Solid traditional no frills zombies... yeah!

I have put off listening to this one for sometime, not for any other reason other than I didn’t like the art work on the cover, and because I have never listened to a book with this narrator. I know I am sad person, but with so many great titles all fighting for my money, and with me being such a stingy scrooge… you get the picture. But, then it became available at a special price. I can never look past a discount. Perhaps, that explains my life, surrounded by broken cheap things!

I know this one has been reviewed a lot, and honestly those reviews are pretty well written. So I wondered why should I even bother writing a review on this one? However, the more I thought about it the more I came to realization that the zombie genre really has delivered some pretty impressive curve balls of late. So perhaps a more recent review with some contrast to some of the newer one’s might help some people make a purchasing decision.

A zombie title without werewolves, vampires (we are all looking at you Mark Tufo), and terrorist attacks, God v Satan battle, artificial intelligence, robots with zombie drivers inside, or even a ninja in a squirrel outfit is really a rarity these days… Yes there really is a zombie book with the main character wears a squirrel outfit. Perhaps in the next one or two books in this series some or even all of these things will appear… but I doubt it. This seems to be your classic run to the mountains, follow the plan type deal. I’m not saying this is bad or good. Just letting you know so you can make informed decision on what you are buying.

Personally I like my zombie titles with a lot of humor, comic style (very adult) comic style violence. I’m not a real fan of those zombie stories, which take themselves too seriously. So titles by Jake Bible are my favorite at the moment.

More recent ‘serious’ zombie titles like the ‘Arisen’ series written by Michael Stephen Fuchs and Glynn James step the modern times and action up a notch or two. But the ‘Arisen’ series suffers by the fact that it is really just one or two books divided into multiple parts in a cash grab type deal… Yes I am back to my stingy nature!

So this title falls right in the middle of these types of zombie genres. Others do the humor better, others do the action better, some even do the story line better. But, and there is always a but! This title does nothing wrong. I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t help but think, ‘that’s a good plan, I think I would do the same’.

I am going to purchase the rest in the series even if it is full price! Yes you heard it here… Just don’t tell anyone as I have a reputation to uphold!

Oh and I almost forget to mention the narration. It is pretty good, easily listened to at 1.25 speed without any problems. And really I wanted to speed it up more so I could hurry up and find out what happened! Only on a couple of occasions did the female narrator struggle to do the voice of some of the male characters. But it certainly didn’t distract me from listening to it. Elisabeth Rodgers is no RC Bray but I would have no problem purchasing a title she narrates in the future!

14 people found this helpful

Perfect! Highly Recommended!

This was a great listen! It's on my top zombie books list along with the likes of Day by Day.

The narration was just wonderful, one of the best I've heard. Real pleasure to listen to her read to me.

Sensible characters handling situations in a sensible way which I could relate to. But I can't figure out why Keri is such a b*tch.

10 people found this helpful

pretty good opening zombie apocylapse book

Any additional comments?

this is the 1st zombie story that i've read or listened to where the main characters have a "zombie plan" in place when the zombie apocylapse happens. so when the dead start eating the living, they already know what to do.

kc and ben have been friends for 6 years; however, they've actually never meet in person. they met on the internet and over time, hashed out a "zombie plan." as the story begins, ben is in college in western pennsylvania. from his dorm window, he witnesses zombies attacking and eating people in the parking lot. in west va, kc is at work and sees something strange- someone shuffling through the hall seemingly carrying someone on their back. upon closer inspection, she sees that one of them is biting and trying to eat the other. kc realizes this is what she and ben have been planning for- the walking dead.

ben reaches kc by phone, and she instructs him that he needs to get to her house asap. ben tells her, he's waiting for his friend, jake, to get to his dorm room before heading her way. jake is a long-time friend of ben's and as such shares ben's and kc's belief of having a "zombie plan." the problem is jake is stuck in the chem lab with a few other students.

the first part of the story revolves around ben's escape from the campus and his journey to kc's house. this part of the story is told from 2 sides- ben's side and kc's side. while ben, jake, and a few other students flee the campus and journey to west va, kc is alone, making preparations and scoping out what's going on in her area. ben and kc are the main characters, but there are other characters. ben's friend, jake, and the other college kids with them- zack, trisha, and michael. kc's best friend, mia, is stuck in her home, and she and kc have a heart-wrenching phone call. i liked the secondary characters, but i found jake annoying.

this brings me to narration. maybe that's why i felt so annoyed with jake's character. he does a lot of yelling, yelling at other people. sorry ladies! i don't really like female narrators b/c they can't do men's voices well. yes, i've listened to bad men narrators whose female characters sounded like they have adam's apples, but i prefer men doing women over women doing men. maybe b/c most of the audiobooks i've listened to have been read by men. see...i'm not sexist! lol anyway, the narrator does do women well.

the second part of the story revolves around the group eking out a living at kc's house. kc's a loner and isn't entirely comfortable around people. so having a bunch of college kids living under her roof is something she has to learn to deal with. the second half of the story is your typical zombie story- once you have a safe house, fortify it, the area around it, and venture into the closest city.

a nice wrench is thrown into this part of the story, and i was kind of shocked by one of the repercussions.

there is zombie action in both parts of the story. in the 2nd part of the story, the author effectively uses the power of a zombie hoard, which is an aspect of the genre i always look for.

overall, the road less traveled is an ok opening zombie story. but i must tell you that i have just finished the 2nd book in this series, and it was excellent. i'm submitting a review of that one too. if you're a fan of zombie series, i would tell you to listen to the 1st book so that you can really enjoy the 2nd book. the 3rd book comes out later this month - 6/25/13. i'm going to listen to it as soon as it comes out. so if you're hesitant to start a new series, please come back later this month for my review of the 3rd book. i'm really looking forward to it! yes, the 2nd book was that much better!

4 people found this helpful

One Woman's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Any additional comments?

This year I have been on a zombie fiction binge and have read just about everything out there in the genre. The good, the bad and the put it back in the grave smelly. Most of it is written from a male perspective with women playing a secondary or pseudo supporting role. By pseudo I mean that women's characters are not very realistic and either just written the same as men, as sexy screaming victims or over the top super-hero like in their abilities.

It has begun to annoy me that there is an absence of realistic women characters & writers in genre. I had recently even polled a group of my lady friends as to what they would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. "The girl with all the gifts" goes a long way with depicting realistic women but in the end... written by a guy.

Enter C Dulaney. Finally, a lady takes a swinging axe at the walking dead! And slams it squarely in the brain. Dulaney does a great job with the characters - both men & women and backs them up with a great story.

The set up is your typical zombie beginnings and survival layout but well written enough and with solid enough characters to keep you fully engaged. There is enough mayhem and gore for the most ardent fan, but with a feminine spin (not softer just feminin-er). You'll find no glittering love bird zombies here.

My only plot complaint is that this particular group of survivors has a ready made zombie apocalypse plan that they put into action as soon as the brains hit the fan. May have been more believable if it had been a disaster survival plan that they quickly adopted. But, its part of the very beginning of the story so its easy to just suspend disbelief on that along with the whole zombie uprising thing in general.

This first edition is action packed, fun, engaging and scary. Well done C Dulaney! Readers - read this one.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable Zombies

I enjoyed this Zombie story, not the best I ever heard. But it falls into the entertaining category and I will continue with the series.

1 person found this helpful

Characters I liked. A fast paced believable, story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. It was enjoyable and interesting, Showed that the best laid plans...ect. I felt the characters were people I'd like to meet, and I cared what happened to them.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Roads Less Traveled: The Plan?

(Spoiler alert) Jakes death hit me hard and I didn't see it coming.

Which character – as performed by Elisabeth Rodgers – was your favorite?

Casey. I can see her clearly in my mind,

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I both laughed and cried...that's the best kind of reaction I think.

Any additional comments?

I just hope the next one isn.t too far away. I want to know what happens next.

3 people found this helpful

What Plan?

There wasn't much of a plan here. Keeping a few guns around and some food was not much of a plan. No detail why she had a Zombie plan in the first place. It seem like everyone gets zombiefied in a short time period with not many survivors. The town of maybe a couple of dozen people mentioned in the book would be initial survivors till an outside attack occurred. The ability of a few college kids to travel great distances without much problems yet the rest of the population succumbs easily to the plague of zombies. The whole scene of the attack on the house was amateurishly written. I have no plan to continue the series. Only a few teenage girls would find this book interesting.

4 people found this helpful

A Great Listen

Any additional comments?

I was worried when the story began with the main character having a "Zombie" Plan which she had been preparing for for years, which seemed ridiculous. Luckily it quickly redeemed itself by not focusing on that, and kicking off the nonstop action. This was the first book I had read that did not bother pondering the why or how of the infection, it just went head long into how the characters react and try to survive. It was a refreshing change and a really good listen.

2 people found this helpful

Character depth in question

I liked this book. I like zombie stories because they usually dig deep into the mind of characters and show me things I want to know.
That being said, the main character in this book has lots of missing pieces I would like to know. How did she get to where she lives... what is her connection with the distant friends. Why would they discuss zombie survival. Where is her feelings on lost love ones before the book starts. What was her life like before the zombies.
It's like you came in 15 minutes after the movie started. From that point on, it worked much better. I liked the interactions of all characters and the story plot.

2 people found this helpful

Good but not original

Where does Roads Less Traveled: The Plan rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a good zombie book. Good story line. Nothing really different than many other zombie books I've listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Roads Less Traveled: The Plan?

When Casey saves the day and singlehandedly rescues her friends from zombie annihilation.

Have you listened to any of Elisabeth Rodgers’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, first time. I liked her voice with it's southern Virginia twang.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I didn't cry although there were a few sad moments. I laughed a few times.

2 people found this helpful