After

The Shock, Book 1

By: Scott Nicholson

Narrated by: Kevin Clay

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

A massive solar storm erases the world's technological infrastructure and kills billions. While the remaining humans are struggling to adapt and survive, they notice that some among them have...changed. Rachel Wheeler finds herself alone in the city where violent survivors, known as zapheads, roam the streets, killing and destroying. Her only hope is to reach the mountains where her grandfather, a legendary survivalist, established a compound in preparation for doomsday.

Other survivors are fleeing the city, but zapheads aren't the only danger. Rogue bands of military soldiers want to impose their own order in the crumbling ruins of civilization. When Rachel discovers a 10-year-old boy, she vows to care for him even at the risk of her own life. And the zapheads are evolving, developing communal skills even as they lay waste to the society they will eventually replace.

©2013 Scott Nicholson (P)2015 Scott Nicholson

I was a little lost at first...

I was unsure of what was going on at first... I couldn't figure out if this was a Zombie story, Or an EMP story, or what it was.. I was wondering if I skipped a few chapters at first, so I even checked. things did get explained further in.
The book did pick up speed, but seemed to slow back down a bit in the middle, leading us all the way to a cliff hanger at the end.
this is not your typical zombie book.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Can't wait to listen to the next one

I love this kind of book it has all the different characters and stays with each one long enough that you get to know who they are. I love the narrator he did a great job no annoying voices that happens when they try to do to many voices, that did not happen here. I can not wait to start the second one. This book was given to me for free for my unbiased opinion.

The Earth has turned upside down - what do you do!

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

I have read/listened to a number of Zombi/Post Apocalypse books lately. This rates along with the upper tier of books of this genre.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like the old survivalist in the mountains. Interesting character. Live and let live. Good common sense, in an environment of whacked out crazy people.

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

Kevin Clay was interesting to listen to for several reasons. His delivery was professional, and captured the accents and characters, pretty much true to form. On another level you begin to feel like you are living story, vs. listening to a book narration. Nice job!

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

Yes, it had a good flow. There are a series of characters seen in different chapters whose fates are intertwined. Some of the action or story line is predictable, with a number of surprises along the way. If I listened to the book on my way to work, I couldn't wait to pick up where I left off on my commute home.

Any additional comments?

Disclaimer: this book was gifted in exchange of an honest review. Writing a book and performing as a voice artist is a tough job. Both the writer and narrator lay it all out there for their audience to invest their time to make a judgement on this body of work. Frankly, for me, writing a review is easy. Did I like the story? Did the narrator bring the characters to life? Did I learn anything new from this book? Would I recommend someone else read this book? Yes, to all. This is another book in the zombie apocalypse genre. The characters are true to form. The story flows. The author keeps the story cohesive, while progressing the story line. Yes, I could relate to some of these characters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes the zombie/survivalist type stories. I will re-listen to "After The Shock" again, chilling out on the beach, sitting on my porch with an ice cold drink, and on my daily work commutes. I give it five stars, because I liked it, and Kevin Clay did a nice narration. Waiting for the companion books to come out!

Average CME Story with Minor Twist...

What can I say I really wanted to like this story. A CME wiping out people along with the electronics was an interesting premise for the story. But then the Zap Heads, the other humans who were not dead but effected by the CME were zombie like and attacked the non effected humans. The characters and story just got to be hard to like for me. If you are going to destroy the world leave people that the reader or listener will at least care about enough who will survive.

The narration was done by Kevin Clay and he did a great job with the story he was given. I have not heard a performance of his before this but I was really impressed and greatly enjoyed this performance.

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

Starts slow but finishes well

Starts pretty slow but by the end it's tied together nicely and has your attention

A unique take on Zombies.

Any additional comments?

First things first, this is my first book by this author and I have to say that I really enjoyed his style. I will definitely check out more by him.

The plot of this was easy to believe. A massive solar flare occurs and shorts out all electronics. It also wipes out the majority of the world in the blink of an eye. The ones left behind are either normal or Zapheads. The Zapheads are caused because the flare did something to their brains and now they are basically aggressive zombies. Now they don't eat each other (yet anyway ;), they are mindless killing machines. No matter what they are like, they were scary non the less!! As the book progresses though, we see that maybe they are either evolving or not all of them are mindless! It was intriguing and I cant wait to see where the author takes them.

There is multiple characters in this but all are well written and developed. I loved seeing the story develop through their eyes because each person is so different. It definitely added a little extra to the book.

In all this was a fast paced and thrilling read. I didn't know exactly what to expect when I started reading but I got a book that grabs you and pulls you in. I am really looking forward to the next one in the series!!

The audio of this was fantastic. I thought that Kevin Clay did an amazing job of differentiating each character and bringing them to life. There are quite a few of them but at no stage was I confused.

*I received this for review from AudioBookBlast in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

wow just Wow

I wish I had half the story telling ability of this author! I was captivated from the first word. I can not wait to hear what happens next.

A great addition to the post apocalyptic genre

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

I liked how the zombie, or zaphead, apocalypse was started in this book. That they were precipitated by a solar event was a refreshing take on the genre. I certainly find the prospect of fast zombies more terrifying than the shuffling dead of Romero and The Walking Dead. I love the zombie and post apocalyptic genre and thought this was a great addition.

The narrator was pretty good. A little dry at times, but the story had enough action to keep me going. I would definitely look for more from this author.

Not your typical apocalypse

Is there anything you would change about this book?

No. I think the way the story and the characters present themselves are done fairly well.

If you’ve listened to books by Scott Nicholson before, how does this one compare?

I've not listened to any of Mr Nicholson's previous works, but I'd be willing to lend them an ear...

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Mr Clay has a "commanding" voice (which is not a bad thing at all) but I think he could've softened it a bit in certain places perhaps? He did a fine job narrating and I was engaged the entire time. I think a broader range of inflection and tone would've boosted the performance rating.

Did After inspire you to do anything?

absolutely! It inspired me to go find the next book!

Any additional comments?

I was given a copy of this audio book in exchange for a fair review. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. The story was interesting from the beginning and hooked me right in. It's not your typical zombie or plague apocalypse. Without giving much away, I can say this...The earth has been zapped into a standstill leaving 3 scenarios for it's inhabitants...1) instant death, 2) unaffected, normal humans 3) zapheads. The best way I can describe the zapheads is to say that they reminded me of Stephen King's "Cell" and Romero's "The Crazies" I would definitely recommend this to other fans of post apocalyptic fiction.

Nicholson is an awesome story teller

This time we were not responsible, well, not really. The zapheads, as they are referred to, were the result of a massive, world-wide solar storm that wreaked havoc on the world’s technology killing and changing billions of people into zapheads. The world is different now, everyone is different somehow.

The zapheads don’t eat people but they do seek to kill in a most bloody fashion and they are learning to plot, strategize and attack.

There are three groups of survivors the story follows as well as the legendary survivalist grandfather. The survivors include a group of military like goons who are not very nice, two beer drinking surfer dudes, Rachel and then the group who treat the zapheads as deities.

Unlike most zombie books, Nicholson states what caused the zaphead affect – the solar storm; but not why some were affected and some were not.

Nicholson is an awesome story teller. He manages to find what the scariest part of life is and twists it into a horrifying tale that strikes close to home. We are all afraid of what technology will do to the human race if it goes away or takes over, we are all afraid of being alone, and we are all afraid of what happens when we stop living … and lastly, what makes each of us different. Who would survive a catastrophic event such as this and who would become a zaphead?

Well written, Nicholson develops the characters as he moves the story along giving insight into the main characters. He draws the listeners into the story making them feel the same excitement and fear as the characters. He has a lot going on but not too much; it is still very easy to follow the plot and characters. There are slow moments where the action is building; but he is providing enough backstory to make the plot move forward.

If you enjoy zombies, action and a good story then Nicholson’s books are perfect for you! This is a good solid, interesting, captivating book but then again Nicholson never disappoints!

Kevin Clay, narrator, did a good job of narration. I enjoyed hearing him read the book.

There were no issues with production.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

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

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