Got Ominbus?

One Credit, Three Great Books
First, let me say these are great Zombie books at regular price, the fact that two of them are basically free is a great deal. You can spend three credits or three times the money, for the price of this one omnibus. Even if you did not like the first book, you would only be out one credit. The even greater thing about this series, is that you can get, The Hospital, for free. Get that and if you don't love it, don't buy the omnibus. If you like The Hospital, you will like these three books.

Gus is the star of the first two books. He is a regular guy, no solider, no special training, everything he knows he learned watching movies from the Seventies and Eighties. He scratches his junk, worries about his bowel movements and does a lot of drinking. A lot of drinking. EVERY MORNING I SQUEEZE PIPE. I enjoyed the second book, Safari the most. Gus is pretty much the only character. We kind of watch him go mad. He has lived alone for a long time and his best friend his a bottle of Captain Morgan. It is kind of like Tom Hanks in Castaway and his soccer ball. There is a lot of language and a lot of gore.

The third book is great, but not as good as the first two. Scott is the main character and he is just not as interesting as Gus. There are some slow parts or some shoot-em up parts that bored me, but not many. This book is grosser then the first two and has some well written scenes. When Scott takes a walk with the Zombies and starts to panic, I almost had a panic attack with him. Very well written. The third book especially, you want to listen in as large as chunks as possible. The longer you listen the more you become part of the characters. Anytime you quit and come back, it takes a little while to get that involved again. I actually missed an exit once, I was so into the story.

Bray is perfect, perfect, perfect.

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212 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

The Earth Abides

My opinion may get lost in the hordes other reviews already swarming around this three-in-one book. Still, I'll pitch a tiny squeak into the clamoring accolades because, other than serving my ego, it might be worth it to anyone who is familiar with the classic novel Earth Abides, which is a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by George R. Steward.

There is strong parallelism between Blackmore's Mountain Man Omnibus: Books 1-3 and Steward's Earth Abides. While Earth Abides has nothing to do with zombies, the main character is a force of nature or force of something other than a person. In the Mountain Man Omnibus series, an apocalyptic event is also the character. Steward is asserted to be the father of this approach/sub-genre. Certainly, Steward he created and opened a portal that a select few like Blackmore have skillfully, impressively stepped through. More pointedly though, is Blackmore's adept characterization of a very specific sub-event that takes place, with recognizable similarity, in Steward's Earth Abides' world. My intent is not to give anything away so I'll swerve miles clear of that and stop right there.

Also, I do not mean my comment as a criticism of Blackmore as he gave renewed life and fresh identity to work that, while precious and classic, is very likely now under-read and under-appreciated. Blackmore proffers plenty of never-before exposed (perhaps that phrase is too strong but you know what I mean) terrain to keep the Omnibus journey feeling garden fresh, and he certain brings a unique voice to the genre. I compliment him on being well-read and for evidently holding George R. Steward's work in high regard. The best form of flattery is imitation...

As for me, I hold them both in high regard. Blackmore is certainly smart by avoiding reinvention of Steward's wheel, and instead making it shimmer anew in brilliant light.

The narration was superb. R. C. Bray kept it personal and read as if the story were his own.

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121 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

45 minutes and .... really?

I love a great post-apocalyptic story with interesting characters. But when the main character ‘scratches his balls’ four times in 45 minutes, I can’t take the story seriously.

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76 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Great read, keeps you engaged

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

Yes. It's a great read if you're into zombie books. I found reasons to have alone time or take long drives because I wanted to hear how it turned out.

What did you like best about this story?

I was interested in the characters and their development; made me root for certain characters and despise others (oh, and the action wasn't bad either!). It was like watching a great mini series where you really can't wait for the next episode to see what happens next.

What about R. C. Bray’s performance did you like?

As usual, amazing. I've started choosing books solely because he's the narrator.

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

It's a zombie book...so no. :-)

Any additional comments?

Good read if you want to take a mental break and hear a great action story.

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59 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Canadian Walking Dead - Eh

If you like the Walking Dead and don't mind 27 hours of one dimensional story telling, this Omnibus is for you. Don't get me wrong, the books are entertaining and the writing is reasonable, but zombie skull crushing and endless "kill or be killed" situations, can only go so far. Best thing about this book is the Credit to Entertainment ratio, which is actually very high. As far as the performance goes, in these types of genres, RC Bray is always the best. So go ahead and indulge - even though I rate it 3 stars, you definitely get your credit's worth. Just don't expect to go around saying "I listened to this amazing book".

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34 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Meh.

This is a very manly man sort of zompoc lit, which is fine if scratching balls and drinking and crushing of heads and serial killer torture is your sort of bag.

There's some really problematic stuff with a female character at one point. The way the narrator talks about her (and treats her) was really off-putting. I stopped listening at that point. Before that, it was sort of just okay, not great but not so bad that I stopped listening, but at that point, I gave up.

I think that this is simply geared at a different sort of audience, with all of these glowing reviews. But it was definitely not my style.

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28 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

unexpected!!

If you could sum up The Mountain Man Omnibus in three words, what would they be?

Did not think I would enjoy these books as zombies are not my thing... However, these books are wonderful!

I downloaded the free copy of the hospital and was hooked from there!

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27 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

I was sucked in immediately and couldn’t stop

This is a compelation of the reviews we did for the books contained in the Mountain Man Omnibus collection.

Mountain Man

I have been having a difficult time lately. People have been getting on my nerves easier than usual, and it’s creating anger at the forefront, as opposed to my usual happy-go-lucky attitude.

I’m not sure what it is. Maybe all the horror and zombie stories are taking their toll on me? I highly doubt that — they are my refuge and only escape from reality – a reality I’d rather not deal with currently.

So, I am counting on Podium Publishing’s R.C Bray and Keith C. Blackmore to scoop me up and take me away, much like Calgon.

All of the euphemisms for toilet paper in this audiobook stuck out to me: Crap Wrap, Ass Wipe, TP, Apocalypse Gold and Anal Gold. These names I’ve never heard of had me rolling around laughing in my work chair and almost made my Asian noodles shoot out my nose.

Augustus “Gus” Berry is back for a full-length adventure. Remember, we first met him in The Hospital, and some time has passed since this debauch. For a moment early on, I thought this was going to be a story of one man’s quest, in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, to find all the remaining pillowy softness a guy could want. Now we get to really know what Gus is all about.

When you break this story down, it’s really all about survival. One man’s struggle to be comfortable while at home. Yes, this does take a considerable amount of work for Gus to keep the food, water, crap wrap, oh and don’t forget his booze supplies, to their maximum.

We get to follow Gus on several of these supply runs and experience the close calls, the elation and the terror as he does. Then the inevitable day comes when he encounters actual living people, something that hasn’t happened for a while. Now there are two.

The secondary story of the Mountain Man is one of love, and not romance, but rather the kind of wordless brotherly love that I have only seen between two men. Until a third person enters the story.

Blackmore wasn’t able to fool me with his plot twists, as I saw most of them coming, but that did not take away at all from the great survival story with zombies. This was not about, mainly anyways, how cruel and brutal humans can be in a zombie apocalypse, like most in this genre.

I was sucked in almost immediately and couldn’t stop listening. I want more Mountain Man!

R.C. Bray is as much Gus Berry as Ray Porter is Joe Ledger. While characterizations and dialog may not be Bray’s strongest points, his solid delivery, great pacing, and embodiment of the main character are definitely off the charts.

There is not much to say that I haven’t already in other reviews of Bray’s work. I will say this, if you have not had the pleasure to listen to one of his performances, please do yourself a favor and listen to one now. I have yet to be disappointed.

Also, if you have been shying away from any audiobook because you have not heard of the narrator, do everyone a favor and listen to it anyway. As you may have just found an undiscovered, diamond in the rough like Bray that will make you smile or bring you to tears.

Safari

Gus was badly hurt, between Roxann and the bikers he has sustained broken teeth, cracked ribs and other injuries. To ease his pain he found his best friend, Captain Morgan, and had a drink, or two, or three.

At the start of a cold winter Gus is hurt and alone, again. This is how book 2 starts as we continue to follow Gus’s will to survive. Through the coming months he slowly heals. During this time he drops down the well of despair and loneliness. He has long conversations with a bottle of Captain Morgan rum. Still needing supplies he makes trips to town in the truck the bikers left at his gate.

Except for Scott, every “normal” human he meets has tried to kill him. Now he doesn’t think twice about killing in self-defense. As his sanity spirals down he makes plans to get rid of all the zombies in Annapolis.

To his horror it is not only the zombies that are a threat, a new, even more deadly terror has risen.

I listened to this book straight through. Well, almost, straight through. The pace was fairly fast and the action was vicious. More problems and plot twists. The characters in this part of the story were what we could expect when the basic rules of humanity are gone. I found this part very believable and well developed.

Mr. Bray did a splendid job of bringing this book to life. I didn’t have a problem with his voices and liked the tone of his telling. Everything was clear and easy to understand. The book cover gives you the jist of this book. Audio production was without fault. Very well done. Book 3 here I come.

Hellifax

In this installment we start with a caravan of vans on the trans-Canadian highway. The men inside were rough, dirty, mean, and wore a variety of protective gear. Calling themselves “Norsemen” with a leader named Fist. He had been sent from the West coast to check out the east coast for supplies, survivors, and zombies. Their goal was to get information, procure everything they could, and kill zombies. They were headed to Hellifax.

Scott had finally made it to the city. He arrived during a vicious blizzard. When the snow finally stopped it was very deep with high drifts. He left his SUV parked at an empty house and headed toward town. It was there that he met Amy and her friends. One of them was named Tanner. A lot of grizzly things happen after this.

Tanner arrived in Hellifax and started doing his thing. He had decided to take out the members of Amy’s group one at a time. It didn’t work out that way.

As Scott and Amy’s group head out for his SUV Tanner discovers why all the zombies are leaving town. That is when he decided to leave also.

Toward the end of town the Norsemen, Scott’s group and Tanner will engage. Who do you think will live?
Extremely well developed story lines. Full of fast paced action. This series just keeps getting better and better.
Mr. Bray did his usual splendid job of bringing this book to life. I didn’t have a problem with his voices and he really got into at times. Everything was clear and easy to understand. Audio production was without fault. I really liked the book cover too. It is perfect for this story.

Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.

Please find this complete review and many others at audiobookreviewer dot com

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23 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

A break from the same old zombie fiction.

At first I found it hard to relate to Gus. After a few near death encounters, you really start to get the guy. Same with Scott. As you progress through the story, each character is developed nicely. Until you know the whole crowd pretty well. The good guys have it tough, but justice prevails...there are worse things than zombies in this book and they get what's coming to them.

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19 les gens ont trouvé cela utile

Great take on a zombie tale

I just have to say that R.C. Bray is the best narrator out there. He makes the stories pop as if you’re listening to 20 different people. Great job.

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