The Dead and the Gone

By: Susan Beth Pfeffer

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

Susan Beth Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It enthralled and devastated listeners with its brutal but hopeful look at an apocalyptic event - an asteroid hitting the moon, setting off a tailspin of horrific climate changes. Now this harrowing companion novel examines the same events as they unfold in New York City, revealed through the eyes of 17-year-old Puerto Rican Alex Morales. When Alex's parents disappear in the aftermath of tidal waves, he must care for his two younger sisters, even as Manhattan becomes a deadly wasteland, and food and aid dwindle.

With haunting themes of family, faith, personal change, and courage, this powerful new novel explores how a young man takes on unimaginable responsibilities.

©2008 Susan Beth Pfeffer (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Great story, not the best narrator

I agree with what others have said about the narrator. In contrast to the previous book, his voice was jarring and I struggled to finish the book at times because of the pronunciation of words like "mami" and "papi". The female characters were voiced so comically it almost sounded like a parody. The story itself is great, but the narrator's performance was distracting

Great Story, Narration was Odd

We’ve been listening to the series while on a family vacation. Everyone really enjoyed the storyline - This one is a bit grittier than the first book. However, the narrator was not well suited to portray female voices without sounding absolutely ridiculous.

This must be a setup for a future book..?

Boring and drags horribly in places (pointing directly at the 4-5 day hallucination scene- omg).
Could have told the entire story in a chapter or less.
Excessive religious theme was very annoying.
Combing those last two things I can only guess that it's a character set up for a future book (in which the almost agnostic Miranda meets the very Catholic, Alex?).
Characters are shallow. I didn't feel any emotions for them where I should have. Again hoping that will change later.
Standing alone- it wouldn't.
Narrator did a fine job, imo. You can't blame him for the story, and since it was told from a male perspective, and considering the topic of the series, he was a good fit. Very deep voice. It worked for me.
Like I said, I think the whole thing was written to give a little backstory on the main character Alex. So, read it for the series.. or google it (where I'm certain you'd get as much necessary information, in a lot less time) and save that precious credit. Haha.
Don't expect to be enthralled. You'll find yourself daydreaming, and not missing much.

So amazing!-but sad..

I L-L-LOVED this book! It helps you visualize the struggles that the main characters went through, it really puts you in the pov of them. Very sad book though, I was so sad, especially at the end. Anyways, it’s a good read and I highly recommend it and the whole series in general!

another great book

excellent a little turned off by reader, voice too deep for 17 year old boy

Misunderstood narrator

I originally saw that the man speaking was flawed and bad. Went into it expecting bad speech. But it was good and got into the story.

sad but good

I read the book before listening to it. but I got more out of it.

good book

great story line, I felt really engaged in the story and loved the characters. Highly recommended

Missing gaps but amazing job reading and heartfelt

Loved the story and how well the author got you attached to characters. Amazing job reading felt like I was watching a movie in my mind. Had a few gaps that drove me nuts but good overall

great book

I like it I want the other books in the series to read on and figure out the rest