The First cover art

The First

A Prequel to 'The Returned'

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The First

By: Jason Mott
Narrated by: Victor Bevine
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About this listen

In Jason Mott's haunting and unforgettable debut novel, The Returned, an impossible miracle is occurring all across the globe. Read how it all begins in this short story, The First.

It's been just over a year since Edmund Blithe died, and just over a month since his fiancée, Emily, stopped wearing her engagement ring. Emily has finally begun to move on… Until Edmund mysteriously and inexplicably returns, sending the world - and Emily - into a tailspin.

Edmund is only just the beginning. Around the world, people's loved ones are returning from beyond, seeking only to reenter the lives they left behind. As the world dives deep into uncertainty, Emily and Edmund are determined to find their way back to one another…even if it means risking everything.

©2013 Jason Mott (P)2013 Audible Inc. Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Short Story

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All stars
Most relevant  
I am looking forward to continuing the story. X
It was gripping and interesting with the love story running through the centre of the story.

Excellent.

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This was really touching and enjoyable, just the mere thought of putting yourself in Emily's position and having a loved one return who had passed would be amazing! This book was very well thought out, looking forward to continuing the story😀

Great start to the prequels

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This story is interesting enough that I would have been tempted to buy the book. I love the idea of having short stories leading up to the novel. My problem is that I simply can not get on with the narrator. I have returned another book by a favorite author (R.A. Salvatore) for the same reason. Instead of my usual problem with narrators, which is that they are too monotone and robotic, Victor Bevine reads the words almost poetically and can do a range of voices, which is brilliant. However, he is very emotional, which can work to create a sense of pace but when it's all the time it becomes jarring. There seemed to be more emphasis on what the story sounded like, than on telling the story itself. This left me feeling that there was an emotional disconnect between him and the actual story, as though he had only one way of reading, regardless of what was happening in the reading material.

My advice would be to try this as it is free and can give you a great idea of what author and narrator are like. I will personally be looking out for Jason Mott in the future.

Interesting story, couldn't get on with narrator

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Out of all the prequels to the original book The Returned, this is probably the weakest but it is nice to delve back into the world and it is a nice starting point.

Probably the least entertaining of the sequals

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Would you listen to The First again? Why?

I wouldn't listen to this short story on its own again but if I was going to listen to 'The Returned' again, I would listen to the three prequel short stories (of which this is the first) again, too.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favourite character was probably Edmund Blythe because he seemed like a really nice guy coping as well as could be expected in completely unprecedented circumstances.

What about Victor Bevine’s performance did you like?

I thought the narrator's voice really suited the story and I'd definitely listen to audiobooks narrated by Bevine in the future. The only reason I didn't give him 5 stars was because I felt he should have left a slightly longer gap between scene changes. The complete lack of a pause between scene changes was a little confusing at times.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

'This movie is based on a 30 minute short story so expect more unnecessary padding than the Hobbit movies!'

Any additional comments?

This doesn't work as a stand-alone short story in its own right, but it works really well as a teaser for the novel. I can't imagine anybody reading this story and not wanting to read the novel to find out what the bigger picture is.

A good start

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Life after Death... Is there life after the death of a loved one? Those who experience it doubt that. But what happens when the dead loved one turns up 'alive'?

Human emotions

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