Audible Book Review: The Last Tribe by Brad Manuel

I liked this post-apocalyptic which is full of characters and survival rather than guns and gore.

The Last Tribe
By: Brad Manuel
Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 22 hrs and 42 mins
Release date: 06-14-16
Publisher: Podium Audio
Genre: Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Post-Apocalyptic
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
Imagine being alone in the world, one of only a handful to survive a global pandemic. Not only do you struggle to find food, water, and shelter but you also deal with the sadness and losing everyone you know and everything you have.
Fourteen-year-old Greg Dixon is living that nightmare. Attending boarding school outside of Boston, he is separated from his family when a pandemic strikes. His classmates and teachers are dead, rotting in a dormitory-turned-morgue steps from his room. The nights are getting colder, and his food has run out. The last message from his father is to get away from the city and to meet at his grandparents' town in remote New Hampshire. Knowing the impending New England winter could be the final nail in his coffin, Greg packs what little food he can find and sets off on his 100-mile walk north with the unwavering belief that his family is alive and will join him.
As the fast-moving and deadly disease strips away family and friends, Greg's father, John, is trapped in South Carolina. Roadblocks, a panic-stricken population, and winter make it impossible for him to get to his son. John and his three brothers appear to be immune, but they are scattered across a locked-down United States, forced to wait for the end of humanity before travelling to the mountains of New Hampshire.
Spring arrives, and the Dixons make their way north to find young Greg. They meet others along the way, slowly forming the last tribe of humanity from the few people still alive in the Northeast.
©2015 Brad Manuel (P)2016 Podium Publishing.

Review:
A fast-moving global pandemic has eliminated most of the people within two months. There is no clear reason why certain people survive and others do not. Surprisingly in this world, four Dixon brothers seem to be immune. Even more surprising, one of their wives survived too. The four brothers are spread across the Eastern United States from South Carolina to Ohio. John, Todd, Paul, and Hank agree to meet in the spring at their childhood home in Hanover, New Hampshire.

John is in Charleston, with two of his sons who survived. His fourteen-year-old son, Greg, is away at boarding school in Massachusetts. In their last phone call John told Greg to get to Hanover to wait for the rest of the Dixon men. After all of the others at his school appear to be dead, Greg sets out alone on his journey north. Along the way he is stunned to stumble upon another living person. Thirteen-year-old Rebecca is a young genius who is determined to survive.

Paul and Hank live in Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, respectively. They react differently when their wives and children die leaving them alone. They have to decide how to travel north and whether they should travel before winter.

Todd lives in Raleigh and is relived that his wife, Emily, and two young sons, have survived. Emily is determined to continue to educate their boys even as they travel to meet the rest of the family. They have a surprising visit to the Governor’s house before they proceed on their journey, adding some interesting companions along the way.

John and his sons have the furthest distance to travel. Young adult, Matt is prepared to help his father as soon as they can get control of young Craig who is suffering grief and anxious to get to Greg. When they get Craig focused on fishing, he can add his skills to their survival.

A handful of other survivors are discovered along the various journeys. There is a fine dilemma between finding others to rebuild society and finding others who are safe to trust. This is a totally character driven post apocalyptic story. Rebecca, the child genius, and extreme organizer, is a fascinating character. The other characters are well developed I was engaged by the character interactions which kept the story interesting. Although there is no heavy action, I enjoyed all of the survival observations and techniques.  I recommend this to post-apocalyptic survival fans who would enjoy character strengths as a change of pace.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick is a talented narrator. He delivers clear voices and appropriate emotion. I enjoyed the audio entertainment.

Source: 05/17/2020 Audible Credit pick. This qualifies for 2023TBR, 2023Audiobook, and 2023Alphabet goal.

Audible Book Review: You're Next by Gregg Hurwitz

This is a gripping suspense thriller.
You're Next
By: Gregg Hurwitz
Narrator: Scott Brick

Duration: 14 hrs and 1 min
Release date: 07-05-11
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Crime thriller, Suspense
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
Mike Wingate had a rough childhood  —  he was abandoned at a playground at four years old and raised in foster care. No one ever came to claim him, and he has only a few, fragmented memories of his parents. Now, as an adult, Mike is finally living the life he had always wanted  —  he’s happily married to Annabel, the woman of his dreams; they have a precocious eight-year-old daughter, Kat; and his construction company is about to finish a “green” housing development that will secure a solid future for them all. Then the unimaginable happens: Something from Mike’s own past, a past he doesn’t even remember, comes back to visit terror upon him and his family. Menacing characters show up and begin threatening Mike, and when he reports them, the police seem more interested in Mike’s murky past than in investigating or protecting his young family. Now, with Mike, his wife, and their daughter suddenly under attack from all sides, Mike must turn to Shep, a truly dangerous man  —  and Mike’s only true friend  —  from their childhood days together in foster care. Together, the two of them will do whatever it takes to protect Mike’s family against the hidden men behind the terrifying warning “You’re Next!”
©2011 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Review:
Mike Wingate has had life-long issues from being abandoned by his father at age four and thinking terrible things happened to his mother. He struggled through foster care barely staying out of jail until his teen years when he helped a friend. He learned an important lesson and went on to shape his own future. Now Mike is a family man with a wife and eight-year-old daughter he feels blessed to have. He is a successful entrepreneur who just completed a ‘green’ subdivision. Except he discovered a problem days before he and the governor were to receive a reward before all the news sources. Shortly after his face appears on newspapers around the states, Mike becomes a target. He doesn’t know why, but he is fighting to save himself and his family. When the police authorities focus on him instead of his attacker, Mike calls the only man he can trust- his childhood friend, Shep.

Mike, Shep and his family are on the run from the sadistic killers who seem to have the upper hand. Mike must find a way to change from prey to hunter. He gets help from another friend, Hank, a PI who has been trying for years to locate Mike’s parents. It would help if they could figure out who or why the killers are so intent on taking out Mike…and his family.

The story starts a little slowly but soon gripped me so I was anxious to know that Mike would survive and save his wife and daughter. The author has chapters to reveal the sick brutality of the killers, but it isn’t made clear who hired them as it is just their boss/big man on the phone. I really like the author’s twist of plot that is revealed with the reason for the vendetta. Even then, the superior powers that be pose a huge risk to Mike and his family that keeps the reader/listener on edge until the end.

This is the second book (Orphan X) I have listened to by Hurwitz and it sure won’t be the last. He delivers a thrilling ride that holds my attention. I recommend this book and author to fans of mystery thrillers.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick has a distinct narration skill. I think his voice and energy work really well for this mystery thriller. He carries the characters, male, female, creepy killers and the beleaguered protagonist. The audio added to my engagement with the book and I will look to listen to more by this author and narrator.

Source: Audible 8/31/2017 sale $4.95. This qualifies for 2020TBR, 2020Audiobook and 2020Alphabet ("X") goals.

Audible Book Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is a fun, ironic sci fi, horror(?), short listen.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Narrated by: Scott Brick

Published March 16th 2007
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Genre: Classic, Horror, Sci Fi
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.

Publisher's Summary
F. Scott Fitzgerald makes antebellum Baltimore his setting for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a fantastical tale with some Poe-like overtones about a baby born at age 70 who then lives life in reverse, his hair turning "in the dozen years of his life from white to iron-gray, the network of wrinkles on his face becoming less pronounced". What ramifications that creates for Benjamin's relationship with his father first and then later with his wife and his own son makes for some fantastical situations.
Public Domain (P) 2007 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Review:
Benjamin Button was born as a fully grown 70-year-old man. Neither the doctors nor his parents could understand this bizarre event. Initially the public found this man-child abhorrent but soon the scandal faded. Benjamin himself didn’t understand why his parents wanted him to play with a rattle or why they placed him in a school setting to play with paper and paste.

As the years go by, Benjamin gets younger. When he was age 18 (but appeared in his 50s), he entered military service and became a successful leader. He continued to grow younger and began to mix more comfortably with the younger, social community. Although still young in age, Benjamin met a beautiful young woman who viewed him as an interesting, debonair older man. Theirs was a lovely romance except that she grew older as he continued to grow younger … and younger.

This is an old classic first published in 1922 and was made into a movie in 2008. I don’t recall that I ever read this years ago nor saw the movie although I was familiar with the theme. I am surprised that it is listed as ‘romance’ as to me that was a minimal aspect. Overall this struck me as a bizarre and almost horrific tale. I viewed it as sci fi and horror mix and recommend this to readers of those genres, rather than romance.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick is a skilled narrator and did a good job with the story and the emotions. The story is engaging, and the audio made it an easy read/listen.

Source: 2009 I think this was free at Audible. This qualifies for 2020TBR and 2020Audiobook goals.

Audible Book Review: Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

This is a remarkably entertaining suspense with good twists.

Orphan X
By: Gregg Hurwitz
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Series: Evan Smoak, Book 1

Series: Evan Smoak, Book 1
Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-19-16
Language: English
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Crime Thriller, Suspense
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.5; Narration 4.5.

Publisher's Summary
The Nowhere Man is a legendary figure spoken about only in whispers. It's said that when he's reached by the truly desperate and deserving, the Nowhere Man can and will do anything to protect and save them.
But he's no legend.
Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He's also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as part of the off-the-books black box Orphan program, designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence assets - i.e. assassins. He was Orphan X. Evan broke with the program, using everything he learned to disappear.
Now, however, someone is on his tail. Someone with similar skills and training. Someone who knows Orphan X. Someone who is getting closer and closer. And will exploit Evan's weakness - his work as The Nowhere Man - to find him and eliminate him.
Grabbing the listener from the beginning, Orphan X is a masterful thriller, the first in Gregg Hurwitz's electrifying new series featuring Evan Smoak.
©2016 Gregg Hurwitz (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Review:
Evan Smoak was chosen as an orphaned child to become Orphan X. He was raised and trained in an off-the-books Orphan program creating assassins. Unlike most of the Orphans, Evan’s handler wanted to help keep him ‘human’. When events cut Evan off from the program, he chose to become The Nowhere Man. When a truly needy and deserving person calls, Evan responds to help the innocents of the world.

Evan has recently completed one of his good deed rescues and expects a gap before the next call. But a call comes in sooner than he expects. Although he queries the caller he cannot help wondering if this is legitimate. When he meets her and barely dodges a sniper bullet his suspicions increase. But he has rules he tries to follow and one of the most important is to protect the innocents.

Evan has to live a pretty solitary life to protect his secrets. Yet he finds himself being drawn in by others in his apartment building determining that he must step in to help them, even while he is paranoid about hiding his own identity.

A cat and mouse chase ensues as another assassin team has targeted Evan and is threatening innocent people to get him into the open. Suddenly Evan is facing other assassins who are trained as well as he is, including the legendary Orphan O. But even Orphan O has a handler and Evan has to discover who wants him dead, assuming he can stay alive to find out.

I was quickly drawn in by the detailed behaviors of Evan and enjoyed learning more about his history that is shared through flashbacks. He is not just a cold-blooded killer but has a complex and sometimes conflicting morality. There is plenty of action and interesting set up of the safe houses and protective measures needed to keep an assassins cover protected. I enjoyed this thriller and will be picking up more of the series. I recommend this to readers who enjoy good assassin suspense.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick is a good choice for suspense narration. He manages to convey mystery while clearly presenting the complex character of the assassin. The narration helped me to enjoy this suspense.

Source: February 2017 $4.95 Sale purchase at Audible. This qualifies for 2019TBR and 2019Audiobook goals. I may have to use this for my "X" alphabet title this year.

Audible Book Review: Lullaby by Jonathan Maberry

This is what I consider a true horror story.
Lullaby
By: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Scott Brick


Length: 37 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-04-18
Language: English
Publisher: Audible Original
Categories: Fiction, Horror, Short Story
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 5.0.

About This Audible Original
The fears and horrors of being a new parent take on a shocking dimension in in this heart-stopping original story, only from Audible. A young married couple, Matt and Gillian have just bought a gorgeous house located next to a lake in the Catskills. They want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city to raise their baby girl, Hope, in relative peace and quiet. When night falls, however, their dream home becomes a house of nightmares. Matt and Gillian soon learn that darkness takes many forms. And sometimes, darkness is hungry.
New York Times best-selling author and Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry delivers a haunting Audible Original that will give listeners the Halloween creeps all year round. Scott Brick, the man with the golden voice, perfectly captures the experience of hearing a classic ghost story told around the campfire.
This product features adult language and themes.
©2018 Jonathan Maberry (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC.

Review:
Matt and Gillian plan to raise their coming baby away from the rat race of the city. They buy a gorgeous home in the Catskills even though they know the house has a dark history. All seems good until one night Gillian wakes up startled and thinks she sees something strange on the baby monitor. She and Matt try to convince themselves everything is fine even as they install more security systems. Events escalate and they have to rush the baby to the hospital. Tension grows and horror follows.

This is what I consider true horror. The writing is direct, clear and appropriately dark. I liked the dark tone but admit that (like another reviewer) I questioned the behavior of the parents. I can’t imagine taking my infant back into that house after the crises that occurred. I still enjoyed the quick “fright night” story and recommend it to those who enjoy a short horror tale.

Audio Notes: Scott Brick does a perfect job of narration for this work. He carries the tone wonderfully making it a ‘fun’ listen -- especially for a free listen.

Source: 10/29/2018 Free Audible Original. This qualifies for 2019TBR and 2019Audiobook goals.