Alice in No-Man's-Land

By: James Knapp

Narrated by: Miette Deschenes

Alice Walshe has led a very charmed life, until now. Twenty years after a pandemic crippled the country, things are finally back on track and her father, a major player at real estate giant Cerulean Holdings, has made billions renewing the pockets of urban decay that were left behind. As his protégé, she has accompanied him to one such area named Ypsilanti Bloc, a particularly valuable site due to its proximity to a major thriving city. When their airship is attacked by Ypsilanti's biggest militia, however, Alice and her brother, Cody, only barely escape and end up as the sole survivors of the crash.

Alice emerges from the drop ship to find herself trapped in the very Bloc that her father was meant to re-purpose - a ruined city that militias, gangs, and even cannibals now call home. She is discovered by a pair of teens who have tracked the wreck hoping to scavenge anything useful, and with few options open to her, she employs their help to find her brother and get home. Things grow more complicated, however, when she realizes that the attack may not have been random, and that Cerulean's renewal project may not be as benign as she had been brought up to believe.

©2015 James Knapp (P)2016 James Knapp

Entertaining and interesting story....but

Any additional comments?

The story itself was very entertaining, engaging, enjoyable and interesting. Original concept for the apocalypse/pandemic. The story is pretty fast-paced and constantly moving forward. There is always something happening.

Even though the story drew me in immediately I could only listen for a little at a time especially in the beginning. The narration was the problem. It just did not flow smoothly at first. Which is unfortunate because the story itself is actually very good. As the story continued the flow of her narration evened out a bit and it became much more enjoyable.

Action, suspense, mystery, danger, intrigue and betrayal at every turn.

An interesting post apocalyptic twist on a modern day Alice in Wonderland with an Escape from New York feel. The aftermath of a world where mad cow disease was rampant. (A truly scary thought) Now the corporations are in control of different areas of the country. There are the have's in this split society like Alice and the have not's. The have not's live in areas that are considered no- mans- land and are for the most part lawless and are run by gangs/ martial law/scavengers etc.

Is that the ending? Is there going to be a sequel?

The book is worth your time but you may want to read it instead of listening to the audiobook. A narrator should never distract you from the story.

Miette Deschenes did the narration for this book. This is the first time I have listened to her narrate a book.Overall her narration was enjoyable. It looks as though she has only done a couple of books. With a little more experience she could become a really good narrator. Pleasant voice. Really very good character voices. She was able to bring the characters emotions to life through her narration. The non character parts of the narration just did not always flow smoothly. It sounded as though she wasn't familiar with the material. You could tell when she came across a word she wasn't sure how to pronounce. Awkward pauses occasionally. My suggestion would be to read through the material first to familiarize yourself with it. This would help the story flow more smoothly. Even with the issues listed above she is by far not the worst narrator I have ever listened to. Background noise occasionally throughout the book is distracting at times

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

Interesting book and great narrator

Would you listen to Alice in No-Man's-Land again? Why?

This was a very interesting book. I never read or listen to books twice, but if I did, I would listen to this again.

Have you listened to any of Miette Deschenes’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.