The Becoming

By: Jessica Meigs

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Michaluk Virus is loose.

In the heart of Atlanta, the virus has escaped the CDC, and its effects are widespread and devastating. The virus infects nearly everyone in its path, turning much of the population of the southeastern United States into homicidal cannibals. As society rapidly crumbles under the hordes of infected, three people - Ethan Bennett, a Memphis police officer; Cade Alton, his best friend and former IDF sharpshooter; and Brandt Evans, a lieutenant in the US Marines - band together against the oncoming crush of death and terror sweeping across the world.

As Cade, Brandt, and Ethan hole up in safe houses, others begin to join them in their bid for survival. When the infected attack and they’re forced to flee, one departs to Memphis in search of answers while the others escape south to Biloxi, where they encounter more danger than they bargained for. And in Memphis, the answers that one man finds are the last answers he wanted, answers that herald a horrific possibility that there may be more to this virus than first suspected.

©2011 Jessica Meigs (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

some annoyances but i enjoyed it

Would you recommend The Becoming to your friends? Why or why not?

sure if they're avid zombie fans. if you're new to the zombie genre, there are a lot of other books you should read before this.

Any additional comments?

i've been eating my way through the zombie novels on audible, and i came across this one, the becoming. i was skeptical at 1st b/c of the cover art, but i gave the sample a try. being an avid zombie fan, i decided to download the book b/c of the fast start to the story.

the story starts out with brandt running, hiding, and fighting through the streets of atllanta. apparently, he was part of a marine contingent at the cdc (center for disease control) when a virus went air born and started infecting people. he abandoned his post as soon as he realized the red line was crossed.

the story then breaks to memphis, tn. it's the morning after ethan has been promoted. he's hung over. he manages to join his wife, anna, and best friend, cabe, out back for some grilled food. when ethan asks cabe about her boyfriend, drew, she tells him that he came back from his business trip to atlanta with a cold. later in the day, they get the news that there's rioting in memphis. anna is called into the hospital to help. as night falls, all H-E-Double Hockey Sticks starts to break loose.

the 1st part of the becoming covers the initial outbreak of the michaluk virus. then there is a time skip of about 3 months. this is done pretty well.

the book is paced well. there's zombie action in the beginning, followed by some down time, and then there's more zombie action action that leads to the ending.

while i liked the story, there were parts that were unbelievable. according to my myers briggs personality type, i'm an intp (introversion, intuition, thinking, perception). whle i'm sure i'd be freaking out and half hysterical at 1st, i'd like to think i'd get my s#!t together within 72 hours. at least, that's what i think! lol anyway, i KNOW i wouldn't be screaming, throwing temper tangents, and breaking stuff. ethan and cabe are both hot heads, who at times let their emotions get the better of them. he's been a cop for 20 years, and she was an idf (israeli defense force) soldier for 7 years. so, it is kind of unbelievable when they lose control of their emotions when they're supposed to be keeping it low key, hiding in their safe house. my best friend is very loud. it's even a joke among our friends. i don't think he'd lose it like ethan and cabe do at times.

anyway, that's my major complaint.

the zombie action is pretty good. there is a nice twist on the zombies. they aren't your pure romero type slow, dumb, walkers. since this is the 1st in a series, i hope the author fleshes out why some of the infected are smarter than others. well, i may have just answered my own question. in this story, there are people who are infected but aren't yet zombies- they haven't been killed. maybe the infected but not dead are the smart ones? well, it is a twist that's kind of a mystery, and i'm a sucker for mysteries.

the narrator is ok. be ready for a bunch of southern drawl. i'm from virginia and don't think i have an accent even though my yankee friends think i do. lol i tell them if they want accent, then i can introduce them to some of my friends who're from georgia. lol

overall, it was what i wanted. a pretty good zombie story. yes, there are some problems and annoyances, but i'm not looking to solve any deep conundrums. i wanted to be entertained, and i was. the becoming isn't in my top 15, but it was entertaining enough for me to download book 2.

Hoping For A Good Zombie Series, But...

Just personal preference, I guess, but I thought the book was slow, and I didn't care for the writing style of the author. There were a many things that bugged me as well. During the initial few days after the outbreak, the characters seemed clueless as to what was going on, whereas it seems that a normal person would put two and two together. The book was overweight with hot tempers and angry personalities. Nobody was really likable in the book. After reading, we don't really know what caused the virus, no indication of what the government is doing, no information if it has spread worldwide or how other countries are handling things, or if there is any attempt to counteract the virus. No attempt by the characters to communicate with the rest of the world. Although there were several scenes of action, many times the book just seemed to drag on and on. Being descriptive is one thing, but I felt that at times the author was too descriptive, unnecessarily so, and redundantly at times. After the first time, I got tired of hearing that somebody whispered something "to whatever deity might be listening."

It's difficult to rate a narrator with a book like this, because the writing itself does affect the narration. I think Christian Rummel did a fair job, and is overall a good narrator for this type of book. That being said, something nagged me throughout the whole book, every time Cade spoke via Mr. Rummel. Cade was a female, former Israeli military. Someone even mentioned her Israeli accent in the book. However, the narrator applied a semi-warped British accent when Cade spoke, so every time she was talking, I was thinking, "That's an odd accent for an Israli." To me, since Cade was a major character, that was a pretty big irritation, but other than that, the narrator did a decent job with the material he was given, whether he was speaking for a male or female.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series.

Not Good at all! Not believable, ends mid story!

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

People who are Very Desperate to be friends with the author!

What do you think your next listen will be?

Unsure as ive gone through all quality Zombie genre Novels out there which is why I gambled and Lost on this garbage.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Christian Rummel?

I would say Chris did what he could with what he had! Put a tux on a Pig & it's still a pig! He has to read the rediculous conversations characters have with zOmbies breaking through doors or windows, "so joe What's the plan?? They are almost so maybe it's good that we talk out our entire thought process.! Hmmm you think it may rain? I'm gonna sit down and when you have idea let me know because first zombies are cracking the glass as we speak they are looking right at me,I'm perfectly calm though and they will not get me flustered.. ( punches partner inShoulder kiddingly). This was the type of garbage you find you will hear! No concept of the emotion the characters should be feeling! Any of us would be panicked and freaking out.! Even Chuck Norris couldn't have been as calm and collective through the situation in this book! But these characters are..

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Becoming?

All conversations between characters during zombie attacks or any stressfully moment! The dialog was completely unbelievable.
Ending?? Isn't there something in writing a
Book called.. I dunno, Giving the story a ending??

Any additional comments?

Sorry to be harsh! Author shouldn't give up' I say go listen yourself and picture yourself in that Rv for instance and tell me the dialog is believable!
I also would have given it a ending??

Pretty Run of the Mill

If you're a zombie junkie, you'll probably like this book. If you've never read a zombie book, you'll probably like this book. If you've read a lot of Zombie fiction and you're looking for something with a new twist, this probably isn't it.

Great. Very enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

If you love zombie novels then this is a quick listen. Its pretty fast paced and has interesting characters. I almost wished that there was a tad more interaction with Theo and his brother. Overall I would recommend. If there is a sequel you can sign me up. Now that I know the characters I'm ready to get to more into the story.

Did an 8 year old write this????

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

Absolutely nothing!! I can’t believe audible even bothered having someone read this aloud! Did anyone read this before print?

What was most disappointing about Jessica Meigs’s story?

I don't know where to begin! There were so many times I gasped out loud because of the silliness of it all! I think the biggest example was when one of the main guys drives all the way from Alabama to Tennessee on a motorcycle (no mention of getting gas throughout the whole book) without seeing any zombies. He gets to his neighborhood, and sees some. He doesn't want to alert them to his presence so he quietly puts the kickstand down and that draws their attention. Did I mention HE DROVE ON A MOTORCYLCE??? The entire book was filled with this absurdity.

What didn’t you like about Christian Rummel’s performance?

He has a very nice voice, but does an Israeli and a southern 16 year old girl both have to have a pathetic southern accent? It's hard to judge him when the nonsense coming from his mouth was hard to take

What character would you cut from The Becoming?

The author!

Any additional comments?

I only finished it so I could sum up some of the foolish scenes to my co-worker. I didn't once have to go back to listen to something I may have missed since I just needed the summary.

The worst zombie book I have listened too.i

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know who would waste their time listening to this.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Hopefully a well written zombie book or series.

Would you be willing to try another one of Christian Rummel’s performances?

The narrator was OK. It was the story and the characters that were awful.

What character would you cut from The Becoming?

It was so poorly written.. I mean I think I made bit an hour into the book before I just couldn't take it anymore. I mean the characters are ridiculous. After they see people eating each other they care still talking about it just being riots and looters... They ask each other 5 times do u think this has something to doc with that virus... And the guy answered what virus. I was done...

Any additional comments?

Theses characters are just stupid. Sure looters and riots cause people to start eating each other... Smh what a waste of time!!!

Now I join the chorus

I couldn't stand this book, somehow I made it to chapter 25 before I called it quits. So many others have called out the author for the stupid behavior of her characters, and the stupid conversations they have throughout and I couldn't agree more. It's like just about every page I was struck by the stupid stick. One thing I will mention that I haven't seen in any other reviews, molotov cocktails are made using gasoline, since like forever. Very few types of booze will burn well at all, except maybe 151 proof rum. How much research would it take to get that fact straight? And, another thing, the author never even mentions getting fuel for the different vehicles that are used in the book. And another thing, and another thing, and another thing. Life is too short to waste on a book as stupid as this one.

Started good

Started out good, but I only got about half way through then stopped, I could'nt connect with any of the characters. The narrator was good though.

A good zombie novel

I enjoyed listening to this book. I listed to it in 2014 and enjoyed it even more this time around. There was good interplay between the characters and Christian Rummel brought the characters to life.

Bit Pointless

What did you like best about The Becoming? What did you like least?

I love Zombie, Vampire and end of the world type stories. The book was generally fine but the story just stopped rather than concluded.

What was most disappointing about Jessica Meigs’s story?

The ending I felt is lacked a real finish which made the book a little pointless and lacking in purpose.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

N/A

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Probably as I like this sort of genre of film but I'd wait for DVD.