Monsters

By: Peter Cawdron

Narrated by: Josh Carpenter, Michele Carpenter

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Monsters is a dystopian audiobook set against the backdrop of the collapse of civilization. The fallout from a passing comet contains a biological pathogen, not a virus or a living organism, just a collection of amino acids, but these cause animals to revert to the age of the mega-fauna, when monsters roamed Earth.

Bruce Dobson is a reader. With the fall of civilization, reading has become outlawed. Superstitions prevail, and readers are persecuted like the witches and wizards of old. Bruce and his son James seek to overturn the prejudices of their day and restore the scientific knowledge central to their survival, but monsters lurk in the dark.

©2012 Peter Cawdron (P)2013 Peter Cawdron

Wow! This was great!

What made the experience of listening to Monsters the most enjoyable?

Listening to this was amazing. I read the book and it was good...but it like when you watch a movie of a book and they do a good job... this was very well done!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Monsters?

There is one scene where the town people grab a guy and they start doing some terrible things...you hear the good guys in the story battle within themselves, they want to help the poor guy, but they don't want to be next up there with the poor guys. I was really moved and touched by that one scene.

What about Josh Carpenter and Michele Carpenter ’s performance did you like?

Wow, I have to say amazing job. They really did a great job making you feel the story. They didn't just read it...anyone can do that. They took it to the next level.

Any additional comments?

This was a great story that was performed incredibly.

I saw you in that bear trap, & I fell in love !

The writing’s not bad.
The characters have depth with many inward conversations about their lives.
Serious social political themes come-up as they rebuild a new society after the apocalypse .

BUT most importantly...
A sweet romance blossoms amid the ruins of earth, as two spunky types go on missions together !

Only one problem: no MONSTERS.

There are feral dogs. Are they monsters?

A big bear makes an appearance. - a monster?

A mountain lion comes into the story briefly. - a monster too?

These animals could be scary, except that the heroes dispatch the animals quite easily.

Sorry, I wanted... "MONSTER Action at the END of the W0RLD!!"

Is that too much to ask for?
I claim false advertising in the book's title.
Can't recommend - sorry.

Cawdron holds our hands through every phrase

A large comet passes close to earth and deposits an unknown pathogen into the atmosphere. Most animals mutate into larger versions of themselves, bears, insects, bats, dogs, cats, rats, everything except humans. Civilization shrinks and reverts back to feudal/medieval times. Technology and learning become the enemy. Eventually, ignorance is embraced as people who are able to read are burned as witches. The two main characters are a father, and later, his son, who both fall in love with injured women whom they rescue.

Unfortunately, Cawdron’s preaching and pedagogy get in the way of what might be a good story. The listener is bashed over the head about how important books and newspapers are. Hello, we’re reading here. It’s difficult to get into the story as Cawdron holds our hands through every phrase, repeating and rephrasing every thought, just in case we didn’t understand something. It’s like being taught physics by a kindergarten teacher. You’ll soon find yourself rooting for the giant animals to quickly eat the annoying humans.

The narration is by Josh Carpenter and Michele Carpenter. They might be married, brother and sister, or coincidentally have the same last names, we’re not told. There is quite a bit of acting, particularly on the part of Michele Carpenter. If you want a transparent listening experience, you won’t like this. There are some long pauses between commas, which can be quite annoying. If you are listening with good headphones, you’ll hear the occasional page turn and mouth noises too.

The audience for this book seems to be those who like the idea of fantasy and science fiction, but don’t want to read about hard science. The monsters (the large and dangerous predatory animals for whom the book is named) play a very small part in the story, staying more as a backdrop to what is ultimately a romance novel with just a hint of science fiction.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

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