What Branches Grow

By: T. S. Beier

Narrated by: Natalie Hammond

Top 5 Category Finalist - 2020 Kindle Book Awards
Semi-Finalist - 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (#SPSFC)

A boldly imagined, exhilarating quest through post-apocalyptic America, where human nature is torn between the violent desperation to survive and the desire to forge connection.

Thirty-five years ago, the world was ravaged by war. Delia, a tough-as-nails survivalist, travels North in search of a future. Gennero is tortured by his violent past and devotion to his hometown. Ordered to apprehend Delia, he follows her into the post-apocalyptic landscape. The wasteland is rife with dangers for those seeking to traverse it: homicidal raiders, dictatorial leaders, mutated humans, and increasingly violent and hungry wildlife.

What Branches Grow is an unflinching depiction of life after civilization, where, above all else, trust is the hardest thing to achieve and give. The survivors have an audacious dream of a better life, but their quest may end up being a fruitless endeavour in a world openly hostile to hope.

For fans of Fallout, Mad Max, and The Road. Action and adventure rounded off with a slow-burn romance, dark comedy, and a dog companion.

"What Branches Grow is like Cormac McCarthy on steroids, with a healthy dose of 'Mad Max' thrown in for good measure. Beier navigates her characters through these troubled waters, providing readers with both an adventure and some lingering questions on which to reflect. This is far from your average dystopian novel – it is a humanistic quest into personal morality and the fortitude one can uncover when hope is all that remains, for a startlingly original debut in the genre." (Self-Publishing Review)

Recommended 16+ for brief attempted sexual assault (non-graphic), dogs in peril (non-graphic), general violence, a scene of hate violence toward LGBTQ+ people, and swearing.

©2020 T.S. Beier (P)2022 T.S Beier

Romance novel, female mindset, post-apocalyptic

Excellent narration and it was very well written with good characters and interesting storyline but it seemed to Me to be written from a feminine perspective. For example, it was more focused on romantic relationships and describing the male character's shoulders and physique, multiple times, than getting anything correct about the weapons they were using. There's nothing wrong with that, if that's your thing. I just like my Science fiction with more science and less romance. there were some funny parts and some cute parts that you might not otherwise get in any post-apocalyptic novels so it has some good points but overall I feel this is meant for an audience that's looking for romance after the world has ended.

Excellent story!

I really enjoyed this book. The sorry was great and the narrator did a fantastic job!