Under a Graveyard Sky

Awesome read/listen // surprisingly upbeat story

Where does Under a Graveyard Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Found these (post apocalyptic) stories to be really engrossing. Mr Ringo has captured the moment. Have been a fantasy/sci-fi reader since Nam, Tolkin // Star Trek, Richardson, and this man does his job well. Have listened to all 4 and truly hate to see this series close.

Have you listened to any of Tristan Morris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Really super to listen to // great voice.

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

Made me want to look around and make my own life better resistant to others whom might wish to intrude.

Any additional comments?

Well done Mr Ringo.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Could have been so much more

I wasn't to sure about this book when I started it since zombies isn't really my thing, but after a bit I thought I could really enjoy this book. Besides the performance not making it very clear which character was talking the hook became very technical with types of guns & military jargon. I really wanted to like it but I couldn't even finish it even when there was only 1 1/2 hours left. It was extremely gory to add to the confusion & the plot kinda got lost along the way as more & more characters were added. If you like gory military zombie apocalypse then maybe you'll love this book though you might want to read it rather than try to figure out who is talking from minute to minute as scenes change & more characters are competing for your attention.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent Zombie Apocalypse Tale

Would you listen to Under a Graveyard Sky again? Why?

I've listened to Under a Graveyard Sky 4 times since downloading it. It is an excellent story about a rather unusual family and how they first avoid, then combat the spreading plague that turns intelligent human beings into raving animals

What other book might you compare Under a Graveyard Sky to and why?

I find similarities in this book to many other John Ringo books. Faith is somewhat similar to Cally from his Legacy of the Aldenata series, while her father is similar to all the best parts of both Iron Mike from the Aldenata series and Mike Harmon from the Paladin of Shadows series, both of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.As for the story itself, I haven't read any other apocalypse books, which are the only ones I can think of to compare this to.

Which character – as performed by Tristan Morris – was your favorite?

I think my favorite of Morris' characters is Steven Smith, that Australian-born naturalized-American citizen who is the father in this series. Morris' command of accents is amazing, and I love to hear it. He can switch from Australian to British to Irish to Russian with amazing alacrity, and is a wonder to hear!

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

Many parts evoked laughter, while many others brought on tears. Ringo's wit and writing are in top form in this book.

Any additional comments?

To the military listeners: WARNING - Morris spells out the acronyms rather than pronouncing them the way you are probably used to. Be sure you are okay with hearing M-R-A-P and S-S-G before listening. If you have a problem with this, I recommend reading the book yourself.

24 of 28 people found this review helpful

Great Entertainment

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

Definitely worth a credit!! If you don't let yourself get wrapped up around the "details" ...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Under a Graveyard Sky?

This is not your typical "Z" story. The virus is hopefully just very imaginative fiction but the backstory detailing the delivery method, transmission vector, and official and unofficial actions leading up to the bridges coming down...was crafted very well. It built the post Z world that the Smith family is left to deal with.

Which character – as performed by Tristan Morris – was your favorite?

The narrator does especially good work delivering Faith's lines considering their absurdity when applied to "our" reality .... But I must say, since I have listened to this series twice...His performance of all the characters is highly crafted.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If you are left to survive in this post apocalyptic world...remember to, Keep Faith Alive...

Any additional comments?

Faith is a complete stretch but if you disregard the absurdity of her age in relation to her abilities....she rocks!

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

Boring Zombies?

Would you try another book from John Ringo and/or Tristan Morris?

I've read quite a few Ringo books, none by Morris.

Would you ever listen to anything by John Ringo again?

Of course! just not this series

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I'm 18 chapters into a 32 chapter book and it's STILL boring. I can't count how many zombie books I've read but this one is by far the worst. It looks to be a series of books. What should be an introductory chapter or two, seems to be the whole book.

Any additional comments?

John Ringo is better than this. What went wrong?

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Captivating

Where does Under a Graveyard Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the better audio books I have listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the mix of action and character development.It kept me interested and wanting more.

Have you listened to any of Tristan Morris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not heard this narrator before.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Zombies at Sea!

Any additional comments?

The book ends suddenly. There isn't really a resolution but more of a to be continued in the next book feeling.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Interesting beginning that goes nowhere.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have liked it much better if it had stuck with the intense, serious tone it started with rather than turning into cheese after the first few chapters. Its really too bad, the basic premise of this book is a good one and the characters, at least at first, where pretty likable

Would you recommend Under a Graveyard Sky to your friends? Why or why not?

To my OMGZombies! friends I would recommend it, it has some fun parts and the writing is solid. But to my actual prepper friends, the kind who have actual disaster codes in place and view the zompoc as a metaphor for what is really going to happen to the world after about three weeks without electricity, no. There is nothing here for the serious survivalist, too much is just ridiculous. A 13 year old girl wearing 120lbs of gear jumping into a ship and slaughtering dozens of zombies single handedly? Yeah, I don't think so. It would have been hard to believe if it had been a navy Seal, its impossible to believe when its a young, civilian teenager.

Also this author seems to know very little about real world guns and a lot of about internet stereotypes. You would think Ringo would know better but as others have hinted at, I think this book was ghost written.

What about Tristan Morris’s performance did you like?

He did a good job with the accents, which was appropriate for the characters but it did get annoying eventually.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe. It probably would have made a better movie than a book.

32 of 40 people found this review helpful

returned it

I'm as unthrilled with this book as the characters are with the ZA. really this is the most nonchalant people in a crisis I've ever see. and unrealistic doesn't begin to describe the situations and characters in the book. We first start off with an ultra careful family that doesn't want to be around anyone to the same family allowing a 13 year old girl to rowm a zombie infested building all by herself?!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

A different take on the ZA

This was a great listen, I've listened to so many different zombie books and a lot are very similar but this one sets itself apart from the others in a number of ways. First the zombies aren't the usual living dead though they act about the same but in a more believable way. Second, they go out on a boat instead of the normal drift across the land story that I'm used to. I'm currently about 30 minutes from finishing it, I just bought the second installment so I can listen to it when this is done. If I had to find any fault with it I'd say the 13 yr old daughter may be a bit far fetched in her abilities and knowledge of weapons and such but I suppose it's just as possible as a zombie apocalypse.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Couldnt finish it didnt even get halfway

I like other John Ringo works so I gave this a try, after listening to try rising for like the 5th time (Second book in that series is okay, third book is awful).

The book starts out fine as the main character gets a text letting him know there is a biological attack and so he walks away from his job, grabs his wife and kids and basicly walks away from his life. He is from australia but lives in america and makes a big deal about how if he is wrong he will probably have to move back to australia. Because its a bio attack the safest thing to do is get on a ship and sail away, as far from people as possible. Once they sail away things start going down hill story wise. They sail to new york for plot reasons I am not going to spoil that at some level make a little bit of sense if you can stretch your disbelief a bit.

Then his 13 year old daughter started killing zombies in new york by herself, so more disbelief must be suspended.

Then this guy who was willing to walk away from his life due to a text message takes his entire family to an outdoor concert at night in new york during the zombie apocolypse because of his daughters whining. At this point the characters of the parents are 100% different than the start of the story and so I stopped listening.

Look I dont mind idiot characters, but I do dislike characters that act way out of character just to move the plot along, I am not sure what direction this was trying to take the plot because I stopped listening at this point but I am sure there is some plot reason why a survivalist would do something so outside of their character.

I would also like to say the performance wasnt up to snuff as the character was Australian but the voice actor clearly wasnt.The voice actor for this story NEEDED to be australian.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful