Exodus

By: Kimberly A Bettes

Narrated by: Rick Gregory

At the height of the Great Depression, thousands of families who have lost everything are left with no choice but to make the pilgrimage westward in search of a new life. Some will find what they're looking for. Some will not and will then be forced to make the long journey back home. Then there are the others, those who never make it to either place because they made a stop along the way in a town called Exodus, an abandoned silver mining town in eastern Arizona where nothing good ever happens and most folks never leave.

The Carlsons - John, his wife Anne, and their newborn baby James - are one of countless families heading west, and they're one of many unfortunate families who decide to make a stop in Exodus. The sign on the highway promises food and gas, both of which the Carlsons need. But the sign doesn't advertise all that Exodus has to offer.

It doesn't mention the torture.

The cannibalism.

The death.

Caught now in a horrifying world of madness, Anne has to fight to save her family, though doing so will push her to the very brink of her own sanity.

A horror novel for mature audiences only.

©2016 Kimberly A. Bettes (P)2017 Kimberly A. Bettes

Proves Women Can Write Horror

This story was disturbing, disgusting, creepy, and vile....

...and I kinda liked it.

There are few people I feel could get away with writing a story about the horrors of motherhood and it becomes an actual horror story. Yes, this story isn't original--very reminiscent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn, and those other cannibal/torture-related stories. However, what sets this gruesome depiction apart from the others is the idea of motherhood--how far will you go to save your child? How far will you go to love your child? What does it take to keep a family together? These questions are asked through three different perspectives--Ann's, Vera's, and Vera's mother (Of course Ann is the best mom here, obviously).

I was very impressed with the music that was played throughout the audiobook--I think that was a great addition to the story and really gave you something to ruminate on.

Some negative things I will say is that the narrator did a good job, but it wasn't the best narration I've experienced. He attempted to use different voices for each character, but there were times where all the voices sounded the same and I couldn't pick out who was talking (especially between Frank and Mimi). Another negative is that the inflection the narrator used during times of stress for the characters lacked. For instance, when Ann first met Vera and her husband was missing. The writing appeared to have Ann worried, but the narrator sounded joyful (when Ann was answering Vera's questions about Baby James). If I narrated, my voice would have been hesitant and showed more appropriate emotion. Finally, the last negative thing about the book, itself, is that many parts of Vera's characterization was repeated MANY MANY MANY unnecessary times. How many times do we need to hear that she gets turned on by one specific thing (that I won't spoil for you). I just felt the flow of the story could have been improved with a fiercer editing process.

Disturbing Gore Galore.

If you could sum up Exodus in three words, what would they be?

Disturbing. Uncomfortable. Creepy.

What did you like best about this story?

I typically read sci-fi and thrillers and rarely read horror books, because I haven't come across any good horror books in a long time. Most of the horror books I had seen in recent times were either full of "jump scares" or trying the old cliched tropes. Not this book. This book is choke full of uniquely disturbing and creepy happenings that really rattle you. The story got terrifying really fast and kept me hooked till the end. I was more or less disgusted by the gore, and yet I couldn't put it down. I finished the book in a single day, 2 long sessions.

Any additional comments?

I voluntarily received a free copy of this book from the author / narrator / publisher and I'm leaving an unbiased review.

Don't listen to this while eating. Seriously.

Very creepy!

Wow! I'm a fan of horror but I'll admit some parts made me uncomfortable xand made me cringe! I guess you know it's good horror if it makes you cringe! lol The story itself takes place during the great depression and the writer wasted no time jumping straight into the horror! Loved it! Great narration by Rick Gregory! I've listened to a few of his narrations now and really enjoy his work.

Loved it

Dark, gruesome and super creepy. The perfect horror. It really did remind me of The Hills Have Eyes, which is an awesome movie so I loved this book.

The narration was good for the most part. Not my favorite narrator but the performance was decent.

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

disturbing

If you want to be disturbed then this is a book for you. it's full of cannibalism, incest, and gore. I enjoyed it.

Ain't we got fun

Wow this book was crazy. 1 part Texas Chain Saw Massacre, 1 part the Hills Have Eyes. Huge fan of horror books and this one did not disappoint. Not a fan of gratuitous gore or forced obscene situations and this story had none of that. It definitely had the creep factor, taboo situations, as well as the gore; however, it all felt natural and not there just to be there. If you can’t handle nasty horror this isn’t for you, but if you love some creepy backwoods style horror this is for you.
Narration was great and the song that was played added the perfect touch. Definitely will look for more from both the author and narrator.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Wow

If you could sum up Exodus in three words, what would they be?

blood, baby, town

What other book might you compare Exodus to and why?

Return to Hell Texas by Tim Miller.

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

I don't believe so, but he did a great job on this book.

If you could rename Exodus, what would you call it?

I wouldn't rename it. it was the perfect name

Any additional comments?

I started out a little confused because it switched from introducing a character and then to something that felt completely different, but i ended up loving how this was all written. Gave great spaces to stop and take a break if needed to just clear the head, but i was interested in finding out what happened next.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

A tale of horror, gore, cannibalism and incest.

I have received a free copy of this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

After the crash of the 29 many people started to move west in search for a new opportunity in life. Anne, her husband John, and their baby James, are one of these many families who lost everything and dreamed of something new. They are forced to make a stop in the way due to running out of water and gas, and stumble upon Exodus, an abandoned mining town, where just one family seems to remain. They run the only businesses left in town and make their profits from the constant current of people moving west. But just some are able to continue their way after making a stop at Exodus.

I was not sure what I was up against before starting this book. I got a warning saying that it was going to be a very crude book. And it was, but in a good way. It often happens in horror stories, that the author goes for making a statement and imprinting some images in the reader's mind, but at times there is not much of a plot or characters that are more than two dimensional. This is not the case. Exodus is a tale of horror, gore, cannibalism and incest. It is so gruesome at moments that I was torn between the need of taking a break and continuing listening to it. it is incredible, with very powerful images and many horrible facts tied together; but it is also wonderfully well written, with credible characters and relationships, that in very disturbing way, make sense.

There is a soundtrack to this book, which helps set an atmosphere to this story. In a way it is what it shows how disturbed is one of the characters, but also reminds us of the fact that the book is set in the early 30's. After a while the song stuck in my head, while I was able to see Frank cutting meat on his cutting table. And the song kept playing on and on. On and on.

I really enjoyed Rick Gregory's narration. He has a soothing voice, which contrasted with the horrible facts happening in the book. Gregory is also able to deliver different voices for all the characters but in a subtle way, which makes you forget that you are listening to a book, and makes you believe you are watching it. He included excerpts of the song which Frank listened again and again, 'Ain't we got fun' by Van and Schenck, which I think worked great to set the mood. I think it is worth mentioning that this song was an anthem of the Roaring Twenties, and it appeared on several movies of the time. It was a great choice by the Bettes and a great choice by Gregory to include excerpts along the book.

I found the audio production mostly correct, but I noticed a noise 34:53, just after announcing chapter three.

I absolutely loved this book, much more than I expected. It is indeed a gruesome book, ideal for horror fans, but I also enjoyed the power of the unique characters in the story, which makes this story stand out among others.

Prepare to become a vegetarian after reading this

If gore is your thing, this novel will certainly hit the mark. You get murder, cannibalism, incest, and some pretty freaky fetishes. The victims were sympathetic, and the bad guys were appropriately repulsive as individuals, and insane in their actions. The novel is classified as horror, but it's important to distinguish that Exodus is not so much scary as simply gross and gory. Cringe-worthy, even.

The choice of time, place and plot by Bettes was what brought me to this novel. Something as dry and desperate as a desert (and deserted) town on the way from the Dust Bowl to the promised land of California storms was genius. The writing was decent, but somewhat repetitive and not as creative as it could have been. The same word or phrase could be repeated two or three times in the same paragraph, and characterizations weren't as much enhanced as restated.

The narration did nothing to strengthen the story. The reading was slow and deliberate with no affect or emotion at all, which dragged the story down. I would have appreciated differentiation between voices, as I often couldn't figure out which character was supposed to be speaking. As well there were frequent unexpected pauses, almost as if the narrator hesitated moving to the next line or while turning a page. The audio version seemed to have been "produced" without any editing, which it certainly could have used.

As a final warning: If you're not a vegetarian, you may find yourself reconsidering meat consumption after reading/listening to Exodus, as you'll always wonder, and fear, just where that meat you're being served came from.

Half of my family is in this book!

Set during the Great Depression, this horror historical fiction follows the Carlson family as they try to survive the biggest mistake of their lives. They stopped at a small mining town in Arizona (Exodus) on their way to California where they hoped to be hired on as fruit pickers. Now they have to do their best to survive Frank and his murdering cannibalistic family.

This is a horror fest. It’s not for the squeamish. If you can’t handle the first chapter, then this is not the book for you. Such was not the case for me. I listened to the whole thing and was entertained, grossed out, hopeful for the main character, and wanted the despicable family that perpetrated these acts dead.

Cannibalism, murder, rape, human lactation fascination, and incest make up this story. Frank’s family owns and runs the little diner in Exodus as well as the thrift store where they sell those items they take off of their victims. Frank’s mom is a loud, heavy handed matriarch that rules over her kids. Frank’s brother and his sister carry of an affair that they have to hide from Frank, since he gets rather jealous if his sister/lover even looks at another man. Yep, it’s one severely messed up family.

Sometimes the creepiness was a bit excessive like it was pushed to such a height simply to get a reaction out of the reader instead of moving the story forward. Occasionally it was gratuitous horror but over all I enjoyed the tale. I was really rooting for Anne, hoping she would get out of this hell hole with her baby James.

Speaking of them, this story was extra creepy for me because so many of the names match names of my family members. My paternal grandparents (also named John and Anne) were migrant farmers from Tennessee that went out to California to work in the fruit orchards. I have lots of cousins in small mining towns in Arizona because of this migration. My dad is also named James, though he was born in the 1940s instead of the 1930s. The characters John and Anne lost their first born daughter Sarah due to illness. My sister is named Sarah. So, yeah, talk about creepy! Now I want to ask my dad if there are any stories from that migration that the family doesn’t like to talk about.

Initially, I hoped that one of the Exodus siblings might turn good and help Anne, John, and James escape. Frank’s sister was the most likely candidate however she has a lot of serious character flaws to overcome. I did find that I was a bit squeamish about people suckling on Anne (she’s lactating for baby James). It didn’t bother me when it happened in Grapes of Wrath but here it feels like a violation instead of sharing nutrition.

Perhaps 2/3 of the way through, we get an info dump on Frank and his motivations. He’s this big monstrous object doing horrible things for most of the book and then we get a peak inside his head. I would have liked a bit more of that behind-the-scenes stuff in the first 2/3 of the book instead of one big info dump. Still, we got to know Frank a bit more before the big, messy finale. The ending was a good solid one that wraps up any questions. If you’re in the mood for a good jolt of horror to the system, then this in your book. I will be avoiding meat at small diners for a while.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Rick Gregory did a great job with this book. His female voices are feminine and distinct. He has individual voices for each of the characters and he’s so good at being scared and determined, or disgusting and sly, or angry and violent with his voice. He also went the extra mile and did a little special affect that included Frank’s favorite song that he likes to work to – ‘Ain’t We Got Fun’. He plays it in just the right moments and in little snippets so it doesn’t eclipse the narration.