Further

Down The Path #2

by Travis Mohrman

Cooper's journey continues as he heads up the river with the brewers to his old city. What he discovers there is shocking. Things have changed greatly since he left nearly a year ago.
Also, a mysterious stranger finds his way to the village while the crew is on the rescue mission. The boys are in for a few surprises upon their return.
The action doesn't stop there! An interesting artifact finds its way to the village and Cooper takes it upon himself to try to discover its origins, leading him to embark on his most dangerous adventure yet. He will have to endure conditions that most of the surviving people thought were not possible in this warm world. With his dogs by his side, Cooper must face these conditions and do as he does best, adapt and survive.

FURTHER: Down The Path 2 is loaded with the same survival lessons, friendly pooches, homemade hooch and goofy humor that readers loved from the original book, Down The Path.

Genres: Fantasy

197 pages, ebook

First published April 3, 2013

Reviews

[Thomas Cardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things are laid back and simple in Cooper's world, a perfect match for Travis Mohrman's writing voice.

You know this is a sequel to Down The Path, right? Good, then I don't need to tell you what is going on either.

The story picks up where Down The Path left off, and though its been a couple months and many books in between for me, the story was right there, fresh in my head. It stuck with me like bark to a tree or a good home-cooked meal to my ribs. Reading "Further" took me right back to the Village and its brewers, dogs, and welcome atmosphere.

We are reminded again--we HAVE to be reminded, because it is too easy to slip into Cooper's comfortable world--this is a postapocalyptic world, tragedy abounds and its people are indeed on the brink of extinction. Cooper continues to trust, and see good and beauty in the world around him. When we see through his eyes, it becomes a wonderful place--hence the need for the situations and characters that remind us and Cooper of the true nature of the world. This is integral, and beautifully done.

We are introduced to Handro, a suspicious loner who has all the knowledge he needs to survive on his own, the problem is, he no longer wants to be alone. His character is the perfect catalyst to shift Cooper's gears. Cooper knows the world is a harsh place, always has, but his spirit is unflappable and it is that which we feel.

Questions are answered, and we are shown surprises along the way (My assumptions about the world at the time of the apocalypse and its nature were thrillingly wrong).

With this set of books, Travis Mohrman has written a wonderful commentary on the human spirit and the ideals of society. He has also shown us how life can be wonderful even if we as humans must go back to the basics. Nothing will do more toward lifting your spirits when the things you see happening in the world today are full of doom and gloom. If that is what you see, you are only looking at half the picture, these books are here to show you the other half. It is a heartwarming half we "Rushers of Din" forget about.

Is the writing impeccable? No. There is filtering, and telling, and wonky sentence structures, but at no point did they get in the way of the pure storytelling. In showing us how laid back and relaxed Travis Mohrman is as a writer, I think it helps sell his voice throughout the story. Bottom line for me is I devoured this book in two sittings and none of the last dozen books I have read have gone down the hatch as smoothly.

So pour yourself a tall, frosty mug of "Further: Down the Path 2", taste the bitter, but also feel the warm glow it leaves you with.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this story, yet there were a couple of things that bothered me. Occasionally Mohrman’s sentences can be very simple in structure, almost as if meant for a small child. This was a little distracting at times but ultimately just made for an extremely smooth and quick read. The ending felt a bit rushed yet the epilogue wrapped it up a bit more. Those two things aside, as I said, I loved the story! I finished the first book (Down the Path) and jumped right into this one without skipping a beat. This series is, for lack of another description, comfortable. I start reading and I just want to curl up with a warm blanket, a hot beverage or beer, and read all day. I can see myself rereading this series one day, and that is something that I have only done with one other story so it is saying a lot! I really look forward to reading future works by this new and very talented author!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book even more than the first one! Great imagination and story-telling that holds your interest completely throughout the book. Cooper was the hero of the book, but my favorite character was Albert. John was a close second. And I liked the "Wool" reference. Great job, Mr. Travis! What's next on the horizon?

[J.W. Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, great work. This book continues the story, and the character development very nicely. There is also a great suprise!

[Billy Colley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fresh Take on the Post Apocalypse

Each book in the series is well written and the characters are enjoyable. The story also surprises me, going places I wasn't expecting. I'd recommend to any reader, especially lovers of post apocalyptic fiction.

[Gladys Olmo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

Light reading. Has likable characters. Gives a hopeful and positive ending. I would recommend it to everyone who likes end of the world stories.

[Hunter Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technically a sequel but more like a second half of a story, as the first book felt unfinished. Nothing too memorable but definitely enjoyed it.

[HT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a continuation of "Down The Path", where we first met Cooper, and shared in his adventures. This time around, having spent a year in the Village, Cooper and his new friends journey back north to Cooper's old city to rescue any people who remain. Add another couple of grand adventures, some mystery and intrigue, and a lot of hope and friendship, and you get "Further". I'm not great at reviews, so I'm not going to parse out each bit, or discuss sentence structure, or anything like that. I'm just going to share that I enjoyed it (even more so than "Down The Path"), and if you are looking for a set of stories that aren't filled with violence, profanity and gratuitous and meaningless sex, but are filled with hope, and adventure, then these are the stories for you. Having been accustomed to reading post-apocalyptic stories that are dreary and sad, it was a nice to come across a story that focuses on the good in people, and how things *might* turn around for the better, if given a chance. I did find myself on pins and needles a couple of times through this story, anticipating that bad things were going to happen. I'm not going to ruin the outcome here, but the author did a good job of making me nervous, and had me turning the pages as fast as I could to find out what the resolution was. We finally discover what brought civilization to it's knees (wasn't what I thought initially, and I was intrigued by the plot - Travis, go ahead and write that prequel!), and there is a nice little nod to Hugh Howey here as well. I think there are more adventures waiting for Cooper and his friends/family, and if the author is willing to keep writing them, I'll be standing in line waiting to read them. The epilogue was a nice sort of clean ending, but there is more to the story, and I'm anxious to know what it is.

[Tiff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This had just as many grammatical errors as the first book. Maybe I just got used to them but they didn't seem to bother me as much in the second installment. I have a whole list of things that I felt could be better about this story and if you really want an entire rundown I'd have to probably reread the "book". As good as some of the story elements were I don't think I'll be taking book recommendations from Hugh Howey any longer, maybe I'd pimp the story out too if my book got several gratuitous shout outs and a plot device added simply to make those shout outs a part of the tale. As it stands I kind of want my six bucks back, I really don't think I should have to pay for work that doesn't even seem like it's seen a beta reader.

Also, the titles are horrible, how does "Down The Path" even fit? It's a worse title than Wool. And it really should be condensed into one book, they'd be less than 400 pages combined.

I think Travis Mohrman is a good storyteller but some good editing and someone who will offer constructive feedback on continuity, repetitiveness and other story elements is really needed before offering a work up for publication and sale.

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine conclusion to Cooper's story! I enjoyed how Cooper continued to develop along side Mohrman's writing skills. The characters were top notch, the story stayed clean and YA appropriate without losing anything, and the it was fast paced and well written.

Coppertop Cooper undertakes his second journey and moakes some amazing discoveries. travelling up the river from the village to find the source of a strange square of material that floated down to them, Cooper and Handro end up discovering friendship and some even stranger things when they get stranded. I don't like to give away any spoilers, so that's the extent of my synopsis. It's well worth the read, and after you read the preceding book you won't be able to help but read this one anyway.

Mohrman is going to be another one of those indie authors to watch for. He is a great storyteller and his writing is very mature for how little he has written so far. I bet this guy has a boxfull of great manuscripts somewhere because he has to have been writing for longer than just these two books.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm pleased to say that I enjoyed this sequel just as much as the first book. While Cooper remains the primary focus of the story, several other characters are just as interesting as Cooper. This book presents more detail concerning the events that have decimated the human population, but keeps the focus of the story in the present. Cooper and friends undertake a couple of journeys and learn much, but not without considerable difficulty and a couple of surprises.

Overall, I have to say that the positive attitude prevailing in both of the books is the main reason I found them compelling reading. Sometimes we need to be reminded that people are fairly smart and resourceful, and pretty good at rebounding from disaster. It's refreshing to read a post-apocalyptic story that portrays people with more hope than despair. Loved the humor, as well - where there are people, there will always be beer.

[Buzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wonderful follow-up widens and deepens the world of the Down The Path and introduces some new faces alongside those we've come to know. All the original elements cherished by Mohrman's readers - happy hounds, bibulous brewers, lonesome landscapes - are all there as Cooper is joined by some fresh faces to tackle new challenges and explore possibilities beyond the village. In a genre that can tend towards the dark and dystopian, Mohrman, like Kunstler in his World Made By Hand series, weaves possibilities of projected futures with old world values, country crafts and fast-vanishing skills to fashion a tale of charming and personable humanity. Having read Down The Path and Further back-to-back, I'm happy to go and read something else knowing that the epilogue of Further hints that Travis Mohrman isn't done with Cooper and Co just yet.

[Lynnette Stead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, more than the first one, which is rare. I found myself really connected to the characters, I was sad for them and excited for them and worried about them even when I was not reading. It caused me to long for life prior to cell phones and instant access to everything on the internet, life in a simpler time. This book brought up so many interesting topics that consider. Solitude vs living in groups, technology vs simple life, medical ethics,...I keep thinking of new things to consider!

[Colette Chadwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part two continues with another amazing journey full of surprises and dangerous elements with an anxious and amazing ending.

This is an incredible uplifting read of a post-apocalyptic world. Beautifully written and very descriptive. I love how the author describes objects that are commonly known to us, but does not call it by name. The humorous brewers are genuine characters. And the village is wonderful, I felt as if I were part of it.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of Down the Path and Further Down the Path

[Anna Risko · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is so great when the sophomore book in a series is as great as the first. Copper's journey continues and again you find yourself right along with him picturing and living his adventures.

[Brad Theado · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable series. book 3 here i come.