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What Branches Grow

By: T. S. Beier
Narrated by: Natalie Hammond
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Summary

Top 5 Category Finalist - 2020 Kindle Book Awards
Semi-Finalist - 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (#SPSFC)

A boldly imagined, exhilarating quest through post-apocalyptic America, where human nature is torn between the violent desperation to survive and the desire to forge connection.

Thirty-five years ago, the world was ravaged by war. Delia, a tough-as-nails survivalist, travels North in search of a future. Gennero is tortured by his violent past and devotion to his hometown. Ordered to apprehend Delia, he follows her into the post-apocalyptic landscape. The wasteland is rife with dangers for those seeking to traverse it: homicidal raiders, dictatorial leaders, mutated humans, and increasingly violent and hungry wildlife.

What Branches Grow is an unflinching depiction of life after civilization, where, above all else, trust is the hardest thing to achieve and give. The survivors have an audacious dream of a better life, but their quest may end up being a fruitless endeavour in a world openly hostile to hope.

For fans of Fallout, Mad Max, and The Road. Action and adventure rounded off with a slow-burn romance, dark comedy, and a dog companion.

"What Branches Grow is like Cormac McCarthy on steroids, with a healthy dose of 'Mad Max' thrown in for good measure. Beier navigates her characters through these troubled waters, providing readers with both an adventure and some lingering questions on which to reflect. This is far from your average dystopian novel – it is a humanistic quest into personal morality and the fortitude one can uncover when hope is all that remains, for a startlingly original debut in the genre." (Self-Publishing Review)

Recommended 16+ for brief attempted sexual assault (non-graphic), dogs in peril (non-graphic), general violence, a scene of hate violence toward LGBTQ+ people, and swearing.

©2020 T.S. Beier (P)2022 T.S Beier
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Perfect for Fallout fans

This book was so far up my street that I practically encountered it smoking a cigarette outside the bar at the far side of that alley. Several readers have compared this setting to the Fallout universe, and it's a fair comparison. If you're a Fallout fan (as I am) you will find much that is familiar and easy to engage with. That said, it is its own self-contained universe, so if you're not familiar with Fallout, you will in no way feel excluded.

It plays out as an episodic story centering around Gennero and Delia, two characters thrown together under contentious circumstances - which is always a great start to a story! A sizeable cast of other characters are introduced as the story progresses, and the story never loses its momentum or sense of forward motion.

What Branches Grow is what I like to call a variety-pack novel, not because it doesn't present a coherent overarching story (it absolutely does) but because it's very easy to read in chunks, and each chunk feels like a little story in its own right.

Natalie Hammond's performance is professional and diverse, capturing the tone of each character and scene and clearly having some fun to the benefit of the performance (such as when a deranged woman maniacally sings 'Star Spangled Banner').

I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic adventure.

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