Another fab book.

I really enjoy Paul's books his writing style is just my cup of tea. I honestly thought I knew what was coming after being surprised in his other books however again he has managed to surprise me. I went on an emotional rollercoaster with these characters I fell in love with them, cry with them and cheer them on in hope. I read this in 2021 and honestly can feel the dread the charters go through of an unexpected virus (I wonder where this idea came from).

If you haven't read Disappearance at Devil's Rock you might want to read or listen to that first as some characters make a return which I won't forgive Paul for (He knows what he did).

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Great book

really well told and gripping story. loved it!
The narrator was really good as well.

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Hmmmm...

I gave this book an overall three stars, I was really looking forward to listening to a Zombie guilty pleasure and eagerly awaited its release. However, the story was a bit wimpy for me, I felt there wasn’t enough detail especially in the “meaty chapters were Nathalie had the baby, okayish for a light hearted listen. Hated the American author trying to replicate an English accent, especially a North East accent.... too cringey.

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Excellent! Original take on an Apocalypse.

Not sure what the negative reviews are about but I’d just ignore them. The narrator is great and the story is excellent.

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A tale of desperation, despair and survival

I really enjoyed this audiobook - if 'enjoyed' is the word, as it's quite a harrowing tale. It takes place over only a few short hours of time (apart from the epilogue), and Paul Tremblay has done a marvellous job in conveying the terror, desperation, hopelessness and determination to survive that is demonstrated by the two protagonists, best friends Nat and Ram. The friends are wonderfully realised characters and I loved them both, which made the trials they go through even more hard to bear. The story is simple and very moving, and very well narrated by Erin Bennett. A little bonus for a native of north east England (like me) is the mention of recognisable local places and landmarks in and around Newcastle!

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3 people found this helpful

Good Story and a quick listen

Listened to this on audio.

Good story which kept me interested throughout despite the dodgy British accent from the narrator which maybe should have been a Geordie/North East accent but whatever.

There’s a outbreak of a new variant of rabies amongst the animal population which seems to progress at warp speed through the stages, particularly when passed onto humans.

Ram (Ramona) a paediatric doctor, is determined to save her friend Nats (Natalie) and her unborn baby in a race against time after Nats is infected.

The seemly short distance to help is paved with obstacles and perils at every turn.

This book felt surprisingly short but not at all rushed. I would recommend for those making journeys and wanting the accompaniment of a good book.

The audio was jumpy and seemed to skip back and forth randomly but didn’t affect my understanding of the story too much.

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A very human tale on the zombie story

Tremblay's typically elegant writing style is applied to a classic zombie-esque scenario. A virulent form of rabies infects a pregnant woman and her friend struggles to keep them all alive while the area descends into chaos.

It's not going to surprise anyone with the plot, but it's very well written, performed well by the reader, and overall is a good yarn.

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Pseudo-zombie apocalypse thriller

Audible has this categorised as a horror novel, but I consider it to be more of a thriller. If you go into this expecting to be scared then I think you’ll be disappointed. The plot is reasonably fast paced and is compelling enough that I got through the entire book in a single day.
One thing that may be off-putting for some people is that the book is written in the present tense, which I found rather jarring at first, but I eventually acclimatised to it. That said, I don’t think it really adds much to the story, so I’m not sure why the author made this choice.
I’d say the performance is the weakest aspect of the book. The narrator had a rather flat voice, which kind of reminds me of text-to-speech programs. Her efforts at male voices were particularly immersion-breaking. Of course, you can listen to the sample and come to your own judgement on this point.
Overall, despite this audiobook having its weak points, I found it to be a reasonably well-crafted story that didn’t outstay its welcome.

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3 people found this helpful

Zom-baby

Good story here with the usual impressive writing style of Tremblay. I at this point i have now read all Paul Tremblays book and i have never been disappointed and Survivor song is no different. The two main characters are well developed and made me really connect with them in a way that I was rooting for them all the way. Some excellent side characters drift in and out as the story unfolds which helps supplement the main characters' arcs.

The narration performance is great and serves the story well.

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Wistful Apocalypse With Echoes of Station Eleven

🧡 This is much more emotional than most apocalyptic/pandemic novels. It focuses almost entirely on heavily pregnant Natalie and her best friend Rams, a doctor. I’d argue that this is a love story; a heart-rending tale of friendship. And it works. I got some serious chills as the besties did whatever it took to try and deliver Natalie’s baby safely.

💚 The tone shifts around from quirky and comical - especially Natalie’s sections - to the wistful voice of the all-knowing narrator. The narrator especially has a poetic turn of phrase reminiscent of the writing in Station Eleven, another intriguingly unorthodox apocalypse audiobook.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Erin Bennett delivers a hauntingly beautiful performance. She totally hits all the quirky notes, while managing to tug the heartstrings when needs be. The production is simple yet flawless.

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