Dead on Arrival: A Sci-Fi Thrill Ride

by Nick Pirog

The only thing Maddy knows for certain is that he died.

I died. And I came here. To a place they call Two. They say one out of three people who die come here. Berlin is here. She's seven. She forgot to take her insulin. Darrel is here. He drowned. Dr. Raleigh is here. He's the head counselor at the Two Adjustment Facility (TAF) I'm at. He died in an avalanche. Perry Whitcomb is here. I connected with him on Deadbook, Two's version of Facebook. He was on my soccer team in middle school. He collapsed during one of our games. And get this, Heath Ledger is here. (Yeah, the Joker, himself.) He just had a new movie come out.

Anyhow, it's been a lot to handle, this new world, this second life, but I think I'm starting to come around. I was about to take the bar exam, for the third time, the day after I died. They say I can take it here. They say I can become a public defender just like I'd planned on. We'll see. Sure, I'm starting to adjust, but I still have lots of questions: Why can't women get pregnant here? Who are this group called Borns that no one will talk about? Why do They always seem to know exactly where you are every second of every day? I'm not certain of a lot these days, but I do know one thing for sure: there is a lot more to Two than people are telling.

Genres: Audiobook, Science Fiction

Audio CD

Published December 20, 2022

About the author

Nick Pirog is the bestselling author of the Thomas Prescott series, the 3:00 a.m. series, and The Speed of Souls. He lives in South Lake Tahoe with his other half, Stephy, and their pup, Potter.

Reviews

[Sandra L. Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy the way Nick Pirog tells a story. He has a great sense of humor and combines it perfectly with action and detail that is guaranteed to keep you invested in the story.

[Krys (spicy.spine.breaker) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddy Young died (was jerking it in the shower so hard that he slipped, fell, & cracked his head open) & comes to in the afterlife, also known as Two (the second life) where the search engine is Goggle (not Google), social media is Deadbook, etc.
This is his journey in that new life which is full of secrets and mystery and corruption but over all a good life.


Really cool premise and world building, kind of lost me in the second half but still interesting and a cool concept.

Also, there were just *so many* cringe moments involving outdated language, mostly when it came to describing other charters.

The ending was a cliffy, but it lost me so hard in the last quarter, I’m not sure I’ll continue.

Recommend for scifi lovers though.

[Dan Banana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting alternate universe of the world with alive dead people living their best lives dead. Good story with some sci-fi shit and are there aliens, who knows? Dunno. Good characters and weird, more fun than falling from a tree.

[Regis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complicated, twisty morality tale, with a sci-fi bend. Hadn't remembered a lot of the details from reading it years ago, so I was on the edge of my seat. As crazy as it may sound, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of this story becomes reality sooner or later. Can't wait to see what happens next. Good narration.

[Julie Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start to a new series! Lots of unknowns to begin the book, and as it goes on we start to see the world as the main charachter finds it. We also learn that not all as it is presented, making life more complicated than it would normally be.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has been on my TBR list for quite a while. I finally picked it up, with no real expectations, and started to thumb through it.

The plus (and starting with 5 stars): I was hooked from the first page. The story is interesting and has a very unusual premise. Things seem to move a bit quickly in places, the pacing could use a little work, but it wasn't enough to really bother me.

The minus: The author has the main character make some unnecessary and cruel remarks about the appearance of one of the minor characters. Then, the story ended in a bit of a cliff hanger and in the author's notes at the end, he makes it sound as if there probably won't be a sequel. If I'd know that, I'd never have read the book. Minus two stars for the slurs and ending, for a final result of 3 stars. It's a shame, because the story was good.

[Ma Colle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... I really enjoyed listening to this book.
The first part, setting up this special World and the main characters was really good. The second part, was less appealling but still nice. The end, however, left me with too many unanswered questions. This book beeing quite "old" by now, I reckon there won't be any book 2. I find this really frustrating.

[Teddi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the beginning and I thought the rest would very more about trying to fit in but it all seemed to go sideways after that.
Maddy seemed to take to his new situation much too fast.
I started this thinking it was the first in a series but apparently it's never going to happen. What a waste of a good idea and my time.

[Michael Stocker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry to have wasted my time reading this book.
In the past I started a book and thought it would be a waste of time and was very surprised by the end!
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand was one such book, sadly not this book.

[Marcin W · Rating 2 out of 5]

all questions, no answers. & For anyone saying they laughed at some point in this book, those sections must have been removed for the audible reading.

might be good start to something, but would need next book to say if worth it. At this point just waste of time.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starts off intriguingly, but ultimately it begins to feel like a chore to finish.

[Cece · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've given it 2☆ as I laughed at times. I didn't bother paying full attention to the plot & story.

[Amk256 King · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bit weird but I enjoyed it!

[Logan Horsford · Rating 2 out of 5]

First 50% or 60% of the book drags horribly. It cannot be a 'sci-fi thrill ride' if there is no thrill nor motion.

The last 20 minutes is a rushed improbable bit.

[Maggie Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has an interesting storyline that kept me interested until the end, but the narrator (writer?) is misogynistic and fat phobic… making parts of the story hard to read. Deducted a star for that and a star for the fact that the pacing is off, and other more minor issues. I don’t think I will care enough about the story to continue reading any sequels.