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    World of Trouble
    World of Trouble
    World of Trouble
    Audiobook8 hours

    World of Trouble

    Written by Ben H. Winters

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    “A genre-defying blend of crime writing and science fiction.” —Alexandra Alter, The New York Times

    The explosive final installment in the Edgar® Award winning Last Policeman series.

    With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out...for everyone.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 15, 2014
    ISBN9781469226361
    World of Trouble
    Author

    Ben H. Winters

    Ben H. Winters is an author and educator who has written plays and musicals for children and adults, as well as several books in the bestselling Worst-Case Scenario Survival Guide series. He is also the author of The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman, Bedbugs, and the parody novels Android Karenina and the bestselling Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. He lives in Indianapolis.

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    Reviews for World of Trouble

    4/5

    395 ratings55 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I didn’t love book 2 so I wasn’t sure if I was going to read book 3. Ultimately though the last 50 of so pages picked up enough for me that I just wanted to know what happened next. I’m so glad I did. The last book is the best of the series - more personal and emotional than the other two (particularly more than the second book which really just feels like filler to extend the series). I could have done with Henry getting injured less (does the author like beating him up or what) and I did figure out the killer kind of quickly, but the book didn’t lose any of its grab for that. Not a book to read if you are depressed though!
    • 5/5
      Oh Henry how I wish I could journey with you longer. I really enjoyed this final book in the series. So glad Henry solved his case and I love where he decided to go at the very end.
    • 5/5
      Henry Palace can't stop being a policemen, even though he is no longer on the force and even though Earth will collide with an asteroid in a few days destroying all life. He can't stop looking for answers, even though it doesn't matter anymore. What he is looking for in this last book of the trilogy is his sister. He didn't buy into her theory that a vast conspiracy is preventing a missing scientist from diverting the asteroid away from Earth, so they haven't parted on good terms and he needs to rectify that.This was my favorite book of the trilogy (the middle book was my least favorite). It starts about a month after the end of the second book. There has been further deterioration of society. Henry, Cortez (a semi-reformed thief) and Henry's dog Houdini leave a place of relative safety to travel to Ohio to track down the conspiracy theorists who plan on freeing the scientist. My one quibble with this book was that Houdini's poor condition during the trip was kind of an unpleasant distraction for me.This author is really good at writing action scenes and he exercised that talent a lot in this book. The trapped-in-a-barn sequence was a particular favorite. The last 20% or so of the book was incredibly suspenseful as questions kept getting answered, only to be discredited, until Henry finally solved what might be his last case. I really loved the ending of this book. The narration by Peter Berkrot of all three books was very good.I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher, however I wound up buying and listening to the audiobook version.
    • 4/5
      Satisfying close to Winter's The Last Policeman trilogy. Though the trilogy began with such a promising open book, the whole series could have been derailed by a poor close. I'm pleased to say the author ended his detective-at-the-end-of-the-world story strongly. While I sometimes found his characters' dialogue a bit clunky and was a little less impressed by the plot of the second book, overall this was a fun read and a novel premise.
    • 4/5
      The final book in "The Last Policeman" series. A week before impending destruction by an asteroid, it's up to Hank to find his sister. Edge-of-the seat, apocalyptic, and a wonderful trilogy. Couldn't put it down.
    • 4/5
      Critically acclaimed author Ben H. Winters delivers this explosive final installment in the Edgar Award winning Last Policeman series. With the doomsday asteroid looming, Detective Hank Palace has found sanctuary in the woods of New England, secure in a well-stocked safe house with other onetime members of the Concord police force. But with time ticking away before the asteroid makes landfall, Hank’s safety is only relative, and his only relative—his sister Nico—isn’t safe. Soon, it’s clear that there’s more than one earth-shattering revelation on the horizon, and it’s up to Hank to solve the puzzle before time runs out . . . for everyone. My Review A very interesting ending to a very entertaining trilogy!
    • 4/5
      While book 2 was kind of a let down from the first, it still maintained an interesting world. One based on an exact, countdown knowledge to the end of the world. The first book had a good mystery and the second on lacked an interesting one.

      The third book doesn't really have a mystery to solve other than the main character trying to find his sister. Kind of meh but the world is still there with a final couple of weeks for the count down. The book isn't really about the mystery but about the character's struggle with finding meaning in the lead up to the end. The character is written with desperation and manic and cathartic periods. So book 3 isn't really a mystery in much of a way that it's more of a character study with the main character from the previous books.

      Overall, it was an enjoyable read where the weaker points were actually him trying to find his sister. The very end of the book was actually quite enjoyable and summed up the point of the book quite nicely. Final Grade - B
    • 5/5
      Loved it just as much as the first two in the Last Policeman series!. I can't wait to see what Winter will write next!
    • 4/5
      Somehow, a fitting end to this odd but compelling series. Glad I finally caught a copy so I could find out what happened!
    • 4/5
      Aha, yes, what a finish. Good.
    • 5/5
      The impending impact of the asteroid Maia has humanity in a downward spiral in this third book of the Last Policeman trilogy. Former police detective Hank Palace chooses to spend the last two weeks before impact searching for his sister. There's no central mystery setting up the story this time, just one man trying to find and spend what are likely humanity's final days with his only family. Even more than in the previous two books, the desperation of the people he encounters is a prime focus of the book, and the ones who have chosen a more graceful way to spend their remaining days. But a mystery presents itself, one final crime that Hank is determined to solve before impact. Winters shows an impressive understanding of psychology, presenting what feels like a realistic look at what could happen should a giant asteroid be on a collision course with Earth. I'd love to see a follow-up, but maybe it's best to leave that to our imaginations.
    • 4/5
      I loved this series. One of the best end of the world stories from beginning to end. A great blending of science fiction and mystery. Be warned though. This is a realistic story. If you are looking for happiness and survival you have come to the wrong location. It is a sad and complicated story. You will not leave filled with pep. You will leave after an incredible journey and beautiful writing. This is the apocalypse done right.
    • 3/5
      I finally got around to reading the final volume of The Last Policeman Trilogy. This is a detective series with the twist that the cases are solved against the backdrop of a changing world in which an enormous asteroid is bearing down on the earth promising to end life as we know it. In this, the final volume, there is one week to go until the asteroid will hit earth. Detective Henry Palace is seeking his sister Nico, who along with a group of cultists, believe they have a solution to prevent the asteroid collision. The novel reads like a post-apocalyptic survival story, since the world has degenerated and society has collapsed as the asteroid approaches. As Henry conducts his search for Nico, he comes across various people and groups who are handling the imminent catastrophe in different ways. I do have to say that if the world has to end, Henry arranged the best possible setting for himself.I think this would appeal more to science fiction fans than crime fiction fans.3 stars
    • 4/5
      The finale of what has been a fantastic ride! The deepest and darkest of the three novels. He's a damn good writer.
    • 5/5
      Life’s too short. More and more I’m finally starting to understand the value of my time.

      I’ve spent many nights at the computer with reruns of Star Trek in the background. It used to help my brain unwind. I used to spend way too much time with Gaming (at the computer, on my tablet, etc) because I felt that unplugging was more beneficial than doing work-related stuff. That’s only partially temporization-related bullshit. I do feel better actually having time off, but once I’m in this state I get caught up in the inertia of being off and that’s not good. I have to find better ways to structure my time. This includes the time I spend reading.


      You can read the rest of this review on my blog.
    • 5/5
      With 14 days left before a world-ending asteroid is scheduled to collide with Earth, Detective Hank Palace continues his search to find his sister before the end comes. Hank follows leads he had acquired previously to follow Nico's trail to a small town police station in Ohio, where Nico and her conspiracy theory peers plan to meet up with a rogue scientist in a last ditch attempt to save the planet. When Hank gets to the station, however, Nico is gone, although clues suggest that she was there recently. Unable to let it go and enjoy his last few days of life, Hank is determined to figure out what happened to his sister and where she went. In doing so, he meets a number of unusual people who help him finish his quest. I enjoyed reading each of the books in the Last Policeman Trilogy, which I thought were interesting and possibly realistic. I thought this one was probably the most suspenseful and climatic of the three and I liked how the author pulled the story together. I also enjoyed seeing Hank stay true to his ideals throughout the three books. For those who enjoy apocalyptic fiction mixed with the suspense of detective work, this series is for you!
    • 5/5
      Rating: 4.5* of fiveThe Publisher Says: There are just 14 days until a deadly asteroid hits the planet, and America has fallen into chaos. Citizens have barricaded themselves inside basements, emergency shelters, and big-box retail stores. Cash is worthless; bottled water is valuable beyond measure. All over the world, everyone is bracing for the end.But Detective Hank Palace still has one last case to solve. His beloved sister Nico was last seen in the company of suspicious radicals, armed with heavy artillery and a plan to save humanity. Hank's search for Nico takes him from Massachusetts to Ohio, from abandoned zoos and fast food restaurants to a deserted police station where he uncovers evidence of a brutal crime. With time running out, Hank follows the clues to a series of earth-shattering revelations.The third novel in the Last Policeman trilogy, World of Trouble presents one final pre-apocalyptic mystery – and Hank Palace confronts questions way beyond whodunit: How far would you go to protect a loved one? And how would you choose to spend your last days on Earth?My Review: If there is one series I can *COUNT*ON* not to have extra volumes, it's this one. I can't imagine I'm spoilering this for anyone. The world ends the same time the book does.Leading up to that finale to end all finales is our buddy Hank doin' his Hankly duty: Looking for his sister Nico and finding the odds and sods of wherever he is in his way. Of course, he has erstwhile baddie Cortez and poor, sick Houdini the dog in tow. Each presents Hank with different kinds of drags on his none-too-swift progress. Each has some claim on him. All the way through these three novels, Hank Palace has been on the Hero's Journey, with all the trappings. It's more stark in this concluding (!) volume.But there's a reason humans have kept this storyline around so long: It's riveting. Even with the literal end of the world looming, it matters, matters, that Hank finds his sister. We want him to succeed in his quest! What possible meaning can a quest have to people who will be discrete atoms in a matter of weeks, days, finally hours.Put something in a pressure cooker and, when the lid's open, it's very obvious what it's made of. It's the same with people. Hank? He's made of stern, strong stuff. He's taken on the pain and the fear of each person he's met and he's done his level best to rid them of it; even when he can't he's changed the others to better fit around their pain.In his own last hours, suffering mightily the curse of the strong to bear more burdens than their own, Hank seeks out the last human he knows whose strength matches his own. As Life ends, Hank holds the hand of a girl whose burdens are as his own, and they know that moment of glad sharing we all seek after for all our lives.
    • 4/5
      A strong ending to the trilogy.

      I almost felt that the middle book could've been skipped, but the story is back on track in the third.

      Former detective Hank Palace's sister was last seen in a helicopter, zooming off with a cultlike group with seemingly far-fetched plans to rescue an imprisoned physicist and save the world in a daring last-minute bid to knock the asteroid that's headed for Earth out of its apocalyptic trajectory.

      Hank is feeling guilty that his last interaction with his sister involved his refusing to believe her and shooting down her hopes. (And maybe he has a little bit of hope that her optimistic beliefs aren't quite as cockamamie as they sounded?) With two weeks to go till impact, Hank decides to take on a last case - a personal case - and sets out to track down his sister.

      As one might expect, given the scenario, there's a desperation and sadness to this book. But it's also a tense and grippingly-told story. Bringing the personal element to it to the fore is a winning strategy, as we see Hank struggling to use his OCD-like obsession with detective work to try to bring meaning and a sense of conclusion to his life and to the increasingly senseless violence and entropy that surrounds him.

      Highly recommended for all fans of apocalyptic fiction.

      Many thanks to Quirk Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinions are solely my own.
    • 4/5
      Henry Palace is a great character. He insists on solving mysteries even though an asteroid is rushing to Earth. Other people wouldn't bother, but this detective just has to know the truth before it's too late!

      World of Trouble went by really fast. Ben H. Winters writes in a very easy-to-consume way and wisely uses the threat of the asteroid as a hook (Will it really land? Will everyone really die?). Meanwhile, this book's case is the most personal yet for Palace and tests his usual emotionless crime solving method.

      I half-expected this book to jump the shark and move into a crazy Independence Day direction (big Willy style). But with a steady hand, Winters keeps it a crime novel from start to finish.

      World of Trouble does suffer somewhat from the fact that the world has already been pretty well established in the first two books. We have already seen what society's come to, so the setting does not carry as much intrigue.

      Even so, as a conclusion the novel works, provides satisfying answers to the series' big questions. It nicely wraps up a solid series from a promising author. I can't wait to see what compelling new worlds and characters Ben H. Winters has in store for us next!
    • 4/5
      The end of the human race is days away, but for (forcibly) retired detective Hank Palace, there's one final mystery to solve. The LAST POLICEMAN trilogy is one of the best things I've ever read. Sad, gut-wrenching, and wonderful all at once. Read them and appreciate the world that we have a bit more.
    • 5/5
      The third book in this preapocalypic trilogy finds Hank searching for his estranged sister Nico, so he can make amends before It's Too Late. His pursuit takes him from the Northeast to the Midwest, accompanied by Houdini, his ailing dog, and Cortez, a thief that he liberates from jail. At this point, the end of the world is 6 days away, and coming fast.Hank and Cortez have taken to labeling towns as Blue, Green, Red, etc., based on the color of the Post-It Notes they have with them. Blue towns are empty; Green towns are still in denial, so it's business as usual, and Red towns are on fire, literally or figuratively. Our heroes pass through all the colors on their road trip to the west, ending up at the police station of a small town in Ohio. There, they find evidence that Nico has been there, and might still be, if they can just crack through some concrete leading to stairs below the basement. At the same time, they find evidence of gruesome violence--bloodied knives and blood trails leading in and out of the police station. Whose blood is it?Winters outdoes himself with this one: the police procedural/mystery aspects were very satisfying, and the twists made complete sense. The various flavors of human nature were all done well, too. But what packs the most punch is the constant tick-tick-tick of the clock. No do-overs, no second chances--this is it. When you know it's the last time you're going to do something, see something, it means more. Everything means more in World of Trouble.This is another one of those books that follows the adage: "Science fiction isn't the story; it's the setting." Great ending to a unique trilogy.
    • 2/5
      I enjoyed the series overall. It had an interesting concept and was fun to read, albeit a bit short. I did feel that the ending was a bit of a letdown in a way that nothing was really gained from the whole experience - Occam's Razor applies. Character development also wasn't quite up to what I'd hoped, but hey - the world's ending after all.
    • 4/5
      Hank Palace is still convinced that the world is going to end but his sister is missing and all those documents and the helicopter makes him wonder if something is not actually different. But even if he did not wonder, he would not have stayed in that safe house in Massachusetts - his sister Nico is missing after all. At the opening of that third novel from the trilogy, there are only 6 days left to the 3rd of October when the comet is supposed to hit Earth and destroy life. Hank and Cortez had spent the last few weeks trekking to Ohio after a tip about Nico's whereabouts. And as always, things go crazy almost immediately - Hank need to solve one last murder while looking for his sister and somehow to survive that crazy world - from the Amish family to the guys that found some chicken and just wait the end eating them through people getting crazy and stupid. And amongst all this the threads that started in the first two novels start connecting into a final picture - surprising and logical and the same time. By the end it all will make sense and Winters' depiction of these last crazy days is as masterful as anything he had written before. The weak point of this third novel is the mystery - if you are reading the genre, you suspect who the killer is immediately. Although I am not sure if Winter was even trying to hide it and if Hank's inability to see who it is was not written on purpose - grief, the end of the world and the last crazy months can influence man's logic. It is a wonderful end of a good trilogy - and the way Winters decided to finish it is masterful and surprising - not in the context of the books but nevertheless a bit surprising. But it makes the whole series complete and any other ending would have ruined it. Highly recommended - but the books need to be read in order - this book won't make much sense if you had not read the previous two.
    • 5/5
      I kinda just want to say "ditto". Did you happen to read my reviews of the first two books? I could blather on much the same, but that is boring. What I want to talk about is the series as a whole. Each book is its own separate story. But each is part of a much bigger picture, leading to the end. That is what I love about this series. Most books about any kind of apocalypse begin after it happened, or during. This is the before. Its no secret, an asteroid is going to hit the planet. The vast majority of humanity will die. But that is not so much the point, the point is what do we do in the mean time. How do we choose to 'bow out" so to speak. That is what kept me riveted with each story. There is a statement made , that civilization is nothing but a promise. A promise to live a certain way, to treat others a certain way, you get the idea. So the question is would you give up on that promise?
    • 4/5
      Wow. I loved this trilogy. Gritty old fashioned detective novel set during an impending apocalypse. So creative and engaging. I didn't want it to end. Can't we have a 4th in the trilogy!?
    • 3/5
      Loved "The Last Policeman", "Countdown City" less, and now "World of Trouble" not so much. I have literally skimmed the book to just get done. The Last Policeman was and Edgar Award Winner. What happened? Who locked the author who wrote Last Policeman up and won't let him out to write the rest? Never so glad to see a trilogy end.
    • 4/5
      A very good and very real ending to this trilogy.
    • 3/5
      After receiving this book through LibraryThing's 'early reviewer' program I admit I let it sit on the shelf for a long time. Why? Simply because I didn't want the trilogy to end and I knew once I began book 3 I wouldn't move much until it was over. This is an author I recommended after reading book 1, book 2, and now I can add book 3 to that list. Well done, Mr. W!
    • 4/5
      This is the last book in the "Last Policeman" trilogy, and a good end to the story. All of these books have been solid 3.5-4 star reads for me. The main character, Hank Palace, is a former police officer who is set adrift as the end of the world approaches (a giant asteroid has been discovered headed straight for Earth). Hank is a Good Guy - upright, moral, just wanting to do the right thing. As civilization collapses, he tries to figure out how to maintain his sense of self amid the chaos.The overarching story of the trilogy deals with Hank's sister, and her belief that the world can be saved. As Hank tried to save her (both from herself and from the weird group of conspiracy theorists she has taken up with), he is confronted by choices that test his ideas of right and wrong and force him into compromises with himself. Hank is a wonderful character and carries the story, even as the rest of it seems far-fetched and silly at times. I especially loved the end of this book and the peace that Hank finds. Winters has done an excellent job of asking what matters most in life and how one should confront the end; his exploration of possible answers makes for some good reading.
    • 5/5
      Ben Winters' trilogy is about a young policeman who, despite the fact that the world is ending in a few months when a huge asteroid will strike the Earth with catastrophic results, continues trying to do his job. By the third book, though, Henry Palace is driven more by his responsibilities as a big brother to reckless sister Nico, who believes that a scientist holds the key to averting disaster. In the second installment, Nico arrived - in a helicopter - just in time to save Hank. How did she fly a helicopter in an already-devastated world where fuel is almost completely extinct? Despite himself, Henry starts to believe his sister's crackpot theory may not be so delusional after all. But none of that really matters to the true goal - seeing his sister again before the world ends. Henry follows a scrap of information to Ohio, encountering all kinds of towns along the way, everyone reacting to impending doom in a different manner. Will Hank find Nico? Can the asteroid be diverted? How will Ben Winters end this fantastic tale of a genuinely good guy in an impossibly difficult situation? --Beautifully, that's how. This series with heart and humor, mystery and surprise, is well worth reading.