I was a little skeptical when I started this book. I was familiar with Tom Abrahams, having listened to the first couple of books his “The Traveler” series, and I was worried that the reasons I never finished that series might persist here in “Pilgramage”. I was happy to find this listen a lot more enjoyable.
I liked “The Jarkata Pandemic” and the “Perseid Collapse” series and knowing that Abrahams wrote “Pilgramage” as an off-shoot really peaked my curiosity, I wanted to hear how he might connect this story to the others. It turns out that it was very minor but the connections were there, a couple of key scenes in “Pilgramage” brought me right back to Steven Konkoly’s efforts. With this said though, there were also times I almost felt a sense of deja vu in that there was at least one part of the book that seemed a little TOO similar to one in “The Jarkata Pandemic”, so much so that I had to go back to that book to remind myself that no, it did not take place in James Rockwell’s Maryland neighborhood.
There were some situations that just didn’t cut the credibility meter with me. For example, I don’t believe societal breakdown and lawlessness would begin within only a few hours of a catastrophic event, especially when most people are experiencing only a power outage. Nor do I believe that criminal militia’s would be murdering families at road blocks in the first day. There was a lot of this type of activity that quickly got annoying, but I committed to putting it aside and trying to just enjoy the story.
By the end I was happy with the book and, of course, Kevin Pierce’s narration (though I don’t want to hear his Maine accent again lol). Aside from the annoyances it was a fun story that never felt like a burden to get through and made me think I could try another of Abraham’s works, maybe something in his “Alt-Apocalypse” books (which he promotes at the end of this listen) will be next.
This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.