1977 is when this was published. If you are likely to be offended by the language, descriptions or decisions of the day then don't listen. Oh, and there are sex scenes, which other commenters have pointed out they did not enjoy as part of an apocalyptic story.
The time line of this book is all over the place Gaines movie was made in 1938 and they say this is 30 years later, so 1968, except they mention dead Mickey Mouse at DisneyWorld, which didn't open until 1971 and they mentioned the movie Jaws which came out in 1976. So which year was this set in? Oh and Gerald Ford as president past tense 1974 to 1977. I guess this is one way to rewrite the Civil Rights Era
I was actually wondering when this was written. I realized several hours in that no one mentioned a cell phone. I’m nearing 40 so I didn’t notice that fast.
@@tedk.6420 I’m sure you would. I honestly thought it could have taken place in the 90’s. Cells existed but not everyone had them. Lack of beepers should have clued me in
I'm not even 15min in. And I knew something was off because the doc asked to use their phone. Who asks that in the 21st Century? That's when I started reading the comments.
Mid-July 2024 ~ a couple days ago I was outside when 2 police cruisers raced past - the second left the stench of sewage. Either they realllllllly had to go, or someone sprayed them with Liquid Ass. Either way, the strong heat, humidity, and my air conditioner being on, meant the stench didn't just stay in the area, but got pulled into my pad. Listening to this story is like Smell-o-Rama, whether I scratched the card or not!
It’s interesting to hear what was socially acceptable back then. The misogyny, racism and use of position in life and it was all just within my lifetime. A very interesting story.
Too true. Myself, 4hrs 15mins in, the utter 'soapiness' of it, especially in the dialog, has me wondering if it's worth continuing. Then again, the narration worsens it. This might be better as an actual read instead of listening.
Did not like the ending! What happened to his “immunity”!?What happened to the little girl???? Still have no idea what the last sentence he said was despite listening several times. I like my stories wrapped up with a nice bow on top…. I don’t like to speculate at the end of a story. I think he got a little lazy at the end … it seemed (to me) a bit abrupt.
He's speaking to his little girl"you'll never forgive us for this" ie those who survive will never forgive the generation that caused the plague. Sorry about the lack of bow.
This story is inaccurate, after the mother and father told the doctor what was wrong with their dying son, the doctor would have replied "and how will you be paying".
Why,why,why do bikers always have to be the bad guys! The Angels are just as likely to be organizers of help as anyone else. Ive been riding for 40+ years and know some. Sure they aren't exactly angels(no pun intended) but have more than enough women, wives and girlfriends without rape!!
Really ,really slow half. So many different people with little care for character development!😢😮 P.S. its a great story and narrative is good, just slow!
7:26:50 Alright, I admit I am listening to this as background, and missed some detail somewhere along the line, as - with most books, the train of thought has been broken by the writer --- but, WHAT THE SAM HELL is THIS STUFF doing in this storyline?
Well done, and a good story 💕 Haha the start is a bit unrealistic, but understandably you need to get the story started .. anyone who has called a health advice line and said their kid is sick knows you get told to take them to emergency just in case
I'm from Germany, and they would send you to the Doctor. But if it's weekend or holiday, they would send you to a hospital with an ER. Sometimes they would send you an ambulance. It depends... like with everything in life.
Is that in the US? If you call the NHS line here they have a set of questions to assess the urgency & often recommend a walk in centre if it's not urgent. Walk in centres are usually v quick to see you. No long wait.
@@SerendipityChild Wow. Whenever I've been to a Walk In Centre here , it's practically deserted. A&E can be up to a 12 hour wait. I think many UK people dont even realise Walk In Centres are a thing tho'. It was new to me the first time I was told to get to one. I had no idea most Hospitals have one.
@@Siobhan146 Very well said. I notice any 70's horror movie takes at least 30mins to get going too, but they're worth the wait. Modern attention spans are way shorter .
Plagues are all like that. You just don't see it most of the time because the news only picks up on them when they've reached wildfire status, as I call mass and rapid spread.
Awful, tedious, pointless book... sloppily written with broad and crude stereotypes in place of characters and rife with sexism. I'm no feminist, but why is every woman punished with rape or death (or both) for not obeying their male counterparts? Characters no longer crucial to the plot get dropped as soon as it's convenient... some without explanation (like Petri's secretary... just gone with no thoughts spared past a certain point) and others just straight up killed. Don't even get me started on how embarrassing the science is. No amount of "it was written in 1977" makes up for it, either. It's just bad. The Andromeda Strain, published in the 60s, has aged better that this.
The narrator has some... odd... pauses when he's reading... midway through sentences... but when he does dialogue, it usually flows well, so confusing... and slightly distracting... 😅 also the casual racisim and sexisim is off-putting. But it's an interesting idea...
That's what happens when minorities keep changing their mind about what white people should be allowed to call them. When I was a kid, "black" was offensive, it had to be "colored." These days it's the other way round. Who knows what it'll be next.
Incredibly slow to start, meh dialogue, characters are very stereotyped. Real gross-weird relationships, including a step father and his step daughter and several huge age differences.
this is a weird one...so much talk about women's breasts, sexual encounters and then when we got into the 'consentual' incest I had to stop listening. This was obviusly written a long time ago (1977) when I was a kid so I do remember these times, but now this book would be boycotted. I'm all for freedom of speech but if you are like me, this is too over the top for a causal listen or read. ugh.
@@ange3489 Have you listened to it yet or are you just asking because you checked the comments first to see if it is worth listening to? If you want one example that made me burst out laughing, there's a pair of doctors walking through a plague ward where some of the patients are dying and some are still somewhat healthy. The patients are begging for help and the doctors refuse to give them any help, the doctors do however shout "Please be patient, the end won't be long now."
I was prepared to tolerate this cross between 'Daffy Duck' and 'Woody Allen' narration until I got to "Group of blacks!" that was it for me!!.....I'm not really interested in racist undertones in fictional novels......Good luck with that!!
Oh, dear. People who don't bother to do five minutes of research into their subject matter shouldn't be allowed to write novels. And who on earth calls hospital gurneys "trolleys"? But the worst part was the equally deplorable narrator, who gave everyone in Miami, FL strong New York accents. I guess fiction publishing standards were pretty loose back in 1977.
1) the author is British 2) narrators are hit or miss welcome to life where everything isn’t catered personally for you 3)what are you talking about regarding research. You say that’s what bothered you then list nothing related to that. People who don’t understand how to communicate their thoughts shouldn’t comment on anything. See how that works?
So bad , so cliche,so predictable with its woke narrative.One example,let’s compare two the fictional blonde giant biker captain vs a real hells angel leader,5’3” Sonny Barger.
1977 is when this was published. If you are likely to be offended by the language, descriptions or decisions of the day then don't listen. Oh, and there are sex scenes, which other commenters have pointed out they did not enjoy as part of an apocalyptic story.
I wish it stayed more focused on the plague aspect. Lotta stupid side stories, most of which involve sex, weird ass sex. Sigh.
Gramercy for the heads up!
You don't like sex?
That always turns me off
@@elypowell6797
Real sex is not usurped by a writers fantasies
Thanks for the heads up,last thing I wanted to hear about in a plaque story is sex.
I'm half way through this, another great book by the author.
Ty for posting this audio books. 💛
Tyvm for posting this audio book.
The time line of this book is all over the place Gaines movie was made in 1938 and they say this is 30 years later, so 1968, except they mention dead Mickey Mouse at DisneyWorld, which didn't open until 1971 and they mentioned the movie Jaws which came out in 1976. So which year was this set in? Oh and Gerald Ford as president past tense 1974 to 1977. I guess this is one way to rewrite the Civil Rights Era
It's not a bot. Good book thank you for the upload
Graham Masterson is simply the best
Before you mention the oddness of the flow of the story, keep in mind it was written about 50 years ago.
I was actually wondering when this was written. I realized several hours in that no one mentioned a cell phone. I’m nearing 40 so I didn’t notice that fast.
@@SnarkyJohnny I'm in my 20s and I noticed the lack of cellphones immediately lol
@@tedk.6420 I’m sure you would. I honestly thought it could have taken place in the 90’s. Cells existed but not everyone had them. Lack of beepers should have clued me in
I'm not even 15min in. And I knew something was off because the doc asked to use their phone. Who asks that in the 21st Century? That's when I started reading the comments.
Had to have been written at least in 1976, they mention the Jaws movie
Still waiting to be frigthened
Boo! 😊
@@pspicer777 🤣
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Did it happen. From the comments, I'd say the gratuitous sex is scary.
👀👏🏽 A BIGLY refreshing change to the usual apocalypse/zombie stories (so far... 2:35:15) 👏🏽👀
So far it is a very good story & a great narrator.
Great story and great narration
The narration is terrible. It sounds like AI
They never call dr. House in for a quick diagnosis.
"it's not Lupus".
I'd so enjoy Dr House's evisceration of this book
I got an hour in while i was on the treadmill... and so far, its not great?
Does it improve, or no? Lol
I'm liking this. Cross between folksie, soft-porn, court-room drama and a tiny bit of plague action!
And that Dr Petri....he's such a dish!!!
Groan 😂
Well played Sir.
Stopped on hour 8, just couldn’t anymore
“The plague might be cured from the radiation from TV, and XRays…”
Holy hell that level of idiocy should be illegal…
Mid-July 2024 ~ a couple days ago I was outside when 2 police cruisers raced past - the second left the stench of sewage. Either they realllllllly had to go, or someone sprayed them with Liquid Ass. Either way, the strong heat, humidity, and my air conditioner being on, meant the stench didn't just stay in the area, but got pulled into my pad. Listening to this story is like Smell-o-Rama, whether I scratched the card or not!
This book is about Diarrhea
Worth listening to.
Oooh…lots of good books here! ❤
I can tell this story takes place around 1960.
Early 70's
Great story from the get go.
Thank you Scare Craw
very good story
After reading the comments, I’m no longer interested.
The dialogue feels so unreal I can't finish this one
It’s interesting to hear what was socially acceptable back then. The misogyny, racism and use of position in life and it was all just within my lifetime. A very interesting story.
Too true. Myself, 4hrs 15mins in, the utter 'soapiness' of it, especially in the dialog, has me wondering if it's worth continuing. Then again, the narration worsens it. This might be better as an actual read instead of listening.
Being born in 1970 I like the language. Too woke these days
😂😂😂
Good times good times…
@@Omrikai6594 back when men were men
Mother Nature 1, humans 0
Did not like the ending! What happened to his “immunity”!?What happened to the little girl???? Still have no idea what the last sentence he said was despite listening several times. I like my stories wrapped up with a nice bow on top…. I don’t like to speculate at the end of a story. I think he got a little lazy at the end … it seemed (to me) a bit abrupt.
He's speaking to his little girl"you'll never forgive us for this" ie those who survive will never forgive the generation that caused the plague. Sorry about the lack of bow.
Wow! Obviously you have no imagination!!
@@ange3489
Well duh… 😂! But if I have to “imagine” a book I’m reading… why bother to read it… I can just imagine my own book.🤪
He woke up and it was all just a dream ! Maybe a shower dream like in Dallas in the 80’s😮
Wicked woman wanting him to kiss her when she is infectious
That's how they do...
Thank goodness he was able to resist.
Everyone in Miami has a New York or Boston accent?
This story is inaccurate, after the mother and father told the doctor what was wrong with their dying son, the doctor would have replied "and how will you be paying".
Taylor David White Paul Lopez Frank
WAIT...What ??? That was the end of the story ??? Is there a part 2 ???
What?? A Big Mac will take 45 seconds?? But I want it now 😭
Where is the end of story 😡
its here also
That was the end. He stopped the car and realized he had the plague. The rest of the country was on their own.
Ok, I'm stupid. What happened at the ending?
A couple of the characters voices sound like Jim Parsons from the Big Bang Theory.
Why,why,why do bikers always have to be the bad guys! The Angels are just as likely to be organizers of help as anyone else. Ive been riding for 40+ years and know some. Sure they aren't exactly angels(no pun intended) but have more than enough women, wives and girlfriends without rape!!
Really ,really slow half. So many different people with little care for character development!😢😮
P.S. its a great story and narrative is good, just slow!
7:26:50
Alright, I admit I am listening to this as background, and missed some detail somewhere along the line, as - with most books, the train of thought has been broken by the writer --- but, WHAT THE SAM HELL is THIS STUFF doing in this storyline?
This is the worst written book I’ve ever heard.
😂😂
UA-cam allows more words. Could you share why?
That made me laugh. Is it as bad as painted cowboy is the worst movie ever? That's a high bar for bad.
Kindof a pot boiler but free is free.
The plague story was interesting but the weird kinky sex was too much. No thanks
House calls to Miami from the suburbs!? Too stupid to continue. I won’t sit through this stinker. Bye
are there zombies here
An easy listen But kept me on the edge just the same 😂
125... a good tale!
Sorry. But this entire story was very boring and the narrator needs to work on his technique. I understand this was written in 1970s but still...
Well done, and a good story 💕
Haha the start is a bit unrealistic, but understandably you need to get the story started .. anyone who has called a health advice line and said their kid is sick knows you get told to take them to emergency just in case
I'm from Germany, and they would send you to the Doctor. But if it's weekend or holiday, they would send you to a hospital with an ER. Sometimes they would send you an ambulance. It depends... like with everything in life.
Is that in the US? If you call the NHS line here they have a set of questions to assess the urgency & often recommend a walk in centre if it's not urgent. Walk in centres are usually v quick to see you. No long wait.
@@sarahholland2600 Australia..walk in is usually 6+ hour wait unless you're bleeding or under 2 years old
@@SerendipityChild Wow. Whenever I've been to a Walk In Centre here , it's practically deserted. A&E can be up to a 12 hour wait. I think many UK people dont even realise Walk In Centres are a thing tho'. It was new to me the first time I was told to get to one. I had no idea most Hospitals have one.
This is the slowest beginning to a plague story.
I didnt find it slow. You get a plague victim right from the get go.
Slow burn. Love it
Most books & movies from back then are slow.
@@Siobhan146 Very well said. I notice any 70's horror movie takes at least 30mins to get going too, but they're worth the wait. Modern attention spans are way shorter .
Plagues are all like that. You just don't see it most of the time because the news only picks up on them when they've reached wildfire status, as I call mass and rapid spread.
THE BLACKS ????
Yep, made me wonder what year was this story written. Using the words Negro and Honkey, lol. Especially when he stopped and used the pay phone😄😄
First published in 1977...
Yea good story but the racial words were . . . dated.
@@michaelterrien1649 yeah, and everyone was smoking indoors.
@@thomasnewcomb2079 I am old enough to tell you that that was in fact completely normal in the 70s. People even smoked on planes, and in elevators.
Ya, it's a no. I tried, but no.
Awful, tedious, pointless book... sloppily written with broad and crude stereotypes in place of characters and rife with sexism. I'm no feminist, but why is every woman punished with rape or death (or both) for not obeying their male counterparts? Characters no longer crucial to the plot get dropped as soon as it's convenient... some without explanation (like Petri's secretary... just gone with no thoughts spared past a certain point) and others just straight up killed.
Don't even get me started on how embarrassing the science is. No amount of "it was written in 1977" makes up for it, either. It's just bad. The Andromeda Strain, published in the 60s, has aged better that this.
The narrator has some... odd... pauses when he's reading... midway through sentences... but when he does dialogue, it usually flows well, so confusing... and slightly distracting... 😅 also the casual racisim and sexisim is off-putting. But it's an interesting idea...
Like Christopher Walken, without the charisma. 😅😂
Good set up terrible writing and it skips over meaningful things.
Wait wait the doctors girlfriend is 19?
Nice.
Lol. Really?
The narrator sounds like AI.
Nothing original here. Not even the soapbox.
What am I the first to comment here.? The narrator's voice sound like a bot but an enjoyable listen
Colored nurse? Did my Grandfather write this?
Your grandfather probably read it when he was in his 30s.
That's what happens when minorities keep changing their mind about what white people should be allowed to call them. When I was a kid, "black" was offensive, it had to be "colored." These days it's the other way round. Who knows what it'll be next.
Not crazy about narrator voice. Sounds like a boring teacher 😮.
Dialogue at a beginning is just so hacky. Out
Was this written in the 1950s? Because that's when the blatant sexism comes from, not to mention the corny pop culture Americanisms
647
Incredibly slow to start, meh dialogue, characters are very stereotyped. Real gross-weird relationships, including a step father and his step daughter and several huge age differences.
Those "relationships" really did nothing for the story except hurt it IMHO.
At least the let the doctors girlfriend be out of high school, just barely.
@@bitteroldman2714 fr :/
@@thumperpaul155 blergh.. makes me feel nauseous thinking about it
@@Apolleux ywnbaw
8:30:47 🔖
Lost me at the bizarre sex crap.. bye
45:06
This is absolute TRASH.
Yawn, don’t bother
Sorry to say, but this book is nothing short of trash.
Booooooring
this is a weird one...so much talk about women's breasts, sexual encounters and then when we got into the 'consentual' incest I had to stop listening. This was obviusly written a long time ago (1977) when I was a kid so I do remember these times, but now this book would be boycotted. I'm all for freedom of speech but if you are like me, this is too over the top for a causal listen or read. ugh.
blah
This book is so bad… The dialogue is bizarre, like it is written by a madman. And the messaging in the story is schizophrenic.
? How is it bizarre??
@@ange3489 Have you listened to it yet or are you just asking because you checked the comments first to see if it is worth listening to?
If you want one example that made me burst out laughing, there's a pair of doctors walking through a plague ward where some of the patients are dying and some are still somewhat healthy. The patients are begging for help and the doctors refuse to give them any help, the doctors do however shout "Please be patient, the end won't be long now."
Horrible.
544
I was prepared to tolerate this cross between 'Daffy Duck' and 'Woody Allen' narration until I got to "Group of blacks!" that was it for me!!.....I'm not really interested in racist undertones in fictional novels......Good luck with that!!
They also say "whites ". It's how it was. Not the same as telling "betty" to shut up. Now that is racist. Racial and racist are not the same.
Awful narrator
Oh, dear. People who don't bother to do five minutes of research into their subject matter shouldn't be allowed to write novels. And who on earth calls hospital gurneys "trolleys"? But the worst part was the equally deplorable narrator, who gave everyone in Miami, FL strong New York accents. I guess fiction publishing standards were pretty loose back in 1977.
1) the author is British
2) narrators are hit or miss welcome to life where everything isn’t catered personally for you
3)what are you talking about regarding research. You say that’s what bothered you then list nothing related to that.
People who don’t understand how to communicate their thoughts shouldn’t comment on anything.
See how that works?
Research? Isn't this fiction?
It was written in 1977...
@@mattmacknight3000lol.
Most people I know from Miami sound seriously lost from New Jersey. Most are on alimony.
So bad , so cliche,so predictable with its woke narrative.One example,let’s compare two the fictional blonde giant biker captain vs a real hells angel leader,5’3” Sonny Barger.
Woke ???
I hear absolutely nothing "woke" so far. The story sucks enough on its own.
Yeah everyone was so "woke" in 1977.
The comments are better than the novel. Lol
@thumperpaul155 you had to be there to understand. Gen x, is that what they call us? The generation that never cared a rats hinny about anything.