The Storm Before the Storm: A Novel of Preparedness and Survival

American Sundown Series

By: Joe Russell

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

As a prepper, Dave Galanos has always made an effort to do what he can to prepare for the unexpected. But when something goes terribly wrong halfway through a backpacking trip with his wife and family, his world is turned upside down, and he is tested in a way he had never planned for.

The trip into the Alleghenys of West Virginia starts off well enough but takes an unexpected turn when the two women, Sandra and her sister, Jen, leave camp and don’t return from a nearby stream. Dave and Mike, Jen’s new boyfriend, go looking for them and find evidence that the women may have been kidnapped. Miles from civilization and with no working cell phones, Dave and Mike will set off to find Sandra and Jen, unconnected and unconcerned about what is happening in the world around them.

Dave has been hardened by real-world self-defense scenarios in the past and has naturally equipped himself with tools that may be required for an unexpected circumstance. He will have to work together with Mike, who he sees as more of an annoyance and a liability than a useful ally. They will have to work together to beat the clock, the elements, and a group of dangerous locals in order to rescue their companions in this realistic, rugged, and action-packed story of preparedness and survival.

The storm is just beginning. Will Dave and his companions have what it takes to survive?

The Storm Before the Storm is the premier novel by postapocalyptic author Joe Russell and the first installment in the American Sundown series.

©2017 Joe Russell (P)2018 Joe Russell

Great kick off to a new series

What I really liked about this book was that it really brings you into the next book nicely. There was a lot of character development in this book. But not in the way that it's boring.
This is an excellent action-packed book. It's a great process to what I believe the next books are going to be about, WSHTF. There's a lot of useful information in this book along with a great story line. I really look forward to reading more from the series.

Kevin Pierce does an excellent job as always narrating this book. He has quite a great voice for this line of work and seems to really get into the character development as well as the story line.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

You can tell if you read some of my reviews, I am very honest in my reviews.

Action packed.

The Storm Before the Storm is a wild fast paced action adventure. No spoilers, but I will say the majority of the book plays out more like a well done men's adventure story rather than your typical post-apocalyptic novel. This is Joe Russell's first book and I have to say I am quite impressed. I look forward to the next in the series, and I also must say after finishing the book I think the title is perfect.

Kevin Pierce is one of my favorite narrators and is without a doubt THE voice for survival fiction, and as always he does a fantastic job.

I received a copy of this audio title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

A really good read

I loved this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to read more.

If you can get past the slow beginning...

The Storm Before the Storm by Joe Russell is an end-of-the-world type prepper's dream. Well, not really, but the main character Dave is definitely that guy. If it's between prepping or saving for his daughter's college fund, he's more apt to make sure he's got everything together in the event of an EMP or other end of the world scenario. I was really interested in listening to this book, and initially got distracted listening to the super in depth descriptions in the first hour to hour and a half or so of the book. I wanted to story to start already! Though with this being the beginning of a series, I definitely understand the author's need to set up initial explanations, Dave's backstory, etc. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into the multiple story lines with much gusto. Obviously with tons of good reviews though, I am largely in the minority. The story jumps between multiple story lines in both the past and present. Reading the description, I really thought that this was going to revolve around the kidnapping of the women in the present.

Kevin Pierce did an excellent job with the narration. His voice is a perfect fit for this story and, well, I'd love to listen to more of his performances. His voice is is so easy to listen to and he has a perfect voice for narration, and adds emotion when needed. His narration was the highest point of the book. That being said, perhaps if you were a die hard prepper, or at least someone who could definitely get into that type of lifestyle, you may enjoy this book more than the non-preppers that didn't rate this book as high. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

Backwoods kidnapping prepper adventure!

Loved this story! Dave and his wife, sister in law and sister in law's city slicker boyfriend take a weekend to go camping and hiking in the Virginia wilderness. They meet some sketchy characters on the way but move along. The girls are kidnapped and Dave and Mike strike out to find them. Cut off from civilization they can only rely on themselves. Very good story with twists and turns and prepper fun. The prepper aspect has made me consider stashing my own stockpile of supplies just in case. As they say its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it! Can't wait for the next in the series! I received a free review copy of this book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great Start to a New Series!

I must disclose that Kevin Pierce it my absolute favorite narrator! I would love for him to teach a "Master's Class" in what narration is supposed to be as opposed to "Acting Out" a book. His narration allows the listener to still imagine what an author has worked to create with their prose. Joe Russell has done a great job with developing characters. I look forward to learning more about them in the next book. The author approached several "hot button" issues in the book. Pulling all those issues into the book was interesting but I am more excited to see what happens "After the Storm".

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge via Audiobook Boom for an unbiased review.

Get Ready

Joe Russell got my attention in the opening scene and kept my attention to the very end. Prepping can be a hobby or a way of life and luckily for the main character the latter applied. I enjoyed this book and would recommend if this genre is to your liking. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher

A great book and a great beginning of a series

Survivalists are going to love this. If you don’t like this genre you might find it overly descriptive, but I really liked it. Has an A.A. American Coming Home series feel. I’m excited for the next in the series.

Rising to the occasion.

The debut novel of a new series starts out with a warm-up adventure before the stuff really does hit the fan. Our family in focus consists of two couples; Dave, his wife Sandra, her sister Jen, and Jen’s boyfriend Mike. Our group is backpacking in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia when the two women disappear from camp. Dave and Mike have never gotten along very well together, but now they must put differences aside to find out what happened and bring their women home. This is a good story of people rising to the occasion to accomplish a mission regardless of the difficulties. As this is the first book of a series it concludes with the introduction to the next volume. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Excellent read

Awesome book. Having been born, raised and worked most of my life in the areas described in the book it made it a extra special read. Looking forward to more books in this series. Walter