Agroland

By: Daniel Arthur Smith

Narrated by: Sam Burns

In a desolate desert, members of an isolated agricultural station discover a stranger, dehydrated, delirious, and near death from exposure. His weak frame is thin, desiccated. His blistered flesh is wooden, and in his madness a faint, raspy chant slips from his near lipless mouth: "So many, not enough. So many, not enough."

©2013 Daniel Arthur Smith (P)2015 Daniel Arthur Smith

dumb

just dumb. no clue who is who. characters not developed at all. can't follow bc narrator sounds British doing American accent. just dumb

A Mixed Bag

This is a fast-paced story with a solid, creepy premise and decent enough writing, which is unfortunately hobbled by weak atmosphere and a roster of characters completely devoid of backstory. The setting (a multinational scientific agricultural research base surrounded by miles of unpopulated, sun baked desert) was interesting enough that it could have — no, SHOULD have — been a character unto itself. Its name is the title of the book, for God’s sake! As it is, however, it exists in the story only as the vague description, just sufficient enough to serve as a backdrop for the carnage that ensues. The worst offense, however, is the author’s treatment of female characters. Given even less development than their male counterparts, who each have at least a brief mention of academic standing or military service, the females are reduced to adolescent musings on breast size. To make matters worse, once the mayhem begins, those same breasts will also be subjected to some pretty nasty business. On a technical note, despite the narrator’s best efforts, the whole production is marred by tinny audio which sounds as though it’s being heard through an old landline phone. Then there’s the issue of a misplaced chapter (a pivotal one, sadly) missing from the middle of the audiobook, which later turns up after the finale.

I finished it because I paid for it.

it was okay. I was expecting more body horror, but it was pretty routine. "Oh no, we run from monster!"
Plus, the author differentiated female characters by little more than breast size.

Missing a Chapter

I liked the story, but the recording is missing chapter 20. Chapter 20 is listed, but when I play it, it’s chapter 21. The story definitely jumps into another scene as well. Dang it. Quit listening at that point.

Leaves a bad taste..

Action?Yes.Suspense?some.Horror?some?Obvious bad choices?Of course.Solid ending?Hardly.Just watch any SyFy film and you've basically covered this short story.I loved the idea of you-know-what in the desert, I was pumped to see how it turned out.But events are scattered with 'victims' showing up later?Its entertaining but not much substance.The fictional team of the book was pretty solid,nearly each member could've been a challenge for the bad guy if they hadn't been taken out too quickly. I'd reccomend this to friends and family,its a great premise and I hope there is a sequel or continued confrontation with the villain.