Wolves

By: D. J. Molles

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

From the best-selling author of the Remaining series...

They took everything - killed his wife, enslaved his daughter, destroyed his life. Now he's a man with nothing left to lose...and that's what makes him so dangerous.

Ten years after the collapse, Huxley has built a good life again. He has a loving wife, a farm with fields of golden barley, and a daughter with a strange and wonderful gift. Then the slavers come. Working out in the fields during the attack, Huxley returns too late. His daughter has been taken, and his wife is bleeding out, her last whispered words about a man with a scorpion tattoo on his neck.

Where do the slavers go? Huxley has no idea. He knows only that they head east, and so will he, setting out on foot across the desert of the Wastelands. Eighteen months into his journey, he has no hope of ever seeing his daughter alive. Dying of thirst in the open desert, he doesn't even expect to see another day.

Then a man appears out of the desert and offers Huxley water from his canteen, an unheard of kindness in these savage times. Jay is an odd man, full of violence and guided by his hatred of the slavers, but he helps Huxley survive. And he gives Huxley a new purpose: Nothing can bring back the dead, but the two men can chase down the slavers and make them bleed.

Together Huxley and Jay carve a path of destruction across the remains of a once-great land. The slavers are brutal, but they have no idea what's coming for them. Huxley has found something to live for again: blood and vengeance.

In his most powerful work yet, New York Times best-selling author D. J. Molles delivers a carefully woven novel of violence and redemption, bringing to life a devastating portrait of a man pushed to the edge of his own humanity.

©2015 D. J. Molles (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Brilliant. I do have one criticism.

OK, so after listening to The Remaining series, I consider myself a BIG fan of both DJ Molles and Christian Rummel; I expected A LOT from this book.

As expected, the writing was nothing short of brilliant. DJ Molles is a master of descriptive words and analogies, pushing my imagination to perform in ways I didn't know were possible.

Christian Rummel brings the story to life with many different voices, expertly matched to the individual character's personality. DJ and Christian are an amazing team.

Now, my criticism... DJ takes a long time to reveal the back story of the main character and the main character's overall goal is obscure for most of the book... for that reason, even though there is PLENTY of action, I felt like I didn't know what I was rooting for. Because DJ tells us so little about the main character initially, I had a hard time feeling a connection to him... until much later in the book. By the end of the book, I was absolutely connected to him.

I understand why DJ revealed the details he did at the pace he did, but there were unintended consequences. I still absolutely recommend the book and, now that I'm emotionally invested, I CANNOT WAIT for the next book in the series!

I DRAW THE PICTURES

LOBOS
Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Robert McCammon and many others have left their marks in the genre of the post apocalypse novel. This being 2016 and Molles being a seasoned writer, I was excited to see how D.J. was going to tell the story in a different way. How was he going to leave his mark in this exciting genre? What would he tell us that we have not already heard?
Evidently it was, that even good guys can be bad guys. Well meaning guys will also kill and rape. I understood the message, but did not think it should take 18 hours to say that. This is a novel about some guys heading east to get revenge and killing anybody who gets in the way and their deep dark feelings.

PIECES OF EIGHT
Speaking through clenched teeth, Rummel is the Clint Eastwood of narrators.

Gritty

I've loved Molles' work since his first book, I didn't know what to expect from this new series, and I was very happy with the entire story. This story is far more brutal than his previous stories, and far more philosophical. You'll find yourself in the character's head justifying evil acts, only to regret them later. And then doing it all over again. This is a story about a real person, not someone who is always strong or brave or compassionate, but totally inconsistent--like me and like you. Buckle up!

A dark and heavy novel

This was a rollercoaster for me. In the beginning I was charmed by the descent of a decent man and all the tragedy. Gritty, selfish, and dark characters abound. I like vengeance stories so I was content for a time. The deconstruction of the protagonists humanity and the constant ill-fated luck started wearing on me however. I felt this guy couldn't catch a break.

Near the end I put it down, nearly for good, and was leaning towards 3 stars. I ended up finishing it and it moved me emotionally quite a bit. I was content and thus the final rating from me. That being said, I don't see myself reading this again. The writing and performance are excellent but it was just too dang depressing for me overall. If you want to walk with a broken man through a broken world and see the stuff he goes through then by all means pick this up. I'm going to read a YA novel as a palate cleanser after this.

Surprisingly tedious

I tried very hard to like this, but I couldn't. I saw all the very positive reviews and went for it, only to find it to be one of the most tedious post-apocalyptic stories I have ever consumed. The narrator is incredibly talented, as shown when he does dramatic changes in character voices. But the vast majority of the time, he uses a husky and nearly monotone voice that I found very difficult to want to follow. Second, this is simply a gritty, grim Western that just happens to be set in a post-apocalyptic world. It could just as easily be set in a remote part of the western U.S. in the 1800s, and would make virtually zero difference. (And I don't like Westerns, generally. Sorry, Dad.) Third, the style is very "simple" and flat, which is a bad thing coming from a stunningly amazing trilogy I just finished. Finally, I found it extremely difficult to care about anyone in the story. Even when horrendous things were happening, or some back story on the main character was being provided, instead of being drawn in, I found myself thinking at times that if the author just killed off the main characters and ended it without explanation, I really wouldn't care much. Main character was supposed to be some kind of conflicted anti-hero-ish guy, but I found the character just boring most of the time. I think this is the first audio book in over two decades that I didn't finish.

Should have asked for a refund 10 minute in.

I know. I know, I know, I know! What do I feel? Bored and almost violated. This was brutal to get through. Christian did well but all books narrated by him begin to meld into one. I like other Molles books but this one was so... something... that it was a labor to listen to and get all the way through.

why are there no automatic weapons anymore?

wouldn't you think doomsday preppers in bunkers would have enough auto and semi auto weapons to become warlords? for some reason all guns are handmade in this post apocalypse, which is set only about 10 years after the bombs fell and the USA ceased to exist. People are using cap and ball revolvers, "scatterguns" that are single shot muzzle loaders made of pipe and fire D batteries... But the USA has more guns than people. But virtually none of the pre disaster guns exist any more...

Plodding, with two dimensional characters

I'm a big fan of the post-apocalyptic genre, but this one was unoriginal and poorly crafted. The author expects us to believe that in just a decade fallowing a great calamity that has struck the earth, mankind has already resorted to slavery and have established thriving ecosystems based on it. The protagonist and his companions are completely un-nuanced, and somehow manage to wreak havoc in the slaver society by sheer brute force. The band of misfits, as written, shouldn't have made it past their first encounter, and I should have stopped listening then too.
The narrator also adopted a droning, grating persona for the main character's voice, which, although appropriate for the text, was tiring. He did do a fantastic job on the other characters, though.
I'm a glutton for punishment and hate throwing away my credits, but recommend you give this one a pass.

Almost gave up, should have

Not sure how this got 4 1/2 stars. Boring, not realistic at all, poorly written (these ones was used twice). I almost gave up several times. I really like dystopian themes. This was just a bad western set after some unexplained event. "Sky fire"? Unless the setting was 100 years ago I would have understood the story more (maybe), but it wasn't. The reader couldn't even make it better.

The Unforgiven times 100.

This has gone up to the top 3 favorite books of all time. The narration was fantastic.

The story, the best way to describe the story is this. The last 5 minutes of Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, but over and over. It was an amazing story of revenge, triumph, and inner reflection. I know, sounds goofy, but i loves this book. I'll be listening to it many more times.

Blood n death ...

Where does Wolves rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Stunning, rip roaring death fest... a must listen!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Wolves?

Blood n death Hux... not for the faint hearted. a little hard to get into at first... by the end you are utterly hooked!

Disappointingly bleak and turgid quest story

I've audio read numerous books by this author and found them to be well written, engaging and surprising, full of interesting twists. This book....its just a bleak, blankly written trudge. Numerous times I thought i will just drop it without finishing but trudged on because I was waiting for a crack of brilliance, unexpected because of the long leaden lead up. Nope. just a flat turgid ending. I think the performer Rummel is also to drawn into the bleakness too and delivers an un-characturistically monotone heavy performance. Sadly I would just say 'don't bother'.

A futuristic western…

I have listened to quite a bit by narrator Christian Rummel and he adds to the atmosphere of this production with a great western drawl. You can imagine the dry desert scenes, the Mississippi delta and the misery of a post apocalyptic society reminiscent of the American Civil war.
Looking forward to listening to any follow up.

Wild west meets dystopia

Interesting premise of a post-apocalyptic US reverting to 'wild west' culture. The main storyline is of our reluctant but intrepid hero crossing hundreds of miles of hostile territory to rescue his daughter who's been taken off by slavers. A variety of generally violent encounters ensue from which our main character gets through by the skin of his teeth.

The main issue for me was the interminable length of this saga. This for me also highlighted some of the inconsistencies in the main charecters decisions and actions. Would have benefited from some judicious editing. That said, I did stay with it to the end just to see how it was concluded. Very pleased to have finished it.

Outstanding

A brutal but beautiful, cruel but uplifting novel that portrays humanity in all its guises. A standalone book in a wonderfully described near future world, a story to experience and contemplate well after reading. My only criticism is perhaps its a little long but in saying this I'd love to enjoy a sequel to continue the stories of certain characters. Very recommended

Gripping story! 5 *

loved it! would read another in the series if one was released. The narrator was brilliant too

Brutal and beautiful in equal measure.

loved it I've never come across such a great revenge tale. while it's brutal its also a very telling tale about the ones close to us heartbreaking.

Los lobos

Great old fashioned story telling.
hated having to stop listening and eager to resume... really enjoyed it.

yeah not bad

good yarn bit samey towards the end. great narration tho really brought it to life

Phenomenal

I’ve been a fan on DJ Molles and Christian Rummel for years because of the remaining series. This was spectacular