The Walk

By: Lee Goldberg

Narrated by: Luke Daniels

It's one minute after the Big One. Marty Slack, a TV network executive, crawls out from under his Mercedes, parked outside what once was a downtown Los Angeles warehouse, the location for a new TV show. Downtown LA is in ruins. The sky is thick with black smoke. His cell phone is dead. The freeways are rubble. The airport is demolished. Buildings lay across streets like fallen trees. It will be days before help can arrive.

Marty has been expecting this day all his life. He's prepared. In his car are a pair of sturdy walking shoes and a backpack of food, water, and supplies. He knows there is only one thing he can do... that he must do: get home to his wife, Beth, go back to their gated community on the far edge of the San Fernando Valley.

All he has to do is walk. But he will quickly learn that it's not that easy.

His dangerous, unpredictable journey home will take him through the different worlds of what was once Los Angeles. Wildfires rage out of control. Flood waters burst through collapsed dams. Natural gas explosions consume neighborhoods. Sinkholes swallow entire buildings. Aftershocks rip apart the ground. Looters rampage through the streets. There's no power. No running water. No order.

Marty Slack thinks he's prepared. He's wrong. Nothing can prepare him for this ordeal, a quest for his family and for his soul, a journey that will test the limits of his endurance and his humanity, a trek from the man he was to the man he can be... if he can survive The Walk.

©2009 Lee Goldberg (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Best Goldberg story yet

This book is not the usual crime/humor/parody from LG. Goes deep into human nature, how some would react to a disaster.
Marty,a big movie exec. tries to get home, to his wife, after "the Big One" hits Calif. Pretty much total destruction all around, so its a harrowing journey. He meets Buck within a short while and this guy is REALLY obnoxious! Other reviews complain of language and his attitude but that is the character and LG writes him beautifully! Luke Daniels does a fantastic job narrating, especially Buck, you will hate him, lol! The story would not be the same without his attitude, yes he is crude, misogynistic and maddening but please don't let him turn you away, you'll miss a great story.
Marty goes thru hell, almost to the point of "REALLY"?! More? But it's all for a reason. Goldberg is great with the doing the "almost too much," if you have read True Fiction and Killer Thriller, (fantastic humor) but keeps it right at the edge. There are some really tragic incidents that LG handles with his dark humor, even some LOL for sure. The ending is a perfect little twist. I always do stuff while I'm listening to audios but the last 30 min i stopped and just listened. Kept me engaged the whole way. This is my absolute favorite LG book, dont pass on this one because of the bad reviews,they obviously didnt read to the end.

Very Enjoyable Characters

The characters were fun. The story was a solid urban adventure. There was a lot of comic relief in one character. I laughed outloud many times. The story was very interesting, and all loose ends were tied up, but some of them a little too cleanly. Seemed like there should have and could have been a little more detail. Regardless, I recommend it. You will.not be disappointed. ~JTC~

Fun listen

Good time for a few hours. Give it a listen. I’m biased as I’m from the locale but it’s really enjoyable to know EVERY single street and landmark by memory.

Keep Listening

Any additional comments?

I was hesitant & skeptical at first because the main character is so hard to like. However, if you keep listening and can get past some of the crude humor, the book has some hilarious parts. The author does a great job of putting Marty through the ringer without going too far. The ending is sad, happy and has a nice twist (I had my suspicions but the author did a great job of throwing me off.)

what a great story

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. And the narration made it such an epic storytelling. There was clear delineation between the different characters voices, which isn't always the case. I like how the gate guard came across a little like Barney Fife in both actions and voice!

Excellent

Luke Daniels is an excellent narrator! He made a really good story even better! I highly recommend this audio book ...you will laugh out loud. Lee Goldberg is a master at writing a story that holds your attention while sprinkling in a little comedy. Definitely one of my new favorite authors!!

THE WALK is worth your time!

What a good job the writer did on the people and events.This one of the best stories on THE BIG ONE .

This is a must listen

The Luke Daniels added so much to this story. As a SoCal resident, who has been waiting for ‘The Big One,’ this was an uncomfortable book to read. Thank goodness for Daniel’s hilarious interpretation of Buck. Horrific scenes sprinkled with humor is very typical of Lee Goldberg stories. So, so brilliant. And the ending …… is a holy crap surprise.

Lee Goldberg opens new books for me

I bought this book thinking it was a Jack Reacher novel, am I glad I was wrong. I've since looked into Goldberg's books and find that he's written books with Janet Evanovich and many of the stories used in the TV series Monk.
So he's both exciting and funny. This book is about a man who survives the biggest earthquake ever in Los Angeles . He somewhat of a wimp and hasn't really been successful in his career, so when he decides to go to his home in Los Callebrais (listening doesn't tell you how it's spelled) I figured that he wasn't the hero.
Well there's a lot more that happens and Milt is assisted by anew character who both keeps the humor in the story and is there for Milt all the time.
One word about the performance! Superb. Will look for him as a reader I new books I purchase.

Perfect disaster story

Funny, imaginative, big hearted and smart. Luke Daniels did a brilliant job performing it. Short one word.