The Harbinger

A good story that could have been great.

Being a fan of post apocalyptic literature I saw this story and was very anxious to experience the story.

The core idea of a virus causing a pandemic was well executed but was interlaced with vivid sexuality of both heterosexual and homosexual that distracted from the story.

And while I am sure Mr Kennedy was attempting to use this as a plot device for character development I found it rather distracting from the survival aspect of the characters.

I very much enjoyed the survival story and Mr Kennedy did a great job of moving the plot along in terms of planning and moving the characters in the destroyed town of Memphis and the surrounding areas.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great new zombie twist!

great new zombie twist, narration could be better. by the 3rd & 4th book i got tired of the full. explanations regarding the same/every person when a new scene started. but overall its a great book and I will continue reading the series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great story

A few comments said this was gay porn...its not but is graphic in some sexual situations and that includes all human sexual activities.. the plague event was good, better then other books that are similar and over all a fresh and fun ride

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Well ummm...

If you could sum up The Harbinger in three words, what would they be?

I love books with lots of characters and I like how these developed. They seem real, with real struggles and flaws. But here's the thing. While this was a decent book to listen to it was very similar to The Stand and it is heavy on the gay sex thing. All in all its not a bad book. I got through it. But was not as good as I had hoped or as good as it could have been.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

good series

I liked the series. good rake on the zombie view. Would like more to see what happens from the virus mutations

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A DIVERSE EPIC... Not for prudes, but not erotica.

Where does The Harbinger rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

First, I felt the need to defend the author against the lies and misinformation being spread by 'basic' people. Scanning the reviews on this new title, I was shocked by the misleading review by a listener named 'Ebony.' She called this gay porn, but that's untrue. Interestingly and perhaps very telling, the listener had zero problems with the heterosexual intimate scenes. Sure, people start 'getting busy', but the love/sex scenes fade out before anything hardcore happens. I've read more explicit scenes in Jackie Collins books. So don't believe the blatant lies!

This isn't a quick-fix book. It is an epic novel that actually has character development. Mr. Kennedy builds an incredibly descriptive world within a nightmarish scenario. But at the core of this book is the humanity of the characters. Instead of stale archetypes, these are realistic, flawed characters. I've read some hideous apocalyptic books, written by authors who sound like right-wing gun nuts or ghoulish teenage boys, but this, by far, is superior. I would put this up there with Stephen King's The Stand and Sarah Lyons Fleming's Until the End of the World.

I commend Mr. Kennedy for including two major gay characters and having the testicular fortitude to stick to his guns. Keep railing against the haters!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Kirk! As one of the lead characters, not only is he tough, he's also realistic. I would almost call him an anti-hero. Instead, you have a tough, short gay man who is a one-man killing machine. I love characters who speak their minds and he has no time for any BS. I also loved Lauren, Empress, Alex, Ammon, Beulah, and Nina.

What does Michael Ahr bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael Ahr did an amazing job!

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

The end is only the beginning.

Any additional comments?

This is a more intelligent offering than the normal shake-and-bake apocalyptic books.

11 of 15 people found this review helpful

I gave it to stars, but it might have deserved three .

The author seemed obsessed with sexuality. It did make some of the characters a little different, but I’m not sure it added to the story. And I wouldn’t recommend that you not read the book, because I did finish it, and I think it was OK.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

end of the world with sass.

loved it. the characters are well defined and are all given personalities that draw you in. the sassy inflections of humor had me laughing out loud in my car .

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautifully Written

This book is incredible :). This is NOT GAY EROTIC! I WILL REPEAT..... THIS IS NOT GAY EROTICA. I promise :) This is a well rounded novel with a diverse group of characters. Intimate moments are both homo and heterosexual but as another Person stated, the scenes fade out before sex actual occurs. To be honest, there are very few moments where characters have time for sex lol... they are too busy surviving!
Personally, I feel the author does a great job pulling the reader into the story. Great character development. After 29 hours, I want more.
This book is Real and Raw. I laughed, I cried, I was mad, etc. I felt like this was happening in the Real world.
Give it a try... It is well worth the price and/or credit :)

6 of 9 people found this review helpful

Just Beyond!!!

First let me start off by stating that I loved this book. The character development and the storytelling ability of Keegan Kennedy kept me entranced throughout the book. The cast of characters are representative of today's society, which explains some of the reviews about the book. Yes, there are gay characters, principle protagonists within the story; Yes, there is gay sex but no more than heterosex and the manner in which Kennedy interlopes the act into the story, one really doesn't focus on the sex, which as mentioned in several reviews, fades away before the nitty gritty occurs. NOT GAY EROTICA...A great story about the real potential of an end of the world scenario involving a manmade viral agent and the possible effects of the spread of such a virus. I think Michael Ahr did a fantastic job distinguishing the characters. I had no problems with his inflection and tone. He did a great job enhancing the story offered by Kennedy. The story was 29 plus hours and it took me a while to get through it...not because I wasn't enraptured with the story but life happens...I so enjoyed the story and I researched to see if the next segment was in audio. I will wait a bit to see if it happens but if it doesn't I will be buying the continuing books in the Harbinger series!

One final note...a spoiler of sorts but not really...let me just say...fried dark meat was fitting justice ;-)

4 of 6 people found this review helpful