Final Days (Final Days #1)

I read the book before listening to the Audible version. I\’m glad I did, and I wanted to listen to the book because I wanted to hear how Ray Porter, a narrator I am very fond of, brought it to life. Hystad and Scott do not disappoint with the story, and Ray Porter does a masterful job bringing this to life. Ray has some incredible voice intonations and inflections, and you can practically HEAR the characters shrugging, smiling, and etc. with his outstanding narration. Even though I had recently read the book, I found that the audiobook was just as gripping, exciting, and entertaining as the written version. Maybe more. I listen to books mostly while I am taking my daily hike, which is typically about a three mile stint in the hills of Tennessee, so it is a HIKE. Final Days was so absorbing that I would find myself having climbed Heartbreak Hill and not even been aware of it I was so engrossed in the story. Even knowing the exciting and slightly cliff-hanging conclusion I was still enthralled. I picked up on details I had missed in the written book. Nathan Hystad\’s great skill is in bringing characters to life, and painting pictures with words that actually bring you into the story and into the action. You feel what the characters feel, you see what they see, you relate intimately to their thoughts and feelings. Jasper Scott\’s epic story-telling ability is outstanding, and this mashup definitely works. Usually, I have 3 tests that dictate whether or not a book will get top marks from me: Did I enjoy it, and did it take me along on the journey and provide lots of entertainment and escape? Next, Would I recommend it to others? Was the book well executed with no or few errors, typos, language, and grammar issues? And third, would I want to read or listen to the next book(s) in the series? The answer to those questions is a resounding YES for Final Days, this first installment in the Final Days saga. I am also certain that I will listen to more from this outstanding author dynamic duo. They are that good. I am a very hard man to impress, as those of you who read and follow my critiques and reviews know. I have high, perfectionist standards and a critical ear as an author myself, as a highly educated former English major and editor. So I don\’t hand out 5-star reviews lightly. If it sucks and should be completely overhauled for the next version (or scrapped), I am not shy about telling an author or readers that. Fortunately, this audiobook ticks all the boxes. Actually I was surprised to hear a few (literally 2 or 3) incorrect pronouns or names of characters in the narration, but they did not prevent any understanding, and I noticed them mostly because I was so startled to hear them. Most people will likely miss them. If you are a lover of these authors, or narrator Ray Porter, and near future sci-fi stories that are fast-paced and driving, I recommend this audiobook without reservation.

Final Days is a Sci-fi mystery thriller, that is action packed and moves at a pace that makes the Fast and the Furious look like they have taken Miss Daisy out for a drive. It has two main streams, the first follows Kendra Baker, a Detective who is has been on the job for a while and knows her stuff. The type of veteran cop that is willing to listen, but if you push them too far, they have no problem pushing back. She starts looking into multiple missing cases, at a time when no one else is interested, because there are constant news reports, media hype, and general public unrest about siesmic activity along the San Andreas fault line, and a subsequent massive flow on effect, people evacuating, panicking, the usual things you expect. With little or no support, Kendra is left to her own devices to follow up on all these missing persons, as even the Police are leaving, and those that remain, are being tasked with things deemed more important than missing persons. The second main character is Andrew Miller, an ex-Marine, now divorced, who is just trying to get on with things. During his story, his daughter, Valeria, goes missing, and Andrew starts hunting for his Daughter, even though the rest of the coast is leaving and moving inland. This is a really intriguing and fascinating story, you have no real idea about what is going on, why are people missing? What is this countdown? Are the rumours of a mass siesmic end of the world type event true?? And in the middle of all of this, we have Andrew and Kendra, both trying to look for missing people, One a desperate Father looking for his little girl, the other a determined Cop, who, in the face of everyone else abandoning their post, she just wont give up on these people basically following the same leads in similar circles, and both of them coming up with increasingly more frightening answers. The character work in this book is beyond exceptional, it is so realistic, that there is a particular part in which Andrew Miller, the ex-marine, has a flashback PTSD episode. The detail in the scene, the description of his attack and how he feels, what he goes through at that exact moment, it was so realistic, that as someone who actually suffers from a similar form of PTSD, I had to actually stop reading for a bit as the book had a physical effect on me. This is how good the story is. His Daughter, Valeria helps him through this particular episode, helps him pull back from the pain he is suffering, and this to was exceptionally well written, like they had climbed inside someone who suffers the illnesses head. This is one of those stories in which when you finish, you are left sitting thinking about the Characters for a good couple of days afterwards, they are incredibly powerful and emotive with real grit. There are some other really great characters, including Millers Wife, and Valerias Mum, who again, is portrayed with brilliant accuracy as the emotional Mother, terrified for her Daughter in the face of a country that is falling to pieces around her. Her new husband (Valerias parents are separated), is a rich sleaze, and his character is just funny. There are several others I am not going to mention as I dont want to give away spoilers, but each character in this book is done with a purpose, has backstory and depth, and has been thought through. The character work is just outstanding and is a real highlight of this book. Both Authors have also given a lot of attention to simple details as well, such as the type of weapon that the Officer carries, and making sure that they had extra ammunition (they run out of ammo to, no never ending ammo clips). Its this attention to detail that creates an additional layer to an already masterful level of character driven story telling, and makes this so much fun, as there is a level of realism to it that makes it so much more enjoyable. This is a story that is utterly intriguing, from the very first pages, where it starts to build, rumours in the background, we move between the two major streams so that we can see there is something going on, but no one knows what, and to the common person, they are just bits of talk on TV, until suddenly Millers Daughter goes missing, and the story ramps up to full speed, and you are flicking through pages to see what happens next If you want a really fun, exciting, action-packed thrill ride, with a powerfully emotive, character driven story, Hystad and Scott have got the book for you, and they dont disappoint! Ray Porter is one of the best Narrators out there today. The quality of his Narration has no equal. Porters voice is so tranquil, so easy to listen to. His character voices are just brilliant, he has a way of creating so many voices, male and female, with so many different characteristics that he can generate this massive ensemble of characters for a story. He flows effortlessly through books, some Narrators are really jilted, you can hear them reach the end of every sentence, but Porter just tells a story, and once you sit down and start listening, you get totally captivated by his dulcite tones, and get lost in the adventure that he creates. When you listen to Porter Narrate, you really feel like you are a part of the story, not just listening to it, but you feel like you are really there, experiencing it with the Main Characters, like you are standing there with them. The other really wonderful thing about Ray Porter is that no matter how long you listen to him, you just cant tire of his voice. Some Narrators kind of grate on you, others dont read well, some are great, but just a bit overwhelming. Porter is like the Goldilocks of Narrators everything is just right and you can listen to him for hours. He is one of the most gifted Narrators on the market today, and you just have to listen to him.

Even my wife, a non-sci-fi fan, loved the book and the twists. It kept us enthralled through the whole book. We got to the end and are hooked, we need the next one guys! Keep them coming!

Cliches, tropes, and forgettable characters in a story as original as a knock, knock joke,

The book leads up to the event, reading as a mystery following the disappearance of people. With different natural disasters going on all the while two people are trying to discover the missing. Eventually you figure out why the people are missing, but I must say it is an interesting lead up to the apocalypse. Yet Im not sure where the ending leads the next in the series and if its something Id be interested in. But all in all it held me into every chapter.

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