Close and personal story of the apocalypse

I've read many 'end of the world' books. Some supernatural ends, some aliens, some invasion stories, some nuclear... this book treads many of the well worn paths of those stories, but it takes a somewhat different tact to most of what I have read.

Most stories like this fall into the "end of the world only just happened" or "it happened ages ago and we are just surviving" stories. This is the former, yet other than an opening chapter/prologue that goes into a bit of the events leading up to the attacks that cause the end of the world Horton doesn't really describe the action and events. We don't really see anything at all from the POV of our characters, because none were there. There is speculation and some small news reports talking of the damage but nothing clear. Our characters are not involved in the major events, they are the small people that get caught up in the results of it.

In this was it reminds me most of William R. Forstchen's "One Second After", showing a small town and the events that occur because of the attacks.

The book follows two groups - Jim Powell and some co-workers, trying to get home, and Jim's wife and kids on their farm. The wife and kids part reminds me very much of Forstchen's book and covers very similar grounds - buying up suppliers, dealing with lack of power and fuel, protecting the property. it is enjoyable but nothing I haven't read before.

Jim's story is the more interesting one and in fact works as a nice counterpart of Forstchen's book, in that Forstchen's characters must deal with travelers and an influx into their town and this book is from the POV of one of those travelers and what it is like to be the outsider trying to get in (or through).

As always in these books the world goes to shit, some people are good some turn super selfish and our characters have to deal with it.

The book is a bit of a preppers and gun lovers book, as that is what the main character is. despite being on a work trip he has his prep bag in case something goes wrong and thus has stuff he can use (like night vision goggles and ration packs etc). it also allows for a small 2nd amendment "aren't you all lucky we have guns" rant from one of the characters

There is also attitude throughout the book that everyone who is poor must not want to work and just wants handouts from everyone else. It's not characters espousing it, it's part of the narration and (I guess) a part of Horton's outlook. This reduces 'the poor' in the book to a stereotype and, in my opinion, weakens the book.

Beyond the story the actual writing is a bit all over the place. It switches between 1st person for Jim's story and 3rd person for the rest. yet during Jim's story he tells of things that he cannot possibly know. At one point he talks about some guy who lost a kid when the kid was in the army and recently had a wife die, so therefore doesn't care if he dies as well. the problem is Jim has never spoken to this guy (and never does because he gets himself killed 3 seconds later) so there is no way Jim knows what he knows. Horton accidentally slips into 3rd person omniscience halfway through a 1st person chapter.


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Narration by Kevin Pierce is pretty good. He has a husky "manly" voice that really suits Jim's character. the other characters, and parts where we focus on Jim's family don't fit as well. Pierce differentiates characters well enough, without doing actual individual voices. He puts inflection and feeling into the reading as needed.

Certainly easy and enjoyable to listen to.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com.

81 people found this helpful

Engaging and realistic post-apocalyptic,

My rating 4.25.

A coordinated terrorist attack strikes at the infrastructure of America, taking down bridges and dams and enough of the electrical grid to shut down most of the food delivery and communications systems. Jim Powell and several co-workers are five hundred miles away from home attending a work conference. Jim and his friend, Gary, are preppers who have been expecting trouble and are prepared. The four ladies with them are skeptics and not all cooperative. They do not believe Jim’s explanations of the downward societal spiral that will occur. Still, they all agree to get back in their cars and head for home.

They soon run into difficulties as the government seizes control of all fuel sources leaving them, and many others, stranded. The group are soon surrounded by erupting violence and hard decisions. One woman is killed by panicked gunfire and two others decide to go to a FEMA relocation camp. That leaves Jim, Gary and HHH to continue the long trek towards home.

Meanwhile, the story covers Jim’s family as they face dangers on their home turf. His wife, Ellen, thirteen-year-old son, Pete and eleven-year-old daughter, Ariel, prepare to face the deteriorating society. Jim has left supplies and instructions which the family quickly begins to follow. They life outside of the community but there is a transient trailer park down the road where the tenants soon threaten those they perceive as easy prey. They have no idea the steps a mother will take to protect her family.

This reminds me of the Survivalist Series by A. American that I have listened to. It starts out similarly and is also told, in parts, from first person view of the primary protagonist. Other portions are third person including some bits that are beyond Jim’s knowledge. I liked the addition of the home front point of view and both threads have plenty of action and danger. So far there is no addition of military cohorts but this is just book one.

The story moves quickly and, to me, it is realistic and gives practical aspects for preparing to face an EOTWAWKI (end of the world as we know it) scenario. There is some bad language and of course violence fitting the situation. I suspect I will continue to listen to this although I don’t feel compelled to rush to get the rest in the series just yet. I would recommend this to readers who enjoy the post-apocalyptic genre.

Audio Notes: Kevin Pierce does a good job with narrating. His voice fits Jim and although he doesn’t actually portray individual voices he manages to present the characters distinctly. I did enjoy this in audio format for the ease and engaging listen.

6 people found this helpful

Characters exude basic stereotypes

Overall I like the concept of this book and series. However, the character development in this first book is incredibly lacking. All groups of people that you encounter along the journey are just living and breathing stereotypes. It's ridiculously predictable. And frankly the wife/mom makes no sense at all. Sometimes she is a helpless female but then all of a sudden she steps out of character and is a total bad#ss. I'm very lukewarm about this and unsure if I will try the next book in the series.

5 people found this helpful

Meh

Kevin Pierce brings the story to life masterfully. However, while the story line has a plausible initiating sequence for a post-apocalyptic novel, the author believes that chaos will reign in only a matter of hours. The story has more in common with a B grade action movie script. Maybe that is what the author was trying to achieve.

9 people found this helpful

You Will Want to Get Them All!

Well written story of the collapse that follows a coordinated terrorist attack on America's infrastructure. The tale follows a man trying to get home to his family after the attacks. We get a good glimpse into the preparations he's made for his family. It alternates from his POV trying to get home (and all that he and those with him encounter) to his wife and kids waiting for him to make it back. Slight spoiler...the family back home has a few problems to deal with too. I can't wait to read the next one, because the story continues. We're left with two cliff-hangers.

Kevin Pierce does a splendid job narrating this. His pace, tone, characterizations are all spot on. I sometimes have a tendency for my mind to wander with some narrators, but Pierce's presentation of the prose was so gripping I never lost interest. I would've listened to it straight through if I hadn't had to work. As it was, I got through it in two days. Excellent audiobook all around.

3 people found this helpful

Not buying the second book

What was most disappointing about Franklin Horton’s story?

The premise of an terrorist attack taking out the US electrical and fuel distribution is plausible but not the way the author portrays it. Two motor shells randomly launched a refineries may slow them down for a day but I doubt they could shutdown all fuel production for more than day. Examples being recent refinery explosions and fires. Second the country falls apart in the first 24 hours. Having lived through Sandy with no fuel deliveries and no power I am have a different expectation of the fuel already in the ground and the resourcefulness and charity of my fellow citizens in the early hours of a disaster.

Characters are portrayed as good or evil. When I steal food from the vending machines that feed the family of the hotel manager, the author treats this as my good sense to grab extra food that I might need down the road. Yet when the trailer living scum down the road seek food for their families nothing short of the death penalty is appropriate. The same action is treated as moral and righteous or evil and diabolical based on the type of person doing it.

27 people found this helpful

Outstanding Find!

Where does The Borrowed World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This story has two very good plots, man who is prepared to get home and home that works to survive until he does. No unnecessary character build up, no unnecessary "this is why I feel like I do" fillers, just a good old start to finish survival story that makes sense and kept me interested. Very, very good find, eagerly waiting for the next book!

17 people found this helpful

I only stayed because of the narrator

It started off well enough. Great use of a overused premise, with the downfall of society being somewhat realistic. I really wanted to like it, but there was absolutely nothing redeeming about the characters, especially the main character. Narration is great, however.

2 people found this helpful

I couldn't do it. Couldn't get past ch. 5

I just..I'm sorry I can't. As a storyteller myself I always try to give the benefit of the doubt and be gracious and generous in my critiques, but I just can't with this one.

To be fair, I only got through chapter 5 or so (I think it was) before I had to turn it off to do something better--anything really--with my time. So the story itself, in it's concept, could be a good one. I don't know.

But I couldn't get past the writing and the attitude of the main character (whose point of view the book is written from). But in just those first few chapters alone, it became clear to me that this was a doomsday prepper fantasy. The terrorists finally attack, and the main character, by virtue of being good at prepping for disaster, becomes a hero.

If you're into that, great. I personally am not.

Now, I might have given it a chance, as I have learned to be open minded in my consumption of media and literature, and allow new and even opposing opinions into my brain to rattle around, inform me of the world, and give a wider perspective.

Except once again, the attitude of the main character completely turned me off to the point it wasn't worth my time. As someone who isn't silly enough to be terrified by every brown person with an Arabic name, the fact that the bad guys are all one color and the good guys are very much all another color, I couldn't get past it. As someone who also takes the time to learn my female co-workers names and CALL THEM by their names, I couldn't get past the fact that the writing repeatedly says "John did this, Bob did that, Joe did this, and *the women* did that." Yes, literally. Men were individuals, women were a collective.

Maybe, just maybe, Horton was purposely writing a character who was a walking sphincter with the aim for him to grow into a full-fledged person by the end of the book, but my good faith had already been stretched too thin by that point.

Read at your own risk. Maybe I'm wrong.

2 people found this helpful

This is great book

Franklin storytelling is so vivid it makes me feel as if I'm really there and being from Russell County it just really came alive for me.

5 people found this helpful