Wormwood

By: Micah Ackerman

Narrated by: Kevin Pierce

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

For Nate Wilder, anxiety is nothing new. Regularly suffering from panic attacks triggered by news reports of world catastrophes, he can barely handle his everyday life even when, rationally, the events should not affect him. Nate becomes a prepper to help him cope with the anxiety, stocking a makeshift shelter.

So when nuclear disaster actually strikes home, Nate must employ truly heroic courage or fold to his fears. But in the aftermath of the bombs, it quickly becomes apparent that surviving the attack is just the beginning - there is far worse yet to come.

Wormwood is a taut, post-apocalyptic thriller told from the perspective of three main characters: flawed hero Nate; Jeanette, his beautifully flawed love interest; and Simon, the unstable leader of their survivor community.

©2015 Micah Ackerman (P)2015 Micah Ackerman

Enjoyable Post-Apocalypse Novel

What did you like best about Wormwood? What did you like least?

I like that it had a good array of characters, who on the whole seemed generally believable (this is always important for me!). I liked least that it seemed a little predictable and similar to other apocalypse stories.

What did you like best about this story?

Overall I would say the most positive aspects are the 2 main characters. Always interesting to see how individuals deal with end-of-the-world type senarios.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Pierce – was your favorite?

I would say Nate. He was a well written character, one of the few fully fleshed out in the novel, and I thought Kevin Pierce did a very fine job overall.

Did Wormwood inspire you to do anything?

It inspired me to listen to any sequels which may appear.

Any additional comments?

This was a fairly enjoyable book. I would recemmond it more highly but it was a little predictable. It was also very well narrated.

This unbiased review was given in return for a listening copy of the book.

solid performance, decent story, a tad mystical

Kevin Pierce always gives an A+ performance. The book was ok, a tad mystical and a little cardboard on some characters. But it was fun.

A Good Nuclear Apocalypse Novel

I love apocalyptic novels of all kinds - zombie, biological, nuclear, and natural disaster. That said, I think the order I listed the sub genres more or less mirror the availability of novels in that genre. Zombie apocalypse novels went (as a long time reader in the genre) from maybe a couple a year to a couple a week. Nuclear apocalypse novels are still harder to come by, and are always a welcome find.

Onto the story itself, I found the premise for the apocalypse well thought out, and very very relevant and plausible. Sobering. The book covered the background and worldwide coverage of the apocalypse, but it didn't dwell on it. It was more focused on a main character, Nate, a troubled single man who comes out of his shell to become a great well rounded person, Jeanette, the flawed beauty Nate is infatuated with, and Simon, who frankly is an absolute nut. The parts of the story dealing with Nate and Jeanette are the best.

My only "complaint" is the last sentence. :) I think it might indicate a sequel may be in the works. If there isn't no matter, this book, excluding the last sentence, forms a standalone complete story, with a satisfactory conclusion.

On the narration, Kevin Pierce did a fantastic job and was easy to listen to, and I found the characters all felt distinct and identifiable. I do have other books in my library narrated by him (oddly one of those is one of those rare-ish nuclear apocalypse novels, Through Many Fires), and doing a quick look at audible, he has an impressive collection of titles to his name. You can't go wrong with him.

A tale of two writers

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

I feel as if this is a tale of two books. The story is interesting and takes some twist but most are a bit predictable (although I didn’t see the second to last one coming). At times the writing is sublime and then he’ll throw in a line whose tone makes me think that it was written by someone in middle school. Overall though it’s an interesting read if you’re a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre. The story is suspenseful at times and at other heartbreaking. The trip to Maine could be a story by itself! The one other downside is it seems to end in a bit of a cliff hanger, is there another book coming? I think so…

Mr Pierce does an OK job but it feels more like he's reading the story than performing it as he doesn't vary much from character to character. He doesn't add to the story but certainly doesn't ruin it as some do.

Disappointing

Any additional comments?

Very disappointing. Purchased this book because of the incredible reviews. Narration was okay but not outstanding. Ending leaves you hanging. There is no closure. I'm sure the author did this so a second book can take up where it left off but in all honesty, I wish I had my money back.

An interesting Post Apocalyptic read.

Any additional comments?

I didn't know what to expect when I first started listening to this but I didn't expect to enjoy it so much! It grabbed me from the start and didn't let go.

I'm not going to summarize it in case I inadvertently spoil something so I'll get right to my thoughts.

I always love reading about a flawed character, it makes it more relatable because in all honesty, nobody is perfect! Well Nate was an awesome character. He suffers from Panic attacks while reading and thinking about catastrophes in the news. He is almost paranoid in his thinking. The latest news isn't good and Nate has a feeling that things are going to be bad. He decides that he needs to get ready in case the worst does happen and becomes a prepper. Little does he know that he may just need to use his prepping skills!! As I said, I love flawed characters, and boy is he flawed. He is nervous, doesn't have any friends and is a quiet withdrawn man.

Jeanette is Nates' co-worker and secret crush. He has had a crush on her for ages but is too scared to ask her out. When the bombs drop Nate finds himself at work with Jeanette and has no choice but to take her to his bunker. I really liked her character too. She was a strong woman and a good partner for Nate.

The first half of the book deals with the fallout of the bombs and the struggles of Nate and Jeanette to survive in the bunker. I enjoyed the first half because we see both of the characters change and become stronger. Nate is no longer a shy guy but has had to become a leader of sorts. He takes control and makes sure both of them survive. I loved the character development and was rooting for Nate from the start.

Then we have the second half of the book. And boy what a second half!! Nate and Jeanette find other survivors and end up living with them. You would think this was better but with so many different types of people and an egotistical fanatic leading them, it's much worse!!

Anyway, I flew through this book and couldn't get enough. It's well written and developed. The plot was well thought out and executed. It's also plausible and quite frankly, kind of scary!! Each character is well written and the character development was phenomenal. Each character grew throughout the story, which I loved!!

In all, Wormwood was not only an action packed book, it's a story of surviving, of finding love, of being all you can be despite everything else. From it's interesting characters to it's engaging plot, this is a must read! I loved it and hope to see more from this world.

The audio of this was fantastic. Kevin Pierce brought the story to life and while listening to it, it played out like a movie in my head. He breathed life into each character and even made Simon more scary than he already was ;) Definitely a narrator to check out.

*Received in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Good story

I liked the scenario very much. I would like to see a sequel. If not, I didn't like the end. So hopefully we will see a continuation of the story.

Very very good listen!

I always look for books in this genre which is one of my favorite and I'm quite picky. Some of the best I've found are Alas Babylon, One Second After, The Going Home Series and Good Fences. This was a really nice listen and I can't wait for the sequel if there will be one. I would recommend this to those that like the prepper and SHTF genre. It follows the formula and has more character development than some. Kevin Pierce is a great narrator and though he is not the best at multiple voices he is really nice to listen too and makes the main character come to life.

Solid story!

It was a good story, and it flowed very well. Seems like it ended too soon for it not to be a series. " What happened to all the people... How did they recover" was how I left the end of the book.

loads of potential

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

yes and no. I would recommend the book as a time filler but I would warn them that it's a very slow start and it took me a little over 6 chapters to actually get interested and want to keep listening.

Would you ever listen to anything by Micah Ackerman again?

Yes. As an "end of the world" junkie, I felt this book had great potential. Hopefully some kinks have been worked out and the writing a bit more polished since the publication of "Wormwood".

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

Kevin Pierce did a fine job narrating. I just wish he'd had better material.

Was Wormwood worth the listening time?

Alot of the time it was painfully slow.

Any additional comments?

I received this Audiobook in exchange for a fair review. The main character, Nate was hard to get invested in. He didn't come off as anxiety ridden, as described in the book. He seemed to be more neurotic and paranoid than anything else. The female character was like-able enough. I just couldn't get invested in these characters enough to really care what happened to them. The initial antagonist that started the chain of events that set off the apocalypse seemed to be over the top and a bit silly. There are bits of history and back story that are eluded to with several of the characters, but are left just as gaping holes. The book does end on a cliffhanger, so maybe they're just teasers to keep you reading the series? If you don't care what happens next, then it ends perfectly fine and serves as a decent time killing stand alone novel.