Rust-Colored Rain

Wrack and Ruin, Book 1

By: Otto Schafer

Narrated by: A.J Carter

Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

The world was ready to defend against an asteroid of epic proportions… but nobody was ready for what came after.

On the last day of normality in Mackinaw, Illinois, Oliver McCallister thinks his worst problem is figuring out how to come clean to his wife about the secret he’s been keeping from her. Zoe McCallister thinks her worst problem is squeezing in an errand at the courthouse before another long day of nursing classes—and worrying about whatever Oliver is hiding from her.

Oliver has just started his garbage route when an emergency broadcast announces the arrival of a ten-kilometer-long asteroid. A nuclear strike successfully destroys the asteroid and turns the sky into a canvas of crimson clouds. People cheer. They dance in the rust-colored rain falling from the clouds. It seems the apocalypse has been avoided.

But the apocalypse isn’t happening to people, it’s happening inside them.

First their eyes bleed. A ravenous hunger consumes them. Their sanity breaks. Then they become… the undead.

As the apocalypse unfolds, Oliver battles the undead to rescue a wise-beyond-her-years six-year-old named Jurnee and make his way back home, where he hopes he’ll find Zoe and safety. Before they can be reunited, Zoe must band together with a group of survivors to dodge the infectious red rains and escape a zombie-infested courthouse.

Will Zoe’s medical knowledge, Oliver’s protective instincts, and Jurnee’s indomitable spirit be enough for them to find safe refuge in this new and frightening world? Will Oliver and Zoe be able to repair their strained marriage, or will this dire situation push them further apart?

Rust-Colored Rain is the first book in a thrilling new science fiction zombie series from the author of the award-winning God Stones series. If you’re yearning for a character-driven thrill ride, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and brain-craving zombies, then you’ll love Otto Schafer’s Rust-Colored Rain.

©2023 Otto Schafer (P)2023 Otto Schafer

A different spin on a sometimes tired genre

Looking forward to the next book in the series! The narrator was excellent! I really enjoyed the different spin on a sometimes tired and repetitive genre. I love zompoc and it's definitely nice to have a totally different origin story.

Some parts great, some okay, some not so much.

So it’s quite obvious that in the beginning the writer was going for that incredibly pithy, witty dialogue, but didn’t quite know how to pull it off thank god. It’s also overly filled with DEI bs. Once of the main characters insistence on not calling the zombies, “zombies” seems unnecessary. If it walks like one and talks like one, what’s the difference. It’s not like zombies are as supernatural as vampires being that there are a shitload of examples of zombie diseases and viruses that exist in nature that just can’t affect humans yet. The meat and cheese of the book are fine. and the bread is decent. But the condiments are total crap.

Name

I can relate to this book on so many levels. I was a garbage man for years and I mainly on listen to zombie books on audible. I hate that it took so long to find this book. Saw it on TikTok and got it instantly. It is amazing in every way!

Awesome and Realistic

I’m pretty picky when it comes to zombie media. Coming from an American, military family with a dad that scoffs at the screen saying “that would never happen that way,” I was pleased that this felt so believable.

The ONLY thing I really struggled suspending my belief on is the Asteroid seeming to appear out of nowhere. Perhaps it’ll come out in later books that we’d been tracking it and it was just attempted to be kept a secret? I am just very aware that we track everything in our solar system so thoroughly it’s more well known than our oceans. So, since everything else is so thoroughly considered, I hope to have that explained in the future.

Maybe they meet an astronomy hobbyist that tells them about how they’ve been tracking this thing for a while or something, the governments been keeping it a secret, all that. Anyway.

The rest of the book was solid. I never knew from one moment to the next who was gonna get hurt, and honestly, the “over the top” performance from the reader just gave me more energy. I listened to this whole thing in a day while cleaning and loved it.

There were enough twists and hints and drama to really keep me interested. I hated every time I had to pause it to answer someone!

I’m looking forward to more!

A.J. Carter brought this book to life!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thoroughly loved and found myself completely entrenched in this first book of the Wrack and Ruin series! This is the zombie romance I didn't know I needed. Oliver a city worker, and his wife Zoe a nurse, going about their mundane lives when the unthinkable happens. And it happens fast, boom, zombies! While there's definitely graphic violence and gore in Mr. Schafer's book, the horror for me were the regular people before they were turned. Holy hell, just when you thought humanity couldn't get worse! The original artwork strewn throughout the book depicts an utterly terrifying world, but beneath all the gore lies a romance and a love story between a husband and wife fighting for their lives. Did I mention that nurses are bad ass in the face of adversity?!
[Spoiler ahead]

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Chuck picked something off her cheek and looked at it as if he were staring into a crystal ball. He brought the grey matter to his nose and drew in a deep breath. “Oh, yes!” he breathed. “It smells like… like a flower… like the sweetest flower!” Horror gripped Zoe as she watched Chuck pop the grey matter into his mouth like a gumdrop.

Exceptional listen

Loved the overall story and the characters. Can’t wait for the next book to continue the story!!!

this book is fantastic

I am a huge fan of the genre and this was a while new twisted, I wasn't sure I would enjoy. I'll tell you what though I did several points of the story. had me gripping my steering wheel tight as I listened driving home at night in the dark alone. the author did a fantastic job of capturing the fear of what this type of apocalyptic event would bring. fantastic job Mr. Schaefer. I'm looking forward to reading book two.

Thrilling Story!

This story was fantastic on its own and kept you on your toes from the beginning. The Narrator did a fantastic job, from the creepy zombie groans, moans, and to the screams and panic from the characters. Overall I was left wondering what was gonna happen next through the entire book.

Rain Rain Go Away..

I enjoyed this version of the Zombie genre and I am here for it. I don't want to spoil anything for readers.

Can't Wait for Book 2!

It was a great book. I got drawn in and couldn't stop listening. Definitely a must listen for any zombie fan!