Exile

The Book of Ever Volume 1

By: James Cormier

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Centuries after the Fall, the United States has been wiped away. The crumbling remains of the great American empire are home now only to savage, lawless tribes and packs of ravening Damned - the twisted children of the apocalypse. Most of those few who survived humanity's destruction spend their short lives in a violent struggle for survival. But some light still flickers in the darkness: the Blessed of Bountiful live in seclusion, relying on walls both physical and spiritual to protect them from the Desolation that their world has become.

Among them are the Saints, those few men and women born with superhuman abilities that the Blessed see as gifts from God. The violent apostate tribes of the Northeast Kingdom have always been a danger, but up until recently its small size and the vigilance of its people have made Bountiful an unappealing target. As attacks on the community grow harsher and more frequent, however, even the steadfast Blessed are forced to start preparing for the worst.

With her home's very existence threatened, 17-year-old Ever Oaks, a Saint with the power to heal, is forced to make a difficult choice, one that may come to define her people's future.

©2014, 2015 James D. Cormier (P)2015 James D. Cormier

YA Post-apoc SF that’s not quite dystopian

Real Rating: 3.5*

SERIES INFO: This is Book #1 in the “Book of Ever” series which, according to the author, is “planned as a trilogy.” Book #2, “which will be titled Extinction” will be out “sometime in 2016.”

I’m not labeling this one as dystopian because I felt that, despite it’s flaws and the dissatisfaction of some of it’s citizens, neither the founders nor current leaders of Bountiful were malevolent or deliberately oppressive. No society is perfect, and there will always be those who feel they don’t quite fit in (especially among the young).

Ever (18): is a Saint (someone gifted with supernatural powers) living in a fundamentalist religious society. She starts out with the ability to heal and begins to develop additional gifts along the way. She chafes against both the restrictions on women inherent in her society and the narrowness of her world, necessitated by very real dangers from outside. While her abilities are definitely “special,” she isn’t obnoxiously over talented. I like that she has a reasonable amount of self-defense & weapon skills for someone living in a dangerous world but isn’t unusually skilled. There are things she has to depend on others to do.

Jared (17): At first, like Ever, I disliked him. But he quickly proved his caring nature and determination to do the right thing. While he may have been a bit over competent for his age, his emotional responses seemed appropriate. He wasn’t controlling or dismissive. He let her do what she was good at and contributed his own skills to the mix.

Ever & Jared: I understand why she doesn’t really consider herself to be married, but their relationship was still a bit disturbing. They support each other with words & actions, and I liked them together; but I would like to have had more interaction between them earlier on, to develop the relationship. Note: it is clear from the beginning that something is going to happen with them, so it isn’t really a spoiler to discuss it.

Erlan: (Ever’s sort of husband) - deserves no mention; I seriously don’t understand him.

At first I had to write down the full names of Ever’s traveling companions, since sometimes they were called by their first names and sometimes by their last. As we went along, however, they began to be distinguished by their personalities.

I would have appreciated learning where Bountiful was in the pre-apocalyptic world sooner. (view spoiler)

The prologue didn’t work for me as a beginning. The jump back in time from it to chapter one was too abrupt. That could have been resolved by simply saying “2 weeks earlier,” but it also made me impatient to get back to where we started. Note: I often have this response when the prologue is from a time soon after the beginning of the next chapter.

A couple of times I thought I knew what was going to happen but the author found a different, not so obvious, way to accomplish the same end.

I was thinking that it was nice that her society, despite be religious fundamentalists, nevertheless accepted those that were gifted; and the author highlighted that by introducing someone whose people didn’t accept his gifts.

It was also nice, to get to see several different societies that have developed in isolation over the past several hundred years, from good to bad.

The ending can be considered a cliff-hanger since nothing is resolved, and a lot more questions have been introduced, but we don’t end right in the middle of a plot line. I will definitely be reading the sequel.

NARRATION: I wasn’t liking the reading at all, until I bumped up the speed. I listened on 1.5 speed (rather than my usual 1.25), and it was still a bit slow. However, I liked it much better on the higher speed. / The main distinction between character voices is through subtle accents. There is less distinction between the characters from Bountiful.

FAVORITE PART(S): Jared confronting Erlan, giving him a chance to “man up.” . Ever & Jared not really needing to speak.

“You’re making the concerned face,” she said
“You’re making the decisive face,” he countered. “You’ve decided to go through with it.”


I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: swearing (was an unexpected, unpleasant surprise more than halfway through and included blasphemy) / torture (thankfully not described)

OTHER WARNINGS: In case you missed it in the summary, Ever lives in a religious community. This group is descended from members of the LDS (Mormon) church who survived the apocalypse.

MY RATINGS:
--Narration: AVERAGE (LOW on it’s native speed)
--Enjoyment: HIGH
--Re-readability: AVERAGE

I received this book free in return for an honest review, courtesy of Audiobook Blast dot com.

Everything I Could Want in a YA Novel

Would you listen to Exile again? Why?

Although I am not the type to listen to an audiobook more than once, I would listen to Exile again. It has great themes, a great arc, lots of action, and a wonderful narrator's voice. Also, I just love the main character.

What other book might you compare Exile to and why?

Exile fits into the YA genre popular now- I'd include it with The Hunger Games and Maze Runner. If those are your cup of tea, drink this one.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Blast.

A brilliantly paced book!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Certainly. It was a little like the popular Divergent series in its feel and very entertaining and enjoyable. I was swept along in the world and the characters are likeable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character Ever. A good person but likeable with it. Strong but caring. The journey that she takes us on is brilliant.

Which character – as performed by Gabrielle de Cuir – was your favorite?

Great narration. I liked the way that all characters were brought to life but Id still say Ever was my favourite.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

With the world wiped away who is a Saint and who is a sinner?

Any additional comments?

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

After 'The Fall'

Exile is set in a chaotic, violent world centuries after the “Fall” (a cataclysmic event most likely caused by war).

The city of Bountiful has lived in physical & religious seclusion for years, unfortunately this is changing. In order to save their people a small team is sent out to find a new home; thus begins the story of Ever Oaks and her small band. Ever is gifted, through mutation, with the ability to heal and the beginnings of other talents.

This story definitely kept my interest and I was pleased to see depth to the characters and the settings provided by James Cormier. Gabrielle de Cuir did a great job with giving each character a distinct voice. I look forward to the continuing story.

This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.

Beautifully Written

Any additional comments?

WOW,this book is amazing.Having never read any of this authors work before,i was blown away by his talent.The story of Ever Oakes and her struggles to survive drew me in from the start.The author is extremely talented at world building and creating characters i feel invested in.James Cormier creates a unique setting and characters for his post apocalyptic story.I can't wait for the sequel to find out more about the world he created.Gabrielle de Cuir does an amazing job of narrating this story and is quit pleasing to listen to.I highly recommend this book to any fan of the post apocalyptic & YA genres. I received a copy of this audiobook from the author for an honest review.

Engaging to the End

This was a fantastic book! I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. James Cormier does well to keep you captivated with intense scenes and thought provoking questions that arise between characters and their circumstance. Each character is well defined and the story has some great twist and turns. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Gabrielle de Cuir delivered an above par performance for this epic tale. Each character was unique and the pace of the novel was perfect.

I would highly recommend this book to all.

This audiobook was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Volume 1

What did you like best about this story?

This was a very good book. Soo many twists and turns I couldn't put it down. The characters really came to life for me. I can't wait to listen to book 2

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast

View of the Apocalypse from a very different angle

Took a while to understand the group of people that the book was following after the Apocalypse. Well developed story and characters. I'm looking forward to the next book!