Wolves

Brilliant. I do have one criticism.

OK, so after listening to The Remaining series, I consider myself a BIG fan of both DJ Molles and Christian Rummel; I expected A LOT from this book.

As expected, the writing was nothing short of brilliant. DJ Molles is a master of descriptive words and analogies, pushing my imagination to perform in ways I didn't know were possible.

Christian Rummel brings the story to life with many different voices, expertly matched to the individual character's personality. DJ and Christian are an amazing team.

Now, my criticism... DJ takes a long time to reveal the back story of the main character and the main character's overall goal is obscure for most of the book... for that reason, even though there is PLENTY of action, I felt like I didn't know what I was rooting for. Because DJ tells us so little about the main character initially, I had a hard time feeling a connection to him... until much later in the book. By the end of the book, I was absolutely connected to him.

I understand why DJ revealed the details he did at the pace he did, but there were unintended consequences. I still absolutely recommend the book and, now that I'm emotionally invested, I CANNOT WAIT for the next book in the series!

52 of 56 people found this review helpful

Surprisingly tedious

I tried very hard to like this, but I couldn't. I saw all the very positive reviews and went for it, only to find it to be one of the most tedious post-apocalyptic stories I have ever consumed. The narrator is incredibly talented, as shown when he does dramatic changes in character voices. But the vast majority of the time, he uses a husky and nearly monotone voice that I found very difficult to want to follow. Second, this is simply a gritty, grim Western that just happens to be set in a post-apocalyptic world. It could just as easily be set in a remote part of the western U.S. in the 1800s, and would make virtually zero difference. (And I don't like Westerns, generally. Sorry, Dad.) Third, the style is very "simple" and flat, which is a bad thing coming from a stunningly amazing trilogy I just finished. Finally, I found it extremely difficult to care about anyone in the story. Even when horrendous things were happening, or some back story on the main character was being provided, instead of being drawn in, I found myself thinking at times that if the author just killed off the main characters and ended it without explanation, I really wouldn't care much. Main character was supposed to be some kind of conflicted anti-hero-ish guy, but I found the character just boring most of the time. I think this is the first audio book in over two decades that I didn't finish.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Gritty

I've loved Molles' work since his first book, I didn't know what to expect from this new series, and I was very happy with the entire story. This story is far more brutal than his previous stories, and far more philosophical. You'll find yourself in the character's head justifying evil acts, only to regret them later. And then doing it all over again. This is a story about a real person, not someone who is always strong or brave or compassionate, but totally inconsistent--like me and like you. Buckle up!

21 of 24 people found this review helpful

Bleak and pointless

For a little while, i thought this story would grow and become something. Didn't happen. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

I DRAW THE PICTURES

LOBOS
Stephen King, Cormac McCarthy, Robert McCammon and many others have left their marks in the genre of the post apocalypse novel. This being 2016 and Molles being a seasoned writer, I was excited to see how D.J. was going to tell the story in a different way. How was he going to leave his mark in this exciting genre? What would he tell us that we have not already heard?
Evidently it was, that even good guys can be bad guys. Well meaning guys will also kill and rape. I understood the message, but did not think it should take 18 hours to say that. This is a novel about some guys heading east to get revenge and killing anybody who gets in the way and their deep dark feelings.

PIECES OF EIGHT
Speaking through clenched teeth, Rummel is the Clint Eastwood of narrators.

49 of 63 people found this review helpful

A dark and heavy novel

This was a rollercoaster for me. In the beginning I was charmed by the descent of a decent man and all the tragedy. Gritty, selfish, and dark characters abound. I like vengeance stories so I was content for a time. The deconstruction of the protagonists humanity and the constant ill-fated luck started wearing on me however. I felt this guy couldn't catch a break.

Near the end I put it down, nearly for good, and was leaning towards 3 stars. I ended up finishing it and it moved me emotionally quite a bit. I was content and thus the final rating from me. That being said, I don't see myself reading this again. The writing and performance are excellent but it was just too dang depressing for me overall. If you want to walk with a broken man through a broken world and see the stuff he goes through then by all means pick this up. I'm going to read a YA novel as a palate cleanser after this.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Rummel.

This has been the best book I've listened to yet. Stating that Christian Rummel performance was perfect would be an understatement. I found this book to be deeply immersive and entertaining, between the almost constant action and easy relation to the characters conflicts I feel this book was one of the best I will ever read or listen to.

On a side note if your into any of the fall out games the setting or world the book takes place in can easily coincide. This for me anyway made it easy to visualize and relate to the setting and experience throughout.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A masterwork of appocalyptic fiction

DJ Molles really stepped up his game with Wolves. An excellent apocalyptic story with no zombies. How about that!!
Christian Rummel delivers another outstanding performance.
I'll put Wolves on the same shelve as Cannibal Reign by Thomas Koloniar.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Immersive world, raw emotion, Excellent book.

What did you love best about Wolves?

The setting and atmosphere. The author and reader went to great lengths to establish the backdrop of this story, and it worked wonders for keeping me hooked while I came to conflict with how the story was unfolding.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jim Davies. Even though he was described as the penultimate foil to the protagonist, and for all intents and purposes represented all that is evil within the story, he acknowledges his own treachery and affiliation to it, even admits to despising it, but continues on due to a sense of duty. He's just as flawed as the protagonist, but true to the definition of a Foil is also equally skilled and witted.

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

I've listened to the entirety of The Remaining (also by D.J. Molles) that was read by Christian Rummel. This performance was just as good as those books, and even went farther into showing the depth and range of characters Mr. Rummel could portray.

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

There were several times throughout the story where I didn't readily know where the story was going to go, and I wasn't entirely pleased with the direction. I'm glad I continued listening, because it really plays to the strength of the story. I wasn't intended to openly support the actions of the protagonist, and might have been encouraged to despise him. I don't know if I consider this an extreme reaction, but the emotion within this story and Rummel's performance was laser focused on where it was intended to be. There were a few giggle-worthy points in the story, and plenty of opportunities for sadness, but I didn't find myself actually laughing or brought to tears.

Any additional comments?

This most probably pulls inspiration in tone and setting from the Mad Max and Apocalypse Now stories, and you can tell the author went to great strides to make sure this story was worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the themes of these two, all the while maintaining it's own identity. This is truly an exceptional story. It doesn't pull any punches.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

why are there no automatic weapons anymore?

wouldn't you think doomsday preppers in bunkers would have enough auto and semi auto weapons to become warlords? for some reason all guns are handmade in this post apocalypse, which is set only about 10 years after the bombs fell and the USA ceased to exist. People are using cap and ball revolvers, "scatterguns" that are single shot muzzle loaders made of pipe and fire D batteries... But the USA has more guns than people. But virtually none of the pre disaster guns exist any more...

9 of 12 people found this review helpful