Something about the description for this book series had me expecting more of a military drama with navy ships out on the ocean or something and, as a result, I ignored the series for a long time. However, the large number of raving reviews had me coming back to it over and over, wondering if maybe it was worth the listen after all. Well, I’m glad I finally took the plunge because the series turned out to be nothing like I expected. While the US military, Coast Guard, FEMA, and various private militarized groups are part of the series, these are in no way the main focus.
There are multiple stories all intertwined here. They are all connected in some way and all part of the bigger picture. That said, this is not one of those books where the scene jumps around from chapter to chapter, from one side story to the next. The author does, however, have a knack for cutting to a different scene just when things are really starting to get juicy in whatever location you are at the moment.
There are many characters that we get to know throughout the series that are very well developed and that I quickly found myself rooting for. They all face challenging circumstances and most manage to come through with their lives, and their humanity, still intact.
My only complaint with the series is that the ending seems a little less believable than the rest of the book. It really did feel like the author kind of rushed to tidy up loose ends and package everything up with a nice bow on top. If he does ever choose to add to the story as he hinted about in the author’s note, I’m not sure where he would really go from here. That said, I’d still be one of the first to read and/or listen to it if he did!
Finally, Kevin Pierce was amazing as always. I can’t imagine a better narrator than the “voice of the apocalypse”!