Arena 1 (Book #1 of the Survival Trilogy)

Morgan Rice

Apr 2019 · The Survival Trilogy Book 1 · Morgan Rice

About this audiobook

“Shades of THE HUNGER GAMES permeate a story centered around two courageous teens determined to buck all odds in an effort to regain their loved ones. But the true strength in any story lies not so much in its setting and events as in how the characters come across, come alive, and handle their lives--and it's here that ARENA ONE begins to diverge from the predictable and enters the more compelling realms of believability and strength….ARENA ONE builds a believable, involving world and is recommended….for those who enjoy dystopian novels, powerful female characters, and stories of uncommon courage.”

 

--Midwest Book Review

 

D. Donovan, eBook Reviewer

 

The #1 Bestseller! 

 

New York. 2120. American has been decimated, wiped out from the second Civil War. In this post-apocalyptic world, survivors are far and few between. And most of those who do survive are members of the violent gangs, predators who live in the big cities. They patrol the countryside looking for slaves, for fresh victims to bring back into the city for their favorite death sport: Arena One. The death stadium where opponents are made to fight to the death, in the most barbaric of ways. There is only one rule to the arena: no one survives. Ever. 

 

Deep in the wilderness, high up in the Catskill Mountains, 17 year old Brooke Moore manages to survive, hiding out with her younger sister, Bree. They are careful to avoid the gangs of slaverunners who patrol the countryside. But one day, Brooke is not as careful as she can be, and Bree is captured. The slaverunners take her away, heading to the city, and to what will be a certain death

 

Brooke, a Marine’s daughter, was raised to be tough, to never back down from a fight. When her sister is taken, Brooke mobilizes, uses everything at her disposal to chase down the slaverunners and get her sister back. Along the way she runs into Ben, 17, another survivor like her, whose brother was taken. Together, they team up on their rescue mission. 

 

What follows is a post-apocalyptic, action-packed thriller, as the two of them pursue the slaverunners on the most dangerous ride of their lives, following them deep into the heart of New York. Along the way, if they are to survive, they will have to make some of the hardest choices and sacrifices of their lives, encountering obstacles neither of them had expected—including their unexpected feelings for each other. Will they rescue their siblings? Will they make it back? And will they, themselves, have to fight in the arena? 

 

“Grabbed my attention from the beginning and did not let go….This story is an amazing adventure that is fast paced and action packed from the very beginning. There is not a dull moment to be found.” 

 

--Paranormal Romance Guild {regarding Turned} 

 

"I will admit, before ARENA ONE, I had never read anything post-apocalyptic before. I never thought it would be something I would enjoy….Well, I was very pleasantly surprised at how addicting this book was. ARENA ONE was one of those books that you read late into the night until your eyes start to cross because you don't want to put it down….It is no secret that I love strong heroines in the books I read….Brooke was tough, strong, un-relentless, and while there is romance in the book, Brooke wasn't ruled by that....I would highly recommend ARENA ONE.” 
--Dallas Examiner 

 

ARENA ONE is Book #1 in the Survival Trilogy, and is 85,000 words. Book #2 in the series, ARENA TWO, is now also available.

 

Ratings and reviews

As many others have already pointed out, the story is supposed to take place in this reality, just in the future. You will need to to be able to forget the plot built in the previous paragraph in order to accept the changes in a new one, for example the main character, a 17 year old girl somehow managed to survive with her younger sister for 3 in a post apocalyptic wilderness. It's winter, she comes home with a salmon and has no idea how to cook it. Previously, she spoke of how the streams in summer are abundant with fish. She is apparently a super street fighter because her survivalist Marine corpse ( not a typo that's how it's consistently pronounced) father, apparently never taught her a thing about wilderness survival, but; places her in a plethora of fighting techniques from boxing to martial arts. Just don't. It's so completely frustrating.

The author made the common mistake of calling a magazine a clip. (Tom Clancy among other authors will research about the idea for a book before writing so they can use the right words.) This makes me think the author should stay to writing fantasy where no firearms are found in many of those worlds. You also need to make sure your reader pronounces the words correctly. They keep pronouncing Corps as corpse. There were several other times where they pronounced other words wrong, but unfortunately I can't remember those other mispronunciations. In the preview for the second book you act like the dog has a name before the characters assign it a name.

I was entrigued for the most part up until the narrator mispronounced Marine Corps over and over again. It's pronounced Marine "CORE" NOT "CORPSE"! It's French! As a 10 year Marine Corps veteran, this alone made me cringe every time and I could not finish the book. I can't even focus on the content over this blatent disrespect to an organization; MY organization where I sacrificed the better part of my years a part of. I'm disgusted by the narrator

About the author

Morgan Rice is the #1 bestselling and USA Today bestselling author of the epic fantasy series THE SORCERER’S RING, comprising seventeen books; of the #1 bestselling series THE VAMPIRE JOURNALS, comprising twelve books; of the #1 bestselling series THE SURVIVAL TRILOGY, a post-apocalyptic thriller comprising three books; of the epic fantasy series KINGS AND SORCERERS, comprising six books; of the epic fantasy series OF CROWNS AND GLORY, comprising eight books; of the epic fantasy series A THRONE FOR SISTERS, comprising eight books; of the new science fiction series THE INVASION CHRONICLES, comprising four books; of the new fantasy series OLIVER BLUE AND THE SCHOOL FOR SEERS, comprising three books (and counting); and of the fantasy series THE WAY OF STEEL, comprising three books (and counting). Morgan’s books are available in audio and print editions, and translations are available in over 25 languages.

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