The Remaining

By: D. J. Molles

Narrated by: Christian Rummel

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

In a steel-and-lead-encased bunker 20 feet below the basement level of his house, a soldier waits for his final orders. On the surface, a plague ravages the planet, infecting over 90% of the populace. The bacterium burrows through the brain, destroying all signs of humanity and leaving behind little more than base, prehistoric instincts. The infected turn into hyper-aggressive predators, with an insatiable desire to kill and feed. Someday soon, the soldier will have to open the hatch to his bunker, and step out into this new wasteland, to complete his mission: Subvenire refectus. To rescue and rebuild.

The Remaining is the first book in the best-selling series, which tells a gritty tale of survival, perseverance and fighting to get back what has been lost.

©2012 D.J. Molles (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Action packed

Action packed with a solid plot. Characters come alive and you'll want to keep the story going.

More serviceable than remarkable, but still good

Beginnings of zombie books are important because they are where the story often sets itself apart. This book has a few ways, one of which being that I guess it isn't technically a zombie book. The furys are dead people driven by a highly contagious bacteria to kill in as violent and raging a way as possible. Not all are like that, but they are all beyond saving. I liked that little twist, and was often afraid of what they would do. Molles has a solid skill set for creating tension and the narrator does a great job of creating the intended fast-paced tone. This is kind of like the movie version of I am Legend, both in the main character's initial isolation and in the kind of monsters. Kind of.

The story starts out with Lee, a Captain in the US Army, getting the call to head to the bunker built below his house and to await further instructions. His mission's activation means the government has collapsed. Once he is ordered to go to the surface, his mission will be to save what is left of humanity. That may not be the most unique, but I can't think of another zombie story that starts out this way, and it did a great job of evoking the fantasy of what it would feel like to be in his position.

Some have compared this to Day by Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne, one of my favorite zombie novels. One difference is that DbDA is written in journal form. Another, is that DbDA hooked me more than The Remaining. Looking at the elements of each story, they are pretty similar in terms of both having a bunker to wait out the initial hopelessness of the outbreak (though DbDA did have him gathering supplies more and witnessing society crumbling, whereas The Remaining mostly fast forwards through that to him waiting in a bunker, working out and playing video games and wondering what's going on). It could also be that DbDA was one of the first zombie books I read. The Remaining is more serviceable than remarkable. Molles can write a good story, but there isn't a whole lot of new ground broken in this first book. Regardless, I enjoyed it and look forward to the next book. I care about his cast of characters and the mixture of enemies between furies and rouge soldiers has created enough tension for me to want to see what he does next. As I said above, very good job by the narrator. His main gift was in enhancing the tension, something that audiobooks do best and this one is up there with the top of what I've listened to.

I kept hoping that the hero would die

This book opened great. I love the idea of sleeper agents lying in an underground bunker waiting to help mankind get started again after society collapses after a plague. Normally I get more and more enthralled with characters as time goes on, In this case, half-way through the story I was hoping everyone would just die. I found myself looking at the timer multiple times hoping I was close to the end. I never developed a bond with the character, maybe his dog but nothing that makes want to queue up books 2 and 3 and listen to them right this minute. Maybe it gets better later on?

Not a bad book

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This was a little different twist on the zombie theme. The book is a little slow in the beginning but picks up if you stick it out. The only reason I did not give the story a higher score was because I found the main character hard to relate to.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Cliffhanger which makes you want to start the next book.

Hard to stop listening

well written and well read. action, nail bitting, thought provoking from start to finish. on my way to book 2

THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK. WOW!

This book is so exciting, not a single boring minute. Great narrator, even his female voices were very good, not irritating like they often are when a male narrator tries to sound like a female. This narrator brings the characters alive, making it easy for the listener to see the action in his mind's eye. I've read several apocalyptic themed novels and this one is the best by far. Non stop action, the suspense just does not stop, not even at the end. The story continues in book 2, which I am going to purchase now. Thank you,
D. J. MOLLES, and please keep on writing!

Loved it!

Love hearing different takes on the Zombie genera. This was an excellent one with a military twist! Exciting from start to finish!

Excellent Aithor, excellent reader.

Author is amazing! Read this series a few times years ago. The narrator is also amazing! Very happy to read this again.

I'd like this series more without the cuss words!!

it's a wonderful series so realistic and so amazingly awesome and addictive in a good way like probably an addiction something I can actually not be worried about something that's not something that can get you in trouble a real good book that crap in this world and crazy things that are happening. I always try to remember that Jesus is in control and that nothing can happen without his approval. Jesus Christ is King and Savior soon we will be with him

So many mistakes

Lee was well intentioned and supposedly well trained but, in my opinion, made so many mistakes. He didn't act when he should have and was caught unawares so often. Won't be continuing this series.