I’ve read scores of post-apocalyptic fiction over the past few decades, and in my humble opinion, some of the stories in this genre are more believable than others. It’s not so much the hardware that causes the breakdown for me – it’s the personalities of the heroes (and assorted good guys) and villains (and assorted bad guys). Subtle traits and actions are more believable to me than extremes. The bad guys don’t have to kick puppies and abuse kids to let the reader know they’re the bad guys.
This story is not subtle at all. Both the good guys and bad guys exhibit extreme behaviors towards their particular alignment. That’s why I consider this prepper “porn” rather than prepper “fiction.” It’s about as believable to me as the pizza delivery girl and her 2 sorority sisters stopping by to… not delivery pizza.
Having said that, 30 hours for 1 credit is a great deal! I admit I listened to this entire audiobook, as background while doing other tasks (for example, cutting grass and road trips). While somewhat outlandish to me, it was still entertaining and worth the credit.
The only two skilled, competent and mature characters were the teenage daughter and the unfortunately named “Brandon.” In fact, if you want to make this audiobook more enjoyable, do a shot every time they say “let’s go Brandon” (though not while driving).
I know Kevin Pierce is a really popular narrator on Audible, but I have to admit I’m really not a huge fan. To be honest, I try to avoid his stories when I can – though unfortunately I enjoy genre and he narrates A LOT of the stories on Audible. It’s nothing personal – in fact, everything I read about him make him sound like a great guy. I personally struggle with what I perceive as his seemingly random “Captain Kirk” pauses. It’s like he’s trying to pause for emphasis, but sometimes the word getting the air quotes makes no sense to me. For me, Kevin is great for background noise, but I generally avoid him for stories that require a little more attention for immersion.
With all that said, I rated the book 4 stars because once again, it’s a great value for the money. If you want a more-believable story in which you can immerse yourself, I’d recommend taking a pass. But if you want “prepper porn” to pass the time, this is a great choice.