Rivers

A Novel

By: Michael Farris Smith

Narrated by: Michael Farris Smith

For fans of Cormac McCarthy and Annie Proulx, “a wonderfully cinematic story” (The Washington Post) set in the post-Katrina South after violent storms have decimated the region.

It had been raining for weeks. Maybe months. He had forgotten the last day that it hadn’t rained, when the storms gave way to the pale blue of the Gulf sky, when the birds flew and the clouds were white and sunshine glistened across the drenched land.

The Gulf Coast has been brought to its knees. Years of catastrophic hurricanes have so punished and depleted the region that the government has drawn a new boundary ninety miles north of the coastline. Life below the Line offers no services, no electricity, and no resources, and those who stay behind live by their own rules—including Cohen, whose wife and unborn child were killed during an evacuation attempt. He buried them on family land and never left.

But after he is ambushed and his home is ransacked, Cohen is forced to flee. On the road north, he is captured by Aggie, a fanatical, snake-handling preacher who has a colony of captives and dangerous visions of repopulating the barren region. Now Cohen is faced with a decision: continue to the Line alone, or try to shepherd the madman’s prisoners across the unforgiving land with the biggest hurricane yet bearing down—and Cohen harboring a secret that poses the greatest threat of all.

Eerily prophetic in its depiction of a Southern landscape ravaged by extreme weather, Rivers is a masterful tale of survival and redemption in a world where the next devastating storm is never far behind.“This is the kind of book that lifts you up with its mesmerizing language then pulls you under like a riptide” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Post apocalypse without the brutality

If I say this was a sweet post apocalyptic novel it will sound crazy, but this is a story of a man coming to terms with harsh realities where he has a choice - join civil society or remain in both an idealized past and brutal future. I loved the author's gentle, unpolished voice and simple style. This is a little bit adventure, mystery and love story - hard to classify but moving and compelling. I highly recommend it.

Pretty Good Book!

Very entertaining and interesting book. I live in south Mississippi and there’s a lot of geographic references that are recognizable if you are from that area.

Loved The Book, Iffy on Author as Narrator

Outstanding book, went back and forth between Audible and reading on Kindle.

There were points where the narrator was Cohen and I let myself believe, but reverted to reading I couldn’t.

I’m suspecting that this was Smith’s first Audible book and decided to do his own narration. I understand but glad he chose Robin Bloodworth to read Desperation Road - another winner.

I’m thrilled to have found Smith and have become a big fan and evangelist (no pun intended as you’ll see).

Note: glad I read the short prequel prior to Rivers. It helped, but book stands alone without as well.

Here’s to the next Smith book I have just seen is coming in early 2020!

Author should write not read

The narration killed this for me. Author read aloud like a nervous gradeschooler. Very stiff.

Proud of this Mississippi author

What made the experience of listening to Rivers the most enjoyable?

I LOVED having Michael Ferris Smith read his own book. I believe it added to the experience.

What did you like best about this story?

I was never quite sure what was around the next bend and he kept me guessing. Didn't see the end coming at all.

What about Michael Farris Smith’s performance did you like?

He has a magnificiently smooth Southern voice which truly drew you into the book. You almost felt like it was Cohen telling you about his experience. Marvelous!