Audible Book Review: This Fallen World by Christopher Woods

I liked the action in these stories.

This Fallen World
By: Christopher Woods
Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Series: The Fallen World, Book 1
Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
Release date: 04-23-19
Publisher: Podium Audio
Genre: Adventure, Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
The world has Fallen, but life goes on....
Matthew Kade was a corporate assassin - one of the best agents Obsidian Corporation had. But then the bombs began falling, and the old world ended. Now he must navigate the new world he finds himself in, a world where the strongest survive, and the weaker do their bidding...or die.
Kade was always one of the strongest, though, so when a rich man’s daughter goes missing, he turns to Kade to find her and bring her back. But she has already been gone three days, and in the Fallen World, that is an eternity in which any number of things could have happened to her.
Can Kade - a man with a price on his head - pick up the trail of the young woman and navigate the streets of the city to find her, or will the city’s denizens be the end of him? It will take all of Kade’s abilities to find her and save her life...if he doesn’t lose his first.
This Fallen World includes three novellas in an exciting new universe by best-selling author Christopher Woods. You’ll want to get it - right now!
©2018 Blood Moon Press (P)2019 Podium Publishing.

Review:
This book consists of three short stories. The first was This Fallen World. The second is Broken City and the third is Seeds. The Fallen World is the bigger story.

A nuclear holocaust between warring corporations has resulted in decimating the United States. Few cities and countryside communities have survived. Slowly the survivors have established very rough societies who have a hierarchy with trading for life needs such as water, food (the Farmers), protection (the Society of the Sword), and even electric power (the Dynamo). The society groups are broken into blocks known as Zones some led by good, fair leaders, and others by vicious Warlords. Travel between Zones can be tricky.

In the Old World, Matthew Kade was a corporate assassin for one of the high corporations, the Obsidian Corporation. Now he serves as a tracker, retriever – a warrior of quiet renown. Kade has made enemies and has a price on his head due to prior events. But he also has made friends among prior clients, being trustworthy, and by being kind to people on the street. These friends can help him survive in the streets and as he passes from Zone to Zone.

A wealthy man hires Kade to find and return his daughter who was on a Caravan through Zones but has been missing for three days. Kade has a connection to Teresa, a leader of the Society of the Sword, which is a group set on removing the worst of the bad guys. Teresa has sent a tank of a man, William Poe, to watch Kade’s back. Kade and Poe will face random gangs as well as Zone armies to accomplish his mission. Kade is quick to say "Expect the worst and you won't be disappointed."

Broken City finds Kade called in to solve a mystery of murders taking place among the Mardins. This is a society group who live under the city in the maintenance tunnels, where they provide water and sewer systems to the groups above in exchange for being left alone. When someone violates the agreement by entering their tunnels and killing members, the Society of the Swords in called upon and Kade is assigned to solve the problem. Again, he has assistance, and they face mutant killers. There is also a furtherance of the relationship between Kade and Teresa.

Finally, in Seeds, we learn about Zebadiah Pratt and struggles of the Farmers as they begin to form shortly after ‘the fall’. Pratt was in the military in the Old World and came home alive but damaged. This story fills in some of the history of how the world became ‘this fallen world’. There were interesting additions in this story, including a fat, lazy pony. Also, this one gets a bit more brutal than the first two stories.

I enjoyed the character development and the full-on action in these stories. There was a bit of repetition especially for the phrase of “in this Fallen World.” Initially it is clever, cute, but it gets to be overdone. I am glad to have received this through Audible Plus and I have another book in this series which I look forward to reading (listening) to. I recommend this to fans of dystopian, post-apocalyptic novels that are filled with fighting action.

Audio Notes: Mark Boyett is a skilled narrator, delivering distinct voices and apt energy to the stories. I am drawn in by his narration and I really was pleased to get to listen to this story.

Source: 11/5 Audible Plus Catalog. This qualifies for 2022Audiobook goal.

Audible Book Review: Last Stand: The Complete Box Set by William Weber

This four book box set presents a solid Post-Apocalyptic survival and military story.
Last Stand: The Complete Box Set
By: William Weber
Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Series: Last Stand (Weber), Book 1-4
Length: 24 hrs and 50 mins
Release date: 09-20-17
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Dystopia, Military, Post-Apocalyptic, War
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
Last Stand: Surviving America's Collapse: John Mack, a prepper and former soldier, struggles to save his family and community after an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) takes out the country's electrical grid. With most electronics, communications, and transportation destroyed in a matter of seconds, the nation quickly collapses into anarchy.
For John and the other residents of Willow Creek Drive, the breakdown of social order throws them back to the 1800s. As the community tries to come together, a powerful outside force appears that threatens their survival. Will John's years of military and prepping experience be enough to keep them safe?
Mixing tons of useful prepping tips into an action-packed story, Last Stand: Surviving America's Collapse is a must-listen for any fans of survival fiction.
Last Stand: Patriots: Three months after the EMP cripples the United States, John Mack and his family find their peaceful new existence shattered when a tyrant seizes control of the nearby town of Oneida. Soon John encounters a group of patriots who've sworn to stand against the growing despotism. But John will learn that nothing in this new post-EMP America is what it seems - and that the deadliest threats are often the ones you didn't see coming.
Last Stand: Warlords: Tormented by a past he can't forget, John Mack is about to face the toughest fight of his life. The tiny town of Oneida, Tennessee, stands in the crosshairs of Russian and Chinese armies threatening to push across the Mississippi river. With the United States fragmented and on the brink of military collapse, John will need to dig deeper than ever to defend his loved ones from enemies both foreign and domestic.
Last Stand: Turning the Tide: Foreign armies are poised along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains preparing for the final assault and America's inevitable defeat. For John, turning back the tide will mean going deep behind enemy lines and organizing the very insurgency he fought so hard against in Iraq. But more than that, it'll mean coming to terms with the brutality of war and the realization that sometimes the deepest scars are the ones that can't be seen.
©2017 William Weber (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Last Stand: Surviving America's Collapse: John Mack is a retired soldier. His experience has made him cautious enough to be a ‘prepper’, planning for a day of disaster. He has set up a bunker with supplies at home and has arranged a safe location to take his family when things get too rough at home. When the power goes down after an EMP strike, making computers, phones, and modern vehicles obsolete, John and his family hesitate to leave their home. Instead, John steps up to lead his neighbors at Willow Creek Drive, to gather to try to survive the immediate danger. Unfortunately, an outside mass of evil comes to take their supplies. John may be able to provide weapons and lead the community in a battle but at what cost?

Last Stand: Patriots: John and a group of survivors from Willow Creek are working to survive on the outskirts of a larger town, Oneida, Tennessee. John and his scouts are concerned that the nearby town has been taken over by enemies posing as US government who ask the people to turn in their arms on the pretext of safety. John has no choice but to take action when his wife and daughter are kidnapped by the enemy. In the process of gaining more information, a group of dedicated patriots align with John to expose the treachery and save the town… at least from the immediate enemy. They soon learn that the US is battling Russian and Chinese forces threatening along the Mississippi River.

Last Stand: Warlords: The town of Oneida is a point for supply movement and the Chinese don’t want to give it up. Most towns have allowed the enemy to infiltrate and take over from within. John and his patriots in Oneida are one of the few American strong holds, which brings them to the attention of a struggling US military. John is brought back into military service and tasked to take volunteers and conscripted men to the front line while also continuing to protect the town. The task isn’t easy especially when it is clear there is a mole in their midst. John’s job becomes more stressful when his 16 year old son and another young teen run off to fight at the front of the line.

Last Stand: Turning the Tide: John fought insurgents in Iraq. Although his memories are difficult, he has learned military strategies that he thinks will help in the extreme situation the US military finds itself in. John is bucking heads with a superior officer who is threatened by John’s successful plans. Fortunately, some of the higher leadership is willing to listen to John’s strategic suggestions. John and a small team reach out to other communities to set up pockets of resistance. Slowly John and the military begin to experience wins that give them hope.

I did enjoy this series and I think it was good that I listened to all four books during a couple of weeks rather than over months (or years). I mostly liked the main character, John, although he was a bit too much of being right. I didn’t think his flashbacks to Iraq added that much to the story as the impact of his past military service could be added in a quicker way. I do think the family, neighbors, and later, team warriors, added to the action of the story. There was good prepper information mixed in well with the military. The series is entertaining, and I would recommend it to fans of post-apocalyptic stories with military elements.

Audio Notes: Kevin Stillwell does a good job with the narration. He provided distinct character voices and did well with the foreign accents. The narration made this an easier listen.

Source: 11/3/17 Audible Purchase for $1.95. This qualifies for 2022TBR and 2022Audiobook goals.

Audible Book Review: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

This pulled my emotions back and forth!

Scythe
By: Neal Shusterman
Narrator: Greg Tremblay

Series: Arc of a Scythe, Book 1
Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 03-14-17
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Studios
Genre: Death, Dystopia, Teen & YA
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.75.

Publisher's Summary
Two teens must learn the "art of killing" in this Printz Honor-winning book, the first in a chilling new series from Neal Shusterman, author of the New York Times best-selling Unwind Dystology series.
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: Humanity has conquered all those things and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life - and they are commanded to do so in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe - a role that neither wants. These teens must master the "art" of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.
Scythe is the first novel of a thrilling new series by National Book Award-winning author Neal Shusterman in which Citra and Rowan learn that a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.
©2016 Neal Shusterman (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Review:
Citra and Rowan live in a world where there is no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery and no death. People can become deadish but are able to be revived and restored. The Scythes are an honored group who “glean” or kill people to maintain population control. They have a set of rules they are to follow and they are the only group outside of the control of the Thunderhead which is the AI that controls all other aspects of the society.

Citra and Rowan are teens from different family situations. Citra lives with caring parents and a younger brother. She is a strong student who likes to always do well even though there is little reason for creativity and innovation. Her full family is on tenterhooks when a Scythe appears at their door although it turns out he isn’t there to glean any of them.

Rowan is a middle child from a large family. He is a loyal friend who has always managed to get by without being of interest or notice. One morning is in the wrong place when a Scythe comes to his high school to glean another student. Rowan chooses to stay with the luckless boy, not realizing that the other students will hold him responsible.

A few months later Citra and Rowan are invited to become apprentices to Scythe Faraday. Both young people are appalled but intrigued. They can say “no” but there are advantages to saying “yes”. Thus they reluctantly begin their training in all methods of delivering death: weapons, poisons, physical combat. They must also learn the basis for choosing those to glean and the compassion to deal with the deaths.

Citra and Rowan attend the first of three annual Scythe conventions and discover that not all Scythes are like their mentor. In fact, there appears to be a growing rebellious faction that is setting Scythe protocols on edge. Some members object to Faraday taking two apprentices. This faction ends up setting Citra and Rowan in competition with a terrible consequence. This event triggers other terrible events that split the team forcing Rowan to a new mentor where he will suffer and struggle.

How will Citra and Rowan fare under their new training? What will happen when the final convention and choosing arrives?

I was quickly pulled into the uniqueness of this story. It is dark and difficult reading at times but I found it worth sticking to the end. I liked how chapters were separated and introduced by journal entries from different Scythes. These fill in some history, personal feelings and ethical dilemmas that are faced by the Scythes. I enjoyed the developmental growth of the teens and there are Scythes to admire and some to truly dislike. There is intrigue, violence and even light humor. The story ends but leaves issues for the next book which I am eager to pick up. I recommend this to fans of dystopian.

Audio Notes: Greg Tremblay does an excellent job with the narration. He provides distinct voices and fitting personalities. I totally enjoyed the audio and plan to listen to the next books in the series.

Source: 1/27/18 Audible Sale $3.95. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019Audiobook and #SciFiMonth November 2019 goals.

Book Review: Terminal Regression by Mallory Hill

The author has created an interesting dystopian world but I found the young protagonist difficult to relate to.
Terminal Regression
by Mallory Hill

File Size: 1085 KB
Print Length: 237 pages
Publisher: Fiction Studio Books (January 17, 2017)
ASIN: B01MSWNXOI
Genre: Dystopia
My Rating 3.75 of 5.0

WINNER OF THE SECOND ANNUAL AUTHORS FIRST NOVEL CONTEST
Laura Baily's life is meaningless. In a world where purpose and passion are everything, Laura feels as though she has no place and no business even existing. Her life is forfeit, and it would be better for everyone if she simply ended it, if she simply got a ticket for a train to oblivion and faded from memory.
But what awaits her at the end of the line isn't death but Terminal B – a community of people more like her than she considered possible, including the beautiful, tormented Will Noble. Though Laura still thinks little of her own life, the lives of others begin to fascinate her as never before. And when those lives become imperiled, Laura discovers the last thing she ever expected to find on her way out of the world: a mission and a reason to live.
Compelling on both a human and global scale, TERMINAL REGRESSION is a novel of rare power and humanity. It is the story of a tomorrow that teeters on the edge of utopia and dystopia and a resigned outsider who might just change it forever.

Review:
Laura feels she has failed at everything in her life. She doesn’t have a place in a world where everyone finds their niche and happily goes about their chosen work.

Laura’s parents were both talented artists but her father was sent away when she was a child. She watched as he boarded the Terminal B train, understanding that he was being sent to his death. She couldn’t understand why and her life has been a struggle ever since. Her free-spirited mother is active in the artist community and continues to push Laura to use her art even though Laura is sure her efforts are pathetic. Laura has made the rounds of the different communities, hoping to find a place where she can find a purpose; where she can fit in. Finally, she decides she will just get a ticket for Terminal B but she will let her mother think she was sent.

On the Terminal B ride, Laura runs into Will who was the most popular and friendly boy in fifth grade. Laura is surprised he even remembers her and more surprised that he should be on the train. They arrive at the end of the line to discover they are not dead… although they might wish they were.

Laura is sent to a farm and Will to a factory plant. Laura later learns that Will’s ticket wasn’t voluntary. He was accused of violent behavior and now must work in a place that treats the workers as expendable. Laura takes on the task of keeping Will alive and sane. Will is upbeat and optimistic to balance out Laura’s dark, moody pessimism. He needs her help but she needs him to provide her a purpose.

Laura believes that she must get word back to her mother and the city dwellers of the true nature of Terminal B, especially if Will is to survive. Some of Laura’s new co-workers help her plan a clandestine escape. Before Laura and Will can get back to the city she will face another huge surprise. If they can manage to escape, life will change for everyone.

I had to push to get through this because of Laura’s negative, defeatist attitude. The character’s statement at 42% in, “Happiness was a foreign concept”, is a totally foreign concept to me. That theme of failure and unhappiness permeates the book and is repeated, ad nauseam, even at 92%.

Will at least gives a breath of hope. The author has created an interesting dystopia world where perception is not always real. I found the young protagonist difficult to relate to and I think I might have enjoyed it more with less teenage angst and self-centeredness. I did like the twist and suspense late in the book. I recommend this to readers who like dystopia and can deal with the defeatist tone.

I received this through NetGalley. It qualifies for 2017 NetGalley Challenge and “T” for NG in Alphabet Challenge.

Book Review: The Heatstroke Line: A Cli-Fi Novel by Edward L Rubin

This presents a climate message wrapped in an engaging story.

The Heatstroke Line: A Cli-Fi Novel
by Edward L Rubin

File Size: 667 KB
Print Length: 229 pages
Publisher: Sunbury Press, Inc. (September 28, 2015)
ASIN: B015XZBTX8
Genre: Cli-Fi, Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci Fi
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Nothing has been done to prevent climate change, and the United States has spun into decline. Storm surges have made coastal cities uninhabitable, blistering heat waves afflict the interior and, in the South (below the Heatstroke Line), life is barely possible. Under the stress of these events and an ensuing civil war, the nation has broken up into three smaller successor states and tens of tiny principalities. When the flesh-eating bugs that inhabit the South show up in one of the successor states, Daniel Danten is assigned to venture below the Heatstroke Line and investigate the source of the invasion. The bizarre and brutal people he encounters, and the disasters that they trigger, reveal the real horror climate change has inflicted on America.

Review:
Dan is an entomologist, conducting studies, writing articles and teaching at one of the Mountain America Universities. He has a wife, two teenagers, one intense and one edgy, and his youngest son, a 10-year-old, has fallen ill over the past year.

America suffered a second civil war and, while states were battling among themselves, an attack was made on Canada. Canada retaliated with strong force eventually putting down any attempts to invade its boundaries. America is now a divided country with three main governments: Mountain America, UFA (I never found what that stood for) and Pacifica. There are numerous independent southern states, known as the Confederate States, and areas that are not particularly habitable.

Life in Mountain America isn’t extravagant, but it is certainly better than life in one of the several Confederate States below the “Heatstroke Line”. Climate change has caused temperatures in the southern states to become a deadly 120+ degrees during summer months. Adding to their discomfort, the Southerners are plagued by “biter bugs”, a beetle that shreds skin and is very hard to kill.

Dan is called in to assist a team investigating an outbreak of biter bugs in East Montana where they shouldn’t be. After a failed visit to UFA, part of the team is asked to make a trip below the Heatstroke Line. Dan has been planning to obtain a new grant to study ways to control the biter bugs and although cautious, he is honored and excited to go on the governmental mission.

Dan’s intentions may be good but the people he meets quickly make the trip a nightmare, torturing one of Dan’s friends and kidnapping Dan. Dan is and forced to do research for a lab in Birmingham City. After several weeks, Dan is moved from a cell to live with a local family. The father is a member of the Unity Party which wants to unify the states again, but wants things done with strict American traditions. Dan discovers that the oldest daughter, 21-year-old Deborah, is a reader and a thinker. They share discussions about books and philosophical matters while Dan secretly plots an escape.

The story is engaging but I felt it bounced about a bit. Several of the characters, like Dan and Deborah, are well developed and have an integral part in the philosophical arguments the author presents to the readers. I appreciated that the author is making a statement about the need to be concerned about climate issue as well as making a statement provoking thoughts about whether men will ultimately compete to the point of self-destruction or help each other to achieve success together. There was a wonderful story within the story (written by Deborah) that added a somewhat parallel allegory.

Matters had to come to a head but it didn’t occur until the last 10 percent of the book. Then it seemed rushed and, while some items were tidily wrapped up, there were loose ends that left questions for me. This is an interesting blend of serious thoughts wrapped into writing that reminded me of weaker zombie stories.

I am reviewing this as part of a Pump Up My Book Blog Tour.

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About the Author:

Edward Rubin is University Professor of Law and Political Science at Vanderbilt University. He specializes in administrative law, constitutional law and legal theory. He is the author of Soul, Self and Society: The New Morality and the Modern State (Oxford, 2015); Beyond Camelot: Rethinking Politics and Law for the Modern State (Princeton, 2005) and two books with Malcolm Feeley, Federalism: Political Identity and Tragic Compromise (Michigan, 2011) and Judicial Policy Making and the Modern State: How the Courts Reformed America's Prisons (Cambridge, 1998). In addition, he is the author of two casebooks, The Regulatory State (with Lisa Bressman and Kevin Stack) (2nd ed., 2013); The Payments System (with Robert Cooter) (West, 1990), three edited volumes (one forthcoming) and The Heatstroke Line (Sunbury, 2015) a science fiction novel about the fate of the United States if climate change is not brought under control. Professor Rubin joined Vanderbilt Law School as Dean and the first John Wade–Kent Syverud Professor of Law in July 2005, serving a four-year term that ended in June 2009. Previously, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1998 to 2005, and at the Berkeley School of Law from 1982 to 1998, where he served as an associate dean. Professor Rubin has been chair of the Association of American Law Schools' sections on Administrative Law and Socioeconomics and of its Committee on the Curriculum. He has served as a consultant to the People's Republic of China on administrative law and to the Russian Federation on payments law. He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton and his law degree from Yale.

He has published four books, three edited volumes, two casebooks, and more than one hundred articles about various aspects of law and political theory. The Heatstroke Line is his first novel.

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