Seabound

Seabound Chronicles, Book 1

By: Jordan Rivet

Narrated by: Ray Greenley

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

When an apocalyptic catastrophe decimates the land, a lucky few escape on a souped-up cruise ship called the Catalina. After 16 years, the strain begins to show in a floating world of distrust and shifting allegiances.

A young mechanic named Esther wants to prove herself, but she tends to bash things up in the name of progress. When disaster strikes the Catalina on Esther's watch, she must risk everything to fix her mistake. She sails in search of help and encounters a mysterious metropolis called the Galaxy Flotilla. The inhabitants are keen to parade their lives of luxury, but they'll want something in return for their warm welcome.

A new storm is brewing on the post-apocalyptic ocean. Can Esther save her friends aboard the Catalina before it's too late?

©2014 Jordan Rivet (P)2016 Jordan Rivet

Critic reviews

"The quick-paced story is fueled by an adeptly realized sense of place, a powerful undercurrent of emotional nuance, vibrant details, a cast of complex characters and no shortage of seriously suspenseful situations. Rivet does more than make her characters, their connection to each other and their circumstances engaging; she makes them irresistible." (Underground Book Reviews Top Pick, nominated for Best Book of 2014)

Seabound

Any additional comments?

Liked the concept. This book is different than most apocalyptic type stories that I have read, in the fact that it takes place on the ocean. The story started out slow, it took a long time for anything to happen. The story needed to be a bit more exciting sooner. While the story gets a bit more interesting about 1/4 way in, the most action takes place in the last 2 hours of the story.

Apocalyptic life on the seas. After a volcanic explosion changes how life on earth is lived. Those lucky enough to be on a cruise or make it to a boat as the disaster struck are now sea bound. As the years pass things are deteriorating on the Catalina. When they come into contact with a large group of boats for a simple trading deal things do not go as planned. Their lives are about to change.

Now that the story has been set up it will be interesting to see where the author takes the story from here.

Ray Greenly does a good job with the narration. This is the first time I have heard him narrate a book. Nice even pace. Clearly spoken. Pleasant voice. Good character voices.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

a fast paced post-apocalyptic novel

Seabound by Jordan Rivet is the first novel in a series called The Seabound Chronicles. Civilization has been pushed to the sea and people live in communities on a diversity of ships, barges, and other vessels. Esther is a young mechanic on a solitary cruise ship called the Catalina. Over the years, resources have become strained and the crew of the Catalina have needed to trade with other ships or groups of ships, regardless of the potential danger of these interactions. Further, politics on the Catalina have also become turbulent as differences arise on how to use resources and interact with strangers. When a critical life supporting piece of equipment on the Catalina is destroyed, the crew of the Catalina is forced to interact with an unknown and seemingly idyllic group of ships called the Galaxy flotilla. As Esther attempts to obtain the resources needed to fix her ship, she and her crewmates begin to realize that the Galaxy flotilla may not be as generous and accommodating as it initially appears. Esther must figure out a way to repair their equipment while trying to retain the Catalina’s independence from the Galaxy flotilla.

This is a fast paced post-apocalyptic novel filled with friendly banter, politics, action, and even some romance. The post-apocalyptic setting of the sea is a pretty unique premise and allowed the characters to deal with challenges differently than would have occurred in a similar story but on land. While there was not a lot of discussion regarding the apocalypse that caused this migration to the sea, there were hints of where the story may be going in the next few books. It also would have been nice to see more of the early, more turbulent, life of the survivors. The glimpses helped add depth to the story and the characters. The interactions between most of the characters really felt true to how people behave and the main characters were all well developed. Esther, especially, grew a lot as the novel progressed. She was a good female protagonist in that she is not above reproach, which gives her room to grow. I look forward to seeing how the story progresses.

The narration by Ray Greenly was well done. The voice characterization of the different characters was spot-on. The production quality was also good. I would recommend this novel to readers who like strong female protagonists, young adult novels, and post-apocalyptic stories.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

[If this review helped, please press YES. Thanks!]

Excellent post-apocalyptic book!

After a catastrophic volcanic explosion, the land is unlivable causing most of humanity to flee to the oceans for survival. Those lucky enough to find a ship survive and adapt to sea life. The only thing I can think of to compare this to is Waterworld. The story is very engaging and the characters are relatable. Lots of action and a little romance throughout the book. Can't wait to hear the rest of the series. Ray Greenly does an excellent job with the narration!

Great story, great naration

Would you consider the audio edition of Seabound to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

The overall situation intrigued me. Post apocalyptic but no zombies!

What about Ray Greenley’s performance did you like?

His characters have consistent unique voices, no doubt as to who is talking. Good reading in general

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Your pleasure cruse has been extended!

Any additional comments?

Good story, good characters, good narration..

Really Good

In an apocalypse that takes over the land people now live on boats. Ester and her friends live o the Catalina, but after 16 years things start to break, one of those thing is the desalination system, and on Esters watch. But when they meet up with the Galaxy flotilla a flotilla of Galaxy cruise ships and many other ships that have joined up with them or they have found and taken, trading does not go as planned.

This is a wonderful, action packed, suspenseful book. The characters are great, I had the audio, narrated by Ray Greenley and he gave each character a different voice which helped me to fall in love with the characters and the story. Mr. Greenley really made this story for me, he gave this story a pulse and it grew from there. This book (author) and the narrator just go together so well I hope to get to some day listen to book two and beyond of this series. Because I can't wait to find out what happens to Ester and her friends and of course the Catalina.

Apocalypse at Sea

Excellent book. This book depicts life at sea following a volcanic eruption. The heroine is a young woman who makes age appropriate mistakes and excellent choices at the same time. She was not cast as a super hero or someone with super human abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book. Narrator Ray Greenly did a superb job.

Quite the water world adventure!

This is a fun, exciting dystopian tale that is full of action and adventure. It's a great story to listen to and easily keeps your attention with all the little plot twists.

Fantastic story and a new take on the apocalypse

What did you love best about Seabound?

It is difficult to choose just one thing. The story was great with very real and relatable characters. I was very engrossed in it and found myself constantly trying to guess what was going to happen next and putting myself in Esther's shoes.

If I were to choose a single thing I liked best it would be the originality of the story. I am a great lover of post apocalyptic fiction. Recently there is a tremendous glut of zombie stories, which while not necessarily a bad thing, it seems to become derivative after a time. The idea of civilization surviving the apocalypse on board ships...cruise ships no less...was brilliant and I found the author was really good with details that came to mind: ("How do they get enough food? How do they make repairs?" etc.)

Also the end of the world came not from EMP or nuclear warheads, but rather from a natural event.

I really loved this book!

What other book might you compare Seabound to and why?

It is hard to find a direct comparison of the work, and of course many post apocalyptic books have similarities. If I were to draw some comparisons I might take Lucifer's Hammer for the natural disaster aspect and The Road for the gritty feel.

Which scene was your favorite?

I do not want to spoil it by the whole scene involving the Lucinda. It was awesome.

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

Absolutely. I was sorry that I couldn't!

Any additional comments?

Please get the other books in the series on Audible immediately so I can listen to them!! I want to know more.


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

Awesome apocalypse!

Got this audiobook on a recommendation from a friend, and loved it! I have kindle unlimited, so I got to listen to this book as part of my subscription. Already finished book 2! I can't wait for pay day, so I can snag book 3! Nothing like Waterworld, but what that movie strived to be... I would totally recommend to anyone who likes dystopia or apocalypse! Loved it!

Slow starter

This was a bit of a slow starter but it did eventually grab me. I liked the characters, though they were a bit predictable. As was the story, nothing really surprising. Still it was enjoyable and the whole idea of post apocalyptic life on the sea is interesting. I will be following up with this series

The narrator did a good job though he's not very good at female voices.

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