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Survivors

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Survivors

By: Terry Nation
Narrated by: Carolyn Seymour
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About this listen

A deadly virus spreads across the world as quickly as the passenger jets that encircle it. Within weeks most of the global population is dead. The human race is thrown back into the dark ages. The few left alive must rely on the most basic skills to survive one day to the next.

Abby Grant ventures out into a strange new England, her husband dead, the fate of her son unknown. Jenny Richards flees London. Engineer Greg Preston arrives from abroad. Desperate lone travellers come together, their instincts to form a community, even if that means rebuilding civilisation from scratch.

But not all who are left have such high ideals.... And while she has the chance of a new beginning, Abby cannot settle until she knows the truth. Has her son survived?

©1976 Terry Nation (P)2014 Big Finish Productions Fantasy Fiction Horror Science Fiction Scary

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is the story of the world after a flu-like plague wipes out most of the population. It's the story of a handful of survivors who are decidedly middle class with middle class issues. Everything comes easy to the people portrayed in the novel, there is little hell, violence or disaster- even when gangs roam around. The most dramatic thing I can recall is the rabbits eating their new crops. I didn't expect zombies or silliness but a bit of genuine fear and dramatic episodes would've been welcome. As it was, this made for a dull listen.

The narrator did a good job and made it sound like a radio play, which picked up the narrative. She varied voices a little but it was tricky to distinguish between characters in the early chapters. So if you want to spend a few hours listening to a family friendly end of the world saga then this is for you. I wanted more realism. Average 2.5 to 3 stars.

Let's hope the real post epidemic world is so tame

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Maybe I expected too much because I enjoyed the TV series but this spin off added nothing to the the original. The plot was too thin, there were too many loose ends and characters were killed off in a single sentence. The ending was also rushed and far fetched. I tried not to let the needless Americanisms get to me but they did start to grate eventually.

A disappointing spin off from a great TV series.

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pretty much as i remember it. quite dismal and hopeless situations . lowest forms of human nature.

memories of my youth watching this tv series.

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The story was so well written and read that I struggled to pause it! A must listen It was made into a magnificent series!

So realistic! So likely to be what would happen

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I really enjoyed this one and it took me straight back to my childhood. A good story and well read.

A good flash back to 70's Scifi.

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Little to uplift here, if that's what you're looking for. Otherwise usual post apocalyptic tropes well executed.

Bleak and depressing

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Most of this book is like social commentary. Lots of non-subtle hints towards socialism and general political powers large sections are given over by telling of events are showing of events with a few key points detailed detailed ending feels a little rushed on the nose overall enjoyable good characters often story points don’t lead anywhere.

Social commentary over story

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Would you listen to Survivors again? Why?

Probably not. I mainly wanted to hear it because I remember the original TV series clearly. It does a good job of telling the story. It is quite dark in places, which suits the post-apocalyptic story. The narrator was, I think, one of the leads in that so I like the idea of her reading it but her narration sometimes lacks the performance element that can bring the text alive.

Any additional comments?

Why on earth has the text either been written, or edited, for American English? This story is based on a BBC series set in London and rural England and is I think a very English-style story. It therefore jars really badly when the text is littered with references to windshields, sidewalks and worst of all panty hose and "toward" when we would say "towards" , both especially grating. That means for me that it loses 2 stars.

Almost ruined by the Americanisation of the text

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Brilliantly read by the actress who played the lead role in the original TV series.

if anyone knows of an example of the Radio that featured in the first episode let me know - I have coverted that machine all my adult life... sigh.

Better than life...

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For me personally I think this was only ever going to work as a piece of nostalgia. This was a plot limited by the BBC's budget, etiquette and ambitions, as such it was a quintessentially English post-apocalypse story.

So, the fact that Carolyn Seymour does the narration was a real plus, as the original Abbey who is the lead character in the story her voice certainly helped take me back to watching the original TV series as a child. As others have mentioned quite why she ended up being saddled with Americanisms such as sidewalk and sedan instead of pavement and saloon is anyone's guess. It just sounds bizarre in this context.

To anyone who doesn't remember the TV series then it's a decent enough yarn but the genre now has many more stirring tales spun by better authors without the constraints of a seventies BBC production.

Pleasant Nostalgia

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