Story needed work

I really liked the premise enough to request to listen to a copy from the narrator for an honest review, via AudioBook Boom.

Here are some thoughts...

I really liked Stryker as a character, but the zipping in and out in his timeline confused me, even as I was listening and driving. It might not have felt as bad if I was reading the book, but I found myself struggling a lot with the transitions.

As a writer, I think there were a lot of POV changes mid scene which didn't sit well with me. I wanted to follow Stryker and sometimes we were in the girls heads, and then one to the other.... it also was jarring for me to listen to, when I wanted more detail from one character I just seemed to get it from another. As for the order of the story, I think I'd actually have much preferred it to start with Stryker and his wife and child, because the whole flashback in the middle just didn't sit well for me. It was too much detail about him when I wanted to know what was going on in the real world.

Like the girls in the dorm for near on 2 years? really. I find that so so hard to believe. I wanted to, but too much just didn't quite make sense to me, as a wide read reader, and a writer.

There was in my opinion also a lot of just telling me the facts. I'm a script writer, and I know what telling is. And it read pretty much like a script. I wanted the details, the hurt the anguish to see what really was happening to these amazing characters, it just didn't happen. The book on a whole, could have been twice the length, from the solid perspectives of the main characters, Stryker, Sarge, and his grand daughter as she experienced the kidnapping and the sub rescue. There was much more that I wanted here, especially because they develop feeling for each other. For me at the moment it pretty much feels so false, and I can't get behind them as a couple. Despite all the talk and hand holding...

Kevin was a wonderful narrator. This is the first book I've listened to from him, and I would defo follow him again to something else. I thought his performance was fantastic. He had the right tone for a military man and even sometimes for the ladies. I really think the writing let him down. And the author should really pick up the pace for the next in the series, because the ending here wasn't really an ending... it just stopped.

Many thanks to ABB for the access to these new listens. I would never see or feel like I could review as I am doing. And thanks to the writer and narrator. It's hard work, it always is. But worth it.

Keep listening to your readers.. there's some great work in here. Just perhaps needs a little more time on it. With beta readers and people you can trust.

~ Dawn

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"...where love goes to die"

What did you like best about this story?

It has taken me a while to write my review because, as soon as I finished listening to the book I wanted to go back to the beginning and start again. The book is carefully crafted, and mostly set against a backbround devastated by a mutated Ebola virus which destroys some 97% of the population world wide But as the title suggests, it is really about Stryker, who he is, where he comes from and how he reacts. Our introduction to him is immediate, two years after the plague struck, then by moving backwards in time we follow his earlier life as well as being privy to how and why the virus was so devastating.There is a feeling of unreality about the man and his world. Perhaps it is because I am a Brit and the vast spaces of isolation through which he moves just couldn't happen in this, our overcrowded little island, even with only 3% of the population remaining. And, of course, not many of us have access to guns ( though I suppose if the need was great enough, we'd find a way). But more than that: the man himself was exceptional. I didn't like him but still found myself forming an emotional attachment to him.

What about Kevin Pierce’s performance did you like?

Kevin Pierce's narration was perfect, his voice fitting the picture of Stryker in my head. What little dialogue there is from other people is not greatly differentiated, making this more a reading than a performance, but this, too, fits with the overall feel of the book.

Any additional comments?

I loved the almost serene atmosphere which prevailed throughout, despite the often traumatic events taking place or anticipated. It is a world in shock with Stryker moving strongly through it. The ending was one of loss. As I said previously, it took me back to the beginning.
I received a complementary copy of Stryker from the narrator, via Audiobook Boom, in exchange for my unbiased review thoughts. These I have given.

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