The World Without Crows

By: Ben Lyle Bedard

Narrated by: David Gilmore

Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1990, the world ended. A disease had turned people into walking shells of themselves. Zombies. Most of them were harmless, but some were broken by the pressure of the disease. The cracked became ravenous killers whose bites infected.

To escape the apocalypse, Eric, a young, overweight boy of 16, sets off on a journey across the United States. His plan is to hike from Ohio to an island in Maine, far from the ruins of cities, where the lake and the fierce winters will protect him from both Zombies, and the gangs that roam the country.

Along the way, Eric finds friends and enemies, hope and despair, love and hatred. The World Without Crows is the story of what he must become, to survive.

For him, and the people he would come to love, the end was only the beginning.

©2017 Ben Lyle Bedard (P)2022 Ben Lyle Bedard

Great!

A great story about trials and transformation after a zombie apocalypse. Ben shows the true struggles of life traveling through a post apocalyptic world. Zombies are bad, people are worse.
I highly recommend, it has all the zombie action you can want and a very realistic survival aspect. Hard times harden individuals, and its well represented within the pages.

Lots of Zombies and a Coming of Age

It’s not bad enough being 16, overweight, friendless, and without parents but for Eric toss on zombies and an apocalyptic world, and life just got worse!  Something has infected most of the world turning their host into mindless zombies who just stand around while others thrive on blood and flesh.  Those are called crack zombies!  Making his way across hundreds of miles, Eric is seeking the island from his childhood to ride out this life-changing world. The things he encounters along the way are intriguing, frightening, and revealing.

The author, Ben Lyle Bedard gives zombie lovers a unique situation peppered with gang violence and a man with a manic compulsive disorder.  Each character is well-developed and complete. The storyline is gripping and reflects the struggles of one specific character – Eric.  His growth during his journey is compelling. Bedard shows us how Eric and his friends grow with each encounter, decision, and pain-filled moment. I thought the gang piece and the old man tracking them were distinctive and beguiling.  The storyline was well-done, the dialog was rich, and the plot twists were surprising.

The narrator, David Gilmore provided a solid performance rich with emotion and action.  His inner dialog was given with the tone of true retrospect. His delivery was smooth and concise. In addition, Bedard made sure to accurately project the connection between each member of Eric’s group.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing Gilmore.

This is one of those rare zombie books that have unique situations while also remaining true to the genre.  Bedard underlined via his storyline and the narrator he selected the pain of being without one’s parents, growing up, realizing one is much more than once believed. This is one of those on the target "coming of age" stories. This is a great listen!

This book was nominated for the Audiobook Reviewer’s Choice Award.  This award is given to those books that rate higher than the standard 5-star ranking available.  The author and narrator deserve this award for this book.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook, it was well done. 

Disclaimer: This Audiobook was provided free of charge by the author, narrator, and/or publisher in exchange for a non-bias, honest review.