The Dead Lands

A Novel

By: Benjamin Percy

Narrated by: Holter Graham

In Benjamin Percy's new thriller, a postapocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga, a superflu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary - the remains of St. Louis - a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders.

Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond its walls. She reports on the outside world: West of the Cascades, rain falls, crops grow, civilization thrives. But there is danger too: the rising power of an army that pillages and enslaves every community they happen upon.

Against the wishes of the Sanctuary, a small group sets out in secrecy. Led by Lewis Meriwether and Mina Clark, they hope to expand their infant nation and to reunite the States. But the Sanctuary will not allow them to escape without a fight.

©2015 Benjamin Percy (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Buckle up - this one will take you for a ride!

Between nuclear bombs, a super flu, and radiation poisoning, there isn't much left to the United States as we know it. Leave it to Lewis and Clark to set out on a journey to the Northwest to find out if there are any other survivors that are living and what the conditions are like.

I'll be honest, the post-apocalyptic genre is not my go-to read, but the fact that Percy takes a spin on the the Lewis and Clark expedition actually held my attention through the mutations and goblins and treacherous things this search party has to endure. He paints sharp characters who are well developed and provides incredible backstory.

Each page contains a ridiculous amount of description. At times, this was well warranted and necessary and appreciated. Between the horror and gore, twists and turns, and fantastic action scenes, I enjoyed the amount of detail Percy puts into the story. At other times tho, it was a bit much and I found myself breezing through some of the paragraphs to get to the good stuff.

And beyond the epic quest, the weird supernatural component, and the need to survive at all costs, there is a story of friendship, endurance, hope, and love.

The narrator did an incredible job bringing all of the many characters to life in this book.

If you can wrap your head around that science fiction, dystopian, post-apocalyptic type of read, or if you enjoy a new take on a part of history, then this book would be an interesting read for you.

Started out good

It starts out great, kind of a cross between The Stand and Divergent. But after the first quarter I found I wasn't listening to the story. Not sure if it's the narrator or a weak story. Not bad, not great.

Intelligent and imaginative story!

Greatly enjoyed it! Well thought out and written. Anyone looking for an interesting twist on the post-apocalypse genre should give Dead Lands a try.

Not So Dead!

Loved it. Is there a sequel? I sure hope so. Interesting idea and story line. I would like more please.

Average

At least it was a bit different from the run of the mill post apocalyptic reads nowadays. Other than that I have to say that it was just average. A little confusing at times and the character development seemed to unfold throughout but in a large part later in the book which was a bit odd. It did also have moments throughout of really seeming to take off and even moments of great potential but each only seemed to last briefly.
This is a book that, once again, I considered stopping and asking for my credit back all through the entire read but ended up hanging on till the end hoping the entire way that it would get better. I was disappointed but I find that a huge number of people seem to like the mediocre post apoc reads MUCH more than I usually do so I wouldn't let this review steer you away necessarily.

Not my style

I purchased this book because it had pretty ok ratings. Guess it just wasn't my style. It was narrated ok and I finished it sooooo yea.... I wish I had my credit back.

Don't waste your time or money

The book started off okay. Then, the author seemed to forget what was written beforehand and just ran into random directions. It did not flow. It was like a terrible mash up of The Stand, Game of Thrones, and this guy's warped opinion of humanity. Prepare to be lost and confused 99% of the time.

Not for me but will work for others...

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: DNF

Audio Rating: 4.00 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: After 7 hrs and 55 min I just was not invested enough in The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy to finish. That made me sad :(

Overall Thoughts: Here is the thing (or thang as we say in Texas): I think The Dead Lands will work for a ton of people but for some reason I just could not get into the story. I stopped/started the audiobook 3 times. After awhile you just have to call that the story is not a good fit for you. The world was interesting. It was unique, twisted, and visually I think it would be stunning in a bleak kind of way. The twist of the characters based loosely on Lewis/Clarke was clever. However, the characters just didn't grab me and make me want to journey with them. In these types of books, I need that! So this just didn't work for me.

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated by Holter Graham/Running Time 13 hrs 31 min


Holter is one of my favorite narrators and he did a darn good job! I do believe he is the reason that I kept coming back to try and finish the story. In the end though even his narration could not carry me all the way through to the end.

Part of my It's Not You, It's Me Reviews