Jacqueline Druga’s name is synonymous with post-apocalyptic stories. The best part is that they do not always include zombies. This one doesn’t include and zombies and is just an end of the world style story with natural disasters. Out of all the Druga stories I have listened to, I think this was the weakest one yet. I was full on excited at the start and that slowly faded as the story went on. It isn’t a bad story, but she has written many better ones. I enjoyed listening to it, but kept waiting for her unique spin to show and never really found it.
The entire story is pretty much a road trip to survival. Everyone is looking to get to safety and encounter more and more disasters along the way. Families are separated and new families are made. It follows the some what typical plot of a post-apocalyptic group of people looking for salvation. I still enjoyed the story even though I think it was a bit bland and didn’t really connect with me either with the plot or characters.
I didn’t really care for any of the characters. This contains quite an unlikely group of characters, although I felt that this was more about the story itself and not as much about the characters. Hearing their story of survival was more what was being told versus who each one was. You get some background on them, but nothing that really got me close enough to care about them. As depressing as the story is, I never felt for the characters and was more depressed with the state of the situation versus their specific situation.
I really enjoyed Wherlen’s voice. His cadence and tone were perfect and I enjoyed his change in pitch for characters. The emotion you can feel behind the words is quite powerful. He maintains the tension and really pushes the story forward. I wouldn’t have felt tension in the story without him. His performance will keep you listening.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.