My husband wanted to listen to this audiobook while on a trip, and while I have issues with it - the main character is a douchecanoe - it was good enough to listen to the second one next time we have a car trip. ( )

The Borrowed World: A Novel of Post-Apocalyptic Collapse (Volume 1) - Franklin Horton

One of the better TEOTWAWKI books. Great plot line, believable characters who are knowledgeable but there is a story here- not just a prepper's guideline list (although there is a list written by the protagonist for his wife and children to follow).



The were a couple typos but nothing glaring- better than some traditionally published novels. The one thing that got me, that cost this book a fifth star was at the beginning of a the novel one of the characters was nearly killed by someone wielding a lug wrench, and towards the end of the novel, the situation is recounted by the protagonist as someone wielding a crowbar. It bothered me because the rest of the book was so good.



I will be looking for the next book (I wouldn't call this a serial, but it did end on a cliffhanger). ( )

What would you do if you were hundreds of miles away from your home and your family when the world as we know it ended. No food. No communication. No electricity. No fuel. Total anarchy and violence. This book is about a small group of people away on a business trip who wake up to find this scenario. Overnight terrorists have taken out the major oil refineries, transformers around the country causing 65% of the country to immediately be without power with the that number rising as the ones left can't keep up with the demand. Bridges and highways blown up. The Alaska pipeline destroyed. This tells the story of 3 from this group and their initial trials as they try to make it home on foot.

I am away from home working the vast majority of the year and this exact situation has been something I think about often and have been concerned about for the last several years. Still I am not really prepared and do not have a plan. The main character is "paranoid" and has been planning for this type situation both for his family at home and for him if away from home. It has made me think even more about a plan and given me some good ideas and other things to think about. I'm already starting on book two. Thank you Mr. Horton. ( )

My original The Borrowed World audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This is your 2-in-1 kind of book including a tutorial about what to do in an apocalypse like situation and also a nice story neatly encapsulating that tutorial part of the book. For anyone looking for what happened to lead to an end of the world kind of situation, this isn’t good for you, it’s rather about what all you should expect or may be hints to avoid dying in such a scene.

Jim is one of those guys who is paranoid about “anything might happen” and has always a backup plan ready. His paranoia is what helps him and his family to get through these appalling circumstances. To justify Jim’s character about being paranoid but smart, he has actually prepared a training journal for his wife mentioning all “what to if this happens” type solutions.

The story is interleaves between Jim’s journey from a business trip to home and his wife trying protect herself and her two kids from the predators. The writing style is pretty seamless and the flow of the story continues not confusing you about the two accounts running parallel.

The narration by Kevin Pierce was quite extraordinary even though the narrator never used a female voice for the female characters, yet the idea was clear and crisp. The production had some minor issues, there was a scratchy sound sometimes but you’d only notice it if you were listening to it in a very quiet surrounding with no single external voice around.

This book is short enough to finish it quickly and has all the elements of suspense, thrill and drama. It’s gets adventurous and exciting right from the beginning, directly cut to the chase and getting it right till the very end. The end, however, makes sure that you would want to keep going to the second book.

Audiobook provided for review by the narrator. ( )

The Borrowed World is an audiobook that called to the post-apocalypse junkie in me. The end-of-the-world scenario in this book is startlingly realistic and one that could happen at any moment and there would be nothing we could do to stop it, except try to survive. It was chilling and adventurous, and ultimately, I enjoyed it.

The book starts as ISIS terror cells destroy oil refineries across the globe, damage major bridges, etc. and start a shit storm the likes of which we have never dealt with before. In the course of 24 hours, America is no longer the country we once knew it to be. The Borrowed World follows doomsday prepper Jim Powell as he and his small group of colleges are hundreds of miles away from home, without gas or transportation, trying to survive long enough to get home to their families.

While we are following Jim’s group on a treacherous trek home, we also see what Jim’s wife and children have to deal with at home alone. It’s a different kind of danger, but it’s no less scary for his family. I enjoyed having a peek at the different situations they each have to survive. Sort of reminds me of the beginning on The Walking Dead season one… you know, if the TWD had no zombies.

I had mixed feelings for The Borrowed World. On the one hand, I loved the narrator. Seriously, I want to curl up in his voice and live there for a while. What? Don’t look at me like that, his voice is deep and velvety and yum. I will not apologize for being a weirdo! He has the perfect voice for story-telling. It’s so soothing and warm and at the same time able to give me chills when paired with such a serious thriller. It was a weird but ultimately successful combination of comforting and scary.

I enjoyed the story as well. The Borrowed World was a crazily realistic science fiction and it was clearly well researched. It was intense and serious, but it had moments where Horton strategically lightened the mood a bit with humor and dry wit. I don’t know about you, but I really do enjoy my thriller with a side of comedy. Sometimes, too much intensity can overpower, so I loved that there were moments where Horton took the edge off.

The one thing that sort of killed the story for me (and ultimately made this a 3 star review and not higher) was the ending. I’m not a huge fan of open endings to begin with, but this one felt even less successful. It felt like the author was in a rush to publish and forgot to write an ending. It was just so… frustrating. I kept waiting for the rest of the book, but it never came. *sigh* It makes me feel better that there is a second book after all, but not by much. I do see myself picking up book two just to finally figure out how it’s all going to end, but I’m also apprehensive that book two will end like book one. It’s off-putting, to say the least!

I do recommend this book to other science fiction fans, it was such an adventure! But if you aren’t a fan of open endings I’d skip out on The Borrowed World. ( )