The Apocalyptic Adventure, The Last Survivors - The complete series of 6 books, in one box set!
Survival in Man’s Second Dark Age
Three hundred years after the fall of society, the last fragments of civilization are clinging to life, living in the ruins of the ancient cities in medieval conditions. Technology has been reduced to legend, monsters roam the forests, and fear reigns supreme. But that is just the beginning.
The wind-borne spores are spreading, disfiguring men and twisting their minds, turning them into creatures that threaten to destroy the townships. Among the townsfolk, political and the religious, dissension is spreading.
Through it all, a mother must protect her son.
The Complete 6-Book Last Survivors Series - All in this one edition book 1 - The Last Survivors book 2 - The Last Escape book 3 - The Last Humanity book 4 - The Last Command book 5 - The Last Refuge book 6 - The Last Conquest
Just trying to imagine presenting the highlights of ME sets off alarm bells in my head. Why would anybody want to know anything about me? What about me is remarkable enough to tell?
When I think about these questions, I recall lying on my bed back in high school, headphones muffed over my ears, heavy metal blasting through my head. As with most teens, music’s power seduced me, and as I listened, I found myself admiring the albums' cover art (yeah, I’m old enough that I used to by LP’s) and I found myself reading about the singers and guitar players and drummers in the liner notes. Why? Because those musicians had created something that was deeply personal, passionate, and wonderfully emotional, and they’d shared it with the world. They’d shared it with me.
It made me want to know them through more than just their music. So, I read.
Through the years, I found myself reading about writers I’d enjoyed, historical figures I’d admired, politicians who weren’t dipshits, and business leaders who’d built great companies. Again, why? Who the hell knows? We’re all just people. I think we find each other interesting. We like to feel connected.
And that was my answer, at least as to the WHY.
On the WHAT I can say about me, for those who feel moved by my work: I’ll give it a quick go.
I was born an Air Force brat and lived in a dozen states before I graduated high school. I’ve worked my way through a wide variety of jobs, left most on a whim, owned businesses, lived through times when I had more money than I knew what to do with, and worried my way through times when I wondered how I’d pay the rent.
Life has been boring at times, and it’s been plenty exciting, too. So far.
I’ve traveled to India, stood atop the tallest mountains around, swam with sharks, smarted-off to cops, and been arrested. I’ve tried beer and weed, but never made a thing of either one. I’ve been brushed too close by death a few times. Thankfully, doctors, EMT’s, and nurses were kind enough to put all the pieces together again. I've ridden my bike so deep into the mountains it felt like I was alone on the edge of heaven, and I've watched the red sun sinking on an evening so clear it looked like it was falling off the edge of the world.
I’ve always had a hard time being where I am, wherever that is. My daydreams forever call from just over the horizon.
I’ve been asked by a dozen bosses where I see myself in five years, and I've lied every time, always telling them what they wanted to hear. Because the only thing I knew for sure, was that I wanted to be anywhere but there.
Love this series, bought it because I wanted something cheap and long to read during the long lockdown when income is low. Marvelous story, I love the way it follows different people, gives a real insight into how society evolves after the world we know collapses and I must say that I think the author has hit the nail on the head!! I got so engrossed in the story that I didn't want to put it down, there is a real knack in writing a story that pulls you in and makes you feel as though you are actually standing there watching events unfold.
I had read all of these books as they were published, so this was a re-read.
I have to say it is more enjoyable to read them all at once than to wait for the next one, although a summary of the previous book(s) at the start of each visit me helps immensely when you read them as independent books rather than as a complete set.
Bobby Adair is my favourite post apocalyptic writer and he and Piperbooke write superbly together.
Several times in my life, when having finished an outstanding book or series, I've gone right back to the first page in the first book and reread the entire story. This is one of those exceptional stories. I wish i could give it more than five stars. When reading the individual books as they are published, the wait in between books always causes some confusion and delay in getting back up-to-speed. Reading a boxed set like this eliminates that problem and enables a much more enjoyable experience. I have to say that these two authors, Bobby Adir, and Tyler Piperbrook, do their readers a great service by including a summary of the previous events at the start of each book. This enables new readers starting in the middle, as well as loyal readers who have waited for the next book an opportunity to get caught up very quickly. If you're looking at this boxed set, you likely have an idea of the storyline. If not, I strongly encourage you to read the authors' summary. They do a much better job giving you an overview than any reviewer could.
This wasn't just a good story, this is a life lesson, in history as well as the future. These words from the book say it best, speaking of politics: “They are too concerned with protecting their power and fighting with their political rivals. The game of politics consumes them. They lose sight of their purpose, which is to see to the well being of the people.” It's simple verse with depth of meaning.
Wow! What a great series! A tale of love, survival, politics, twisted plots, war, women's oppression, bref, a good resumé of what humanity is. And a lot of infected too!
Reminds me of Maragaret Atwood, if she was in post-apocalyptic "zombies" (they are not, though, they're... something else). A real page turner. Couldn't do nothing else. I stopped playing video games, listening to Netflix, I just needed my next fix! Strongly recommend it! :)
This one seemed like it was in my wheelhouse but it just wasn't for me. The premise was very interesting and so was the introduction of characters. But the world building fell flat for me as did the conversations and relationships between characters. There's no urgency to find out what happens next. I found myself just wanting to read a summary of what happened.
I wish they would make this into a movie or Netflix series, it would be the next game of thrones. A must read for zombie apocalypse and game of thrones fans. I love the characters and the world they have created ,flawed as it is. I recommend it to all.
Thrilling post, or post-post apocalyptic series. Different to many others, still showing the way different people act, but with a bit of a twist to the demon/mutant theme. Now to start on the next set in the series.
I don't know really. I will need to go back and reread it. Parts were really good. But somewhere the story just seemed lost. 2 stars may be pushing it 1 star may be more deserving.
This review addresses all 10 novels. The Last Survivors Box Set and The Ruins Box Set.
Plot. It's 300 years after a spore infected the human race killing all but a few thousand. Those remaining slaughter those with signs of infection, or who are believed to be infected. The stories are of the tribulations of a few of these survivors. It's ridiculously repetitive. We escape a tyrannical environment, travel through a forest of killers infected with the spore, and arrive at another tyrannical environment, escape again, travel and fight again, over and over. The author artfully traps the listener into believing that "this time will be different". Nope. just another bloody battle to escape a mess and fight off boogymen to arrive at the next mess, some bigger battles than others. Would have been good in two or three novels - fast-forwarded through 1/2, and if the mind wandered, didn't bother to rewind.
Liked. The main characters are likable. No gratuitous sex, and no offensive language inappropriate to the scene. The spore-infected people will bring to mind Quasimoto - no clicking knees, just deformities. Narration is fine, no trouble discerning who is speaking to who.
Not so hot. As indicated above, repetition...a ton of it. Lots of bloody gore, lovers of a grizzly or ghoulish genre will approve. Bumped the speed to 1.4 - that's not a criticism, just a preference.
Written by Bobby Adair, T.W. Piperbrook, narrated by Sean Runnette, about 85 hours of listening in unabridged audiobook format, released in 2019-2020 by Ancient City Publishing, LLC.
The concept for a post-apocalyptic world was different from the many others I have read. A bit of a "zombie" feel to it, which is not really my person favorite. However, I could imagine the two authors being totally absorbed in creating the characters and the mystery of the Ancient City with great attention to detail.
I also was a bit frustrated by the jumping around between characters and locations. On the plus side, characters were well- developed and unique because of their challenges.
As far as the underlying theme, I see what politics and religion have done to destroy rather than built our civilization today, so having to witness it all over again in what I would prefer to use as an "escape" from reality, it was again not my cup of tea. But I did admire the imagination and social commentary by these authors.
This was a six book series that I read on-and-off over the period of a month.
A different way to become a “zombie “ the world as you know it has fallen so far back with almost no possible way to move forward. People no longer learn to read write or even count. they are to involved in making it to another day and past another cleansing. Harsh reality of what could happen to people if there are no more moments to think to read to move up in the world. No respect given or expected by the people “beneath “ you in the road to power. Less if you are a woman. Characters that you love and love to hate are required for me to devote time to read about them as well as a cohesive story well this has that and more liked the character chapters though some were a little to short but enjoyable read as well as seriously thought provoking
A book series that gets better as you move forward, in terms of writing. It’s a pretty good story overall with a good ending. But you have to make it past the first book or two, where writing style and character development aren’t the greatest.
For example, a main character Ella…seemed like a caricature of a person to me, as she always seemed to be reacting rather than participating in events around her. I always felt for her it was something like…”GASP! Demons! I’m scared for my son!”, or GASP! My son slipped away momentarily! I’m scared!”
Thankfully in the latter half key characters are developed more thoroughly. And as I think as others have noted, finally in the latter part of the series, women aren’t treated as side stories and playthings for the men, but as strong participants in the world around them.
Okay this is my review. I think it was really good mostly until you got to like books 5 and 6. I didn't really care for how the story went. I guess the ending kind of redeemed itself at the end, but I was really hoping Ella would end up with Bray. In the end, Bray seemed like a decent sort, who truly wanted to make up for the fact that he killed Ella. It was an accident, And I think William finally saw that. Now, Melora's gonna end up with Ivory, And I believe that Kirby will end up with Bray. I'm not too sure Who Fitz will end up with; But I don't need to know. I was sad about Franklin and Evan but I guess some of the good have to die with the bad. I always like to read how a book ends up with hope , And you end up rooting for them all.
I was hesitant to read this series because I'm not a fan of Medieval adventures, but I thought I'd give it a try as I liked Piperbrook's other books I had read. I also wasn't sure about reading a series that had 2 authors, as I was wondering if the story would be consistent with the characters. I was so pleased that I did try reading the series! I absolutely loved the characters, the stories blended so well with the contributions of both authors. An excellent job by Piperbrook and Adair. I would recommend anyone to read the series, it was fast paced, intriguing, characters well defined. I could not wait to see how it all played out, but at the same time, didn't want the series to end! I am currently reading The Ruins, which continues the story with 2 of the characters in the first series, plus the addition of a new character, who is intriguing. Kudos to the authors!
I was amazed in the storylines of these books and how the story flowed so easy from one book to the next with no time lost. It is a story told so well that you feel the pains, the happy times and the horrid of life at that time due to death by fire, or demons or being impaled or beheaded. You read about a people who are trying to survive and start a new age and recovery from a spore that took people over and made them to kill and eat humans. You get to see cities that are ruin and people trying to claim items from the the abandon cities of value like metals and books. there is so much in these books that you live their life one day at a time. I highly recommend this series of books.
I very much enjoyed this series, enough to read all six books in the box set in one go. The concept is good, the writing acceptable, and like all good epics, there are a host of interesting characters to identify with or despise. In spite of all this, I could not bring myself to give it five stars. There are tiny details that I could mostly ignore, except that in some cases, they would have had significant impact on the plot in ways that the authors glossed over. If one can ignore elements such as the dubious metallurgy and inconsistent use of available weapons, the book is well written, well edited, and a worthwhile read.
I am a big fan of Post Apocalyptic books. This series did not disappoint me, I have sacrificed many hours of sleep because the storyline had me turning page after page and losing track of time. The main characters have been given clearly defined parts to play in their adventures throughout the series and all of them played solidly. Was quite surprised at the death of some of them, however the whole series has been impeccably written. I would have given the series 6 stars if that rating was available.
How good? It kept me off Facebook for day's kind of good.
It started off slow and confusing. This was not an apocalyptic book in the normal sense of the word. I kept going, it got better and then it had me. Many surprises, twists/turns and eye opening revelations to enjoy. In addition, plenty of cursing at the authors as well. So many that I'm sure they felt their ears burning. They deserved it for what they did to some of the characters. In other words, you will really enjoy the story. Read it, you will not regret the decision.
This series ia a litany of misogynistic, cruel and backwards choices made by people who are living in a future dark age. Throw in some demons, evil characters and twists and turns and you've got a well-rounded series of novels that take taboo topics, and turn them into lifestyle choices of the humanity that exists at the time. I could not get enough of this series, as I read it for the second time! All things must come to an end, and the authors concluded the series with a huge battle for their lives, and tied up loose ends. Well done!
I guess after you have read "The Passage" trilogy most post apocalyptic novels struggle to compete, I never really found myself rooting for any of the characters and the novel felt rather drawn out and lacking emotional depth, it was by no means a bad read but not enough to have me desperate to read the next installment. Winthrop "going native" was hilarious and Im not entirely sure if that was intentional or not as if was it didn't really fit in with the rest of the dark side of this novel
It took a while to get into this one but I was determined. Good storyline but you need to pay attention. Story takes place way in the future long after our current civilization has destroyed itself. I guess history repeats itself and we wind up more in the dark ages with superstitions and still the ultimate desire for control over others. Burning people at the stake, women and children nothing but chattel and of course most men are king. (Until bigger and badder comes along.) Women finally get enough and decide to do something to save their city. Very bloody scenes but a few characters worth following. All in all I enjoyed the series.
I’m not one to read post-apocalyptic books but when my other half nagged and nagged me to at least read the first book, I gave in. How glad I am that I did. I haven’t been able to put the whole series down. The characters come alive as soon as you meet them, they are so well rounded and detailed. I’ve already got the sequel, The Ruins, and will be starting that straight away.
I only read the zombie genre and I generally only like to read books set from the beginning of the apocalypse so I thought I might not like this but once I'd started reading it I loved it and had to read it all to see what happened to this bunch of weirdos. It was well worth the read and I would recommend it to any fan of the genre. I'm about to go into the follow up series The Ruins 😁
I could not put these books down, I got involved with each character like I really knew them. It was hard when someone loved to died. But it made the story complete. I would recommend these books to anyone who loves a post-apocalyptic dystopian book. The combination of both authors made this a very pleasing, heart wrenching, exciting adventure. I will read this set of books again.
This was one of the most amazing series I have ever had the opportunity to read. And that is something coming from a 72 year old lady who loves to read and has done so my entire life. Thank you for being gifted and sharing your gift with all who read this. Incredibly engaging, I could not stop reading this. I hope you read this review because you deserve it.