• 299 Days

  • The Preparation, Book 1
  • By: Glen Tate
  • Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
  • Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,887 ratings)

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299 Days  By  cover art

299 Days

By: Glen Tate
Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
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Publisher's summary

Meet Grant Matson: lawyer, father, suburbanite husband who awakens to the fragility of modern society and embarks on a personal journey that introduces him to a world of self-reliance and liberation. 299 Days: The Preparation, the first audiobook in the 299 Days series, depicts the inner struggles Grant must face as he exists in a social system he recognizes as unsustainable and on the verge of collapse, but one in which he has built his life around. What begins as a return to his roots, self-sufficiency and independence, becomes a full blown move to prepare for what may come.

Engaging, insightful, and a bit suspenseful, follow Grant's transition from a self-perceived "sheeple" to a full-blown "prepper". Will his fears come true? Is he an extremist? What if nothing happens? What if something does?

©2012 Glen Tate (P)2014 Sellerman and Sweeney, LLC

What listeners say about 299 Days

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Planted Reviews - be careful with your purchase...

I have a weakness for prepper & disaster books and was very aware this series was coming out in the near future and planned on picking up the first one right away, and all of them if they were good. I was surprised how quickly the reviews for this series appeared... and was delighted everyone liked it.

My friends, most of these reviewers only own one audiobook and have only done one review... I know because after I forced myself to listen to the entire book... I went back to see who the idiots were that gave the book a 5 star award.

I don't expect the writing to be amazing in this genre, but I would at least like to learn something or a creative slant. This is just a tangential, unedited, repetitive, boring, semi-autobiographical, plot less, self-important, extremist political rant... by a prepper podcaster with a following... who I honestly think means well.

I wanted to like it, wanted to find the good in it and kept thinking... it will get better anytime now. But it didn't happen. There is no violence, swearing or sex in this book, just a little pissing off the porch and repetitive gun purchases. No incredible information either, though... sorry. And the writing... is just wrong, you will know what every character in the book is thinking, jumping from head to head to head in the same short sentence.

The narrator wasn't bad in other books I've listened to... but the material he is reading combined with the poor flow of sentences... makes him sound slow and the listen painful.

Watch closely, I am about to have major not helpful votes attached to my review.

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364 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Right Wing Propaganda

I'm halfway through it. Considering returning it. The first half has been an anti-government rant focused on blaming Democrats. The author paints them as evil and as being the reason for big government without even acknowledging any programs that came under Republican administrations such as the Patriot Act. I'm not a fan of either party or politicians in general. I think the majority are corrupt. It becomes propaganda when you focus on one to blame, though. He even uses one guy as an example saying something like, "I've been a Democrat all this time and so are all my friends. How could so many people be so wrong?"

It gets worse. The first part of the book is an intro from an author trying to come off as reasonable and not some nutjob extremist. But, in addition to the above, his lead character has a come to Jesus moment and suddenly (I kid you not) starts hearing a guiding "outside voice". So, we are to believe that he is not a nutjob, but he hears voices telling him to do these things?

I'm a prepper. The intro made me think that we'd finally have a reasonable book that wouldn't make us all sound like paranoid super religious crazy people that think God is directly talking to them. . . literally. Instead, the book seems to work to cement the stereotype in place. I could have dealt with the Right Winger thinking the Left is evil part considering that just because he left out the bad things on the Right doesn't mean he was far off the mark with the Left. Adding in the hearing voices aspect turned the main character from far Right Winger to paranoid schizophrenic.

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Just not that good.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The story is not very well written and the characters are pretty one dimensional. It's repetitive and just in bad need of editing. Book 1&2 could have been done in half the time. Its just not all that exciting and its pushing a specific viewpoint, no depth to the story,. I was surprised at the quality of the writing it after seeing all the great ratings and I actually returned it. But someone else in the family wanted to hear book 2 so I was honest and repurchased book 1 but returned book 2 after it was no better- I just can't see how this could be worth a 10 volume story ($150) and all the five star ratings.

What could Glen Tate have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Having someone edit it more and cut the length in half and it might have been a reasonable story. Also written characters that had more depth to them, the wife just doesn't ring true to an ER doctor at all and their are errors in the book such as thinking he had PTSD straight after an event - an ER doctor would not make such an obvious diagnostic mistake or spend most of the book crying or yelling or being shocked at peoples behaviour - just not realistic.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Kevin Pierce?

Yes, Kevin is a very good narrator.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It raises issues about the current state of affairs and about prepping for events that could happen, might help people think about how prepared they are for a disaster and get started on preparing.

Any additional comments?

I love dystopian novels and spend many hours listening to all kinds of audio books, this just doesn't make the grade for me. If you like a quality novel then give this a a miss and try Alas Babylon, Swan Song or One Second After.

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54 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Audio Books? But I read all 10 in the series

Would you listen to 299 Days again? Why?

I am definitely impressed. I was hesitant to purchase an audio book for a series of books I had already read. Well just like I was hooked reading 299 Days for the first time, the audio book brought it to life. I could not put it down and stop listening. The story came to life. The narrator's voice instantly drew me in, and I felt like I was hearing the story for the first time. The tale of Grant Matson was so real. I could relate to the character. They are all ordinary people with the same problems we all face on a daily basis. All too often in this genre the main characters are the "special forces" type. Not in 299 Days, everyone is real. I would highly recommend this audio book to everyone, even if you have already read the books. Glen Tate is a fantastic author and in my humble opinion he is bringing prepping mainstream.

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38 people found this helpful

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Just plain boring and poorly executed

I was very disappointed with ‘299 Days: The Preparation’. I’ll start by saying that I really like the premise. It’s a solid idea which could be good, maybe the whole series is, but this book is just poor. Here are my issues with this book: 1) The plot doesn’t go anywhere. The guy spends the whole time discussing how he’s putting food and ammo away and getting a bug out location all while ranting about liberals. Which brings me to my next issue. 2) The execution of the book is poor. He keeps pounding on liberals bringing up big government examples like the auto bail out. What did you say that was orchestrated by republicans? Never mind your details liberals are bad and then republicans are good. Then he shows this by having a republican elected to change things but that guys doesn’t do anything other than start running for office. Instead of showing his dissolution as the system he just bad mouths liberals some more. Both parties are corrupt and both should be demonized equally (it’s my review so I can put in my opinion). 3) The main character not likable. In the preface the author tells us he’s supposed to be a normal person with flaws and not some hero which again I like the idea of but he doesn’t any ANY redeeming qualities. He admits to being lazy and not helping his wife around the house until he starts prepping. Then once he starts prepping he has to continuously lie to his wife. Also the author tells us that he and his wife are perfect together but never shows it. They’re constantly bickering, never do anything that a normal person would construe as being selfless for each other and even at the beginning of the book we know they end up living apart. Why are these guys made for each other again? Also the outside voice makes him sound sort of mentally deranged. I guess if you’re ultra conservative and want to read all the books (just one is such a boring waste) if it a shot otherwise don’t even bother.

Mr. Pierce does an OK job with the narration but there's not a lot of differentiation in the characters so it's almost more of a reading.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Book!

Would you consider the audio edition of 299 Days to be better than the print version?

Yes, there is just something amazing about having it read to you. It just brings the story to life.

Who was your favorite character and why?

If you don't like them all, whether they are good or bad, something is wrong with you ;)

What does Kevin Pierce bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Seriously, the narrator is amazing. He could read those little drug pamphlets they give out at the doctors office to me and i'd be enthralled! lol

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

I don't know about "wanted" to (i had other things i should have been doing ;), but i most certainly HAD to listen to it all in one sitting. It was awesome!

Any additional comments?

I listened to a podcast a little while ago that was an interview with the author.  Apparently at least 97% of Book One is true. Now that just floored me. I love reading/listening to true stories but i didn't expect this one would be. It was exciting to hear that it was. That just seems to make it more compelling.
I love Whispersync. I have this book on Kindle and paperback (ok, so i have the whole series in those 2 formats, lol), but it just makes it even better on audio with this narrator.

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32 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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The most accurate "PREPPER" story ever written!!!

Where does 299 Days rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

On the scale 1-10...11!

What did you like best about this story?

I like how easy it is to connect with main and other characters in the story.
This book is packed with practical and useful information.

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pierce’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to many audiobooks before, none were narrated by Kevin. I think Kevin was an excellent choice for this series. He did an outstanding job narrating and brought the 299 listener's experience to a whole new level!

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

The most realistic prepper survival story ever told!

Any additional comments?

I don’t really remember when I found The Survival Podcast in Apple Store, but I have been an avid listener and became Lifetime Member of Support Brigade. Couple of years ago Jack Spirko, the host and producer of TSP invited Glen Tate on the show to tell listeners about 10 book series that he has been writing. Book one of 299 Days series just came out. It was titled “The Preparation”.
I grabbed my Kindle and ordered it. I remember reading it that evening and into the night till morning light broke through my window. I was exhausted but could not put it down. If you are a prepper, this series is “real deal”! I have read many novels in this genre but 299 is by far my personal favorite. It is so close to what is happening today, that the author had to hide his real name and write in novel form, to avoid repercussions from the authorities. It gave him opportunity to not only expose reality of city, state and federal bureaucracy but also gave him a wiggle room to interwoven personal encounters of ordinary people from different walks of life facing new abnormal reality. It is almost scary to look back at Book 1 written couple of years ago describing flooding of TX, NM and California by illegal immigrants and being able to watch it on the current news today.
This book explains how and why ordinary people become “preppers” and it shows that they are “not crazy”, that they are just trying to get ready for when the times get tough.
My favorite parts of this book are when the main character, Grant Matson, listens to and “outside voice” and follows its promptings. I know that every person has ability to hear that kind of inspiration, just not everyone is always in tune to listen to its guidance. There are also very emotional parts in book one, main one talks about the fact that main character has to hide the fact that he is preparing to save his family, when bad things come to pass, and has to lead double life of a prepper on one end and couch potato suburban husband on other in order to hide his true self from his wife whom he loves and who does not agree with “prepper” philosophy. Please do yourself a favor and pick up 299 Days, you will be glad you did as it is both full of useful and practical ideas and fun to read. The best news is that today the AUDIO version of all10 books is being released! I have already listened to book 1 “The Preparations” and must honestly say that bringing Kevin Pierce on board as a narrator, Glen Tate takes 299 Days series to a whole new level.

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Sad Libertarian Lament

What disappointed you about 299 Days?

This book, which is part of a really lengthy series apparently, is nothing more than an homage to the fence building, gun toting, Far Right Wing, Libertarian cause. ALL Liberals, according to Mr. Tate are evil, haters and Socialists. All government is corrupt. There is nothing actually justifying Mr Tate's argument other than the "personal experiences" of the main charachter who survives a controlling "Socialist" father who is cruel and selfish. Never mind that his father's charachter flaws could have stemmed from something other than his political leanings. And so what if they did? After this our hero assumes that ALL Liberals are 'Socialists" , 'evil" and "haters". He spends the rest of this tome proving that he is RIGHT!

Would you ever listen to anything by Glen Tate again?

Never. There is nothing to learn here.

What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?

Kevin Pierce is a fine narrator with a very warm and believable delivery. The smartest thing Mr Tate did was to hire this narrator. What Kevin Pierce lends to this dismal tract is the only thing that gives it credibility. I could listen to this narrator read the phone book.. actually..that would have been a better use of my time.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None. The charachters are stereotypical and one diminsional. The plot is lacking any insight or even any real conflict ,other than that the world view in general does not match up with the main charachters belief system. This is a one sided political rant disguised as fictional literature. I sincerely hope that it is recognized as such.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Even better than anticipated - a must read series

Any additional comments?

I listen to audiobooks continually while driving (which is a LOT). I typically alternate between an informative then a pleasure/novel. This series is both. Narration quality is very important to me since most of my listens are while driving and cant rewind, etc if narrator is difficult. Pierce allows me to focus on the story line vs distracted by the narration. 5 STARS for that! This book series is both educational & pleasurable listens for me, esp after hearing Tate on a podcast where his humble description of his predictions are being unfolded right in front of us. I like (quality) series books and usually pace myself but 299 will be a continual read through each book.

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Much to do about what????

Would you try another book from Glen Tate and/or Kevin Pierce?

I have managed to stay awake through the first leg of this story(???) leaving about two thirds of the monologue left to cope with. Am afraid I can no longer pay attention to a writer who obviously knows everything there is to know about firearms but very little about telling a compelling story. I was faced with a choice of trying to figure out when the story might eventually provide some semblance of a compelling tale or signing off on it. I chose the latter and would apply for a refund were I to know how.Tracker303

Has 299 Days turned you off from other books in this genre?

wish I knew what genre it might fit in other than "boring"...I certainly would most certainly not lay out any money for book2 of this series.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

monotonous monologue...little if no effort made to differentiate between the few characters I have come across so far.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment to be sure.

Any additional comments?

Put it out as a special.....someone with a lot of of patience might not mind spending a few dollars to learn how many types and configurations of firearms there are on the market and who uses what!

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