No Direction Home

Ordinary People Surviving Extraordinary Times, Book 1

By: Mike Sheridan

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ordinary people surviving extraordinary times.

A college student in Knoxville. An Irish couple on their dream vacation in Orlando. A bank robber in an Atlanta prison...what do they all have in common? They are survivors of vPx073, the most deadly virus ever to be unleashed on the planet. One that has brought civilization to a standstill.

Haunted by the tragic death of his Gulf War veteran father, Cody Parsons is a struggling student at UTK when the pandemic hits Knoxville. Soon the sharpshooting skills his father taught him as a 14-year-old are put to good use - especially when an ex-US army combat engineer takes him under his wing. As food and water runs out, and roving gangs take over the cities, the paths of some very determined survivors are destined to meet...with surprising consequences.

With strong, original characters, this is a fast-paced story that fans of post-apocalyptic survival fiction will appreciate.

©2017 Mike Sheridan (P)2017 Mike Sheridan

Not for me.

I've put off writing this review for a week or so because I didn't really know what to say because most of what I want to say will spoil it!! It started with, and this isn't a spoiler, nearly everyone dying of a virus within the first few passages. This in itself isn't anything new with this type of book, but we don't find out how the virus came to be at all!! Then we have multiple POVs, which again isn't anything new, but there wasn't any character development at all. I just didn't care about any of them at all!

Plot wise, it fell flat too. Apart from not knowing how the Pox came to be, it's quite slow going and had no development either. I mean, how could a prison function with only 2 men, plus why would they leave just 2 prisoners go?? It didn't make sense. I just didn't connect with anything in the book, and I really don't think I'll continue on with the series.

Kevin Pierce was just as good as he always is! He has a pleasant voice and always delivers a great performance, I do have to say though, that he needs to work a little on his Irish Accent, it was pretty bad!! But I'm Irish so I know a good one when I hear it. Other than that, I enjoyed his performance.

I was voluntarily provided this audiobook for free from the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Prepping in the wake of pandemic

Given a devastating enough pandemic, a survivor can get prepped as thoroughly and as affordably as possible. Good story along these lines.

Sheridan references Franklin Horton a few times and has a similar feel and tone to Horton.

Interesting storyline and likable characters.

Superb narration as always with Kevin Pierce.

I'm interested to see where this story goes.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

No Direction Home Excellent Plague Survival Series

This is an excellent new series from Mike Sheridan. vPvo73 gets out of a Lab and wipes out everyone expects that small part of any population with natural immunity. There are three settings to start with. Knoxville, A prison in Georgia, and Orlando Florida. I don't want to go into too much detail this is a short book but it is well written with great characters and plenty of action. It is set up to be part of a series. I really enjoyed the book. Mr. Sheridan has a winner on his hands. I much prefer his post apocalyptic plague series over Bobby Akarts plague series.

The narration was provided by Kevin Pierce. Mr. Piece once again delivers another high-quality performance. I truly enjoy his work. I know that I will always get a great story and his delivery is always masterful.

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom.

Solid start to a new survival series.

I'm a huge fan of survival stories, whether they deal with the aftermath of an EMP, zombie outbreak, nuclear war, or in the case of No Direction Home a viral outbreak. There is just something gripping about the stories of people struggling to survive as all around them society breaks down.

I really enjoyed this first book in the No Direction Home series and was disappointed when it came to an end. NDH Book 1 tells multiple stories of small groups struggling to figure out how to survive in a world where the population has been devastated by a viral outbreak that kills like 98% of the population. Each group has a gripping story and I really like how many of the stories come together in this book, and also the promise that more of them with come together in future volumes. I think this is the first by Mike Sheridan that I've experienced but I can guarantee you it would be the last.

What can I say about Kevin Pierce's narration? He's quickly become of my favorite narrators. In fact I feel pretty confident in saying he's in my top 3 narrators. And when I think of survival books I think of Kevin Pierce. Heck even when I'm reading a survival story, it's Kevin's voice I tend to hear in my head. Not sure I can give him a better compliment than that.

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

Extraordinary! I was hooked until the last word!

At the beginning of the book, it appears to be all over the place, bouncing from new character to new character. It's easy to follow along and as the characters' stories merge, you'll really appreciate the author's attention to detail and character development. I really enjoyed this story and didn't want it to end. I listened all the way through without stopping!! I'm very much looking forward to enjoying the rest of this series.

The narration by Kevin Pierce is awesome as always. I often refer to him as "the voice of the apocalypse". And although his Irish accent sounds more British, at times, he really brings the characters to life with his excellent performance.

*This audiobook was provided to me at no cost in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Enjoyable audiobook

This was an enjoyable audiobook, but not recommended for teens or younger. The sections I would consider "adult" were tastefully done, with nothing too explicit. I was quite pleased with the accuracy of topographical descriptions given, because I'm a Knoxville native and have worked on several occasions in all the areas described in the story except Ireland.
I would recommend this a good audio, and look forward to the sequel.

Vpox!

great story! its about what's left of the population after a virus hits them. There are a lot of groups in this book that will all come together nicely. There is the good the bad and ugly.
I love that it gave shout out to all my favorite authors a few times FH. And that the characters main use of several businesses etc. For themselves, like new trucks, hunting and fishing gear. it was fast paced, and starts to get good, then it stops. on to book 2 you must go...

This is a great start to a new series!

and as always, Kevin P does A great job!
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

What An Apocalyptic Treat

I flew through this one and it was well worth it. The different points of view definitely made this action packed listen even better. I was hooked from the start and never put it down. The story was creative and left me wanting more. I found myself not wanting it to end. Be warned though, there is a cliff hanger ending but this is a really good opening book to the series. The author does a great job with character development and scene description. Each set of characters are from different walks of life and it adds a certain variety to the story. Let's not forget his shoutout to the Foxes of Lester City of the EPL. Only a true soccer fan would weave this into their story. The narration is really well done. The "voice of the apocalypse" does an excellent job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. He provides different voices for each character and does it exceptionally. One scene in particular had to be really difficult to keep his bearings, it had a German and Irish men in a car conversing back and forth and it was really great to listen to. Pierce's tone and pacing for all scenes was on point and really gave this listen something special. I cannot wait for book 2 and to continue on with this series. You just know that we have not heard the last of some of these characters. I have a funny feeling they will be sticking around for the time being. I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via Audiobook Boom. This in no way affected my thoughts of this production.

Fantastic & plausible pandemic scenario

The V-Pox pandemic is swiftly killing off all but a small percentage of survivors immune to its disfiguring and lethal effects. The survivors must dispose of their dead and seek protection from the threat of gangs forming in the cities. Other threats quickly become apparent: dwindling food supplies, power and water outages, unstaffed hospitals, inoperable gas stations. Where will the survivors go to find a safe haven in the immediate aftermath following the pandemic? As it turns out, several different people all have the same perfect place in mind...

As a lady who appreciates a good post-apocalyptic novel, I especially enjoyed Sheridan's female characters who, instead of their male counterparts, tended to be the ones most knowledgeable about prepping and long-term survival in "No Direction Home." The married couple, Jonah and Colleen, were my favorite characters for their hilarious banter and Jonah's very "male" behavior. Mike Sheridan is an expert storyteller who weaves reality with a good "what if?" post-apocalyptic scenario. His survival advice is well researched and real-world useful. I'm truly looking forward to hearing the next couple of books in this series.

Narrator Kevin Pierce's wizened, husky voice perfectly suits this book's tone and subject matter. While his foreign accents could use some polishing, I will never tire of hearing his performances. He's an experienced narrator, and his skill helps me to bring the story alive inside my mind. As always, Kevin, well done!

This audiobook was provided for free by the narrator in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks for the opportunity!

It Fell A Bit Short For Me

Sometimes a book feels like everything is too easy — that’s how I would describe the story in this. Everything seemed to come a little too easy for all of the characters. While in general, I want everyone to succeed. This isn’t always the way that things go, especially after a major pandemic that wiped out 90% of the population.

Sheridan wrote a story about different kinds of ‘normal’ people surviving in extraordinary circumstances. I understand that he got to pick exactly who he wanted to write about, but each person was perfectly set up to do well in the new world. Sometimes you just want to see someone struggle, even for a few moments.

The story itself after I got about 50% of the way through it flew to the end. That’s because this didn’t really have a proper ending either. It just kind of ended (what felt like mid sentence) . I completely understand that this is billed as book one in a series but sometimes you need to have more of a completion of the story that I just read. I always feel a little gipped when things just start to get good and the author writes “continued in the next book”. The last book I remember this happening in was the Redfall series. The story started to get really good and it just ended. No Direction Home did the same thing. Right as I was started to really dig in and enjoy myself it ended.

I’m hoping that in the rest of the series that things aren’t as easy for the survivors and that they realize that things are going to get easier as they learn the land and how to survive, but the world isn’t on their side.

I received a free copy of this book. It has not affected my review of my opinion.

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looking good

so far. I am on book 2 already! I haven't connected with any of the characters yet, but there are some promising ones!

Action packed

A fast paced, action packed introduction to a new series, an entertaining read with interesting characters and great plot twists, and wonderful narration by Kevin Pierce. I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

Amazing

Can't wait for the next book to be audible great story line. Character come to life... lovely writing sir