Sorry to say....not so good. :(

Any additional comments?

I had high hopes for this book, and it started out okay but went downhill a quarter of the way through and did not recover. Somehow the author is able to take an interesting topic like a Zombie apocalypse and make it seem like a chore to listen to. At no point in the book did I feel engaged, it was not scary or suspenseful at any point, and I found it hard to stay focused on the story. It seemed to be less about a zombie apocalypse (And i use that term "zombie" loosely in this case.) and more about some unrealistic commando family that apparently has better training then the Navy and Coast Guard. eg; a 13 year old teaching a marine how to clear a ship....Really???
Sorry John Ringo this is not for me and I will not be wasting another credit on this series' sequels.
As usual though, Audible's readers make even drab stories come to life a little. Good job Tristan Morris.

40 people found this helpful

Interesting beginning that goes nowhere.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have liked it much better if it had stuck with the intense, serious tone it started with rather than turning into cheese after the first few chapters. Its really too bad, the basic premise of this book is a good one and the characters, at least at first, where pretty likable

Would you recommend Under a Graveyard Sky to your friends? Why or why not?

To my OMGZombies! friends I would recommend it, it has some fun parts and the writing is solid. But to my actual prepper friends, the kind who have actual disaster codes in place and view the zompoc as a metaphor for what is really going to happen to the world after about three weeks without electricity, no. There is nothing here for the serious survivalist, too much is just ridiculous. A 13 year old girl wearing 120lbs of gear jumping into a ship and slaughtering dozens of zombies single handedly? Yeah, I don't think so. It would have been hard to believe if it had been a navy Seal, its impossible to believe when its a young, civilian teenager.

Also this author seems to know very little about real world guns and a lot of about internet stereotypes. You would think Ringo would know better but as others have hinted at, I think this book was ghost written.

What about Tristan Morris’s performance did you like?

He did a good job with the accents, which was appropriate for the characters but it did get annoying eventually.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe. It probably would have made a better movie than a book.

38 people found this helpful

Excellent Zombie Apocalypse Tale

Would you listen to Under a Graveyard Sky again? Why?

I've listened to Under a Graveyard Sky 4 times since downloading it. It is an excellent story about a rather unusual family and how they first avoid, then combat the spreading plague that turns intelligent human beings into raving animals

What other book might you compare Under a Graveyard Sky to and why?

I find similarities in this book to many other John Ringo books. Faith is somewhat similar to Cally from his Legacy of the Aldenata series, while her father is similar to all the best parts of both Iron Mike from the Aldenata series and Mike Harmon from the Paladin of Shadows series, both of whom are willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.As for the story itself, I haven't read any other apocalypse books, which are the only ones I can think of to compare this to.

Which character – as performed by Tristan Morris – was your favorite?

I think my favorite of Morris' characters is Steven Smith, that Australian-born naturalized-American citizen who is the father in this series. Morris' command of accents is amazing, and I love to hear it. He can switch from Australian to British to Irish to Russian with amazing alacrity, and is a wonder to hear!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Many parts evoked laughter, while many others brought on tears. Ringo's wit and writing are in top form in this book.

Any additional comments?

To the military listeners: WARNING - Morris spells out the acronyms rather than pronouncing them the way you are probably used to. Be sure you are okay with hearing M-R-A-P and S-S-G before listening. If you have a problem with this, I recommend reading the book yourself.

28 people found this helpful

Who actually wrote this?

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Doesn't read like a Ringo novel. We get a family who take preparing for a post appocolyptic world from a variety of causes, complete with code-words, fake identities, multiple plans. But they pose as a regular suburbanite family as that's where they live. The problem occurs which means they will hold out in a boat on the ocean (as per cover art). As zombie virus spreads they get a boat, dock in NYC harbor (?). Sent to help work on finding an innoculation are... the underage girls and dad (??) while it spreads through NYC. Police, etc. are overwhelmed but... to experience a truly great NY family restuarant meal they go to a mob owned one. They hear of a concert in the park the youngest wants to expience one while still possible... so they go? And the girls allowed out of the car to mingle in the crowd? Guess what happens? No, really, guess

Then it seems like the writing was handed off from a North American multi-generational suburban homemaker to a Brit or a Frog. They hide out on the ocean (not going to a place, just hanging out) and nearly run out of supplies. The dad decides to change the plan from salvaging stuff, deciding on an island, getting a stable, sustainable home base, then who knows. No, now he wants to rescue as many live boaters as possible and THEN figure out where to put them in tight quarters, how to feed them, put down mutiny attempts, etc. Meanwhile, there are Navy subs listening to his merry ships radioing. Navy guys aren't doing ANYTHING, literally. No, just listening to the radio chatter (no communicating even) as their supplies run out. This sound like the kind of characters and attributes or plot choices you expect from a John Ringo? Yeah, me either. Another rip-off from some other writers under the name, So that's it for me.

If you were looking for something more like Zombie Fallout from Tufo where the characters aren't quite wearing a WWJD band and a member of the Promisekeepers, but pretty close, in your post appocolyptic story then its a 3 or maybe even 4 star.

If you prefer your post appocolyptic stories to be more like one would expect in a story actually written by Ringo, DJ Molles, or even the TV show Walking Dead, like me, then this is a none or 1 star at best. I prefer characters in this genera be realistic for the situation (time to leave the Well, In A Perfect World One Would Hope To Be Able To stuff and get-it-in gear)

17 people found this helpful

Great Entertainment

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely worth a credit!! If you don't let yourself get wrapped up around the "details" ...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Under a Graveyard Sky?

This is not your typical "Z" story. The virus is hopefully just very imaginative fiction but the backstory detailing the delivery method, transmission vector, and official and unofficial actions leading up to the bridges coming down...was crafted very well. It built the post Z world that the Smith family is left to deal with.

Which character – as performed by Tristan Morris – was your favorite?

The narrator does especially good work delivering Faith's lines considering their absurdity when applied to "our" reality .... But I must say, since I have listened to this series twice...His performance of all the characters is highly crafted.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

If you are left to survive in this post apocalyptic world...remember to, Keep Faith Alive...

Any additional comments?

Faith is a complete stretch but if you disregard the absurdity of her age in relation to her abilities....she rocks!

14 people found this helpful

Not Ringo's best work

Maybe its because some of his other works have been so great that this one just pales in comparison. Or maybe the idea of 13 year old being a one man errr women killing machine is a bit harder to suspend the disbelief.

13 people found this helpful

Boring Zombies?

Would you try another book from John Ringo and/or Tristan Morris?

I've read quite a few Ringo books, none by Morris.

Would you ever listen to anything by John Ringo again?

Of course! just not this series

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I'm 18 chapters into a 32 chapter book and it's STILL boring. I can't count how many zombie books I've read but this one is by far the worst. It looks to be a series of books. What should be an introductory chapter or two, seems to be the whole book.

Any additional comments?

John Ringo is better than this. What went wrong?

11 people found this helpful

Awesome read/listen // surprisingly upbeat story

Where does Under a Graveyard Sky rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Found these (post apocalyptic) stories to be really engrossing. Mr Ringo has captured the moment. Have been a fantasy/sci-fi reader since Nam, Tolkin // Star Trek, Richardson, and this man does his job well. Have listened to all 4 and truly hate to see this series close.

Have you listened to any of Tristan Morris’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Really super to listen to // great voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me want to look around and make my own life better resistant to others whom might wish to intrude.

Any additional comments?

Well done Mr Ringo.

10 people found this helpful

A different take on the ZA

This was a great listen, I've listened to so many different zombie books and a lot are very similar but this one sets itself apart from the others in a number of ways. First the zombies aren't the usual living dead though they act about the same but in a more believable way. Second, they go out on a boat instead of the normal drift across the land story that I'm used to. I'm currently about 30 minutes from finishing it, I just bought the second installment so I can listen to it when this is done. If I had to find any fault with it I'd say the 13 yr old daughter may be a bit far fetched in her abilities and knowledge of weapons and such but I suppose it's just as possible as a zombie apocalypse.

10 people found this helpful

John Ringo is gross

Contains multiple characters hitting on a thirteen-year-old girl. Contains indications that her father is super okay with that...
Time to figure out how to delete Audible content from my account.

For the rest... he seems to forget which jokes and pop culture references he's already used? The same ones show up multiple times in the book.

Narrator is great, good accents and pacing, reads LOLcats as "el-oh-el cats" though...

9 people found this helpful