This is a very well-written and detailed trans-apocalypse (beginning before the apocalypse and ending after, not having anything to do with early 2020s social movements) series. The writing is good, the characters are at least a little deeper than many prepper novels and there’s nothing completely outlandish about any of the themes.
The narration is solid but unremarkable: it does the job well but that’s about the limit of it. I haven’t read the books so I can’t give a worthy differential opinion on how the narration influences it, but I would guess that it’s a faithful reproduction of the author’s intent.
The first book is excellent and would stand on its own. I don’t think I could say the same for many of the others in the series. It’s a lot of listening (10-12 hours per book, 9 books, so roughly 100 hours, or 2-1/2 weeks of full-time work if you do shift work in America or about 6-5/8 months of full-time work if you’re a French national) so if you’re a stubborn committer like me, be prepared. It’s a good story so I found it worth the investment.
I did not enjoy or complete listening to the last book in the series, it seemed like the author was done with story time and found a soapbox to rant from. There was a fair bit of politics, religion and proselytizing in the series but the last book felt to me like it took a header off the deep end then died at the bottom of the pool. The good news is that you don’t have to listen to it. It doesn’t follow a continuous plot line with the rest of the series.
Audible recently released per-series tracking (in the middle of my listening to this series, incidentally) which makes it super easy to go on immediately to the next book. The time line is generally continuous throughout the series so if you’re invested you’ll be happy for this. Sometimes it feels almost like you’re mid-sentence when a book ends and the next one starts.
Definitely a would-recommend for the full series once through. I am unlikely to listen to this series a second time but don’t regret the first.