The Remaining

By: D. J. Molles

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 20 feet below the basement level of his house, a soldier waits for his final orders. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Someday soon, the soldier will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his mission: Subvenire refectus. To rescue and rebuild.

The Remaining is the first book in the best-selling series, which tells a gritty tale of survival, perseverance and fighting to get back what has been lost.

©2012 D.J. Molles (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

A teaser

Molles is a good writer and I found the book engaging, but ultimately not very satisfying. It's like he wrote a book and the editor arbitrarily picked a chapter in the middle and tore off the pages that followed. Save those for part two. While many of these kinds of series have volumes that end at a relatively arbitrary point, you often get a lot to chew on. There are some great deals in the fantasy/sci-fi genres from authors like Martin, Sanderson, etc. where you get a lot of bang for your credit. But this book seemed more like a promotional teaser (which I got it for a reduced price) to pull you in to the series. Indeed, today I got an email inviting me to buy part two. I think Amazon/Audible is looking to generate more sales and profits from series and part of that might include offering more bite-sized books. That said, I might read part two at some point.

Mitch Rapp meets World War Z, very engaging!

This series has captured my interest, and is very interesting, possible, and timely. Never is the word "zombie" mentioned, but that's what this is. And like World War Z, it is a bacteria that causes the infection. The Main Character, Lee Harden, is not Mitch Rapp, nor is he Brad Pitt, but he is a well-trained soldier with orders to save survivors, and reestablish order.

Many of us love this collapsed-civilization genre, and it is always interesting to see how authors envision people's reactions to it. They seem to be pretty spot on with the cringers, the whiners, the cowards, the bullies, the helpers, the savers, the defenders, the organizers, etc. We are always interested in the science of the contagion, and its mutations. This story is fascinating in all these areas.

What bothered me was the foolish mistakes that our hero made from the very beginning. He disobeyed orders and contacted one of the other 48 prepared soldiers holed up in their bunkers before protocol permitted, and he also left his bunker more than a week earlier than ordered. I don't understand why he and the other 47 soldiers were expected to act on their own, and not to meet up and join forces to do their job. I don't think it would have made much of a difference in the state of the world if he had waited the full ordered time, but he met with disaster after disaster because of it.

Nevertheless, the story has me captivated, and I will read them all. Christian Rummel is always a good narrator, and adds a lot of depth and reality to the story.

Beyond my expectations

Would you consider the audio edition of The Remaining to be better than the print version?

Don't know, only did the audio edition.

What did you like best about this story?

Interesting story premise, the level of detail and character development.

What does Christian Rummel bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does an excellent job with the voices and building in depth and drama.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Excellent book, Could not stop listening. I am not a big fan of the whole "Zombie Apocolypse" craze, I love a good action/thriller and this entire series doesn't disappoint!

Better than expected, except for how it ended

I will start by mentioning the thing that bothered me the most about this book: it just stops. Reading along and... suddenly it is over. There was no real indication that there was an end coming up. Doesn't mean that it was not a logical place to stop, just that there was no real build up and denoument that lead me to think the end of the book was coming.

Other than that, it was a reasonably well-written zombie novel. Yes, it works with the standard clichés and the characters are pretty run-of-the-mill. But there is some satisfying vigilante action, some zombie action, and some militant faction action.

What more do you want from a short and quick read? It ain't literature folks, it's a zombie book. And a relatively well written one for that. I will read more in the series.

The narration is good, there is some swearing, no sex and the violence isn't graphic.

Off to a Good Start

What made the experience of listening to The Remaining the most enjoyable?

The narrator does an excellent job setting up the characters.

What did you like best about this story?

A little slow at the outset, but give it some time. You don't want to miss this series.
This is the typical start to a zombie apocalypse book.
Spoiler alert---
Even though they are technically not zombies.

The book is short and lays the foundation for the rest of the series.
You will want to read this book because it sets ou good books to come.

What about Christian Rummel’s performance did you like?

He is great!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

Get ready for the rest of the series!

Average at best - read my recommendations below

Would you try another book from D. J. Molles and/or Christian Rummel?

No

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It was dull and predictable. Kids are ok in stories but Sam really is a bugger and ruins the flow/story.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Overall has decent characters and a good stage was set...just no execution.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe, since they'd change it all about. Again, ok premise just not the best story execution.

Any additional comments?

This is NOT a Day by Day Armageddon type book as several described - it's "ok" but [to me] does not pull you in. I could care less about the characters...actually, thought all but main character was a distraction. I've listened to a bunch of zombie/end of world books. This is at best in the lower-middle. Disappointing since there are other chapters to read but I'll stop at the first.

If you want a VERY GOOD read/listen go check out "We’re Alive" by Wayland (for some reason hard to find on Audible search. It's an audio drama (multiple voices, special effects, etc). A terrific story and you care about the characters. This is also available via Podcast for free but you'll need to download 50+ files from the past few seasons. Best to get caught up via Audible and listen to final season Podcasts (they are weekly).

Other notable good reads:
The Passage Trilogy by Cronin; Swan Song; Day By Day Armageddon books 1 & 2; Strain Trilogy by Del Toro; Wool; Patient Zero by Maberry; and The Road by McCarthy

Cheers!

Very conflicted about this book.

Would you listen to The Remaining again? Why?

No. I rarely read a book more than once.

Would you recommend The Remaining to your friends? Why or why not?

To some friends but not to all.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Christian Rummel?

Yes.

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

The worst has happened but help has arrived.

Any additional comments?

Story is a little corny and trite. When he says his "I'm here to help" I picture him with his hands on his hips with his chest thrust out like a comic book hero.

Only start if you want to be addicted to a series

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

Yes - This is more than your classic zombie apocalypse story. The character development is complemented very well by Christian Rummel's performance.

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

No.....but now I look forward to more. A good narrator is harder to find than a good author. Rummel is in that category.

Any additional comments?

The Walking Dead has nothing on D.J. Molles.

Zombie Story But A Bit Different

I loved this book. What I really liked is that it's a bit different from the regular run of the mill zombie story. I really liked the explanation of how a person becomes one and its not that far fetched in reality. I also like the fact that this was not a story about saving the world with an international response or some crap like that but more about survival.

Engaging!

Not really into zombie stories but this kept me interested. Going to listen to the next book...

I'm back! I listened to the entire series, I loved it!