internal strife, becomes the target of an international terror plot. A series of attacks results in thousands of casualties and disables the country's core infrastructure. The combination of economic hardship and the staggering blow of the terror attacks results in a collapse of the government.

This is a realistic story of how an average, middle class couple survives the cascading events brought on by international politics, high tech military actions and the eventual downfall of society. All of their survival skills are tested during the action packed expedition in a world that resembles the American West of 200 years past.

©2011-2012 Kemah Bay Marketing LLC (P)2012-2013 Kemah Bay Marketing LLC

Narrator sucks ass

The story is a good one but the narrator sucks. That and his stupid sounds effects. Get a different narrator.

How I thought Audible books were

I have listened to many audible books. This book was a pleasant surprise when the narrator used props for certain events (like talking on radios). He did a descent/good job on changing his voice for female characters. When I first started listening to audible, this is what I had expected from it.

The worst Narrator EVER

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

No. I love this genre, and I like being able to switch back and forth between reading and listening, so I purchased both the kindle edition and the Audible/Whispersync option. I started by listening on Audible and was so put off by the narration I couldn't make it past a couple minutes. Both the sound quality (sounds like somebody made a home recording in their garage with a cheap microphone - it sounded like the "narrator" was talking into a tin can) AND the complete non-ability of the reader (honestly, this sounded like someone was just reading the book out loud- or trying to- Monotone, stumbling over words- it would have been funny if I hadn't paid for it) totally ruined the narration. I ended up going back and reading the kindle book. I tried to listen a few times while I was driving, but even EQing the heck out of it, it was still virtually unlistenable.

If you’ve listened to books by Joe Nobody before, how does this one compare?

First time- never again if they have this narrator.

What didn’t you like about D. Allen’s performance?

See above. It was amateur to the extent that I have never heard on an Audible purchase before. If I was the author (or the producer, distributor or publisher for that matter) I'd be completely horrified. It was non professional and not of acceptable sound quality or narrating skill. Again- the entire book was read in a monotone voice, stumbling over words, repeating himself. There was no distinction made between the characters, no emotion. It's quite a stretch to call it a "performance" -- the reader even sounded bored at times. I think a nap would have been about as much of a performance as this reading was.

Was Holding Their Own: A Story of Survival worth the listening time?

It was an OK story. Nothing special, but I'm trying really hard to base my judgement on the kindle book. Even so, there are just too many others out there doing this genre better. This was pretty predictable, and for those who enjoy lots of accurate details, tips, exciting action, suspense-- it was pretty tepid. Definitely not a page turner. It took me awhile to make myself get through this. If I had not gotten the kindle book I would have never made it.

Any additional comments?

Dude needs to find a new career. And I think I'm asking for my money back.

Very Poor Voice Talent

What aspect of D. Allen’s performance would you have changed?

Poor reading skills, low quality recording.Hire better voice talent next time.

Any additional comments?

I bought this book because I thought that I would be able to identify with it on many levels. I live in Houston, and I work in the oil field (same as main character). My wife and I are "preppers." We have a bugout plan which includes trying to get to the family ranch in south Texas in the event of a SHTF scenario -- all similarities with the story line.

Unfortunately the voice talent is so poor it makes the book difficult to get through. The performance felt "low-budget" and sounded as if it was recorded in the author's basement as opposed to a sound studio.

Some elements of the story were too far-fetched (ie. United States withdrawl from the U.N. among others).

As a veteran, the biggest disappointment for me was with the military engagements described in the book; they did not have an authentic feel. Accounts of military hardware and the manner in which they were deployed were wholly inaccurate (there is no such thing as a "stealth B-52", et al).

It seemed like the author failed to do his homework regarding the United States military. The author's apparent lack of reseach in this area made the battle sequences feel unconvincing and unrealistic.

I love this genre of books, and I hoped that this title would be great since I have so much in common with the main character. Too bad it did not live up to my expectations.

Joe's Best Series!

Love Joe and his works, but this is the start of his best post-collapse series. Characters introduced in this book will grow stronger and more real throughout, but they're already pretty strong.