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  • The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

  • The Road to Nowhere, Book 1
  • Written by: Meg Elison
  • Narrated by: Angela Dawe
  • Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (148 ratings)

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The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

Written by: Meg Elison
Narrated by: Angela Dawe
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Publisher's Summary

Philip K. Dick Award Winner for Distinguished Science Fiction

When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.

In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth's population - killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant - the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power - and the strong who possess it.

A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men's clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she'll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.

After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.

©2016 Meg Elison. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about The Book of the Unnamed Midwife

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Terrifyingly eye opening

I loved this story. I was on edge the entire time I listened. I will deffinatly be looking into the rest of the series!!

5 people found this helpful

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Plausible, Personal, & Praiseworthy

Ellison crafts a believable story with sufficient details, individual struggles, conflicts, and realistic skill sets. I was engaged to the very end. Choose this book!

4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Minus 2 stars EQUALS…

Enough with the @$&# equals!!!

Warning, I’m still on chapter one and I’m sure this term has been used at least 40,000 times.

Seems to be a good story, but using the word equals in every other sentence is driving me nuts. Seriously. Both author and editor are equally inept.

2 people found this helpful

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Highly recommended

If you enjoy apocalyptic stories, this book is highly recommended. The reader is extremely talented in using her voice to identify specific characters. Extremely well done in the crafting of the tale as well as the presentation. 5 stars for sure!

1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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"equals"

A good story set in the future. Easy listening. The authors annoying habit of comparing things with the word "equals" was definitely irritating towards the end of the book.

1 person found this helpful

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very mediocre

Very mediocre storyline. Not a book I will want to revisit or read the next parts.

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Intense = edge of my seat = wow

do not let the reviews of people being annoyed by the repetition of "equals". The equals comes from a journalism style that may not translate well for some listeners. But I did not find it at all annoying. It makes it easier to discern when it changes from the journal to the story.

This was so intense. A great take on humanity and it's animalistic nature. Fantastic narration. I felt like I was her or I wanted to be friends with her.

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Loved it

I loved listening to this book. Really captured my attention till the end. Wish there was a series or spin to this storyline

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Couldn’t finish it

I love post-apocalyptic stories told from a woman’s POV and this one had great ratings so I was ready to love it.

The narration jumps from 1st to 3rd person which I usually enjoy, but in this one there is no voice change or noticeable transition going from one narrator to the other, so from one sentence to the next you lose track of who’s telling the story. But I would’ve overlooked that if it was the only inconvenience.

A lot of reviews mentioned an EXCESSIVE use of the word « equals » in the main character’s journal, often to say things that are not pertinent and don’t add anything to the story. I underestimated how irritating it would be in the audio format to hear a word that many times.

The last straw for me was finding none of the characters likeable after 3 and a half hours of listening. I usually finish books in a day or two but kept losing interest and coming back to this one over the course of several days, and ended up not finishing it at all.

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Interesting!

This was a really fascinating and thought provoking story with lots of action and adventure. Definitely worth the credit!

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  • Lulu
  • 2016-12-26

"Equals" = "Annoying"

In spite of my headline, I really enjoyed this book. If not for the writer's tic of overusing "something = something", I would have given it a perfect 5 stars. The story was fascinating, and as another reviewer stated, one of the best things about the story is the author tells you how the characters the protagonist meets along the way, actually end up. Unfortunately most of them don't end up well. The other characteristic that really stood out was that the plot didn't depend on putting the main character in imminent danger over and over again, as a way to move the plot. So many books depend on continual pending disaster.

This is a post infectious disease world, where very few men and even fewer women and children survive. And the women that do survive the disease, don't seem to survive childbirth. The protagonist, a former OB/GYN nurse in a hospital encounters a wide variety of survivors and keeps a detailed diary of her life in the post-disease world.

Angela Dawe can be one of my favorite narrators. But her unique voice has to "fit" the book. She fits this book perfectly.

I

66 people found this helpful

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  • Brittney D. Meyers
  • 2016-10-18

I liked it, I actually liked it.

I usually do not prefer the apocalyptic genre of book, and really, I took three risks, I didnt read any reviews, and bought the book before it was released, which is also something I do not do often. When I do it usually means I am desperate for a good book. I was not dissapinted. The author of this book pulls it off magnificently. All I can say is her characters were real to life, the situations where relatable, and what I would see as realistic under the cercumstances. There were multiple changes in views, which is a difficult art to learn, but this author mastered it, and the way she used them was refreshing. I have a select few books that I add to my paper collection. This will probably be one of them. I cannot say much more without ruining the book, but I encourage you to read it. Wonderful job, could not put the book down, and silently mourned it's finish.

49 people found this helpful

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  • Natalie
  • 2017-01-11

warning multiple rape scenes

should tell you in the description about the multiple rape and violence. hard to hear

43 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • yoni yacobi
  • 2017-10-12

Go read Earth Abides

Do i like it?
Yep. And not...
A lot of bad language for nothing.
A lot of violence and sex.
Yet, the story is good.

If your time is spare and you want one book on the restart of humanity because a plague, go and read or listen to Earth​ Abides - 2 leagues higher.

26 people found this helpful

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  • An Old Hippie Chick
  • 2017-03-20

A Great Dystopian Future Book, Well Narrated!

I only bother to write reviews (beyond just stars) for books I find exceptionally good or bad. I only bought this because it was on super-sale, so didn't have many expectations. I've never read anything by the author previously. Dystopian futures, though, are one of my favorite genres, and I've read a few that pre-supposed that one gender or the other was nearly wiped out, giving me something to compare it to.

I gave this 5 stars, as I listened & read it in one sitting. It's a rare book that I can not put down, and even rarer that I read the Kindle (or paperback, etc.) while listening to it. That's my favorite way of really getting into something, especially if it's a bit otherworldly, like sci-fi or dystopian futures. It makes suspending my disbelief easier and shutting my real world out simpler. Although I've read much with the same or similar topics, I did like the way this was put together. Most futuristic books begin with a world already dead or fundamentally changed, so I appreciated reading/hearing how it happened. That's rare.

I'm currently bound for the Amazon Kindle store to buy the sequel. Note to Kindle/Audible fans: Often you can get the best buy, if you know you're going to buy both, by going to the Kindle store first and checking 'Add Audible narration.' Often the narration is cheaper than what a credit is worth, so I generally save my credits. I have Kindle Unlimited as well, which is well worth the cost, IMO. Since I'm disabled and retired, I do have much more time to read than the average person.

By the way, I almost forgot to mention that the narration was great as well. It was mostly just one voice, but when other voices were required, they were good too. For me, a good narrator is one that I don't hear too much; that the voice fades away as I get immersed in the story.

21 people found this helpful

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  • B M C
  • 2016-10-29

good apocalypse book

There were a few spots where the book made you think, but this isn't a deep contemplation story. It is a good, easy listen.
My favorite thing about this book is there are no loose ends. When the main character runs into a new person, you will eventually be told what happened in a condensed 3 sentence explanation. How rare is that? That isn't something I would want in most books, but I really enjoyed hearing the stories of everyone to the end of their lives.

18 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Scott Partridge
  • 2016-11-26

writing=style=really?=tedious

I know that title doesn't make much sense if you haven't read or heard this book but... suffice it to say, those that have understand. They may not agree but they understand. The story line was interesting for me but the authors writing style really wore on me and if I NEVER read/hear another book like this one I'll be very glad. I BARELY made it through this book. Luckily she stopped her this=that kitchy style about 1/3-1/2 of the way through the book.

17 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2016-10-18

All men are monsters

At times the characters internal monologues don't seem go anywhere and only slows the story down. If they were removed, you wouldn't miss anything.

The authors illustration of men is very shallow. The only good men are young and naive. All are driven by sex.

I did find the premiss of the book to be very interesting, but the author did not explore its full impact

15 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Humble & Honest
  • 2016-10-15

GREAT BOOK !!

There were no reviews when I chose to try this book. Gave it a chance and it was amazing! Being a nurse myself I was really able to relate to the story. it's got everything. excitement mystery suspense drama fear love and end of the world possibilities. you won't regret listening

14 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Joy
  • 2016-10-13

Lets hope our world never goes there

No one seemed to know why it happened - it just did and the earth's population went into chaos when an epidemic broke out killing most of the women and children. Men roamed in packs and preyed on whatever women there was left.
This story was well written and well narrated and worth the credit.

14 people found this helpful