Ash

The Alt Apocalypse #1

by Tom Abrahams

A nuclear attack.
A collapsing society.
A world covered in ash.

The Alt Apocalypse explores survival under the most extreme circumstances, but with a twist ( and no cliff-hangers ).
This series, which can be read in any order, features the same core characters in each complete story. But every book dunks them into a new, alternate apocalypse; a nuclear holocaust, an earthquake, a flood, a wildfire, a hurricane, a plague, and even zombies.

Different heroes will emerge in each novel. Different characters will survive and perish. Your favorite character dies in one book? He or she will be back in the next. In the end you'll unwind the loose thread that connects every character and every stand-alone story.

In Ash, Abrahams tells the story of four college friends, an ex-con, a lonely fry cook, and a secretive group of prepared civilians as they each battle to survive in southern California after a series of nuclear attacks. Theirs is a gray world covered in ash and nuclear fallout.

Do they hunker down? Do they bug out? Do they find their salvation above ground or below?

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic, Fiction, Horror

249 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 10, 2018

About the author

Tom Abrahams is an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award winning television journalist and member of International Thriller Writers.

He is also a Kindle Unlimited All-Star, an Audible 5 Star Favorite, and author of more than forty novels.

He writes in several genres including dystopian, sci-fi techno-thriller, post-apocalyptic, and political thrillers.

The dramatic rights for his "A Dark World" trilogy are optioned for television and film.

He's married with two children and lives in Southeast Texas.

Reviews

[Soo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mini-Review:

4 Stars for Narration by Kevin Pierce
4 Stars for Basic Premise
2 Stars for Execution of Plot/Setting/etc


The series came up during my "audio zombie" search on Audible. The premise is cool. The idea is to explore different disaster scenarios with a central group of characters. I thought that would be cool to explore.

I finished the book and I'm left feeling like I listened to a caustic setup for a story. Except there's no more to this particular strand. You get a basic idea of the world, the disaster and the multiple characters but the brush strokes are not detailed enough to make any of them stand out.

[Ryan H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of this audiobook. This was a great start to a new series/ stand alone. There are 3 separate storylines that seem to meet in a dark, ominous fury of ash. I loved the completely different lifestyles and walks of life the characters came from. The author gives us a great and original start to a very creative idea of having the same characters thrust into different disaster sanarios. You are thrown right into the meyham in this story and it does not let you go. The story is not bogged down by extensive character development, however there is enough development there that you care about the characters while growing to like some and hate others. I found this title to be somewhat dark and frightening. Not in a sense of a horror novel but instead of this is what life could be like if something like this took place. The descriptions of the landscapes and buildings painted a great picture only adding to the story’s allure. Kevin Pierce was the narrator of this work and he provides another top notch performance. He is definitely made for this type of story. He gave the character’s voices and at times made them feel happy, hopeless and even angry at points throughout the entire story. The pacing was great and it is easy to get lost in this story not only because of the great writing but also the fabulous performance. Even at the end of the audiobook they give a small teaser of the next book in the series called Lit. It sounds great and I am definitely looking forward to it. Great start to this innovative series. Huge score for Abrahams and Pierce. I was given a copy of this audiobook by the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of this work.

[BookLoversLife · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that the blurb for the book sums up the plot perfectly....In Ash, Abrahams tells the story of four college friends, an ex-con, a lonely fry cook, and a secretive group of prepared civilians as they each battle to survive in southern California after a series of nuclear attacks. Theirs is a gray world covered in ash and nuclear fallout. Do they hunker down? Do they bug out? Do they find their salvation above ground or below?... so I'm not going to rehash it in my own words because there's no need!!

First and foremost, I have to applaud the author on what he's doing here. It's a unique and fresh way to do the post apoc books. The series he plans deals with the same core characters but puts them into different situations. He says that different heroes will emerge with each book and if some characters die in one book, they will be back in the next. I love the idea of this and am looking forward to reading them all!!

Anyway, this one deals with a Nuclear Attack. The fallout is bad and life as we know it is gone. I loved that the author dives into the action straight away. We get enough information on the attack to satisfy me and we get enough character development to keep them interesting. It's a very easy story to get into and its easy to pick out some favourite characters too! One of mine died here but I know he will be in the next book so I'm ok about it.

In all, this was a great read. I gave it 4 stars because I didn't like the way the kids believed the group over the radio so quickly!! They were willing to eave everything behind so easy that it just felt wrong. Other than that small bit, I loved everything else about it. It's well written and thought out, it's fast paced and exciting and it's the start of something fresh and new in an over-saturated genre.

Kevin Pierce is as good as always. He is easy to listen to and was clear and concise. He has plenty of tones for the characters and even does the female voices really well.

I was given this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

[Chessy The Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The USA is attacked by nuclear warheads, and southern California is a prime target. A handful of survivors scattered throughout the area find different ways to cope with the new reality. Fate will bring them together. Not all for the good.

Abrahams first novel in The Alt Apocalypse series, Ash chronicles each of their separate stories. It is a very realistic look at life in a nuclear fallout zone. This disaster tests their abilities and their weaknesses. What will happen when they meet up? Who will survive, or will they all perish?

The premise of this series is to put the same characters in different apocalyptic situations. Each book is a stand-alone story. It is a very new way to examine human nature. I look forward to the rest of the series. Well, except for the zombie one. I hate zombies.

5 out of 5 stars, especially for originality.

[Brian's Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Brand New Take In The Post-Apocalyptic Genre

I’m going to directly quote Abrahams here because I wanted to point out the exact thing that he’s hoping to accomplish with the Alt Apocalypse series:

“It explores survival under the most extreme circumstances, but with a twist (and no cliff-hangers). This series, which can be read in any order, features the same core characters in each complete story. But every book dunks them into a new, alternate apocalypse; a nuclear holocaust, an earthquake, a flood, a wildfire, a hurricane, a plague, and even zombies. ” So there you have it – he’s going to re-use the cast and characters throwing them into different situations. I love the idea behind this because it will show you that some people are geared to survive one apocalyptic event but not another. I think that this is a unique take on the PA genre and I can’t wait to read the other stories he’s crafting.

I don’t normally stop to highlight a quote in a book while listening to the audio unless it’s really quotable or something that stuck out to me. I ended up stopping while reading Ash to highlight four times. One of them was: “this is LA. There are as many hills as there are douchebags.” “Probably more hills,” added Jesse. “A lot of those douchebags are dead.” – I died when reading this line. I don’t know why it felt so perfect in this book – definitely my kind of humor.

I’m sure that the ven diagram of pop-punk listeners and post-apocalyptic readers isn’t very big but I couldn’t get a specific song out of my head the entire time I was reading Ash. Grey by Yellowcard basically the chorus is “It’s all gone grey…” and the way that Abrahams wrote Ash – this fits pretty darn well.

So, to quote him again, Ash tells the story of “four college friends, an ex-con, a lonely fry cook, and a secretive group of prepared civilians as they each battle to survive in southern California after a series of nuclear attacks.” each one of these groups or single people brought a different side to this story. I think I liked the secretive group and the college kids the most. They were totally different but had me totally enthralled.

Overall, Ash is something that I don’t get to write and mean too often. An original post-apocalyptic story. Sure, some of the things in it you can find in other books but I’m looking at the series as a whole. This is something that no one that I know of has done in this genre and I’m excited for things to come.

The audiobook was only taken to the next level by the voice of the apocalypse himself, Kevin Pierce. His narration really helps take an already great book and make it better. I’m thrilled that Abrahams and Pierce are working together on another series.

[Dennis Crotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I will say anything this author does you can expect the best and KP brings the story and characters alive. The details of LA being nucked and the pain and death of persons in the nuked area and outside was much better and showed the author had really research on what would happen to the people. The characters are four friends in college and their adventures in trying to survive and what had to deal with and people who was alive that had been deformed from the radiation and thugs who was out to survive by any means and were slowly dieing from the radiation and finally killed by the four students who they were trying to get to kill and rob. You meet Danny a man who the world had collapsed before the nukes fell and he was just trying to survive with his dog. To me this man was the most interesting person because as you listen you learn more and more about him and how far he will go to save his dog.
I highly recommend this series of books and if you read or listen to any of Tom Abraham look for them and try them i can guarantee you like what you hear and read.

[Maxine Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

OPINION OF BOOK: What is creepy about this book is that it doesn’t take place in some far-flung future that isn’t recognizable. It happens tomorrow, or the day after, or today. I saw the struggle Dub and his friends went through in trying to deal with the mental and moral implications of what has happened. I was outraged by Clint’s reaction to what was happening around him. Although I fully well understand that there are plenty of people out there who would react in much the same way. It was all about how he could make this work for him. What could this tragedy give to him? Danny was heartbreaking as a character because he seemed so lost. His only connection for the majority of the book was Maggie. He worried more about her and her well-being than he did his own. Ash takes you through not only the monumental loss of all the people destroyed immediately by the bombings. But you also get to see the grotesque illnesses that some of the survivors endure before they are finally released by death. Then into the small groups of survivors and the horror they felt when they saw one of their dwindling number falls. Ash isn’t just about the violent nuts and bolts of surviving in a mass extinction event. It delves into the psychological aspects of it. How it would feel to walk through the ash. How it would feel to sit in the dark and know that you wouldn’t see your family ever again. How it would feel to sit there and realize that you have to stop thinking like a modern American citizen and you have to start thinking about what you have to do to survive long-term. And what would you be willing to do to survive?

SPOILER SECTION (WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT): Downtown LA, a posh mother is contemplating her son’s social media, when her world is burned away. Inside the Gymnasium on the UCLA campus, four sophomore friends are playing a pickup game of basketball. Dub is hanging from the hoop after a dunk reveling in the sensation of the backboard vibration before he drops to the ground. It wasn’t just the backboard vibrating. At first, they think it is an earthquake but quickly realize that’s not so. When they go to the doors to leave, they see a mushroom cloud rising over the downtown LA skyline, and people running everywhere. Ash follows Dub, his roommates and his girlfriend as they hunker down at the college. Clint, an ex-con who is close enough to be burned and who’s first instinct is to rob a lady. He thinks with social order crumbling around him that it will be his time to rise to the top of the heap. Danny and his dog Maggie, who were on the beach at the time of the explosion, wander trying to find someplace to be safe. Danny feels numb because he had already lost everything before the nuclear attack. His wife had left him and took everything he had. They stumble upon OASIS which could change the game for all of them. Danny finds a certain sense of belonging at OASIS. Danny and others from OASIS are going to UCLA to bring Dub and his friends into their enclave. Their communications via radio have been overheard by Clint and a ragtag gang that he has put together. Clint decides that he will take what the college kids have, including their lives, even though nothing will change the fact that he is dying of radiation poisoning. Dub and his friends must fight off these criminals in order to survive long enough to make the trek to OASIS.

[Jeremy Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you be able to survive an apocalypse? It's a question that is interesting to ponder, but impossible to know for certain. The question though has given rise to post-apocalyptic novels that examine how people react and survive after massive disasters or war. Tom Abrahams in his The Alt Apocalypse series is interested in exploring this idea in multiple ways using the same characters in different scenarios.

The first book takes a look at the stories of a handful of survivors after a nuclear war. The survivors are all from the LA area and trying to survive the post-apocalyptic reality they're finding themselves in. It's a very small scale kind of story. We don't fully know the situation of the world, we're only following a handful of characters and even then there are plenty of time skips involved. The book also only goes on for about 50 days or so after the attacks.

I found the book enjoyable, but it does have some shortcomings. For such a short book, having multiple povs made for a bit of a disjointed feel. I would occasionally forget who a certain character was when we switched perspectives. Really this was only true of Clint, as I never really liked the character, and I felt we spent the least amount of time with him, so I tended to forget about him.

Overall, I liked the characters other than Clint, but it felt hard to actually get to know them too well with the narrative split and the book itself not being terribly long. I enjoyed it and a couple moments were pretty heavy feeling, but I wasn't able to get real close connection with the characters. The college students were probably the ones with the most character development.

So I thought Ash was a good book. It's not necessarily a must read, but I enjoyed my time with it and am looking forward to reading other books in the series to see what other disasters Abrahams has in mind and how he pulls off the same characters in different settings.

[Patrick S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I read the description wrong on this book. I thought the book was a series of vignettes that explored different apocalyptic scenarios. It's a book SERIES that does so - each book covers a different scenario. But I was intrigued about the idea for the series. Take the same cast of characters in each book and put them in different scenarios. Their outcomes could differ.

For Abrahams' first book in this series I was really impressed - and he starts it with a bang. This book follows three main groups; a group of college students, an ex-con, and a surfer dude with his dog; right after Los Angeles gets nuked. The author does a good job of moving the story along. Sometimes, during this genre type, authors tend to plod along or get tied up in existential crisis too much. Obviously, those themes need to be addressed but the book doesn't wane in moving characters forward. Honestly, the biggest thing that made me happy when reading this book is when a character finds shelter and immediately fills up the tub and sinks with water. I've read so many post-apocalypse books that this small, intelligent action wins me over quite a bit.

The book does a good job of giving each group of characters their arc and doesn't delve into unnecessary sci-fi like mutants or monsters that seems to be a genre staple. I would say that the college students are sometimes hard to differentiate from and their character build kind of takes place later in the book. However, this book is a lot of fun and does a good job at the primary goal the characters have - to survive. I will definitely check out the other books in Abrahams' series as they are release. Final Grade - A

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Post-apocalyptic fiction is my guilty pleasure. For that reason alone, and without reading reviews, I picked up this novel and dove in. In retrospect, I should have been a tad more cautious and perhaps dipped my feet in the pool by actually perusing those reviews. Had I done so, I may have decided to forgo this one altogether.

First, the overall premise is a nuclear disaster—unusual in this day of authors preferring decimation via EMPs. The story is set in and around LA, which is ground zero for the blast, and not far (relatively speaking) from the college campus where several of the characters are located. In addition to the collegiate contingency, other characters include an immoral former con and an ex-military guy and his dog. Chapters initially rotate perspective between these characters until finally they are brought together through circumstances best described as coincidental.

The characters themselves are fairly well rounded and brought to life, each staying true to their prescribed personalities. My issue is with the “organization” that pulls them to common ground—the Oasis. Without spoilers, suffice it to say that this is where the plot goes off the rails and never really returns to the tracks. It was next to impossible to suspend my disbelief long enough to swallow the premise and made the read difficult at best, often bordering on simply ridiculous.

My recommendation here is to pass and find something else in this genre.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best post-apocalyptic fiction is realistic, character-driven, and scares the heck out of you. This book, about survivors of a nuclear attack, was so realistic I felt sick and almost stopped reading it. The book puts you right in the middle of a nuclear apocalypse. As you might imagine, it is a very dangerous and hopeless place. Survival is a daily struggle, even if you are smart and do everything right. There are evil and desperate people willing to do anything to survive. If you help people, does that mean you are endangering yourself? And there's the ever-present question: Why bother to go on?

It sounds strange to say I recommend this book, but I do. It is very well-written, you care about the characters, and maybe, if enough people read books like this, the world will finally realize nuclear weapons can NEVER be used. Hope is all that's left for the survivors in this book. We have more options, but ultimately, we have to hope world leaders and politicians have the common sense to never even consider using these weapons.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really interested after reading the blurb, the idea is interesting, the same characters in multiple apocalypse situations, I thought I was getting a bunch of short stories in one book, but no, this book covers one scenario. So bring on the next book!

In this book a number of nuclear bombs are detonated killing many and causing wide spread nuclear fallout. It's interesting to see how the different sets of characters deal with the situation and how they end up coming together at different points. Their different skill-sets are apparent through this book so I'm interested to see how that plays out in the other books in the series when different senario's play out.

The writing is well done, the characters are well developed and feel real.

The character voices are distinct and recognizable and the overall tone of the delivery changes to match the different situations.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

[AnnA Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

This interesting concept this series is the same people re-set in a series of disasters. Ash is the first and it starts with "the big one," a nuclear bomb.
We first meet our characters; a group of college students, some criminals living homeless in tents on the beach, a survival collective that started in 1948, and a fry cook with his dog, as they experience this catastrophe. From the fiery bomb to the gray, ash cloud and the world that descends after. This story explores the psychological aspects of what a disaster will do to your moral compass. How when the niceties of our civilized world are pulled down we really have a chance to see what we are capable of when every day is the worst day ever.

[Shanna Tidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Abraham’s never fails to entertain, inspire & teach. He is a great writer and storyteller.
I did feel like I missed something between the teens disconnecting with the Oasis group & then agreeing to meet with them. What changed their minds? I went back through the audio to try to figure it out but again I must have missed something. Either way I’m glad it happened. Looking forward to one of my favorite characters, Maggie the dog, adventures in the next installment.
My favorite narrator, Kevin Pierce does a spectacular job as always!
I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher/author but voluntarily give my honest review.

[Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I read this because it was a free book of the day somewhere. I didn't understand the title or the picture…but free is free. And man, was I surprised! This is one of the best books I have ever read. It's well written, I have fallen in love with the characters, and it's a series!!! It's been a while since I crawled into a book trance. It was a pretty intense section of the book, and when I finished the chapter...I just kinda looked around. I thought maybe I'd been asleep, I didn't realize where I was or what time it was. That's getting pretty deep into the story...and it was a wonderful feeling.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this new apocalypse/survival narrative we experience an engaging and convincing treatise on survival under brutally realistic conditions after our country has suffered several nuclear attacks. The premise is to present the same set of characters in different circumstances in each volume. Each volume can be read in any order which makes me wonder if each new volume will in fact resemble a set of short stories. I hope I will realize more passion and caring than that as I am not a fan of short stories. If Mr. Abrahams continues to deliver as much realism, tension and emotion as this debut novel, I’ll have nothing to fear. This audiobook was given by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

[Ebony Irby · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! I can’t believe how Good this book was! Now, I am the 1st one to turn down a SHTF/Bug Out type book (which I thought this was). It was a series (each one different), about cataclysmic events where each one tells a different story of survival. The way the author describes the situations, and characters had me INSTANTLY hooked! After a series of Nationwide nuclear attacks, we follow the story of 3-4 groups of survivors as they traverse this new world covered in ash and debris. I enjoyed this to the end. Already on to book 2. Definitely worth the listen!

[Liz Mandeville · Rating 5 out of 5]

No, no, it can’t be over! The first of four books in this series which gives several characters the opportunity to survive (or not survive) each of four separate apocalyptic scenarios.
Ash is the apocalypse as the result of terrorist nuclear attacks.
A short order cook and his dog, four students from UCLA, some stoners from a street gang, a mystery female voice on a HAM radio and some folks with a fully stocked bunker interact.
It seemed as though they had all just gotten started when the book ended and the next apocalypse began.
Who knows? Maybe there’ll be a sequel?

[dennis barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ash. Tom Abrahams.

Key cities in America have been nuked. The Chinese, the Iranians the Russians? No one knows for sure. This is a story of survival, adapting quickly to a changing environment. Survival of the fittest would be a understatement. Oasis , a group of people who have planned for this type of scenario, are bringing in survivors who can enable them to survive. A fantastic read!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last! Dystopian fiction without a cliffhanger ending. Although, in the end, one does wonder what the future holds for these mostly believable characters. Very little of this story requires significant suspension of disbelief. It's a compelling story magnificently performed by Kevin Pierce. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this series.

NOTE: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good!

A different type of dystopian fiction for me, however since I am a fan of Mr. Abrahams Spaceman books I decided to try this one. I enjoyed the different characters and their background stories. I enjoy Mr. Abrahams writing style especially how he creates a story that has an easy flow. The characters are likeable and believable and I loved the premise. Looking forward to the next installment.

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped reading

I felt this was poorly written. One example is one group of survivors listening to emergency sirens, while another survivor talks about the eerie silence. The emp blast knocked out electronics, so there wouldn't have been electronic sounds.
Then the dialogue felt disjointed. And certain character reactions were totally weird and random.
Cool idea for a series, but sadly I can't spend anymore time here.

[Thomas James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bleak with a ray of hope.

It's said that nobody wins a knife fight. Everyone gets cut. I guess you could say the same about a nuclear war - only worse. Still, we are human and need a ray of hope to keep going. Book One offers that hope in the form of a survival shelter, even though the radiation poisoning is probably fatal. It's an interesting story and not really light reading because it strikes the chord of possibility. A kind nobody wants. Still, there's hope.

[Jean Billington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read about a nuclear attack on America. Central characters are 4 Los Angeles college students and a divorced loner with a dog. Survival is on their minds and the 4 college students hunker down in their dorm while the loner and his dog leave the beach they were visiting when the bomb was dropped in Los Angeles and move into am abandoned house. Both groups find OASIS, which offers them safety and a potential life after the attack.

[Aurora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Random singles and groups of survivors of a nuclear attack on Los Angeles struggle to survive during the first months after the "apocalypse" in this gripping story.
Well written with great characters and realistic situations, the story will keep you entranced until the very end.
Although this is part of a series, they are independent stories whose shared characters experience different disasters in each story and can be read in any order.
I really enjoyed this story.

[Dan Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Abrahams is one great story teller, he has written a chilling take of what if

Really a deeply sobering take of what would happen if the unthinkable war was to happen NOW! A group of college students witnessing the glow of nuclear fire and figuring how to cope with the aftermath. Another group in a shelter with all the supplies and resources to weather the storm. How do they keep going on?
A read that made me wonder could I do it????

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good start to a new series. I like this author's writing style and there were not a lot of errors. I was a little put off by the Oasis. How lucky this was there (kind of like the Continental in John Wick). It rather removed the tension that would normally be there for a long term plan. I will read the next one to see what happens.

[Deb Threadgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Most of the characters were wonderful.there were three distinct groups of characters. They were all trying to survive a nuclear blast and the ash fallout. Not all of the people were good.enjoyed reading how each was trying to struggle through the apocalypse. I will be reading the next book in the series. I think anyone who likes post-apocalyptic books will love this one.

[Alexandrea Christianson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the cover of this book! And I loved the idea. There are several books in this series, same characters that face the end of the world in a different way. I thought that sounded amazing. However, this book was slow. The characters seemed flat. It picked up a little in the middle but I just found myself uninterested.

[Jamie Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth the time...

This book was recommended by another author I read and it was awesome. This book held my attention from beginning to end. Whole it was just a small glimpse inside what could potentially happen it seemed like a real outcome.