Redfall (A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller Book 1)

BORING. Glad it was free. Will not be reading the next one.
Really had nothing to do with prepping. Maybe about 3 to 4 pages on how the farm was set up.
Ended up skipping about half the book. To many characters.

This book was awesome!!! I absolutely devoured it.

We start with seeing Simon Redfall at his wife's execution. She is being put to death for terrorism. He is in disguise so no one knows who he is. The execution is a major event that has the feel f a carnival! It's also televised. Simons wife maintains her innocence right up to the end, and Simon suffers through it, never quite believing she did what she is accused of, but also wondering how is she innocent? He tries to leave quietly but is recognised by a reporter, angry people turn and start chasing him. He runs but is trapped when suddenly red rain starts falling, the crowd is distracted when a van with some kids come and save him. What follows is a plot of mystery, intrigue subterfuge and the lengths people go to to win.

Character wise, this has a lot of different ones but they were all well written and developed. I particularly liked the group of youths that have the compound in the Amish country called Pandora. It's refreshing to have a book that has young people as preppers and not just the adults. These kids are also incredibly smart and capable. They know there's a conspiracy afoot and are willing to do what's needed to uncover the truth, the first being finding Simon Redfall!!

The author has definitely captured my attention with this book. It sets the scene for what seems to be an amazing series. He has created a unique an addictive book and one that will bring you on a roller coaster, edge of your seat ride! One thing though, be warned that this ends in a major cliff hanger, not even a cliff hanger per say, it kinda just ... ends! We are warned about it at the start, but it still feels abrupt. Yet despite me not liking cliff hangers, I didn't mind this because it has made me want book 2 even more. I've become invested in this story and can't wait to see where it goes.

This is the first book I've listened to being read by Gary Tiedemann and it won't be the last. He was so easy to listen to and really brought the story to life. He had plenty of distinct tones for each character and knew when to bring the extra tenseness needed to make it thoroughly enjoyable.

*I received a copy of this for review. This inn no way affected my thoughts.*

A man who has lost everything could be humanities last hope for survival from an unknown source. Simon Redfall’s wife is executed live in front of a pay-per-view audience for the whole world to see. While this is happening, things are going on behind the scenes that no one knows about. Then, weird red rain begins to fall all across the country. What happens next? You’ll just have to read to find out.

The narration for Redfall Fight For Survival was done by Gary Tiedemann. I haven’t listened to any other books by Tiedemann, but that could change quickly because I really enjoyed his rendition of this book. He really helped to bring Falconer’s words to life and make the story really pop off the page. Falconer should rest easy knowing that when you are able to get a narrator that can do this it only helps your story.

This book starts out with a concept that I believe that I heard George Carlin make jokes about back in the day. The funny part about it then (and now) is how true all of it could become very quickly. Pay-per-view executions live on tv for all to see. Yes, it’s gruesome and vile. Falconers description of it was gross but needed. I was trying to figure out what was going to happen from that one execution, but little did I know I was in for the ride that I got.

Insert a prepper compound in Amish country Pennsylvania that is run by children. Yes, it sounds incredibly weird — but is an amazing breath of fresh air in the post-apocalyptic community. Really, this whole book is that breath. I haven’t been genuinely surprised with a direction of a PA book in quite some time. This book had me on my heels the entire time because I felt like I was surprised at every turn.

My only complaint is that the story just ends. And I genuinely mean that. Sometimes I can tell when an author is gearing down to slow things down for the next book. This book is the polar opposite. Things started to pick up and then bam “continued in book two.” The only reason I’m not talking more about this is twofold: I was warned about it, and the second book is already released and I can listen to it ASAP. I wonder if Falconer wrote the full story and then just sliced it down the middle. I guess I’ll find out more in the next book.

Overall this is more than your average post-apocalyptic book, and I’m really glad that it was.

“This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.”

Fun read. Creative thinking on the part of the Author abounds. My only criticism is the lack of professional editing. There were many sentences that left out a word or otherwise needed a little TLC.