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Future Apocalypse #1
Beginnings
Looking for a different twist to the Apocalypse?
An unexpected error with her time pod leaves Paulette Brown, a brilliant scientist stranded in a post-apocalyptic future, where the city of Seattle is destroyed and now under water.
Her only hope now is to find people who might help her get back home—if that’s even possible.
An unexpected error with her time pod leaves Paulette Brown, a brilliant scientist stranded in a post-apocalyptic future, where the city of Seattle is destroyed and now under water.
Her only hope now is to find people who might help her get back home—if that’s even possible.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 30, 2019
50 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Barbara J. Gilbert
6 books26 followersBarbara J. Gilbert was born a military brat at Ft Jackson SC. Her early years were spent between there, and Ft Hood TX, Bonner Montana, and Kennewick WA.
Along the way, she moved from being a wild child in the streets to being adopted, making her the oldest of three siblings. In Washington she got handed a fourth sibling, a little brother, who she cared for till her graduation from Kennewick High School and entry into the USAF.
Her USAF career started as an Administrator, then Information Manager, to Aerospace Systems Warning Operator (tracking missiles and other threats)
After a medical retirement, she worked for the RadioShack, moved to an IT position at a Marketing company supplying condiments to the US Commissary Service Worldwide, and finally opening up a computer consulting, sales, and service company with her husband. As a spare-time project while running an IT department and family consulting firm she had two boys.
While still running the family business she was offered a teaching position at a charter high school. Changing career tracks yet again, she became a teacher of English, Computer Apps, Computer Repair, Consumer Math, Principles of Business, Physics, and Earth Science. In the public-school system, she taught Computer Apps, Business, E-commerce, and Web Design.
Moving back to her spiritual home in Montana, she again taught Earth Science and Computer Applications (MAC).
A second medical disability ended her teaching career and moved her back into a full-time domestic engineering position.
Her hobbies in (prize winning) photography, painting, Ham Radio, SCUBA Diving, and a host of other interests keep her busy on good days, and she manages to get by on the bad ones.
Writing got started with a NaNoWriMo challenge to her sons and seems to have led her to yet another success.
An amazing person, she just keeps adding to her list of accomplishments.
– Ted C Hall (AKA The Ex)
Along the way, she moved from being a wild child in the streets to being adopted, making her the oldest of three siblings. In Washington she got handed a fourth sibling, a little brother, who she cared for till her graduation from Kennewick High School and entry into the USAF.
Her USAF career started as an Administrator, then Information Manager, to Aerospace Systems Warning Operator (tracking missiles and other threats)
After a medical retirement, she worked for the RadioShack, moved to an IT position at a Marketing company supplying condiments to the US Commissary Service Worldwide, and finally opening up a computer consulting, sales, and service company with her husband. As a spare-time project while running an IT department and family consulting firm she had two boys.
While still running the family business she was offered a teaching position at a charter high school. Changing career tracks yet again, she became a teacher of English, Computer Apps, Computer Repair, Consumer Math, Principles of Business, Physics, and Earth Science. In the public-school system, she taught Computer Apps, Business, E-commerce, and Web Design.
Moving back to her spiritual home in Montana, she again taught Earth Science and Computer Applications (MAC).
A second medical disability ended her teaching career and moved her back into a full-time domestic engineering position.
Her hobbies in (prize winning) photography, painting, Ham Radio, SCUBA Diving, and a host of other interests keep her busy on good days, and she manages to get by on the bad ones.
Writing got started with a NaNoWriMo challenge to her sons and seems to have led her to yet another success.
An amazing person, she just keeps adding to her list of accomplishments.
– Ted C Hall (AKA The Ex)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 6, 2021
I often have a difficult time reviewing indy published books. I am a huge advocate for indy authors. I want every single one to be highly successful and widely read. So, I have a harder time being completely objective in my reviews. In the end, I take a deep breath and do my best. I praise the positives that I see in each indy work first, while still truthfully pointing out problems in a constructive manner.
First, the positives -- this is an interesting take on the idea of time travel. I love stories that make me think about the ethics and possibilities of such technology. Is it even possible...and if so, how? And, if we could -- should we? What are the ramifications of travelling outside our own time? The concept alone sends me into sci-fi nerd ecstasies.
I like the characters. Paulette Brown is a highly intelligent woman, driven to develop a device that can travel both forward and backward in time. She funds her dream project with an R&D idea to invent bionic replacement limbs for amputees. Paulette is a strong main character who makes the best of her situation. Her friend Greg is a bit whiney, but fits the best friend/maybe-more sidekick role pretty well.
The story, once it hits its stride, is interesting. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next! The plot moved along relatively quickly, with things picking up once Paulette travelled in time.
There are some issues with this book, however.
I listened to the audio book version of this story. The audio is just a bit short of 5.5 hours long. Very easy listening length. But, the narration is problematic. The audio quality is poor -- lots of echo. The narration itself is amateur (badly voiced characters, mispronounced words, and odd inflection). But, I did notice that the narrator changes for books 2 and 3 in this series, so it seems this problem has already been addressed.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I wanted to know what happened to Paulette. But, this first story has some major writing issues. A professional editor could have helped, in my opinion. There are some plot continuity errors and long scenes or descriptions that are not relevant to the plot or characterization. Conversation is poorly written, coming off as stilted, unnatural or even juvenile at times. Details are over explained that could be simply implied.
The science is problematic. A genius with two years of college and no medical knowledge could not develop a working, fully-integrated bionic limb with a skeleton crew. It would take a medical team headed by neurosurgeons and other experts decades of testing on animals before a test limb would ever be attached to a human being. The military would never appropriate R&D funds to a project with no research history, record of testing or a prototype of some sort. Pulling a proposal out of the blue sky does not net hundreds of thousands of dollars in R&D funds. And there is no explanation of how Paulette's time machine design works. That part is pretty much glossed over with jumps in story time, and suddenly she is testing a working pod.
These are rookie writer mistakes that could have been corrected with the help of a professional editor. The quality of this book could be greatly improved with professional editing and some rewrites.
So, I like the basic concept and characters...that kept me listening to this audio book even when rough edges in the writing and poor narration pulled me out of the story. I like the concept enough to try book 2 in this trilogy, Journey to the City of Technology.
**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book, provided by the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
First, the positives -- this is an interesting take on the idea of time travel. I love stories that make me think about the ethics and possibilities of such technology. Is it even possible...and if so, how? And, if we could -- should we? What are the ramifications of travelling outside our own time? The concept alone sends me into sci-fi nerd ecstasies.
I like the characters. Paulette Brown is a highly intelligent woman, driven to develop a device that can travel both forward and backward in time. She funds her dream project with an R&D idea to invent bionic replacement limbs for amputees. Paulette is a strong main character who makes the best of her situation. Her friend Greg is a bit whiney, but fits the best friend/maybe-more sidekick role pretty well.
The story, once it hits its stride, is interesting. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next! The plot moved along relatively quickly, with things picking up once Paulette travelled in time.
There are some issues with this book, however.
I listened to the audio book version of this story. The audio is just a bit short of 5.5 hours long. Very easy listening length. But, the narration is problematic. The audio quality is poor -- lots of echo. The narration itself is amateur (badly voiced characters, mispronounced words, and odd inflection). But, I did notice that the narrator changes for books 2 and 3 in this series, so it seems this problem has already been addressed.
Overall, I enjoyed this story. I wanted to know what happened to Paulette. But, this first story has some major writing issues. A professional editor could have helped, in my opinion. There are some plot continuity errors and long scenes or descriptions that are not relevant to the plot or characterization. Conversation is poorly written, coming off as stilted, unnatural or even juvenile at times. Details are over explained that could be simply implied.
The science is problematic. A genius with two years of college and no medical knowledge could not develop a working, fully-integrated bionic limb with a skeleton crew. It would take a medical team headed by neurosurgeons and other experts decades of testing on animals before a test limb would ever be attached to a human being. The military would never appropriate R&D funds to a project with no research history, record of testing or a prototype of some sort. Pulling a proposal out of the blue sky does not net hundreds of thousands of dollars in R&D funds. And there is no explanation of how Paulette's time machine design works. That part is pretty much glossed over with jumps in story time, and suddenly she is testing a working pod.
These are rookie writer mistakes that could have been corrected with the help of a professional editor. The quality of this book could be greatly improved with professional editing and some rewrites.
So, I like the basic concept and characters...that kept me listening to this audio book even when rough edges in the writing and poor narration pulled me out of the story. I like the concept enough to try book 2 in this trilogy, Journey to the City of Technology.
**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book, provided by the author. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
November 4, 2020
Paulette is the smartest human alive.... she is destined to do everything she dreams of and she does just that. Her brain may even be a little to perfect as she never makes mistakes. Unless you take in to consideration she is blind to Greg also being in love with her. Maybe she is too smart for her own good!
Love her southern accent. I know that accent can make people think you aren’t smart. I have one too. She is strong, capable and ready to take on anything. You can’t help but fall in love with her.
If you love time travel and/or apocalyptic worlds you will love this too.
Narration by Yasmine M was excellent.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Love her southern accent. I know that accent can make people think you aren’t smart. I have one too. She is strong, capable and ready to take on anything. You can’t help but fall in love with her.
If you love time travel and/or apocalyptic worlds you will love this too.
Narration by Yasmine M was excellent.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
February 14, 2022
Time travel and apocolypse - what's not to like? Two of my favourite genres. The story is good, the author has come up with a brilliant concept that should be a real winner. However the writing lets the book down.
Bad grammar and mispelled words I can forgive but the childish writing style is irritating, the repetition of information already given annoying. There's no depth to the plot it reads more like a teenage rendition of a book they read simplified to cover some f the main points without going into any real detail - however when they do include details it is the irrelevent stuff they cover.
I am interested enough in what happens next to pick up the next in the series and continue reading but no matter how good a storyline could be, without it being polished and more attention given to enriching the experience for the reader I fear this author will only ever be okay.
Bad grammar and mispelled words I can forgive but the childish writing style is irritating, the repetition of information already given annoying. There's no depth to the plot it reads more like a teenage rendition of a book they read simplified to cover some f the main points without going into any real detail - however when they do include details it is the irrelevent stuff they cover.
I am interested enough in what happens next to pick up the next in the series and continue reading but no matter how good a storyline could be, without it being polished and more attention given to enriching the experience for the reader I fear this author will only ever be okay.
July 17, 2020
Great first book in the series. Highly recommend!
March 4, 2020
A good short story; liked it! Hopefully will have more of the same! Will keep my eyes open!
November 4, 2019
This was a good strong female lead apocalyptic/sci-fi about a very interesting and intelligent young lady that builds a time machine. Exciting and intriguing
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
February 4, 2020
Interesting Read
Not my usual read but very interesting. Well written and sure to amaze readers. So if you are into time travel this might be a book for you.
Not my usual read but very interesting. Well written and sure to amaze readers. So if you are into time travel this might be a book for you.
June 3, 2020
Paulette is a genius with all of the quirks to go along with it. Greg is her best friend with his own idiosyncrasies . Together they build a wonderful company and then something happens separating them by hundreds of years. Will they get each other back? While I appreciate the development of the story, I also found the story of these two characters a little drawn out at times. A lot of development goes into these two characters and while I find Greg whiny I can still understand why they ended up in each other lives. I am to sure how Paulette and Greg got as much done in secret as they did but that's not a huge issue for me. I kept waiting for information the geniuses to open their minds up and truly understand what was happening plus Paulette's actions to leave something so far away confused me as well as some of Greg's actions are not really consistent to his character up to those points.
March 25, 2022
I loved the story and the attention to detail during the bionics parts as well as when building the time machine….I think the only reason I went with 4 stars is because I really wanted more details and depth I was sucked into the story 100% wanted to know what happened next but I wanted more if that makes sense. More of the relationship between Greg and Paulette and more details of what happens in between…like it jumps from the meeting is in one week….then all of a sudden it’s one week later with nothing in the middle….but all in all I loved the story…loved the characters…can’t wait to see what happens next…and bonus…my 7 year old and I listened to it on audio (not crazy about the narrator) but my 7 year old gave it 5 stars and loved the book!
October 25, 2020
Intriguing and Fast Paced
Great characters and an intriguing and fast paced storyline make this book an excellent read. There are plenty of twists and turns in the storyline leading up to the main character venturing into the future.
I thought this was very skilfully written to make the technological knowledge easy to understand. If it is anything like Book 1, Book 2 is sure to be an excellent read and one I very much look forward to.
Great characters and an intriguing and fast paced storyline make this book an excellent read. There are plenty of twists and turns in the storyline leading up to the main character venturing into the future.
I thought this was very skilfully written to make the technological knowledge easy to understand. If it is anything like Book 1, Book 2 is sure to be an excellent read and one I very much look forward to.
May 25, 2020
This is an apocalyptic future story that is very good. There is a good amount of action and a good amount of new information on the characters. It is a very good read but ends with you being left up in the air about what will happen next. This is not a bad thing because it leaves a lot of directions for the story to continue.
April 15, 2020
This is an interesting mix of genres both post apocalyptic and time travel. It takes a while to lead up to the time travel so wander if the first half of the story will work into the second book in the series.
April 27, 2020
Future Apocalypse
This is a good read, I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different apocalyptic scenario, Also if you want a clean book with not alot of sex, Drugs, and violence.
This is a good read, I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different apocalyptic scenario, Also if you want a clean book with not alot of sex, Drugs, and violence.
June 1, 2020
This is a different take on the usual apocalyptic books. It has good action and story line. I would recommend this to anyone who likes time travel stories. I received this book as a gift in exchange for an honest review,.
June 13, 2020
Love, love this series!
Pauline is a strong female character that you just love to root for!
As she navigates her way through time the author leaves you wanting a second book!
Dont pass this one up!!!
Great read!
Pauline is a strong female character that you just love to root for!
As she navigates her way through time the author leaves you wanting a second book!
Dont pass this one up!!!
Great read!
April 25, 2021
An excellent read, it will undoubtedly continue to keep me engrossed in the future continuations.
Greg seems to be the weak character in the story and his and Paulette's inability to communicate confounds what should be a simple relationship advancement.
Greg seems to be the weak character in the story and his and Paulette's inability to communicate confounds what should be a simple relationship advancement.
May 18, 2021
Interesting
I'm glad I read this book but I won't be reading the series, the reason? I feel this book is a YA one. It is repetitive at times but having said that it is an interesting read. A very different take on an apocalyptic tale
I'm glad I read this book but I won't be reading the series, the reason? I feel this book is a YA one. It is repetitive at times but having said that it is an interesting read. A very different take on an apocalyptic tale
August 24, 2020
A promoter/author friend told me about this book. It was great and best of all, different. Looking forward to book 2! Can't wait!
August 27, 2020
great read by this author. I enjoyed it and will read more in the series..
October 29, 2020
Great book! Highly recommend!
October 29, 2020
Great book!
January 4, 2021
Awesome!
This book has everything that I would want to see in a futuristic novel! Absolutely amazing and I highly recommend!
This book has everything that I would want to see in a futuristic novel! Absolutely amazing and I highly recommend!
February 9, 2021
Loved the premise of the story, but the narration of the story can be read as being talked to instead of integrated into the story, but well worth the read!
Read
March 18, 2021The premise of this story is very good.
July 19, 2025
3.5 stars!
April 24, 2021
What happens when you meld time travel, an apocalypse, and some likeable characters into a story that doesn’t fit neatly into a specific niche like YA or cozy or SCIFI, you get the future apocalypse series. As I initially listened to beginnings, I wasn’t too sure about this story, but the longer I listened I noticed I was being drawn deeper into the story and the characters, not to mention trying to anticipate what was coming next. I’m glad to say my predictions rarely were right. Based on my experience with this very entertaining story, listening to the second episode in the series was a given. Krista Nicely did an excellent job of bring Barbara Gilbert’s story to life.
June 13, 2020
I love the story line. Time traveling to an apocalyptic future, although that wasn't the intent. Getting stranded in the future too! Very cool concept for the story and I very much enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
I wasn't crazy about the narrator at all though. She does have a good voice. When she's doing her narrator voice, it's pleasant. It's her character voices, accents, and horribly mispronounced words that I didn't care for.
I wasn't crazy about the narrator at all though. She does have a good voice. When she's doing her narrator voice, it's pleasant. It's her character voices, accents, and horribly mispronounced words that I didn't care for.
September 15, 2019
Really impressed by the first book in this series. Only one problem I can see. Now I have to wait for book 2 to come out. I'm a huge fan of time travel fantasy and this one was awesome. A few very interesting twists and some characters that make you want to hang out with them and know more about them.
October 3, 2024
I really do like this story. It's interesting and engaging. But, the writing is clunky. Often, the pacing is off, or the conversations are...just clunky.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews