The End

By: Adam M. Booth

Narrated by: Shiromi Arserio

Length: 1 hr and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

A zombie horror told from the zombie's perspective, The End is one woman's account of the end of her life, her family, and everything.

Like many single parents in their thirties, Zoe is overworked, overburdened, and low on company, and when the zombie apocalypse begins, she is forced to face the monster that has taken her over, the horrors he shows her, and her own murky past.

How does it feel to gain consciousness, only to find you have lost everything else. How would it feel to have a destructive force take you over completely and be powerless to stop the massacre that follows? And how would it feel to finally face your past and realise that perhaps, the monster has been with you all along? Find out in The End, an examination of the inhuman condition.

©2014 Adam Booth (P)2014 Adam M. Booth

Different

This story was interesting and unique as a zombie tale. It's about how one woman faces the zombie apocalypse. She becomes a zombie and tells the story from the zombie perspective. I enjoyed that as it's really different. Most people write from the non zombie perspective. It's gory in places, not overly suspenseful but unique.

How does a zombie think or do they? Adam M. Booth's imagination is deep and the picture he paints is very probable.

Good story!

Beauty in Extreme Darkness

I like dark stories, but this one takes dark to a whole new level. (In fact, I would caution folks that struggle with depression to maybe skip this book if they aren't doing well.) With that being said I also see the beauty in the raw pain that Zoe feels, both as a human and as a zombie.

The introspection Zoe goes through while on her quest to get to Lucy is profound. She comes to the conclusion that even though she has just recently become a hideous, brain eating monster, that maybe her outsides just match her insides now and that she has been a monster deep down all along.

While on her trek she witnesses a family dumping a live human off at a rest stop. But all she is able to think and feel is her insatiable hunger for brains and flesh. The guy, who happens to be in an electric wheelchair, sees her and flees down the road away from the rest stop. Zoe goes after him even though she can't see him because he gets so far down the road. She just walks and walks (shuffles is probably a more accurate word) until she sees him again but this time he's just sitting in the middle of the road where his chair has died. He sees her coming and resigns himself to his fate - that she is going to kill and eat him. While he sits and waits for her, he talks to her and bares his soul to her as if she were (still?) alive or maybe he does it because she's a zombie and unable to process his confessions. He tells her how he became paralyzed and needing the chair at the age of 10 (he was hit by a car). He told her why his parents had kicked him out of the family vehicle and just left him there, helpless and stranded (they didn't like him enough to be responsible for him during the end of the world), and he tells her that he that he should have looked up more and enjoyed the beauty while he had the chance. All the while he's telling her these intimate things she just keeps coming after him, relentlessly, uncontrollably, and driven by a need that is so primal you almost feel sorry for the zombie formerly known as Zoe.

At first I was somewhat disappointed that the storyline was so dark and depressing, but after a short time I started really get into Zoe's narrative and her memories of Lucy, life before Lucy's illness and Zoe's ill-fated attempt to relieve her daughter’s pain. I didn't have an extreme reaction to any one thing I had an extreme reaction to the story as a whole.

It's easy to feel sorry for the people who are killed by the zombies, but to feel sorry for mindless zombie killing machines, well that's a whole different matter. But somehow Booth is able to, humanize Zoe enough for us readers to pity her for being stuck in a never ending loop of all her mistakes as well as all the things she'll never get to do.

The narration by Shiromi Arserio and her British accent was, at least at first, somewhat annoying. Her voice is kind of pitchy and dry, but once you get into the story her voice matches Zoe's outlook and resignation about her life.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audio book Blast dot com

Literary and Gruesome - Great Combo

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

I would recommend this to a friend if they liked this type of book. They have to be ready for some gore. But able to appreciate the slow, literary pace.

What other book might you compare The End to and why?

I would kind of compare it to Cormac McCarthy's The Road - not in length of depth, but in the subject of the doomed travel in a ruined world.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Not talk quite. so. slowly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When I realized where the MC had been headed all along.

Any additional comments?

This is an odd combination of gruesome detail and literary writing. I have always wanted to read a book from the zombie's point of view, and I was really able to paint the MC's thoughts onto any one of the walkers in The Walking Dead. It will make me look at the show differently, I think. The ending was amazing. This is not for people who want fast, action-packed zombie stories. But it is thoughtful and did I mention the ending is amazing? And a little terrifying.

Finally- an intelligent AND eloquent zombie story!

Lets get this out of the way first: I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com. Now that that has been said, on to my review!

I was very (very) pleasantly surprised by this book. When I first read the description, my reaction was 'Okay. Yet ANOTHER zombie story.' and prepared myself for a decent but not incredible listen. The depth of character from both before our protagonist transitions into a zombie is absolutely amazing. (At that point having changed in to a being with two consciousnesses simultaneously existing as both the woman she was and the monster she has become.) The book is written so beautifully as to be almost poetic and the narration is so emotional that I don't think I could give the narrator justice in mere words.

I will be looking forward to any future works by this author as well as the narrator. This book has all the makings of a classic. Think along the lines of Thomas Hardy, Mary Shelley and Emily Bronte.

Unique First Person Zombie Tale

Would you try another book from Adam M. Booth and/or Shiromi Arserio?

yes I would

Would you be willing to try another book from Adam M. Booth? Why or why not?

Yes I would. This book really wasn't my cup of tea, however it was an unique well done story.

What does Shiromi Arserio bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The drama of the Zombie telling her tale.

Was The End worth the listening time?

I was anxious for it to be over simply because it just wasn't my type of book.

Any additional comments?

As I said this wasn't my type of book. That being said this book is very original. It is told first person from the zombie's point of view. It is a gruesome horror tale and it is thought provoking.

The story starts with a single, overworked single mom going to pick up her daughter at the train station. We hear her thoughts before she becomes a zombie and after she is bitten and becomes infected and has only one drive and desire; to consume human flesh,

We hear her guilt when she feeds, as she can not control her compulsion.


“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

zombie apocalypse from the zombie’s perspective

The End by Adam M. Booth. Performed/narrated by Shiromi Areserio. 1 hour and 51 minutes long, Contemporary, Sci-fi, fantasy. Unabridged Audio. 18+ years. Some scenes are graphic in the description of the zombies eating humans. So if this is not your type of book then I would not recommend it to the faint of heart.

This book is an account of one woman’s memory of being part of a zombie apocalypse from the zombie’s perspective. I thought this was quite a unique twist on a zombie’s thoughts especially when I thought zombies were just mindless, hunger driven for the brains and flesh of their victims. But, on contra my listeners. Zoe is a single mom looking to see that her daughter is at good school. Overworked, underpaid as a single parent Zoe is heading to the train station to meet up with one of the many guys she is dating. A weekend to unwind the grind. Well, Zoe found herself right into the start of the Zombie Apocalypse at the train station. Seeing someone coming at her and not knowing at the time until he comes face to face with her. She realizes that this is not human anymore with the deep sunken eyes and flesh hanging off his face. As he grabs her and starts to gnaw on her. Screaming as he clings to her and feeling herself floating in and out of conscientious. Then, waking up wondering what had just happened in a slumped pile and then the desirable thirst for human flesh and brains comes to her.

Next Zoe could only think of one thing and that was getting to her daughter. As she goes through the countryside getting to her Zoe tells her side of her experience of attacking those to so she could survive. When she actually shows that she has feelings of quilt yet no regrets to what she has to do to survive.

Will Zoe make it in time to see her daughter? What challenges does she come across getting there? Will her daughter know that this is her mother? All great questions that Zoe will recall throughout this short novella. How she will be recalling this tale some century later. Adam M. Booth really put a lot of thought into condensing this story in such a way that it is a stand-alone book.

Shiromi Areserio is a fantastic narrator/performer. I have listen to other books that she has performed with her beautiful British/Australian accent. She speaks in such a way that you can feel that this is a thought being spoken by Zoe and when people are actually speaking – okay screaming outloud. Great job.

All thoughts are solely mine and no way influenced by others. Please like and leave comments below good or bad love to hear them.

Audiobook provided for for review by the author.

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Zombie from zombie view

I was given this audio recording in exchange for a review.
I've never been into this genre and tried it to say that I have.
The book was not really to my liking but it made you stop and wonder if there really is any logic to zombie wandering. As shown on other shows and books told from the human side. It was food for thought and is well narrated.
The narrator is clear and easy to understand. The narrator made it worth listening to till the end.
As I said before this is just not my cup of tea.

My favorite zombie story!!

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS! A completely different take on the zombie genre. The narrator is perfect! I have listened to this many many times. And will listen many times more. Grab this!!

Excellent narration but just wasn't for me

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

For me, it wasn't. I didn't enjoy this title very much after the first few minutes.

Would you be willing to try another book from Adam M. Booth? Why or why not?

I would because it's a good book, it just wasn't for me. Despite its short length and excellent narration, it didn't hold my attention.

Which scene was your favorite?

The opening of the title

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com

Becoming different!

This was a really good story and a much different take on the zombie apocalypse. This story is in a female by the name of Zoe's POV. I liked that author Adam M. Booth gives the story to us in a zombies POV and a female zombie at that. The author didn't disappoint me. The story was frightening, horrific, and listening to everything this zombie thinks throughout the story is fulfilling. The story is dark and yet beautiful. This author has very much surprised me with his version of a zombie apocalypse. His telling of a human, having changed into a being with two consciousness that work together as both the woman she was and the monster she's turned into. What a beautiful and vivid imagination. I do think the ending needed more building or a different ending altogether.

Narrator Shiromi Arserio did a fabulous job telling this story. I felt this zombie Zoe's emotions as Shiromi told this story. The narrator brought this story to life in such a way that I was glued to my dear from start to finish. A great story on a zombie apocalypse and a perfect performance as well. Overall, a perfect 5 🌟 rating.

I received this audio free from the author/narrator in exchange for an honest and unbiased review through Audiobook Blast.