The Borrowed World

A Novel of Post-Apocalyptic Collapse, Volume 1

By: Franklin Horton

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

In a night of devastating terror, ISIS operatives have unleashed a coordinated attack on America's infrastructure. Life as we know it in America grinds to a halt as the electrical grid collapses, communication networks are damaged, critical bridges and dams are destroyed, and major fuel refineries go up in massive fiery clouds. When the government responds by immediately halting fuel sales to the public, Jim Powell finds himself in a terrifying predicament - trapped five hundred miles from home with a group of coworkers.

With thousands of trapped travelers and scarce law enforcement, the miles between Jim and his family become a brutal gauntlet where the rules of civilized society no longer apply. As Jim puts his years of preparation and planning to the test, he is forced to ask himself if he has what it takes to make it home. Does he have the strength - the brutality - required to meet this new world toe-to-toe?

©2015 Franklin Horton (P)2015 Franklin Horton

I just started

I just started this series, so far, as I am female, I am getting more and more offended at the authors prediction that women in general are stupid whining pansies. Even the main characters wife who is home with two pre adolescent kids, can't seem to do anything without referring to a manual her husband prepaid for her! I will keep posting as I go. I was planning on purchasing all three books, but if the females in this series don't start pulling their own weight, like they would in real life, this will be it for me.

ok I am a little more than half way through, I am enjoying this book. The wife of the main character at least has guts! and is not afraid to use force when needed. and the one girl who is with the small tribe making their way home, shows promise. I guess I have little faith in an author that depicts women as victims only. I am a woman and I have two daughters. we all know how to protect ourselves, and we take pride in that fact. I will finish this book, and probably move to the next in the series.

Great Book!

Oh man! I could not get away from this book! I was completely captivated! Just finished it and starting book 2 right away!

Prepper Party

This book is not fiction. It is a warning. I am a closet prepper and, after reading this book, I having a coming out party with my family and closest friends. Everyone will have to bring rope, walkie talkies, duct tape, night goggles, compasses, MRE's, water, maps, police surplus items and all kinds of prepper accouterments to stuff into backpacks, which they will also have to bring. The narrative was tight, concise, nicely stacked with character development, thumping with action, and thrumming with realism. Narrator Kevin Pierce read as if the story was a telling of his very own life. The entire production was, in a word, excellent. I will definitely all installments in this intense series.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you Audiobook Boom.

Actually a very realistic scenario.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and very much looking forward to the next one. Narration by Kevin Pierce is great as always.

A Must Read!

Perhaps the most realistic depiction of a SHTF scenario to date. I put myself in the characters shoes as I frequently travel for work and this book has made me think more carefully about "preparations" I may not have thought about in the past. This book actually made me look forward to spending time in my car commuting so I could listen to it! Now on to Part 2!

Author is an excellent writer

The characters in this book are believable and the book is written so well as to suck you right into the moment.
Each chapter has you waiting for more of the story to be told and is done in a modern and realistic approach.
Can hardly wait to start book 2.
Keep them coming for they are every entertaining.

Where's book 2?

Undramatic beginning which slowly builds in intensity.
After an ISIS attack on the US, knocking out much of the infrastructure, Jim is caught in Richmond Virginia, 300 miles away from home. This is the story of his journey home with his colleagues. At the same time, his wife and family are coping without him, following the instructions he left with them in case of this type of situation. We see how they both cope with the increasingly dangerous situations which arise as the days go on.
This is clearly the first of a series, as Jim's journey is not yet complete and we are left with semi-cliffhanger situations for both groups. This is why I've given it 4 stars rather than 5.

Kevin Pierce is new to me, but I enjoyed listening to him very much. The narration was excellent, clear, undramatic delivery which nevertheless still conveyed the sense of danger surrounding both groups. It was clear which character was speaking, without the exaggerated emphasis some male narrators use to convey when speaking with a woman's voice.

I can't wait to find out what happens in book 2!

This audiobook was provided by the narrator free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

frightening

scary but something that gets you thinking. I'm sure it will come to pass someday.

Great book!

Very much enjoyed this book. Can't wait for the next. Great story and character development.

Excellent Prepper Fiction

I didn't really know what to expect with this story. I got it so long ago, I couldn't even remember what drew me to it, other than a preference for action and post-collapse stories. The narrator sounds a little too old for the characters, but otherwise did a good job.

What I found pleasantly surprising about this book was the writing. It was well done and didn't come off as too pretentious or over-the-top, as many prepper books usually are. I found the actions of the protagonists and antagonists to be believable. I think the post-collapse violence and problems started occurring a little faster than they would in reality, but not so much as to break the suspension of disbelief.

Eight hours is just barely long enough of an audio length for me to get into a book, but it was on sale, so I took a chance on it. I'm glad I did, and I was pleased to see this is a series, as I'm drawn into the story and want to hear more.

Updated Review 2-26-2019:
This review applies to the (current) entire Borrowed World series, books 1-6.

Instead of using the overdone catalyst of an EMP attack, the author chose a mundane and much more likely terrorist attack that brings down the US power grid for the majority of the US. This sudden widespread loss of electrical power leaves a group of coworkers stranded several hours away. This is how we're introduced to the main characters and their struggle to return home, and what happens to them afterwards.

The author took the time to tell the story and let us get to know the characters. Good character development, a believable storyline, and details made this a highly enjoyable book. I usually have a good number of credits on file with Audible, as I get books faster than I can listen to them. However, I burned through all of my credits getting these books and even ponied up the cash for the last one, as I had no more credits available. The books were on the short side (about 8 hours each), but were page-turners and they went by fast.

Decent post-apocalyptic fiction needs to have the same quality of writing as any other book, with the addition of a plausible set of events and realistic reactions by the characters. You get that with this series. As for prepper fiction, this is better than most, with a good many incidents creating "thinking" moments on how best to prepare for such events.

The author is an excellent job of weaving details and a wide plethora of characters in a manner which wasn't overloading for the reader. While some authors will pile on the number of characters all at once, this author introduced new characters with just enough information on them to be relevant. We learned more about the character as the story continued, which allowed the reader to easily keep track of an increasing number of people involved in the story.

One aspect of this series, which doesn't always appear in survival fiction, is the very realistic loss of characters and events that don't always go in favor of the protagonists. This kept me from being able to guess what was going to happen next, which was part of why this series was so good.

If you're into prepper/survival fiction, check out this series.