The Mad Mick

By: Franklin Horton

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Conor Maguire nearly lost his daughter Barb when she was three years old, injured by the drunk driver that killed his wife. When the justice system failed him, Conor - the son and grandson of IRA bombers - retaliated against the driver in dramatic and gruesome fashion. While an ironclad alibi prevented the police from pinning the murder on Conor, it did not prevent a covert agency within the US government from recruiting the talented young bomber and machinist.

For over 25 years, Conor designed and built custom weapons of death and destruction at his compound in the mountains of Virginia. Then a series of devastating terror attacks brought down the United States. Conor and Barb assumed they were safe in their secure compound. They had food and a water source. They were armed and highly-trained. Then Barb was kidnapped.

The kidnappers, needing slave labor for their farm, didn’t know why Conor was known as "The Mad Mick". They didn’t know the fear and respect his name invoked in the shadowy world of covert operations. They didn’t know that when it came to protecting his family, he was without conscience, without compassion, and without equal.

But they would soon find out.

©2018 Franklin Horton (P)2018 Franklin Horton

Another winner from the dynamic duo

Another winner from the dynamic duo Franklin Horton and Kevin Pierce. The first book in Horton’s new Mad Mick series is another original perspective in post-apocalyptic fiction. As prolific as Horton is, I’m always impressed with his talent for creating unique stories in a genre saturated with derivatives, but he once again proves it’s possible in The Mad Mick.

Book One feels almost like a prequel, as it focuses primarily on character development in preparation for what I anticipate will be a multi-book series. There is certainly enough action to keep it interesting (in fact, most of the book is a chase, as two main characters track the kidnapped third main character), but the action is a slow burn that culminates with the confrontation in the last several chapters. Even without the constant, edge-of-your-seat tension typical of most PA novels, Horton manages to keep the reader’s attention as he reveals the backstories of his characters and lets them unfold. My attention didn’t waver as I listened, and I was surprised when I realized the book was nearing its end, because the hours passed quickly. Of course, Kevin Pierce’s narration was a big factor in maintaining energy and excitement in this character-focused story, and without him, I would not have enjoyed listening as much as I did.

I appreciate Horton’s originality, but I still enjoy the elements of the tried and true PA story (modern conveniences abruptly disappear; people scavenge; gangs and/or government enslave/terrorize; heroes emerge to fight the bad guys and survive in the new world). I suspect (and hope) this series will move in that direction, but I think it will maintain a fresh perspective.

I gave this book 4 stars, because I reserve my 5 star reviews for books that I can’t put down. Because this one is more character development than edge-of-your-seat action, I wasn’t compelled to stay up all night listening to it; however, I think the next volumes in the series will move in that direction. I also gave Kevin Pierce a rare 4 stars (instead of the usual 5), only because his Irish accent was inconsistent and occasionally absent. Since two of the three main characters have Irish accents, this was a little distracting. I would actually give him a 4.5 if I could, because it was not that big of an issue.

I definitely recommend this book for fans of Horton, Pierce, and apocalyptic fiction in general. I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Like you, I rely on the reviews of others when selecting books from Audible, so I always give a frank and honest description in every review I write.

16 people found this helpful

good but feminist elements

Instances of women taking on and beating men in one in one confrontations and some other " girl power" crap... Otherwise, good book.

6 people found this helpful

Mad Mick is fierce!

I loved this character in Grace Under Fire and now I know more of his story. His daughter Barb is another of those strong females that Franklin Horton writes that would make any woman want to be her. I hope to hear more from Conor, Barb and Ragus one day. Thank you Kevin Pierce for another wonderful narration!

5 people found this helpful

Very well done!

I thought that this was very well done. I had heard some good things about Franklin Horton's writing and was in the mood for a post-apocalyptic story so I was thrilled to get the chance to listen to the first book in the Mad Mick series. This was a pretty quick read for me but I think that one of the things that made it feel like such a quick read was the fact that I didn't want to stop listening once I started. I was completely entertained by this story.

This book is set in a place where everyone is on their own after a terrorist attack takes down the United States. Conor and his daughter, Barb, are doing okay and can deal with most situations. That is until Barb is kidnapped by a group that uses women as slave labor among other things. Barb is outnumbered and must think of the other women in the group that were also taken. Barb knows that her dad will come for her and just tries to hold out until then.

I thought that the set up of this book was really well done. It was very clear who the bad guys were in this story but I liked that fact that we are given some background for them so that we can understand their motivation. Conor is a great character and I love the fact that he is willing to work in some grey areas when that is what is necessary. Barb was tough and smart and more than able to handle herself. I also thought that Ragus really stood out to me and I think that his character had the most growth over the course of the story. He was really the hero of the story in so many ways.

This was the first time that I have had the chance to Kevin Pierce's narration but I really enjoyed his work. I think that he did a fantastic job with a wide range of characters and I thought that the dialogue sounded quite natural. This was an exciting story and I thought that his presentation really added to the tone of the book. He has a very pleasant voice that was really easy to listen to for hours at a time.

I would recommend this series to others. I thought that this was an exciting book set in a world where surviving can be a struggle and neighbors can prove to be deadly. I can't wait to read more of Franklin Horton's work!

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author/narrator via Audiobook Boom.

2 people found this helpful

A complete story

It's great to read a complete story in this genre for a change. This story is obviously contrived to maximize the action, but at least it's finished. There were a few points in the story where I thought to myself: "Alright, already. I get the picture. Now let's move on." But there's plenty of action and suspense, albeit a bit unrealistic.

Kevin Pierce delivers his customary solid performance.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

2 people found this helpful

Heroes bad people too

Mad Mick and his family, father, grandfather, daughter, evil people. Culture of Irish murder evil. Stopped listening around the 2 hour to go mark when the murder of an old woman Good Samaritan considered "righteous" when it was EVIL. I am rating this instead of returning for a credit.

1 person found this helpful

I can't wait for the next one!

Wow, what a great start to a series. The book itself was a great story but also laid the foundation for a series with post apocalyptic themes, a rival power, roots in the clandestine services, and the IRA!

3 people found this helpful

Done with this Author

I've listened to most of his books I was a big fan, Not new to audio, have 500 plus audio books similar to this and give most a chance.
But am just sick of attacks on Christianity I won't listen to any like this.
You have lost a fan.

2 people found this helpful

The Mad Mick is awesome!

I first met The Mad Mick in Grace Under Fire, an excellent sequel to Locker 9. Hortons storytelling keeps you on the edge of your seat with great characters painting the picture.

2 people found this helpful

awesome

great book. I can't wait for the next one to come. the borrowed world series was awesome too.

2 people found this helpful

Good story

I enjoyed listening to this book. There was a good amount of action. The actual story didn't seem to progress very much, but maybe it's because the scene is being set for the following books.

Great read

Not the beat performance by voice narrator and not the best by F.Horton. However I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it though I'm not jumping up and down like I usually am after reading something by Horton. Kevin pearce is my top all time favourite narrator but he definitely cant pull of an irish accent and considering the two main characters are Irish you think this would have been addressed with more thought. Apart from not being so good at the irish accent which was a bug bare throughout the story, kevin nailed the rest with his natural sounding voice over giving a real life perception of characters.

The story was full of swings and roundabouts of course which were great and yes had me on the edge if my seat but there was a lack of emotion in the reader (that's me) due to the insincere and lack of depth character mick. if your daughter is missing you assume the worst and would assume she is being raped several times a day by thr animals who have her so standing around making jokes at dead men saying 'can ya gimme some dorectuons' is far from realistic and a real let down, leaving me detached from the character akd let down by the writer. The lack of urgency and panic in Mick added to severe any way of seeing the character as believable. This writer usually makes it all feel so real but in this case he failed I'm afraid. However it was still a good read and I would still recommend it, it's just not up there with Franklain or Kevin's best. Pull your finger out boys!