ABR's original Chaos audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This has been one my to listen to pile for way too long. What kept me from listening? The poor reviews of the narration kept me away. There is little that can ruin an audiobook experience faster than a narrator that either tries too hard or not hard enough. There is a delicate balance that some are never able to find.

In Chaos John O’Brien follows the fairly standard zombie apocalypse format. The is a world wide pandemic virus outbreak that is, at first, very similar to the flu. Then people start dying all over the place. To be replaced by zombie-like creatures that are sensitive to sunlight, are fast (runners) and have a horrifying scream and growls.

The protagonist is an ex-air force pilot that finds himself in the midst of the end of the world. He is on a mission to rescue his wife from Kuwait. He gathers up his three kids and off they go in a stolen airplane. Along the way they meet other survivors and encounter the vicious and violent creatures of the night, or infected zombie like beings. I really like that he was not a master survivalist or really special in any way other that his drive to see a mission through.

For me the most impressive part of this story are the infected creatures. Screaming to call others to their location. Running after their victims before they know what hit them. Then there is the crashing into planes and buildings as they try to get inside. So freaking creepy and tense.

While this was not my favorite story in this genre. It was very entertaining enough for me to want to listen to more. With characters that are deeper than most and action that made me look behind me a few times.

I have a feeling, also judging from the other reviews, that you are either going to love or hate the performance by Mark Gagliardi. At first I thought I was going to be in the latter group. As at first Gagliardi’s voice comes as quite a shock to the system, first thing I thought of after hearing him was this guy. Good news is that he does lighten up a little the further into the audiobook we get. So do I love or hate his style? The jury is still out on that one. I do know that he was above average in terms of a solid performance and average as far as characterizations. Does he make me want to listen to the next one, not on his own. I know that is is beating around the bush a bit, but I took a chance, you should too.

Audiobook provided for review by the author. ( )

This was a very fun book, though I didn't hear a mention of any zombies until a quarter way through the book.

PROS: Fun action, kinda OK story, line explains certain ability's of certain..."Things."

CONS: Main character is the worlds best leader, he says it, they do it.
He is always right, never wrong.
The military "chagrin" is very very annoying, and I ended up just speed reading past all it, along with the flash backs....Just lots of "background noise" that I dont want to read, nor care to read.

I didn't mind it that much, wast the best, seems to be based of off I am a Legend for those of you who know what it is. It even in the prologue sounds like there is gonna be the a Alpha zombie fight off with the main character. Kinda cliché. Its a good book other wise, wouldn't mind reading it again. (if every other zombie book in the world is gone:) ( )

I tried to read this book once and had a hard time with the technical aspects. But then Mr O'Brien contacted me to say he got a lot of the same feedback. He took his book and streamlined it better and revised his copy and gave it to me. I was pretty impressed that he took all his feedback and used it constructively. I think it shows maturity and a great use of feedback. I admire this and was pretty shocked.

I read it through again and had a much easier time getting through the more detailed parts. It helped greatly when he used the anagrams for certain military things but then explained them in their long form. I like the new ideas he had on the zombie genre.Nice twists and turns. I will be reading the rest of the series. And kudos to you Mr. O'Brien! ( )

A New World: Chaos by John O’Brien is the book that started off my fascination with Post Apocalyptic and survivalist fiction. I read it in one sitting, logged on to Amazon and bought the rest of the series. I read them all – one after the other, far too quickly, as I then had the long, long wait for the next book.

The main character in the story is Jack Walker – a former United States Air Force pilot, and special operations soldier. He lives in a Post Apocalyptic world that was brought to its knees by a flu virus which originated in Cape Town.

A vaccine was then developed, fast tracked through the necessary channels, and distributed to the public, with disastrous consequences.

The result..... the Night Runners. They are not zombies as we know them; they are extremely aggressive, cannibalistic creatures. On the 'bright side', they avoid direct sunlight and are most active at night – which gives the survivors a chance to breathe, and plan, without the constant threat of the Night Runners trying to get to them.

The story starts with Jack setting out to rescue his three teenage children who are hiding out in the basement of the house they shared with their mother (his ex-wife). The suspense in the first few pages of the book is nail biting, the way the author details every step Jack takes, and every thought that he has, has you in Jack’s head, which makes for very, very intense reading. At one point Jack accidentally kicked a board, and it went skidding along the floor making a heck of a noise, I cringed.

Jack is a no nonsense type of guy, but he is a great Dad, and a caring partner so it was obvious that he would do whatever he could to rescue Lynn, his girlfriend who was stationed in Kuwait. He and his family then ‘borrow’ a military aircraft and set off to find her on an army base, on the other side of the world.

The author did a really great job in building the characters in the story. Each and every character was either someone you could relate to, or someone you hope you never get to meet, or more importantly, someone you hope to have in your corner when the ball drops.

What made this series really outstanding is that the story line is totally believable. It is told by someone who knows what he is talking about, and it showed. The details and the tactical and technical descriptions, for me, a non-military person, was extremely helpful and was told in a way that I could understand, without taking away from the story at all.

This was a really great book and the rest of the series was just as good – if not better. I highly recommend this book, and series, to anyone who enjoys this genre, and even to those who have never tried it before. I loved it.
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