This week on "Welcome to the Apocalypse" we are dealing with one of my favorite Post Apocalyptic subcategories, Plagues and Pandemics. This is in honor of the release for the first time of Stephen King’s The Stand in Unabridged Audiobook Format.

"That stuff is lying around, just waiting to be picked up." The Stand

Apocalyptic Plagues are one of the most feared and most realistic potential apocalypses. Not just potential, The Black Death is estimated to have killed 45 – 50% of the European population in the 14th Century. One of the things that set Plague tales apart is that it kills off humanity, but unlike nuclear war and ecological disasters, it leaves the planet pretty well untouched. Once the plague has run its course, the survivors are left to pick up the pieces. There is no nuclear winter, or Zombie’s chasing you. The greatest threat you will face is yourself, and your fellow survivors.

The following is a list of my favorite Post Apocalyptic Plague novels. It was a hard list to make, and I was adding, cutting and revising up until I posted this list. I attempted to pick not just my favorite novels dealing with Plagues and Pandemics, but good examples of the genre. There are some that I cut, because they were far future, well past the time where the plague was an issue, or that had plagues as an issue but wasn’t the focus of the novel.  All in all, I am happy with this list.

The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand is my favorite all time novel, and really the catalyst for my love of Apocalyptic fiction. I have read it in full six times, and have a well worn paperback version of it next to my bed where I will occasionally reread some of my favorite parts. It is the story of Captain Trips, a military made Superflu that wipes out 99.4% of the population. King’s tale is full off memorable characters, and contains a classic good vs. evil plot.

Audiobook Version: Random House Audio just released an Unabridged version of The Stand narrated by Grover Gardner.

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

Earth Abides tells the story of Isherwood Williams, one of the last survivors of a plague that devastates humanity. Much of the novel is focused on nature taking back the earth, with plants tearing apart roads and domesticated animals going wild.  In some ways, it’s the story of civilization in reverse, starting with modern man, and allowing us to witness its gradual degradation.

Audiobook Version: There is an audiobook version released by Audible Frontiers narrated by Jonathon Davis.

Mister Touch by Malcolm Bosse

Not a well known example of the genre, Mister Touch is definitely one of my favorites. Aids has mutated, devastating the population and leaving the survivors with multiple physical ailments, including blindness and respiratory problems. A group from New York City called The Skulls, led by a former Wall Street swindler travels across an Apocalyptic America looking for a climate more suitable to their needs. It’s full of dark humor and an almost poetic use of pop dialogue.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

Dark Advent by Brian Hodge

Brian Hodge’s Dark Advent has a similar theme to The Stand, a weaponized plague, good survivors and bad survivors, and an evil antagonist. Yet, it is definitely a darker, tighter novel than The Stand. Hodges created a nightmarish landscape and one really bad dude determined to bring about the end of the world.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

The Peshouse by Jim Crace

Unlike most in this list, The Pesthouse is a far future Apocalypse, taking place an unknown amount of time after a devastating plague. America is now in a new Dark Age. While the Plague was years ago, it is still a factor in the lives of the populace, and any sign of sickness will get a person sent to isolation in a pesthouse. It is a fascinating tale of survival and a road trip through a dark version of a future America. 

Audiobook Version: There is an audiobook version of The Pesthouse from Books on Tape, narrated by Michael Ktamer.

Emergence by David R. Palmer

Candy is a young girl, yet she is seemingly stronger, smarter and faster than the typical human. After a biological weapon kills off over 99% of the earths population, Candy escapes from the bunker her father has constructed and sets out in search of other survivors. Emergence is stylistically unique, written in a short hand style similar to telegraph type.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

Survivors by Terry Nation

This is the novelization of the hit 1970’s British television series. Survivors follows a group of plague survivors as the figure out trying to relearn the old was of doing things. It is also the tale of a mother searching for her lost son in an Apocalyptic landscape. Survivors is one of the most detailed and realistic apocalyptic plague novels.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

Year Zero by Jeff Long

While full of a lot of religious and scientific subplots, the essence of Year Zero is a plague tale, and a pretty good one at that. It contains one of the most harrowing apocalyptic journeys, across Asia, as the main character tries to return to the United States amidst a global pandemic to find his daughter. There are some strange turns along the way, but overall this is a darn good read.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Oryx and Crake alternated between the present story of Snowman, and Apocalyptic Hermit who must deel with a group of genetically changed humans, and the dystopian past that led to the eventual disaster. It’s often weird,but fascinating. It’s a dark but often humorous look at science and greed run amok.

Audiobook Version: There is an audiobook version of Oryx and Crake read by Campbell Scott for Random House Audio.

‘48 by James Herbert

‘48 is a post apocalyptic alternate history where Hitler releases a devastating bioweapon as a final act of hate. It is a non-stop race through a decimated London as an immune American pilot tries to escape from a neo-nazi clan who believes there survival depends on a transfusion of his blood.

Audiobook Version: There is no audiobook version of this novel.

As an added treat, I asked a few Post Apocalyptic experts and fans for their picks for best Plague novel. Here are their answers.

Megaton is a Post Apocalyptic blogger and founder of Post Apoc.net. You can find him moderating The Post Apocalyptic Forum or on Twitter at @Megaton_us.

The Scarlet Plague by Jack London

Apocalypse by plague has always been my favorite sub-genre of post-apocalyptic fiction, and one of the books responsible for that is The Scarlet Plague by Jack London.  The Scarlet Plague might not be the absolute grand-daddy of plague stories (Mary Shelley’s The Last Man was written 75 years earlier) but it’s certainly one of the first, and it’s obviously a base on which more recent authors have built their works.  The events of the story will be instantly recognizable to anyone who’s read Stephen King’s The Stand or similar books – the plague comes on without warning, and kills within an hour, people try to sequester themselves in their homes, but once one person is infected the disease ravages entire families, and the narrator specifically mentions governments covering up the reality of how dangerous the plague is, bodies piled in the streets, violence, murder and mayhem.  All of that in a book written a full 100 years ago; it’s definitely a true pillar of the genre.

Tim aka Fear Death by Water runs the Post Apocalyptic Blog Cozy Catastophe and is an Apocalyptic superfan, whose Post Apocalyptic reading list eclipses my own. You can find him on twitter at @CosyCatastrophy

Dark Advent by Brian Hodge

The book I’d like for you to use on your list is Dark Advent by Brian Hodges. The cause of the end is a weaponized version of the bubonic plague. Unlike some books its release into the population is not an accident. It is done for the sole purpose of wiping out most of the population.

This book is most often found in the horror section and I’d bet that most people would pass on it based on the cover alone. Even the author doesn’t know what happened with it. Trust me it’s the cover that makes it a worthwhile item to track down.

As is the case with all plague novels there are survivors. Also some of them are more good and some are not so good. The guy who releases the plague is of course very bad. Also immune. As the book gets rolling, the good clump together and the bad clump together. Most books will focus on the good group. Not Dark Advent. It evil and has a tight focus on the actions of Peter Soloman, plague releaser.

If you wondered what Flagg may have been up to in Vegas while Abigail was doing her thing in Boulder, this book might give a window to it. It’s sort of a Flagcentric version of The Stand.

I’d like to thank my guests for their input. If you are interested in contributing to a future “Welcome to the Apocalypse” Favorites post, please feel free to contact me through email or twitter (@guildedearlobe). If you have a favorite Plague novel that isn’t covered on this list, feel free to leave a comment.

The Getaway Man by Andrew Vachss

Read by Phil Gigante

Brilliance Audio

Length: 4 Hrs 39 Min

Genre: Crime Fiction

Quick Thoughts: The Getaway Man is a vintage crime tale for those who like their rebels without a cause and often, even a clue. It’s a lean, taunt thriller with gut punch twists and a wonderful main character. Fans of Andrews Vachss’ writing will find The Getaway Man to be a breath of fresh air, and those new to his work can experience his style and themes without some of the darker elements.

Grade: B+

There something nice about revisiting a favorite author. There is a comfort to it, like wearing that favorite pair of Jeans or settling down into your favorite chair that fits you just right. With a favorite author, on some level, you know what to expect, stylistically, and thematically. Oh, they may surprise you, throw you for a loop, but more often then not, you know what type of story is right for you at that moment and you know just what author may fit you mood. It’s tough to use the word comfortable when discussing taking on a novel written by Andrew Vachss. His stories are often about shining a light onto the darkness of humanity. His characters are never simple, even if they may seem that way on the surface. With Vachss, you rarely find a good guy in the mix. Often times, a single shade of grey may separate the protagonist from the antagonist of a given tale. Yet, I know when I am in a mood for a Vachss novel. I know when I am open to exploring the darker sides of our species. When I take on a Vachss novel, I know that the person I will be rooting for is quite possibly a person who may view me with disdain if we ever met. So, when I am in the right state of my, I never hesitate to grab one of Vachss novels. While he rarely disappoints, often he manages to surprise me.

The Getaway Man is a novel about driving, not about cars. It centers on a young man named Eddie, who as a teenager, would steal cars just to drive. Eddie is a fascinating character. He’s what most people would call slow, not much of a reader and awkward in social situations. Yet, he has a talent for driving and a penchant for loyalty that is noticed by more hard core criminals, and earns him a level of respect. Vachss doesn’t do much to explore what lead Eddie to this path, but in some ways just speculating about Eddie’s development added to the story. Eddie is similar to many of Vachss characters in that while he lives on the edges of society, he has his own rigid moral code that he clings to. Yet, unlike many of Vachss characters, you actually grow to like Eddie, and sometimes forget that at his core, he is a criminal. Yet, Vachss never tries to justify his behavior, or present it as anything more than what it is. It is up to the reader to decide on the nobility of his actions and mindset. The Getaway Man has an old time, outlaw loner movie feel to it. There is the loner, who in reality is searching for a place to fit in. There is a femme fatale that you fear is leading our malleable outcast down a dangerous path. There are devious plans, and daring heists, and a wonderful ending that leaves you breathless. And there is driving. The Getaway Man is a vintage crime tale for those who like their rebels without a cause and often, even a clue. It’s a lean, taunt thriller with gut punch twists and a wonderful main character. Fans of Andrews Vachss’ writing will find The Getaway Man to be a breath of fresh air, and those new to his work can experience his style and themes without some of the darker elements.

Phil Gigante goes soft and slow for his reading of The Getaway Man bringing to the surface Eddie’s youthful naivety, while still capturing his hidden depths. His soft southern drawl captures Eddie perfectly, and works as a anchor for Eddie’s character. Gigante balances this out with fully vocalized peripheral characters, from an unstable socialite to a hardcore, cold hearted criminal mastermind. I love how both Vachss and Gigante gives this book a vintage feel. Despite the modern setting, there is almost a timeless quality to the production. The Getaway Man is a short listen, coming in at under 5 hours, but Vachss’ lean style and Gigante’s crisp narration packs a lot into its punch.

Note: A special thanks to those good people at Brilliance Audio for providing me with a copy of this title for review.

Wild Thing by Josh Bazell (Dr. Peter Brown Series, Bk. 2)

Read by Robert Petkoff with Stephanie Wolfe

Hachette Audio

Length: 8 Hrs 46 Min

Genre: Thriller

Quick Thoughts: Wild Thing is a fun, twisted, crude thriller that provides some genuine laugh out loud moments. The two main characters are so enjoyably quirky that it makes it easy to look past some of the novel’s flaws and just have fun with it.

Grade: B

One of the problems being someone obsessed with books, and involved in some level in the book blogging community, is I often know too much about books before I even physically have a copy in my greasy hands. I spend a lot of time scanning for new releases, whittling down the many possible choices to a manageable number. This will involve finding out which of my favorite novelist has a new release coming out, and scanning genre lists to find unexpected books of interest. With reading and listening time at a premium for us literary obsessives, we all too often know exactly what a novel is about when we finally begin it. While this makes us more likely to fit in novels we know we’ll enjoy, it can often take some of the magic of discovery out of the experience. Yet, once in a while, a title slips our attention, and when we discover its existence, we rush to find a copy. This is what happened to me with Josh Bazell’s follow up to Beat the Reaper. Despite my religiously checking the Hachette Audio website, for some reason I missed its impending release until release day was almost upon us. In my mad scramble to get my hands on a copy, I never even bothered to check out little things like, what this book was about. After reading the first book in this series, I just expected the same stylistic, ultra violent irreverent thriller that I encountered in beat the Reaper. While Wild Thing did fit some of those adjectives, in many ways this novel is an entirely unique animal.

After barely surviving the events of Beat the Reaper, former mob hitman and current physician Dr. Peter Brown is again in hiding, working as a cruise ship doctor. When an old friend contacts him with potential work for a reclusive billionaire, Peter jumps at the chance to earn some money to help him out of his current situation. Yet, the job presented to him makes his instantly skeptical, despite the beautiful Anthropologist he will be partnered up with. From the first words of this novel, you know you are in for anther crude, rude twisted adventure full of dark comedy, irreverence, and graphic sexuality, yet the underlining mystery involved wasn’t what I expected. Bazell brings together a strange cast of characters worthy of a Carl Hiaasen novel. Yet, beyond Dr. Brown, under the guise of Dr. Lionel Azimuth, and his anthropologist partner, the almost Bond-Girlesque Violet Hurst, these other characters, no matter how quirky, were nothing more than color. Luckily, Peter and Violet were such an outrageous pair, offering us some headshakingly hilarious moments, that it’s easy to overlook the lack of development in the minor characters. Wild Things is quite uneven at times, full of side tangent info dumps, and strange distracting side plots, but the unevenness of the plot was made up for stylistically. In fact, some of the highlights of the novel are the tangents, particularly Violets, when she outlines the inevitability of an ecological apocalypse, or rips into a fundamentalist trying to impose his views on her.  These moments make the novel. Brown is the ultimate example of an unreliable narrator, who takes pride in his ability to mislead while telling truth. He has a strange moral code which combines a desire to make up for his time spent killing people, with his ability to kill anyone who get in his way and, at least for me, I wanted to cheer for him, despite the fact that at times I found him despicable. I think the major problem for this book overall is that people will go in expecting this sequel to Beat the Reaper to be, well, a sequel to Beat the Reaper. In many ways, stylistically and substantively, it’s a departure from the first novel, and that may lead to some disappointment. Yet, Wild Thing is a fun, twisted, crude thriller that provides some genuine laugh out loud moments. The two main characters are so enjoyably quirky that it makes it easy to look past some of the novel’s flaws and just have fun with it.

Wild Thing was narrated by Robert Petkoff, and that is reason alone to listen to this audiobook. Petkoff delivers this twisted tale with almost a jeering frenetic tone that was simply perfect for the reading. Petkoff’s voice just drips with sarcastic wit, which truly brings the character of Peter Brown to life. He also handles the give and take between Peter and Violet flawlessly, giving them a natural flow to their verbal battles. Along with Petkoff, Stephanie Wolfe has a small part in this production, voicing the epilogue and one momentary aside from Violet that delivered a genuinely funny moment and probably my biggest laugh. I should add one note, that will probably make the wonderful people at Hachette Audio shake their heads a bit. I actually, sort of missed the music that many complained about in Beat the Reaper. In Beat the Reaper there were action scenes played out with music, adding to the fast paced nature of the novel. While there wasn’t as much of a place for it here, I did miss it. Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of Wild Thing and Petkoff’s narration makes it a novel that should be listened to.

Note: A special thanks to the good people of Hachette Audio for providing me a copy of this title for review.

Sixth Column by Robert A. Heinlein

Read by Tom Weiner

Blackstone Audio

Length: 5 Hrs 57 Min

Genre: Science Fiction

Quick Thoughts: While there is some pulpy fun to be had in this early Heinlein work, overall its language and cultural concepts are quite dated and its use of race as a plot device pushed close enough to the racist line to make modern listeners uncomfortable. Fans of classic science fiction and hardcore Heinlein fans may enjoy the opportunity to listen to this novel, if for no other reason than to see how the author progressed as a writer.

Grade: C

One of the cinematic scenes that has always stuck in my head is the opening of Red Dawn, with the kids sitting in the school room as the invading Communist forces Parachute all around them. It is a sight that will never really sit right with me, the idea of America being invaded and occupied by enemy forces. We are a young, petulant country who has spent so long as king of the roost, the idea of having an outside force controlling us is almost unimaginable. Yet, this is why we have fiction. I read speculative fiction largely because it presents and answers the question “what if” better than any other genre, at least the questions that interest me. About 10 years ago I read a novel by author Eric L. Harry called Invasion, about China occupying the United States. It is a total war, all out military thriller, and while it was never destined for any level of greatness, it was a novel whose concept fascinated me. I really don’t know of very many Occupied America books, although there are probably a few out there I have missed. Looking for some older science fiction to take on, I discovered Blackstone had put out an audiobook version of Sixth Column by Robert Heinlein, which was also titled The Day After Tomorrow. Heinlein wrote The Sixth Column not to long after World War 2. The story begins after the successful invasion and occupation of The United States by a Pan Asian alliance, and centers on the last bastion of the American Arm Forces, a small scientific compound set deep in the mountains.

I have recently read quite a few classic science fiction tales that have come off quite fresh despite their age. The Sixth Column isn’t one of them. The Sixth Column has this weird combination of dated and futuristic technology that gives it a strange disconcerting feel. While they developed a strange new weapon technology that used electric spectra-graphic waves to target people by specific traits including ethnicity they did this with the help of a punch card computer. There was also a strange use of language that came off uneven. There is one scene that got a chuckle out of me when someone said another person used to be a tramp, but that person corrected him by explaining he wasn’t a tramp, he was a hobo. This and the constant references to women as babes, and other dated vernacular kept forcing me out of the story. You expect some of this from a novel over 60 years old, but here it was more glaring than most. Many people have also called this novel racist. In my opinion, it isn’t. Just because a novel has racism in it, doesn’t make it racist. Yet, there were enough racial epithets thrown around by the characters to make me uncomfortable and it included an overly simplified dated concept of Asian culture which was highly influenced by the Japanese Kamikazes of WWII. Now, grant it, when this novel was written Japan was a member of the Axis of Evil, and, honestly, people being occupied by another racial group will throw around such slurs, but it doesn’t make it easy to listen to. Yet, I was more annoyed by the presentation of this being Caucasians vs. Asiatics without even making mention of people of other ethnic and racial descents than the slurs thrown around by the characters. For some reason, people of African descent were never even mentioned in this novel and because of that the presentation came off more as “White Good Guys” versus “The Bad Asians,” then America versus an invading force. The aspect I did enjoy, and probably what kept me interested enough to keep listening was the “Sixth Column” using a faux religion to build a base for revolution. I think if there had been more focus on this aspect then the weird Asian killing Dues Ex Machina weapons I would have enjoyed this novel more. While there is some pulpy fun to be had in this early Heinlein work, overall its language and cultural concepts are quite dated and its use of race as a plot device pushed close enough to the racist line to make modern listeners uncomfortable.

As usual, Tom Weiner does well with the material he has to work with. Weiner has a deep, strong voice, and sometimes his delivery of some of the more dated language invoked an inappropriately placed laugh from me. My only real complaint about Weiner’s narration was his voice for the main scientist, which came off a bit effeminate that I thought the character was female at first. Yet, for the most part Weiner’s narration kept me engaged enough in a story that I found equal parts uncomfortable, and dated. Despite this poor early novel, Heinlein went on to write many novels that I enjoyed, as well as a few I consider classics, including Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers. Fans of classic science fiction and hardcore Heinlein fans may enjoy the opportunity to listen to this novel, if for no other reason than to see how the author progressed as a writer.

Note: A special thanks to Blackstone Audio for providing me with a copy of this title for review.

The Audio Publishers Association has just posted their finalists for the 2012 Audies, which honors the best of the Audiobook Industry.

You can find the complete list of nominations at this here: http://www.audiopub.org/press/2012%20Audies%20Finalists%20press%20release.pdf

You can find a nice breakdown of Speculative Fiction titles that have been nominated at the Audible SF/F site.

I don’t have much commentary about the nominations in genreral. There were a few titles that were not included that I was surprised about, but with over 1,250 titles considered, that is not a surprise. I personally only listened to around 185 titles last year, so it’s tough for any one person to judge. Here is a list of some of the titles nominated that I did listen to and review. 

Humor:

Go The F___ to Seep by Adam Mansbach

Read by Samuel Jackson

Audible, Inc.

My Review

Paranormal:

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

Read by Robert Petkoff

Hachette Audio

My Review

First grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

Read by Lorelei King (also Nominated for Solo Female Narration)

Macmillan Audio

My Review

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

Read by Oliver Wyman

Audible Frontiers

My Review

Science Fiction:

Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi

Read by Wil Wheaton

Audible Frontiers

While I don’t have a full review, Agent to the Stars was my #5 Audiobook in my Best of 2010 List, with a mini write up.

Fussy Nation by John Scalzi

Read by Wil Wheaton

Audible Frontiers

My Review

The Tears of the Sun by SM Stirling

Read by Tom McLaren

Tantor Audio

My Review

Solo Female Narration:

Katherine Kellgren

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Brilliance Audio

My Review

Thriller/Suspense:

Adrenaline by Jeff Abbott

Read by Kevin T. Collins

Hachette Audio

My Review

The Bone House by Brian Freeman

Read by Joe Barrett

Blackstone Audio

My Review

There are definitely a few titles I want to listen to before the June Awards ceremony, particularly in the Science Fiction and Fantasy categories. I will make sure to indicate the titles that are Audie Nominees in future reviews.

Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

Read by Erik Bergmann

Macmillan Audio

Length: 21 Hrs 20 Min

Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

Quick Thoughts: Despite my struggles and the fact that it took me nearly half the audiobook to get a grip on the overall narrative, I am glad that I finally fully experienced Brunner’s strange, troubling but beautiful novel. This is a book that is hard for me to recommend, because it takes a lot of investment by the reader/listener, but if you’re game, I’ll definitely cheer you on.

Grade: B

I am not too ashamed to admit that sometimes I am intimidated by books. It’s not that I don’t think I am smart enough tackle certain books, I just know what I enjoy. I like adventured filled science fiction, or fast paced complex but readable mysteries and thrillers. I’ve never been a foreign film guy, and prefer rock and Americana to classical music. Among the hundreds of books I have read, only 3 of them have won the Pulitzer Prize. You see, I like stories that I really don’t have to work at. I like to sit back, and be swept into a world. About 10 years ago when I began working my way through classic Post Apocalyptic fiction, I found two novels that just intimidated me stylistically. I attempted to read both of these novels a number of times, and I could never get my head suitably around them to get a good foothold into the story.  These two novels where Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren, and John Brunner’s Stand on Zanzibar. Recently, I read a novel by Jo Walton called Among Others. This novel centered around a young teenage science fiction and fantasy fan, who talked eloquently about many science fiction novels, including works by Brunner and Delany. So, yes, I was put to shame by this fictional young teenage character in a novel, who was able to complete these novels, at least in her fictional world that exists in the mind and on the pages of Jo Walton. This can not stand! So, I decided I should once again attempt to take on Stand on Zanzibar, which was the only novel of the two available as an audiobook.

Stand on Zanzibar is a near future dystopian novel about a world struggling with over population. It is also very, very strange. Sure, it’s brilliant, and complex, and in some ways, prophetic, but, for the most part, it’s downright weird. I really, really struggled with the novel, for a significant amount of the first half, Brunner tells the story using four formats, only one, called Continuity, contained the actual narrative. The other three are weird exercises in world building. In the “Tracking with Close-ups” Brunner tells us the story of minor characters, some connected to the overall narrative, and others not. In “Context” Brunner uses headlines, quotes for news stories and social commentary to show the political setting of the novel. In the weirdest, but most amusing section, called “The Happening World” Brunner uses pop culture, commercial references in a sort of stream of consciousness rapid fire tutorial on the social values of the culture of his novel. It all comes together in this weird, poetic frenetic hosh post of information that can be a bit confusing but eventually clicks together in a brilliant way. It’s daunting but worth the effort. One thing I didn’t like was his nonlinear story line. I found it a bit unsettling. He uses the nonlinear style not as an effective way to foreshadow the climax, but actually gives you the climax of the novel first, then sends you back to how it all started. For me, I was finally getting a grip on the novel, when BANG, we go back in time, and I’m confused all over again. For some, this may have been effective, but for me, it tore me out of the story, and I again had to struggle to get a foothold on the tale. Now, one of the things I really enjoyed was Brunner’s predictive use of future language. He invents and twists slang into a new way of speaking that is actually quite engaging even if it comes off as evolved 60s era hippy jingoism. The language itself, once fully ingested by the reader, is almost addictive, and I found myself wanting to start using some of the words in my everyday talk, along the lines of words like “grok” and “frak.” Despite my struggles, and the fact that it took me nearly half the audiobook to get a grip on the overall narrative, I am glad that I finally fully experienced Brunner’s strange, troubling but beautiful novel. This is a book that is hard for me to recommend, because it takes a lot of investment by the reader/listener, but if you’re game, I’ll definitely cheer you on.

I will proudly admit that I probably would never have finished this novel if it wasn’t available on audiobook and, one thing that made it even better was the utterly brilliant performance by Erik Bergmann. This was my first time listening to a book narrated by Bergmann, and I totally had a “where have you been all my audiobook listening life” moment. One of the major reasons I was able to make it through the early parts of the novel was his amazing reading of “The Happening World” scenes. Brunner uses a lot of Print tricks in the novel, from capitalizations to clever spelling and somehow Bergmann was able to reproduce the novelty of the language and structure vocally. Stand on Zanzibar is a world spanning international novel, with characters from all many differing regions, and Bergmann’s accents and speaking styles were spot on. There were so many standout moments of narrative excellence that I could probably spend another couple of hundred words pointing them all out, but I won’t. I sincerely hope that Bergmann will continue to be utilized as a narrator of science fiction, because I feel that is a genre where his skills will stand out.

Today’s Review is part of my weekly Welcome to the Apocalypse series:

Pure by Julianna Baggott

Read by Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins and Casey Holloway

Hachette Audio

Length: 14 Hrs and 9 Min

Genre: Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction

Quick Thoughts: Pure is full of tragic beauty, and Baggott does a great job setting up the theme of finding pride in our scars, both real and metaphorically. While there were moments where I found myself enjoying the settings more than the plot, the novel comes together well with a satisfying ending.

Grade: B

There is a sort of visual beauty in destruction that is hard to define. One of the things that I have always liked about the Post Apocalyptic novels is the images of desolation, of the earth taking back the land, of skeleton cities and empty highways. The first time I read George R. Stewart’s Earth Abides, I was mesmerized with his meticulous descriptions of Nature reclaiming the land after a pandemic plague. This visual image has stuck with me for a long time. Yet, much of the time, these images are of landscape, of setting and not of people. Reading Justin Cronin’s interview with Julianna Baggott about the release of her new novel, Pure, he describe the visual of a young girl with a doll head fused to one hand. I found this image itself both stunning and a bit disturbing. Here is the same beauty that I often find is the descriptions of landscapes twisted by the ravaging of the earth, or the decimating of the earths population yet applied to an innocent young girl. I was quite fascinated with this, and wondered not just about the hows and whys of the circumstance that lead to this tragedy, but how it would play out over a whole novel.

Pure is the story of the world after the "detonations" when a series of nanotech enhanced bombs decimated America, causing the victims to merge with items they were in contact with. Pressia is a young girl with a dollhead merged to her hand being raised in an ash filled devastated world by her grandfather, with a fan lodged into his throat. In the distance stand The Dome, where those untouched by the bomb, called Pures lived is a clean, sterile and safe environment, promising to one day return and set things rights. Then, one day, Partridge, a Pure from the Done, escapes to find his lost mother. Pure is a visually stunning Post Apocalyptic tale which successfully straddles the line between Adult and Young Adult fiction. Baggott melds classic dystopian tropes of the haves and the have nots, sexual politics and social and physical stigmata into this story with Post Apocalyptic themes of survival and adaptation to a decimated landscape. While this tale is definitely science fiction, with nanotechnology, robotic insects and genetic engineering it often feels almost like a fairy tale style fantasy, with technology in place of magic. While I was amazed with the visuals, and intrigued by the future history Baggott presented, I had a hard time engaging with the actually plot for the first half of the novel. I felt so much emphasis was placed on the world building and setting up the basic mystery of the tale, that the characters felt a little flat early on. Yet, once the pieces were all put in place and things set into motion, I became more and more engrossed in the tale. The ending offered a few nice touches, and did a good job completing the tale, while setting up the next novel of the series. Pure is full of tragic beauty, and Baggott does a great job setting up the theme of finding pride in our scars, both real and metaphorically. While there were moments where I found myself enjoying the settings more than the plot, the novel comes together well with a satisfying ending.

Pire utilized the talents of four excellent narrators to bring about this tale with each narrator handling a different POV character. While the four narrators, Khristine Hvam, Joshua Swanson, Kevin T. Collins and Casey Holloway all did excellent work, I think the women stole the show on this production. Hvam did a wonderful job bringing Pressia to life, giving her a strong, confident voice, yet also capturing the fact that she was a teenager full of self doubts and conflicting emotions. Holloway voiced the POV of Lyda, who gets the least airtime, but may have been my favorite character. In some ways, she is almost the opposite of Pressia, yet, may have had the most significant overall transformation, and Holloway captures this aspect of Lyda well. While the women’s performances stand out, both Kevin T. Collins and Joshua Swanson bring a unique flavor to this production giving their characters distinctive voices. One of the problems with using multiple narrators is the voicing of peripheral characters that appear in multiple POVs. There are some small issues of this kinds of discontinuity that pull you out of the story, but these moments are rare, and mostly occur when switching from a female to male narrator in the midst of an extended scenes. Overall, the production was excellent, and all of the narrators contributed to bringing this striking vision to life.

Note: A special thanks to Hachette Audio for providing me with a copy of this title for review.

Control Point by Myke Cole (Shadow Ops, Bk. 1)

Read by Corey Jackson

Recorded Books

Length: 15 Hrs 3 Min

Genre: Military Fantasy

Quick Thoughts: Control Point delivered what I thought it would, tons of action, a fascinating world, and an authentic military feel. Yet, it’s what I didn’t expect that put this over the top for me. A hero I’m still not quite sure I can believe in and a blurred line between the good guys and the bad guys that lead to an emotionally devastating climax. Control Point is a novel that will be bouncing around in my head for a long, long time, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Grade: A

This first part of 2012 was full of new release audiobooks that I was really looking forward to. One of my most anticipated releases was the debut of Myke Cole’s Shadow Ops series, called Control Point. One of the reasons that my anticipation was so high, was I first discovered the existence of this series back in July of 2011. As a big fan of military science fiction series, I am always on the lookout for new series. Some of my favorite audiobook experiences have been military science fiction, especially John Ringo and David Weber’s Prince Roger series, and anything by Jack Campbell, aka John Hemry. Yet, with Myke Cole, there was a new added twist, his Shadow Ops is not really military science fiction, but a Military Urban Fantasy series. Basically, what I was picturing was modern day Urban Warfare, but with magic. This was something I haven’t seen before, and was excited about the concept. Also, the fact that Cole has served in the US military, in multiple functions, and has the experience to deliver an authentic account of the modern soldier made me even more interested to see what he had to offer. So, as release day grew closer, I was quite excited. I was looking for a fun, action filled  Military Fantasy, written by someone who knows the way a soldier thinks, and what it means to be a piece in the machinery of the US armed forces. Yet, I don’t think I was really prepared for what I was going to experience with this novel.

The World has experienced an Awakening. A small percentage of the earth’s population begins to manifest latent magical talents. As you may expect, this shakes things up pretty well, and governments must adapt to these new powers. In the US, anyone manifesting a magical power must turn themselves into the government, or be hunted down as a “selfer.” Oscar Britton is one of those hunters, until he begins to manifest a very rare and dangerous power, a power that is strictly prohibited by the government, and will probably lead to his death. Cole has created a fascinating near future world that echoes many of the same issues we are dealing with now. He also constructs an interesting and logical magical system. One of my worries was that people who are hesitant about magical fantasy may have trouble with the magic system but Cole bases them on very base ideas, and allows you to get comfortable with their execution, before adding in some interesting twists. As expected. Cole builds a solid foundation with his changed world, but what he does with it is what I wasn’t prepared for. Our main character Oscar Britton’s world is shattered when he discovers his magical talent, and as a soldier he must fight his sense of duty, what he believed to be right with his sense of survival, and his belief in his rights as an American citizen. I found Oscar to be frustrating and at times, uneven. The major theme of this novel is control. Oscar fights to control his new powers, while he also battles to control his own destiny. He goes back and forth with himself, seemingly changing perspectives at a drop of his fat. He is often self delusional, and develops conflicting rationale for what he does, and what is being done to him. He is hyper critical of others, often for doing something he has done himself or will soon do but, is always trying to do what he feels is right. I was so conflicted about Oscar and his decisions. I wanted to like him, I wanted the decisions he made to be right, but I became more and more frustrated with him as the novel progressed. Now, please don’t mistake this criticism of the character for criticism of the author, because it is just the opposite. Cole has created one of the most human characters I have read in a long time. There was one moment in this novel, where I was simply devastated at the decision Oscar was about to make, and had to stop what I was doing, and was actually pleading with him in my head. I’m still not sure what I think about this character and the choices he made, but I was and still am riveted by them. I really can’t think of a better example in fiction where the shades of gray were this explosive. Control Point delivered what I thought it would, tons of action, a fascinating world, and an authentic military feel. Yet, it’s what I didn’t expect that put this over the top for me. If you want a tale with a clearly defined line between the good guys and the bad guys, and a main character who is a hero, incapable of making a wrong choice, then Control Point probably isn’t for you.  But, if you like a story that will make you think, a character who acts like the infallible human being he is, and morality colored by perspective instead of being force fed to you by the writer, then you absolutely must read Control Point.

This is my first time experiencing Corey Jackson’s narration and the first thing I noticed was the rich, strong tones of his voice. Jackson was a wonderful choice for the voice of Oscar Britton. I did have a few small issues with the overall production though, and I think for the most part this was due to direction and editing. In the early parts of the novel, Jackson reads with a very slow, deliberate pace, with pauses between sentences that seems just a half second too long. While this worked fine in the fast paced action scenes, it became a bit distracting during some of the slower moments, and I think affected his ability to match the rhythm of the novel. Yet, eventually, the performance smoothed out, and he began to take on the perfect storytelling flow. I found his narration in the second half of the novel to be spot on and memorizing.  Jackson doesn’t do a lot to differentiate character voices in many circumstances, just a slight change in tone or cadence, but it works well. I absolutely loved his vocal interpretation of Marty, and I felt he did a good job with the female characters as well. Overall I was very pleased with Jackson’s performance and will be looking for more of his work in the future. I highly recommend Control Point to fans of fast paced action thrillers, along the lines of Jonathon Maberry’s Joe Ledger series, as well as fans of science fiction and fantasy.

Lost and Found by Alan Dean Foster (Taken Trilogy, Bk. 1)

Read by Oliver Wyman

Audible, Inc.

Length: 10 Hrs and 31 Min

Genre: Science Fiction

Quick Thoughts: While Lost and Found is a light hearted science fiction adventure story, the true fun of the novel is in the wonder and sense of discovery as you meet new and interesting beings, as well as the relationships of four very different characters. Alan Dean Foster has created complex characters with heart, and explores relationships in interesting new ways.

Grade: B

I have always been fascinated by the idea of extraterrestrial life. Growing up in the Star Trek culture, the ideas of aliens excited me, but I was always worried that they would basically be like us, but with wrinkly foreheads or pointy ears. I like aliens to be exactly that, alien. I want lots of arms, and strange orifices. I want aliens who communicate through mental telepathy or by shaking bulbous fat patches in their skin. Three eyes, two heads, squid faces, elephant trunks, whatever, just give me something different. I find the idea of exobiology fascinating, how differing environments on different planets may lead to a differing evolution creating strange creatures. Meeting new alien species is one of the reasons I always enjoyed military science fiction tales like John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War series, but in those series, you are typically learning about species in order to find a way to kill them. So, when I discovered that Audible was releasing the first novel in Alan Dean Foster’s Taken series, and we’d get to meet a bunch of new  alien species, and perhaps, not need to slaughter them wholesale, I was ready to take the trip.

Lost and Found is the story of Marcus Walker, a Chicago commodities broker who, while camping in California is abducted by aliens. He is held in a cell, reconstructed from his campground without any interaction, until a while later another earthling comes trotting into his cell.  His new friend, named George, explains that they are being held by a strange alien species, called the Villenjji, along with a large number of other aliens. Walker instantly trusts his new friend, which makes sense, since George happens to be a member of a species known for being man’s best friend. Together, Walker and George meet new alien creatures and try to figure away to escape the grip of the Villenjjji. Lost and Found was a fun science fiction adventure. I enjoyed meeting the various alien species living aboard the Villenjji space ship. Eventually Walker teams up with two other aliens, the large monstrous Braouk, and a pompous squid like she-alien named Sque. Both of these alien characters were well realized and added humor and context to the plot. Yet, the heart of the story is the relationship between Walker, and his canine friend, George. George’s intelligence is enhanced by the Villenjji, but he isn’t just an anthropomorphized dog. Foster stays true to his doggy nature, and George acts as conscience for Walker as much as he is his partner. George’s sarcastic personality and loyalty is underscored by a life philosophy that isn’t human, and this made him more than just a cutesy plot point. Eventually, Walker and his friends devise a complex escape plan, and these scenes are well plotted, yet, they almost seem like an afterthought. The true fun of Lost and Found is in the wonder and sense of discovery as you meet new and interesting beings, as well as the relationships of four very different characters. Alan Dean Foster has created complex characters with heart, and explores relationships in interesting new ways. I hope audible continues the rest of the Taken series.

If you are going to write a book about a menagerie of exotic alien species, and need a narrator to give them voice, well, you can’t go wrong with Oliver Wyman. The highlight of his performance is, of course, his voicing of George the dog. George’s snarkiness, and underestimated doggy smarts is perfectly portrayed by Wyman. Another highlight is the big, monstrous Braouk, whose deep slow voice, takes on a rhythmic and melancholy tone when his love of poetry is discover. Brauok speaks in a haiku like fashion, and Wyman capture the poetic structure well. Listening to Lost and Found as narrated by Oliver Wyman is like Christmas morning, with a new gift around every corner. Science Fiction fans looking for a light hearted romp full of fun and humor should give this audiobook a try.

Player One: What is to Become of Us by Douglas Coupland

House of Anansi Press

Pages: 256

Format: Nook EBook

Genre: Literary Fiction, Apocalyptic Fiction

Quick Thoughts: Player One, while not typical of type of genre novels I usually read, brings together an interesting apocalyptic scenario with a mesmerizing though exercise on the complexities of our species use of inner dialogue, and how events can change perspective. This novel impacted me personally on many levels, and definitely made me think of certain issues and philosophies from a new perspective.

Sometimes I find it interesting how you may discover a book. Recently, I have discovered many of the books I have read through blogs and social media, and occasionally, through a random Google search, or website on a specific genre. Recently, I was doing some research for my weekly "Welcome to the Apocalypse" series. I am working on various lists of Post apocalyptic fiction based on causality, like nuclear war, plagues, zombies, or some other catalyst for the end. One such topic I have been researching is Peak Oil and other petroleum related triggers to the apocalypse. I have read a few novels on this topic, including James Howard Kunstler’s World Made by Hand novels, as well as a bunch of oil related thrillers, like Black Monday by R. Scott Reiss. During my research I discovered a novel that I had never read or even heard of called Player One by Canadian author Douglas Coupland. Player One tells the story of five characters who are stranded in an Airport Hotel Bar during a crisis where the price of oil skyrockets leading to riots and terrorism. The story is told in real time from the overlapping perspective of the five characters.

I have to say right off the bat that Player One was nothing like I expected. I am not very familiar with Coupland’s novels, and went into the reading of Player One with my only knowledge of the work being what I read at the Barnes and Noble product description. I later discovered that Coupland wrote this book for as his contribution to a Canadian lecture series. While the narrative of the tale centers on the events at the bar, most of the story takes place within the inner dialogue of the main characters. Unlike most of the novels I read, where the inner dialogues of the characters pertain to the events around them, Coupland displays the five perspective character’s inner dialogue in total. As the world is breaking down around them, the characters are dwelling on religion, psychology, sexual politics, aging, and presenting their self doubts out like a meal for us to consume. It’s mesmerizing fascinating, and at times frustrating, but often it is full of beauty as well. What makes it interesting is that Coupland has basically chosen four seemingly mundane characters at a moment that has the potential to be a turning point in their lives, and one incredibly unique character named Rachel with a neurological condition that gives her an almost alien perspective on the world. As someone who has a loved one on the Autism Spectrum, I found Rachel’s perspective to be fascinating, and touching in an almost ironic way. Rachel is at the hotel bar on a quest to find a man to impregnate her, because she believes this is the only way she will achieve true humanity in her father’s eyes. In many ways she is the driving force of the tale, the control group of the thought experiment taking place with the other characters. At the end of each hour, a mystery character called Player One who works as a sort of omniscient narrator, wraps up the happenings and foreshadows the events to come. Player One, while not typical of type of genre novels I usually read, brings together an interesting apocalyptic scenario with a mesmerizing though exercise on the complexities of our species use of inner dialogue, and how events can change perspective. This novel impacted me personally on many levels, and definitely made me think of certain issues and philosophies from a new perspective.

As this is typically an audiobook review blog, with my print review I like to add my thoughts on the potentiality of an audiobook version of the novel I read. I think Coupland’s novel would have difficulties translating into audio form, but if it was, since most of the novel took place inside the heads of the characters, I think it would be important for a different narrator to handle each perspective character. In the unlikely chance that this book does become an audiobook, I would be highly tempted to listen to the audio version to see how the narrators would pull it off.