Surrender the Sun

By: A R. Shaw

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's happened once before, and it will happen again.

In the year 2030 the Maunder Minimum, a period of solar inactivity, will cause a mini-ice age like it did between the years 1645 and 1710. When it does, Bishop will have to save her not only from the effects of severe weather but also from man himself.

Maeve Tildon and her son Ben live alone in the rural town of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Since her husband died in the war, she's barely kept her head above water, and when the first freeze strikes in the fall, she's completely unprepared for what lies ahead. Only a war-torn man, one who prefers the solitude of the Kootenai National Forest, can rescue her and her son.

From the best-selling author of the Graham's Resolution series, Shaw brings you Surrender the Sun.

©2016 Annette Shaw (P)2016 Annette Rachelle Shaw

Apocalyptic cold snap? Yes please!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Unfortunately I felt that there were some things that were wrapped up way too quickly and conveniently which caused the story to lose some of its plausibility. Although the overall ending was fine, and the expected resolve has been experienced, I kind of felt...I don't know exactly...I guess cheated is the right word.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Pierce – was your favorite?

In my opinion, one of Kevin's greatest assets is his ability to read characters without actually characterizing them. There is no character better or worse than another based on his performance, they are all solid, easy to follow, and enjoyable to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Overall I enjoyed the book; it was fun, action filled, and it was nice to listen to something with a slightly different twist. However, I think it would have been more enjoyable if there was a stronger emphasis on the survivalist aspect of the "event". Instead it read a little more like an action movie. This isn't necessarily a terrible thing, but it was enough to make the listen somewhat agitating at times.

There were a few characters that didn't seem to have a reason to exist other than as convenient vessels or fodder to assist in passing from one scenario to another, timings that were way off to the point where i had to go back and re-listen to a couple of spots to make sure I didn't miss something like "...days went by before Bishop...", and activities that took place seemingly only to setup a scene rather than making sense to the situation and characters. Sometimes it was as if there were a bunch of "scene's" written first then "filler" was added between them after the fact to move us from one to the other. It's tough to discuss these without posting spoilers but they are the reasons I gave the story only 3 stars.

I will probably go ahead and pick up the next book if one is released. Although it wasn't my favorite it was still fun and my expectations will be adjusted accordingly.

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

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Didn't Anyone See the Oncoming Train?

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

One of the better prepper disaster type of books. Well written and researched and mostly plausible.

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

Kevin Pierce always does an excellent job of narration and brings more depth and characterization to the books he narrates. This one is no exception.

Any additional comments?

Well written book about a unprepared mother and son. Of course most of the other characters in the book are unprepared as well. The signs are all there and as probably will always be true, they are ignored. Fortunately the prepared ones are mostly decent and do help as they can. There are a lot of hard cold facts as well. Facing a total breakdown of the infrastructure, at least locally as well as the extreme cold prove more than most can cope with.
There are a few moments that stretch credulity, but by in large this book is credible, possible and entertaining.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

AWESOME!

Loved it. I wish it didn't have to end. A great story about an ice age in modern times.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great series!

It’s pretty hard to find a series narrated by Kevin Pierce that’s bad. I’m reviewing all three books since I pretty much listened to them all in two days. While the story isn’t alarmingly new it was definitely engaging and worth the credits I spent. I don’t want to give any details because honestly I don’t want to give spoilers.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Scary because it could happen!!

After finally getting to listen to this, I have to say it was well worth that hassle!! What happened was that when I first got this, I downloaded it to my kindle fire. When I clicked on it to listen... it disappeared! It just disappeared! I tried to re-download it but it wouldn't work, so I left it for a week or two and tried again. Thankfully after restarting my fire for the millionth time ;), it downloaded and I was able to listen!!

Anyway, this is the story of a mum and her son living in a remote area. Her husband was dead and she was trying to live life as best she could. When meteorologists warn people that the weather is worsening and there is extreme cold coming, nobody really listens. So when it does hit, Maeve and Ben aren't prepared. She thinks it's only going to last a few days and it will get better, but it's the beginning of the end! With the help of a friend, Maeve and her son struggle to survive in weather that will kill you in minutes.

I loved this book!! It's not so much a prepper book, as it is a book of survival. I know that even with the widely known aspects of prepping and why people do it, 90% of us would be screwed if something like this were to happen! I liked that Maeve is just a normal mom and wasn't an ultra prepared type. It takes her a while to fully grasp what is happening in the world and even then, she struggles with it. This was easy to believe. Bishop, on the other hand is sort of prepared. By that I mean, he wasn't a prepper, he was a man who came back from the war broken, and just wanted to live a life of solitude. He has some food stored away and is really good and knowledgeable about outdoors survival. Again, believable and a character that was easy to like.

The plot was really good and unique in the post apocalyptic genre. The idea that a mini ice age could happen is something we can all believe, especially the way the weather is worsening everywhere. The author did the research needed to make this a believable, entertaining and addicting read. It grabbed me from the very first page and held my attention till the very end. A well written and developed world, great characters and plenty of action, make this a fantastic read. Highly recommend and can't wait to see more from this author and this world!!!

I think I've said everything there is to say about Kevin Pierce and his ability as a narrator. He is the perfect one for stories of this type as he really knows how to tell the story properly. He is easy to listen to and always delivers a great performance.

*I received a free copy of this but voluntarily reviewed it. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.*

6 of 8 people found this review helpful

Surrender does not equal suicide

Although accepting the inevitable 'Maunder Minimum,' the main characters of Surrender the Sun refuse to accept mankind's imminent demise as inevitable. Though dealing with the depravity many survivors exhibited and excused as survival of the most ruthless, Bishop and Mave fought to survive yet maintain their humanity and compassion for other, often weaker, survivors. Unfortunately, many times this presented an ethical dilemma of life-and-death proportions.

Although much of this book held true and typical of doomsday fiction, I was especially intrigued by its empathetic, but not overly sympathetic treatment of main and secondary characters suffering from PTSD due to wartime or from surviving the apocalypse or its more sinister human elements.
Without being overly detailed about preparation or tedious in describing survival tactics, this book concentrates on the human elements-good and evil-and in doing so gave encouragement that moral and physical survival is possible even when surrender to that that cannot be avoided is inevitable.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Good Story Line, Yet...

What did you love best about Surrender the Sun?

I loved the idea of the plot line itself. How would you survive in an emergency such as this? That's what kept me interested in the book itself... as I don't know the answer to that at the moment... and that was a good thing.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The plot line is one interesting aspect of the story, but there was one conflicting issue: the actual air temp.. The main characters kept mentioning that it was getting colder and colder, and yet, it didn't go very much below zero degrees... even in the later chapters. The wind chills would have been bad enough, I grant you, but the impression I had of the lot was that it was supposed to get bad with all the snow and the cold temps.

Lotta snow, and definitely getting colder. But nothing like I'd imagined.

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

No.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I loved being able to read this for free. Thanks audible!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Ice Age Apocalypse

A.R. Shaw has brought a different view to the same old Post-Apocalyptic stories. Maunder Minimum ice age was a refreshing change. The writing quality was excellent as was Kevin Pierce's narration (as you would expect!).

Basically Maeve and her son Ben encounter the beginning of the Maunder Minimum Ice age and at the start are pretty clueless about what is happening. Bishop enters the picture and fulfills his promise to his friend to look out for his family. This is the story of their experiences.

I really enjoyed the story and its refreshing departure from the same-old story lines. The characterization was good and the story drew you in like it should. My only complaint was the way that Maeve never really got the reality of the situation. You would figure that after one really bad close call that she would have learned from her mistake/failure to protect herself and her son. Maybe the author was trying to show Maeve's Normalcy Bias??

I enjoyed the book thoroughly and I look forward to purchasing the next book in the series.


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

"While I was given this book in exchange for a review, I have reviewed the book honestly to the best of my ability. I would never recommend a book to someone else if I would not purchase it myself."

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Worth your time and credit!

Any additional comments?

Great beginning to a series. An entertaining and little bit different take on a post apocalyptic scenario. You never know what the SHTF scenario that changes the world we live in will be.

An interesting, engaging and well written story. When an unexpected event occurs not only do you have to worry about the current event taking place but you also need to think about what the long term consequences will be. Maeve Tildon and her son Ben are not prepared for anything beyond today. Without help they will not survive for long. Fortunately for Maeve and her son there is someone who is looking out for them. Even with help they may not survive.

Really liked Bishops's character from the beginning. Maeve was irritating at first because she seemed so naive, but she grew on me throughout the story. Ben was great from the start.

Originally being from a very cold part of the country in the winter, it's hard to believe that there are people who live in these areas that are not prepared even for just a normal blizzard. But, I know it's true. Having someone who is completely unprepared for this kind of event is very believable and realistic.

This is the first book by A R Shaw I have read. I will definitely be continuing with the rest of the series.

Once again Kevin Pierce does a fantastic job with the narration. He has become one of my go to narrators. Anything that he narrates is just a little more interesting and enjoyable. His narration just pulls you into a story and makes it come to life. Great character voices. Clearly spoken. Nice even pace. Very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Awesome story, great narration,

If you could sum up Surrender the Sun in three words, what would they be?

Honorable, Exciting, Awesome

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite charactor

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

Kevin Pierce is one of the greatest narrator on Audible, I wouldn't have experienced the feeling that he puts into the book.

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

I did listen to this in one sitting. I will continue to listen to this book and follow the series.

Any additional comments?

I absolutely enjoyed this story and the narration. Thank you for the share.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

"Dead man's funny!"

Any additional comments?

When it started to snow at the end of October and they cancelled Halloween, few people were prepared for how bad it would get. Certainly not still grieving widow, Mauve. Her husband, Roger had been killed in the war a year before leaving her alone with a young son, Ben, in an isolated house by the Forrest. fortunately, he had asked an old military friend, now living as a recluse in the woods, to look out for them. And he did.This is their story of survival as a mini ice age envelopes their world, a fight against the cold, lack of provisions and the rapidly escalating civil unrest. And it is a terrifying tale as there is a real sense of both immediacy and possibility, sometimes missing in other apocalyptic books.
The main characters are well drawn by the author and Kevin Pierce's excellent narration really brings them to life as well as his reading being pleasant on the ear. A good pepper's starter book, too, reminding us all that disaster can strike when least expected and at least some basic provision should be made for when it does -even if this only means keeping the larder stocked up with more than just a couple of days food. More could well be hard to come by even in a temporary disaster.
My thanks to the right's holder for gifting me a copy of Surrender the Sun, via Audiobook Boom. It was most enjoyable, well written and certainly worth the listen. I believe there is to be a sequel. If so, I will certainly want to hear it.
Recommended.