The Beginning of the End

Apocalypse Z, Book 1

By: Manel Loureiro, Pamela Carmell - translator

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

The dead rise…

A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news - it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.

Humanity falls…

A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. But he never expected that his anonymous blog and journal would ultimately record humanity’s last days.

The end of the world has begun…

Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called Safe Havens are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, this survivor will give mankind one last chance against…Apocalypse Z.

©2012 Manel Loureiro (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Wonder cat saves the day... again...

I enjoyed the first half of the book quite a bit: a story about how a well-prepared man faces the development/existence of a zombie horde. Sure, the main character was a bit too prepared for a guy with his background and job, but still, it was believable. And the way information on the initial sickness was shared (or not) felt very realistic. (Oh, I am pretty sure the technical aspects of, say, diving, guns, or solar panels, etc, were creatively interpreted, but I didn't mind, since I don't really care what size bullet goes into what type of gun anyway.)

About halfway through, the story took a little turn from a survivalist story to a "spy-thriller" wannabe. Which might have been okay - if this aspect had been more than a "let's have the main character get caught up in some spy-ops in order to show him facing zombies". This entire thread is sorta wrapped up, but the reader is never given any information as to the point behind these events. Perhaps it is a thread intended to be brought up in the next book in the series, but, as it is here, it is just a huge red herring put into the story for no purpose other than to have an excuse for the main character to meet a sidekick and venture into zombieland.

There were some other weak points that became more noticeable as the story progressed: especially in regards to the main character's cat. Even if you assume that the main character would risk his own life to save that of his cat... why would he take it out of its cage and tie it to a string with the plan that it would walk beside him during a thunderstorm/zombie attack... hey, I can suspend disbelief and accept zombies, and even that silly spy-ops thread, but a) what cat would walk beside you as if it were on a leash and b) what cat would walk beside you in a thunderstorm, leash or not c) and why would anyone think a cat would come to them when they called it (regardless that it is during a thunderstorm/abandoned building/zombie attack)?

The ending left even more to be desired. I think it is intended to set up the next installment of the series, but the way the main character "found" other survivors was just a smidge beyond believable (another installment of wonder-cat adventures here). And I really hope that the "love interest" hinted at in the next book is not the same one hinted at in this one because I am really tired of male authors assuming that 17 year old girls would be as interested in 30 year old men as these men are in teenage girls.

It isn't overly gory, there is no sex, and I don't recall any excessive swearing. The narration is good and I think the translation to English was accurate enough. Overall it is a reasonable/average entry in the zombie genre. I won't, however, be reading the next in the series since the best part of this book was how the virus/information spread, and how the world initially dealt with this spread.

Manel Loureiro Makes You Believe

Any additional comments?

The writing was compelling and the read by Nick Podehl was phenomenal. What terrified me most was the possibility that this was a stand-alone work. Just found out there are two books in the story. While I do not believe in the supernatural, I surely enjoyed believing for the duration of the listen.

Took a Chance and Scored!

I would recommend this audiobook to anyone who likes books in the Apocalypse Genre. Normally I do not care for books that are written in a journal type form and I rarely purchase books that are translated into English. I believe I made this purchase because it was a cheap price and I was trying to load my audible account with books to listen to while traveling. This book surprised me! The hero of the book knows more about legal paperwork than he does about any sort of weaponry. Having lost his wife in a car accident he has become closely attached to his cat, Lucullus. This attachment proves to a be a life saver since he refuses to seek safety in the Safe Havens because pets are not allowed. Most apocalyptic novels focus on the survivor's abilities to be bad asses. Not this one. Our protagonist will slay zombies if the situation warrants it but he is clear about being reluctant. I really could identify with the characters emotions as I too would be most reluctant to deal with these creatures. Toting the cat around adds a nice element to the story. I enjoyed the audio book so much that I just purchased the second book.

An excellent Beginning

If you could sum up The Beginning of the End in three words, what would they be?

Ingenuity wins Out !

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Beginning of the End?

This book is full of memorable moments. I love the cat and that it's written like a journal.

Which scene was your favorite?

When he goes to check on the Neighbor

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is a good story with good characters

Any additional comments?

I will continue to buy books in this series.

The Best of the Bunch

It is by far the best of the trilogy. The idea of the story is great. The beginning of the story is great. I've felt that it slowly fades away the further you go along, though.

Liked the book, worth a credit

A refreshing look at the zombie stories from Spain. It was a bit slow and lots of gory details which got boring after a while. Loved the translation.

Boringly typical

The book manages to go through semi unique events in a regular way which reuses its descriptors repetitively. The world is described in a monotonous way. The journal way of writing is pretty good at creating suspense but I’m uninterested in the characters or outcomes

Interesting take on Zombies

I had never listened to a zombie book based in Europe before this book. This one was very well written. Manel Loureiro's story grabbed me by the ears and did not let go. I found myself holding my breath at times. Nick Podehl did an excellent job as the reader. His varied accents were very good. This is a book I will listen to again. I will also look for other books written by Manel Loureiro.

“Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry”

Well done

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Worth every penny spent. Interesting Eurocentric view on our favorite genre.

What other book might you compare The Beginning of the End to and why?

A little like the Day by Day Armageddon series.

What about Nick Podehl’s performance did you like?

Realistic and dramatic. Believable.

Any additional comments?

A good listen.

I just kept coming back for more!

I'm not usually a huge audiobook person, however, one evening I thought I would try it on an echo I have in my living room. Next thing I knew, I was listening to this book while I was working on College, video games, work projects, grocery shopping and even well after my wife had gone to sleep. This book just kept me coming back for more, I was absolutely glued to it! As the story progressed I just had to know how the story was going to end, what the next move would be for the survivors! All in all, it was a fantastic book and I would absolutely recommend anyone give this book a listen!