Hard to believe that a few short years ago, after signing up for a free trial of Audible, I quickly determined that listening to books was a waste of my time as I couldn’t sit still long enough to listen to some stranger read to me. The experience felt awkward and reminded me of early elementary, when we would occasionally take trips to the library and sit “criss cross applesauce”, while we listened to the librarian read us a Dr. Seuss tale. I say listened on only the loosest sense, one of my few memories of those trips included having one of my classmates braid my long, blonde hair and thinking how nice her small but competent hands felt compared to my mom’s strong and unforgiving hands. Fast forward a few years and a renewed love for reading, my dearest of old friends, had returned to me as a pleasant surprise. I now habitually have 3 or more books throughout the house at any given time that I’m currently reading and still I yearned for more. When a random ad for another free trial of Audible arrived, I decided to give it a go and this time I began with a new Stephen King, my all time favorite despite the fact that I’m not a fan of horror. I immediately fell in love with the idea because this time I had a car, along with an android phone and the all important aux cord. Suddenly driving during rush hour to and from work became 2 of my most pleasant hours Monday through Friday. Other drivers no longer gave me road rage and being stalled in traffic that barely crept along didn’t bother me as I was lost in my story. I burned through two Stephen King novels and decided it was time to try some new authors. Thanks to some recommendations, I found myself purchasing R. E. McDermott’s trilogy and soon I was lost in the world of Luke, Captain Hughes, the Kinseys and the Gillespies, not to mention a real smart and talented woman who went by Tex. I delayed going into work at a particularly tense scene and often tried to listen just a little bit longer just before bedtime, because I just had to know what happened next. Isn’t that the very definition of a great book? When the world of the fictional characters become so real to you that you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat, holding your breath or crossing your fingers in the hopes that the good guys prevail? For me, I can’t think of a better way to describe how good these stories are or how very much I enjoyed them. As the hours rolled down, I found myself hoping that the story of my new friends would simply go on and on. Suffice to say that I would gladly give many more stars if possible. Listening to Mr. McDermott’s final notes made me like him all the more and after writing this review, I very much intend to order his other series. If you enjoy a believable apocalyptic tale filled with action, surprises, twists and turns in a fast paced tale, filled with lovable characters that you can easily imagine as folks you actually know and work with or even live with, as well as being uplifting without being schmaltzy, then I highly recommend this trilogy!!