The Tilian Effect

The Pandemic Sequence, Book 2

By: Tom Calen

Narrated by: Scott Aiello

Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Solace. Shelter. Safety.

For the survivors of the Tilian Virus, they thought their escape would lead them to a new beginning. But the effects of the virus reach far beyond simply infection. A trusted member of the survivors hides a horrible past.

While in the wastelands of America, a new threat grows. The bonds of friendship strain and shatter. And the Tils become more deadly than ever.

The virus was just the beginning. Now the world must face the Tilian Effect.

©2012 Tom Calen (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Major Improvement

What made the experience of listening to The Tilian Effect the most enjoyable?

This 2nd book is way better than the first book was but you must listen to the first book in order to understand where this book picks up the story. Definitely more cohesive and easier to navigate

What other book might you compare The Tilian Effect to and why?

I'm a zombie junkies and this series is a good tale

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

He hits the accents well.

slow beginning but good ending

Any additional comments?

the story opens w/ a secretive meeting b/ween 2 unknown members of our group of survivors and a mystery man saying they can continue w/ the "ira" project.

we find out a year has passed since the survivors were rescued in miami and taken to new cuba. whereas the 1st book is mostly told from mike's perspective, book 2 is mostly told from paul's and michele's perspectives. we learn mike has withdrawn from the group. he's suffering from a terrible case of survivor's guilt, and the vibrancy of life on the island only makes his nightmares worse b/c of how much he believes he's lost.

paul has become the leader of a search and rescue (snr) team b/c of his integral role in helping the survivors survive on the mainland. in that year, he and his snr team have found some survivors from the smaller islands. general reid has tasked paul with searching one last island chain, the turks and caicos, before heading back to the u.s. mainland to look for survivors. in one of the resort hotels, paul comes face to face with dr. morena's fear- the tills are evolving in an unexpecting way.

michele has become the deputy asst to agriculture counselor. when the new cuban gov't learned about her ability to successfully manage the survivor's food supply on the mountain, they recruited her to help manage new cuba's food supplies. even though she and andrew are living together, she spends most of her down time in the library reading. reading is her way of coping with all that has been lost. one night, she wakes up in the library to whispering. still half asleep, she hears about the "ira" project, which leads her into a sprawling gov't conspiracy.

the 1st third of the book is kind of slow. it details life in new cuba and the roles the group of survivors play. but the story starts to pick up pace as michele searches for the truth in guantanamo bay and as paul and the snr team search the u.s. mainland for survivors. both find more than they expected.

after the 1st book, i came to like mike, and i was bummed that he was absent from the beginning of this story; however, the reasons for his absence are believable. i was glad that he was eventually roused out of his self-imposed isolation by the needs of his friends.

a lot happens in the second half of the story, and again, i wish the author would have slowed down at some points and flesh out what's going on. parts of the new cuba storyline are kind of predictable, but there are a couple of unforseen plot twists on the u.s. mainland that i liked.

overall, an ok 2nd book. the 2nd half of the story makes up for the slow start.

Love the story

can't wait to hear what happens next. The twists and turns keep me guessing. Scott Aiello narration is great. and on to the next