Audio Book Review: Alter

Alter

By:  Jeremy Robinson

Publish Date:  December 1, 2018, Audiobook Release February 2, 2019

Format:  Audiobook - 9 hrs 43 mins
Narrated By:  Luke Daniels

Genre:  Thriller, Adventure

Series:  Stand-alone

Impression:  Lost in the jungle can give a new perspective on life.

Synopsis:
Stranded in the Amazon rainforest, a lost man fights for survival and discovers that the root of evil doesn't just reside in the world's darkest corners, but inside the hearts of all mankind.

Dr. Gregory Zekser is on a mission to visit the furthest reaches of the Amazon, providing medical aid to recently contacted tribes. As a general practitioner and food pantry director, his life in Massachusetts can be chaotic, but serving people is what he does best, and he doesn't mind sacrificing his personal life to help others, at home or half way around the world.

But any hope of returning home to his wife, daughter, and comfortable life are eradicated when the small plane carrying him back to civilization plummets into the unknown depths of the jungle. Swallowed by endless green, with both pilots dead, Greg struggles to stay alive in a world that wants to infect his body, suck him dry, and eat him whole. Ravaged by illness and dehydration, and stalked by a ruthless predator, Greg's life teeters on the edge of oblivion until a scream lets him know that he is not alone.

His first encounter with an uncontacted tribe ends in death--the first of many. Driven to the brink of madness, and then beyond, Greg finds himself caught up in a feud that existed before his arrival, but will only end with his death--or his enemies'.

First Sentence:
A tree branch is the first thing I see upon waking.

Purchase At:
Amazon  /  Barnes & Nobles 

Audible

My Thoughts and Summary:

*I was given this free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Luke Daniels is a new narrator for me. I wasn't sure how I'd like his narration. When the story started he felt vocally stiff for me. I know Greg is a stiff character with his speaking and word choices, but I still wasn't sure. As the story went, Luke grew on me and Greg seemed to relax into the jungle he's lost in which was reflected in Luke's voice. When it came to voicing other characters, I didn't have the strained feel that comes with Greg, so I know Luke is in character for Greg.

The word choices and thinking process of Greg fits his profession and character. These are specific in the beginning as Greg is a product of society. Greg still has mannerisms of modern society but he is more and becomes more as his story goes on in the jungle with what he lives through. It's interesting how Greg's thinking changes as he faces a new world where current beliefs and modern items don't exist. Greg, who's a doctor who saves people and never harmed anyone is faced with things that happen in nature and has to make a choice in what he will do to survive.

There are a few gross moments. I would not want to see those! We start the book with a moment I really would not want to see or live through, when the plane crashes. Jeremy's writing brings a dreadful image to mind as I listened to the story.

The story... It's a calmer story for me. And that's not saying that it's a slow story. Jeremy has many things happening to Greg as the story goes, there's so much in a jungle that can be dangerous along with simply trying to figure out how to survive. The story is focused on the events Greg comes across and how he reacts to survive in the Amazon jungle. There are dangers, but the story isn't what I usually listen/read. That doesn't change that the story is well written.

Then there was a twist added to the characters. This picked up the plot for me, drawing me in to see what happens. The hunted become the hunters, determined to survive at all costs. I found I was gripped by the book at this point and wanted to know what happened. I was pulling for the characters to do what they must.

I have faith in Jeremy to give me something different in his books, and he did. Jeremy always adds something in that's a twist, either to the characters or the world that the characters have to react to. I love getting this in his books as it adds a new level to the story.

By the end of the book, I was beyond invested into the story and characters. The end even brought tears to my eyes as things settle into place.

This was one heck of a journey for the characters. Greg is a product of his surroundings, and he adapts to those surroundings to survive. But aren't we all?

The story really hit the heart for me. It felt to bring to heart that there is more to life than work and money. There is love and others around you. There is the planet that needs to survive as well.



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