A Post Apocalyptic/Dystopian Western

The story is set 100 years after civilisation fell. People have reverted back to hunter-gather life style and wander the lands, known as the waste, either alone, referred to as Indie’s, or in groups, referred to as tribes. There are no cities, there are only camps and small trading outposts. Bullets are used as currency and owning books or working appliances powered by suncatchers is a sign of great wealth. Life in the waste is hard and what life was like before the waste is seen as just stories.

The way of life for people wandering the waste has become threatened by a new enemy called the Vorin. This people of the Vorin are not fighting for resources but are instead massacring everyone in their path and burning down crops and orchards. No one knows who the Vorin are or why they are intent on destroying everything in their path.

When one of the larger tribes are attacked the chief of the tribe tasks his daughter Caroline to seek help beyond the wall-without-walls where there are rumours of powerful people who survived the destruction of the old world unscathed. No one has been known to survive the journey and it is seen to be a sacrifice. An Indie called Rock takes the job of accompanying Caroline to escort her across the central waste to the edge of wall-without-walls.


Who was your favourite character and why?

My favourite character was actually one of the main side characters, Mayer Jude. The Mayer is a visionary who is trying to build up and manage Centralia which is the first city in the waste. I thought the author did a great job with this flamboyant character as he tries to lead his people for the greater good and strive for progress and a slow return to how life was before civilisation fell.

That’s not to take anything away from the main protagonist Rock. The main character says very little as he prefers to, and is used to, travelling alone only caring about himself. That begins to change when we meet Caroline, a tribe’s chief daughter, and I liked the pace at which the two came to trust and depend on each other. You can’t help but root for both of them.


Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I was actually quite keen on listening to this story as it was narrated by the author himself. Normally narrators, and readers, interpret the writers’ characters whereas this time the author is presenting his characters as he intended. Sounds random after typing that but I thought it was interesting.

I thought the narration was enjoyable and kept pace with the story. The different styles and voices were good and after a while even Rock’s gruff voice grew on me. If I had to nit-pick, I only have 2 very small criticisms. Narrating the chapter titles after a while became a little bit irritating as it did feel like it interrupted the flow a little. Also the mic quality, while perfectly adequate, felt like it would benefit from being a notch better.


Any additional comments?

I actually managed to snag a free copy of the book from the author in a giveaway on the reddit audiobooks section. I normally listen to fantasy, thrillers and adventure books but over the last few months I have been listening to more post-apocalyptic titles. I really enjoyed this book and without hesitation have already spent two credits on book 2 and 3 to continue Rock and Caroline’s story. It is an intriguing world that the author has created and I’m looking forward to experience more of it. So many questions to answer… how did civilisation end? what are the real motivations behind the new enemy? what lies beyond the wall without walls.

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