Audible Book Review: A History of the Future: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 3 James Howard Kunstler

This is a day to day survival and character driven dystopia.

A History of the Future: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 3
By: James Howard Kunstler
Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Series: World Made By Hand, Book 3
Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
Release date: 08-05-14
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Genre: Dystopian, Metaphysical Fiction, Post Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
A History of the Future is the third thrilling novel in Kunstler's World Made by Hand series, an exploration of family and morality as played out in the small town of Union Grove.
Following the catastrophes of the 21st century - the pandemics, the environmental disaster, the end of oil, the ensuing chaos - people are doing whatever they can to get by and pursuing a simpler and sometimes happier existence. In little Union Grove in upstate New York, the townspeople are preparing for Christmas. Without the consumerist shopping frenzy that dogged the holidays of the previous age, the season has become a time to focus on family and loved ones. It is a stormy Christmas Eve when Robert Earle's son Daniel arrives back from his two years of sojourning throughout what is left of the United States. He collapses from exhaustion and illness, but as he recovers, he tells the story of the break-up of the nation into three uneasy independent regions and his journey into the dark heart of the new Foxfire Republic centered in Tennessee and led by the female evangelical despot Loving Morrow. In the background, Union Grove has been shocked by the Christmas Eve double murder by a young mother of her husband and infant son. Town magistrate Stephen Bullock is in a hanging mood.
A History of the Future is attention-grabbing and provocative but also lyrical, tender, and comic - a vision of a future of America that is becoming more and more convincing, and perhaps even desirable, with each passing day.
©2014 James Kunstler (P)2014 Blackstone Audio

Review:
This is the third book in the series. It tells the day to day struggles of various members of the community of Union Grove in upstate New York. The people are preparing for Christmas although it may be bleak. There will be choirs to remind the townspeople of the true meaning of Christmas even if there won’t be many gifts.

The story focuses on the usual primary characters which include key townspeople, like the mayor, Robert Earle, the head pastor of the New Faith Covenant Brotherhood Church of Jesus, Brother Jobe, and the community wealth baron, Stephen Bullock. There are some new characters as well -- a family involved in murder, and the most important, Robert’s wandering son, Daniel. Daniel and another young man left two years before to find out what happened to the rest of the United States.

Daniel’s story of his travels, betrayals and adventures are shared in several chapters as the other events continue in town. Daniel is able to fill in details of other regions of the states, including a purported “federal’ group in the Midwest, and two battling factions in the South. Daniel’s involvements seem a bit far-fetched but the events allows the author to offer different society scenarios and adds interest to the more mundane nature of the story.

The author has the ability to build entertainment around everyday event and observances. This series isn’t particularly exciting like many of the post-apocalyptic, dystopian stories I read, but it has its own engaging appeal. There continues to be some mild sexual scenes, pleasant and unpleasant. There are also moments of societal tensions as the community leaders tussle on how they will address social issues such as abuse, mental illness and murder.

I hope to listen to book 4 soon as it has the word “Spring” for my season challenge. I also want to see how the characters go forward and how Mr. Kunstler wraps up the community. I recommend this to fans of survival dystopia.

Audio Notes: Jim Meskimen’s narration adds to the story. He provides unique voices that helps the reader/listener feel like they are in the community. I am glad that I have this series from Audible.

Source: 12/21/2020 Audible Plus Catalog. This qualifies for 2021TBR and 2021Audiobook goals.

World Made By Hand: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 1 by James Howard Kunstler
The Witch of Hebron: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 2 by James Howard Kunstler

Audible Book Review: The Witch of Hebron: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 2 by James Howard Kunstler

This EOTWAWKI is a bit raw but intriguing.

The Witch of Hebron: A World Made by Hand Novel, Book 2
By: James Howard Kunstler
Narrated by: Jim Meskimen

Series: World Made By Hand, Book 2
Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
Release date: 09-07-10
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Genre: Metaphysical Fiction, Post Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
In the sequel to his best-selling World Made by Hand, James Howard Kunstler expands on his vision of a post-oil society with a new novel about an America in which the electricity has flickered off, the Internet is a distant memory, and the government is little more than a rumor.
In the tiny hamlet of Union Grove, New York, travel is horse-drawn and farming is back at the center of life. But it’s no pastoral haven. Wars are fought over dwindling resources and illness is a constant presence. Bandits roam the countryside, preying on the weak, and a sinister cult threatens to shatter Union Grove’s fragile stability. Here is a novel that seamlessly weaves hot-button issues like the decline of oil and the perils of climate change into a compelling narrative of violence, religious hysteria, innocence lost, and love found—a cautionary tale with an optimistic heart.
Already a renowned social commentator and a best-selling novelist and nonfiction writer, Kunstler has recently attained even greater prominence in the global conversation about energy and the environment. In the last two years he has been the focus of a long profile in the New Yorker, the subject of a full-page essay in the New York Times Book Review, and his wildly popular blog and podcast have made him a sought-after speaker who gives dozens of lectures and scores of media interviews each year.
©2010 James Howard Kunstler (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Review:
This post-apocalyptic series is not an action packed EOTWAWKI but instead is character and drama driven. This second book expands on describing the world where the survivors are living in without power and trying to relearn skills that existed before electricity, cars, tractors, medical facilities and more. There are local rivalries that are just tense, and there are bandits and killers who are frightening.

A big portion of this story is centered on Jasper, the Doctor’s 11-year-old son. When Jasper’s puppy gets killed accidentally, Jasper is desolated. He allows his anger to push him into an act of revenge, after which he runs away to find a new life elsewhere. Jasper meets a mix of people on his adventure. He offers to help nurse a man in pain and then is cheated when he asks for food. He is then forced to become an unwilling protégé of a deranged psychopath. Along the way he finds kindness from a young girl a couple of years older and finally he helps and is helped by a self-titled witch.

The witch plays an important role interacting in separate encounters with a handful of men from Union Grove. These men include Jasper’s father and the man who is seeking to confront Jasper over his act of revenge. The ‘witch’ is a curious mix of hostess, herbalist, dream hacker and female companion.

Kunstler provides some background to the fall of society and to the history of the local religious group. He writes with strong detail and presents a world of natural and complex emotions. The events occur near Halloween and there is some dark rawness in the stark evil described. This is offset by some beauty through the author’s storytelling. I am interested in listening to the next book, The Harrows of Spring.

Audio Notes: Jim Meskimen does a very good job with the narration. He shares appropriate voices and energy for the characters. He delivers with a calm undertone until he needs to portray the manic nature of a particular character. I enjoyed the audio version which added to the entertainment value for me.

Source: 12/21/2020 Audible Plus Catalog. This qualifies for 2021TBR and 2021Audiobook goals.

#NetGalley Book Review: The Time Collector by Gwendolyn Womack

This has a great blend of history and mystery.

The Time Collector
by Gwendolyn Womack

File Size: 4010 KB
Print Length: 332 pages
Publisher: Picador (April 16, 2019)
ASIN: B07H25HM63
Genre: Metaphysical Fiction, Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

A thrilling page-turner from Gwendolyn Womack, the USA Today bestselling author of The Fortune Teller
Travel through time with the touch of a hand.
Roan West was born with an extraordinary gift: he can perceive the past of any object he touches. A highly skilled psychometrist, he uses his talents to find and sell valuable antiques, but his quiet life in New Orleans is about to change. Stuart, a fellow pyschometrist and Roan’s close friend, has used his own abilities to unearth several out-of-place-artifacts or “ooparts”—like a ring that once belonged to the seventeenth-century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes, but was found buried in prehistoric bedrock.
The relics challenge recorded history, but soon after the discovery, Stuart disappears, making him one of several psychometrists who have recently died or vanished without a trace. When Roan comes across a viral video of a young woman who has discovered a priceless pocket watch just by “sensing” it, he knows he has to warn her—but will Melicent Tilpin listen? And can Roan find Stuart before it’s too late?
The quest for answers will lead Roan and Melicent around the world—before it brings them closer to each other and a startling truth—in the latest romantic thriller from Gwendolyn Womack, the bestselling, PRISM Award-winning author of The Memory Painter and The Fortune Teller.

Review:
Roan West has an unusual, if difficult, gift. When he touches an object, he sees the history of its origins in vivid detail. Sometimes this is an experience of joy but other times it is a horror. Those with the abilities of Psychometry are rare and the skill levels vary. One man, Stuart, has become close friends with Roan and he has repeatedly invited Roan to join their small group of psychometrist archeologists. Stuart is excited about finding objects that are out of place and time. Stuart called Roan for an important meeting but failed to show up. Roan becomes concerned when he learns that two of the psychometrist group have recently died and Stuart has gone missing.

Melicent is a young woman who for years suppressed the strange sensations she feels when she touches objects. When her mother dies from illness, Melicent is desperate to find funds to secure the future for herself and her teen-aged brother. She picks up a Tiffany lamp and a priceless watch at antique shops. She takes them to an Auction Roadshow and finds out they have surprising value. Inadvertently, in an interview that goes viral, she mentions that she ‘senses with her hands’.

Roan’s assistant sends him Melicent’s interview. Worried that she may be a target due to her newly revealed psychometrist skills, Roan flies in to meet her. Events end up pulling Melicent into Roan’s world and investigations. Their search takes them to London, France and other locations. They combine their skills to find a pattern in the material that Stuart was gathering on his computer. Roan then sets off to Mexico but Melicent realizes he may be walking into a trap. Can she get to him in time?

I really enjoyed the uniqueness of the psychometry issues. There are wonderful, historical stories shared including a meeting between Mozart and violinist Regina Strinasacchi. The stories may be fictionalized but they added lovely depth. I enjoyed Melicent and Roan’s reserved characters and the romance that blossoms between them. The suspense kept me reading till the end. I recommend this to readers who enjoy historical detail and mystery suspense.

Source: NetGalley 2019. This qualifies for my 2019NetGalley goal.