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  • Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London

  • By: Frank Tayell
  • Narrated by: Tim Bruce
  • Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (559 ratings)
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Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London cover art

Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London

By: Frank Tayell
Narrated by: Tim Bruce
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Summary

The outbreak began in New York. Soon it had spread to the rest of the world. People were attacked and infected, and they died. Then they came back. Nowhere is safe from the undead.

As anarchy and civil war took grip across the globe, Britain was quarantined. The press was nationalized. Martial law, curfews, and rationing were implemented. It wasn't enough. An evacuation was planned.

Bill Wright broke his leg on the day of the outbreak. Unable to join the evacuation, he watched from his window as the streets filled with refugees, he watched as the streets emptied once more. He watched as they filled up again, this time with the undead.

He is trapped. He is alone. He is running out of food and water. He knows that to reach the safety of the enclaves, he will have to venture out into the wasteland that once was England. On that journey he will ultimately discover the horrific truth about the outbreak, a decades-old conspiracy, and his unwitting part in it.

This is the first volume of his journal.

©2013 Frank Tayell (P)2015 Frank Tayell

What listeners say about Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

London, Zombies and the start of great series

This is not for everyone, if you need to have your zombie apocalypse books list every make of gun and ammunition each time a shot is fired, or you need to have a lead character who's been preparing for the end of the world all their life and happens to have a bunker in their garden then move on. If you fancy a book that shows the end of the world from the perspective of a normal guy in a flat in London and how he copes with the end of the world and what to do next. It is faced paced and you will finish it in no time as it was hard to put down until the end!

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It's different...

First off this isn't your normal Zombie Appocolipse/end of world novel. It's the diary of a normal man with a broken leg just trying to survive. It's not full of gore or daring do just day to day survival which I guess most of us would be doing if the ZA became a reality.

Yes it can be a bit slow in parts but I think this just adds to the story and allows the back drop of the emergency measures put in place by the powers that be to develope.

There's not a lot of people Involved and to be fair not a lot of zombie action but this doesn't detract from the story in anyway in fact it makes the novel seem more 'real' or at least what my idea of a ZA would be like in the first few days.

On a side note while I listened to this I was actually immobile due to foot trauma and found myself being much more sympathetic to Bill.

It's worth a credit and I will probably get part 2 in the future.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

tedious

the protagonist is a whinging, pathetic, helpless rich boy. the first part of the book is him in his flat moaning about property values, not being able to make a cup of tea and complaining about the inconvenience of the zombie apocalypse. the narrator sounds like hes going to burst ino tears.

i really tried to stick with this book but im not a fan of weak incapable people, so i gave up after about 3hrs.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

At last -- a zombie apocalypse without guns

This is the only contemporary apocalyptic story that can compete with the BBC's The Survivors, written by Matt Fitton, et al. Like Survivors, this story deals with ordinary folks caught up in devastating events. There is a certain amount of violence, some of it gratuitous, but the story is predominantly about the narrator's battle to overcome his injuries, confusion, and sense of loss.

I'm pleased to say that few guns are mentioned. There is no machismo: the hero, if that's the right world, spends the first half of the book cowering in his house, wondering when he's going to be rescued. Like The Walking Dead, in this story it's fairly clear that the zombies, grim as they are, are not really the greatest threat to survivors -- other people are.

Another reviewer mentioned Day of the Triffids, and there is a certain similarity, to be fair. As a plot device, there's not a huge difference between zombies and predatory vegetation. I guess if you liked Triffids (and weren't just forced to read it at school) you'll like this as well. A better comparison, I think, is Mattheson' s I Am Legend. Both books describe well the tedium and loneliness of day-to-day survival as the last (possibly) person alive.

If you like your apocalypses to be dominated by gun-toting, right-wing sociopaths, as portrayed in the appalling After It Happened series, you probably won't get on with this book. You have to care what real people think.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

British Zombie Book

I have read the book and now listened to the audio book and both are fantastic. Highly recommend

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Oh dear

I'm a fan of dystopian books but this one failed to set my world alight.
The rather clichéd 'missed the end of the world due to hospitalisation' is present here. As per the precedent set by John Wyndham in his classic Day of The Triffids. In fact if one were to map it out, this is virtually just an modernised version of it.
The poor story is rescued somewhat by good narration.
Do yourself a favour and get Day of The Triffids. Yes it's quaint but it's better than this poor attempt at rewriting it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

so boring

What would have made Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London better?

There is no way this story could be made better, unless the author scrapped it and started again. I kept waiting for it to get started, then waiting, waiting, waiting... I listened to over half of it and gave up.

Has Surviving the Evacuation, Book 1: London put you off other books in this genre?

I think I was spoilt after listening to 'The undead' by RR Haywood. Nothing compares to that series, so I havent been put off by this genre. I just need to keep searching!

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator have the most awful voice. Think of the guy that sang 'Monster Mash' and you'll get the idea.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Scary and brilliant!

I loved this story. It is read with such feeling that I didn't want to stop.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Apocalypse and Crumpets

🧡 There is a very specific venn diagram of listener that will enjoy this audiobook, namely zombie apocalypse fans and the British/fans of British sensibilities. I am both.

💚 Listen to this for the glib, circumspect, charmingly understated zombie apocalypse as experienced by main character Bill. There’s some parliamentary politics thrown in for good measure too. Bill, a political consultant, is about as ill-equipped as one can be for the end of the world, especially given his broken leg. But oh he does try.

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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Tim Bruce is so very likeable in this. He has a plummy voice, a sense of self-deprecation and great comic timing that really brings Bill to life. I found this a very laid back listen, with some tense moments.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

I found this book boring. I love a walking dead novel but the main character in this is bland and wimpy and not at all what I expect from this type of novel.

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1 person found this helpful