We're Alive: A Story of Survival

Honestly if you put an iPod with We're Alive on it in front of me and a TV with Netflix in front of me I'd choose We're Alive every time. The story is centered around the three main characters Michael, Angel, and Saul and progressively adds more and more (or kills off) main story characters. It takes you on a journey through a post-apocalyptic zombie infested LA area. It is full of suspense, thrills, sadness, happiness, every feeling I can think of. I'm not going to go into any details in this review, just going to point out that once you've listened to the first episode.....good luck stopping! And P.S. This makes a 10 hour car ride something to look forward too!

I've been listening since 2010 and I tell my friends and family to listen to the first chapter to see if they want to listen further, and so far all of them have liked it. There are some lulls in the story where it seems to go slow, but they put that time towards character development and building up to key events in the series.

For those saying they don't like some of the characters... well, what would happen if you randomly selected around 35 people from a crowd? Would some of them annoy you? Most likely. Just imagine those 35 people being stuck together trying to survive, and of course you'd get conflicts- a lot of them. (Of course there are more characters than just that, but that's just an example.) I think it gives the story a sense of realism. Even the "annoying" characters that remain in the later seasons become less so (become easier to relate to, change of attitude, etc), and end up being more key to the story or are killed.

We're Alive was created with a conclusion of the story in mind, and thus it will end with Season 4, which means it has a steady progression of a story line and isn't dragging on just for the sake of continuing (I'm looking at you, The Walking Dead). The characters have some dumb moments (season 1 and 2), but generally this isn't the kind of show where you feel like breaking the 4th wall to slap some sense into the characters, and they get progressively better at their tactics as the story goes on (their enemies constantly adapt and change, as well).

The story is more than just survival, so don't let the title fool you. It's more along the style of a mystery series, but with a setting of warfare. If you like zombie stories but always wanted something more than repetitive battles and fleeing from a predictable, unchanging foe, then this is for you. The only people I would not recommend it to are those who are easily disturbed by gore or horror stories already.

I discovered this by accident, and what an accident it was. I've actually put my other regular podcasts on hold just so I can listen to this story all in one go. I enjoy the zombie stuff tremendously and the story is well-told and even occasionally creepy (and I am not one to scare easily). However... The ONLY issue I have with this series is the portrayal of certain female characters. It was bad enough when the main character had to single her out about five minutes in; you knew at that point she was the designated love interest no matter what. And that would have been fine and good but holy hell was she just about the whiniest character ever. It's kind of hard to root for a relationship when you're fervently praying for one of them to meet a bloody end. It gets pretty annoying after a while, but thankfully the overall story is worth the endless eye-rolling I do whenever this chick starts complaining. The main character also has some d-bag moments, but the more I listen, the more I can't blame him for acting that way, what with having to put up with some of the stuff he's been strapped with. (It doesn't hurt that Jim Gleason has a very nice voice.)

Yeah I know there are a ton of zombie stuff out there, but this is a very well produced and written audio drama. By far one of the best I have had the pleasure to listen to and participate with other listeners. There's mystery there's suspense and of course there is the "zombies". To find out why I put that in quotations you'll just have to listen. While you are listening check out their interactive forum! This audio drama is about to start on their 3rd season so there is plenty with the first two seasons to catch up on. Don't worry each episode/part is roughly 15-22 minutes long. Just long enough to suck you in and keep you hooked but short enough to listen on your drive in to work or whatever you do after.

Rich, compelling story line, engaging voices, and best-in-class soundtrack.

Seasons only get better as you progress.