Try Not to Die: Escaping the Cult Audiobook By Angel Van Atta, Mark Tullius cover art

Try Not to Die: Escaping the Cult

An Interactive Adventure

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Try Not to Die: Escaping the Cult

By: Angel Van Atta, Mark Tullius
Narrated by: Andrea Emmes
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Will You Escape the Cult or Die Trying?

From the Try Not to Die series comes a chilling new entry from Angel Van Atta and Mark Tullius—a tense, immersive thriller where every decision could be your last.

You and your brother are trapped inside a remote compound, surrounded by cultists devoted to dark and ancient gods. The only way out is through a gauntlet of deadly choices, twisted truths, and horrifying discoveries. Can you outwit the cult and escape with your life—or will you fall victim to their sinister faith?

With over a dozen brutal deaths and only one true path to freedom, this interactive audio adventure will keep your heart racing and your mind guessing. Who can you trust? What will you risk? And how far are you willing to go to survive?

Choose wisely. Trust no one. And above all… Try Not to Die.

Two ways to experience the nightmare:

Interactive Version – Make the choices that determine your fate. Choose wisely, or meet a horrific end.

Survivor Version – Sit back and listen to the full story without making decisions—if you dare.

Do you have what it takes to escape? Or will Grandma’s house become your final resting place?

This thrilling audio experience will keep you on edge with pulse-pounding suspense, brutal twists, and an unforgettable horror adventure.

Download now and see if you can escape the Cult—if you dare.

©2025 Mark Tullius and Angel Van Atta (P)2025 Mark Tullius and Angel Van Atta Horror Scary Survival Adventure
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Listener received this title free

Mark Tullius is the king of unexpected surprise mayhem once again. He has definitely not disappointed with this try not to die gem. Weĺl done.

Good mindless religion and thrall mayhem

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Listener received this title free

Try Not to Die: Escaping the Cult is a thrilling, fast-paced horror adventure that intertwines dark magic, manipulation, and moral dilemma! The novel offers two reading modes: an interactive experience (choose-your-own-path) and a linear “survivor” option. This is book #15 in the popular Try Not to Die franchise series and will resonate with readers who love the “choose your own path” stories and emotional situational horror!

The story follows Ruby, a teenager who is taken from her parents’ home to a secluded cult compound to become the next “Chosen Daughter”—a title given to young women who are to bear children for the elders of the cult. Ruby’s brother Sammy was taken to the compound as a prisoner to be “cleansed" for his wrongdoings, and Ruby is determined to find him and make an escape together. The cult members are described as worshiping dark, ancient gods, and their rituals and beliefs are shrouded in mystery.

In the “Interactive” mode, readers will navigate 29 chapters with branching choices at the end of each chapter. One wrong choice triggers a gruesome death—and there are over a dozen deadly outcomes, each uniquely horrifying! Only one path leads to freedom: a successful escape route that readers must uncover by making the right sequence of decisions. This path is detailed in the "survival" mode—it is recommended to read this after successfully completing the story via the interactive mode. The survival mode offers unique decision-making and experiences for Ruby, all leading to her successful escape at the end! No matter which route you take, the narrative is fast-paced and adrenaline-driven from start to finish. In the interactive mode, it’s important to pay close attention to how the choices are worded—in some chapters hints of bad outcomes are provided in the text, and in others the text is designed to fool you!

Ruby is a feisty, determined protagonist. Her inner monologues are filled with fear and indecisiveness—adding nerve-wracking tension to the reading experience. Each time a choice is offered at the end of a chapter, Ruby mulls over potentially deadly outcomes for both choices, making the reader’s choice challenging! The narrative focuses mostly on Ruby’s journey, the malevolent/benevolent individuals she encounters, and her plan to find Sammy and escape. There’s no rich character development or introspection, especially for the side characters who all make brief appearances.

The context of the cult is mostly described at the beginning, when Ruby is taken from her home by “Uncle Raisin" (the “Hand of Gabriel") to become a bearer of children for the lineage of elders in the cult—essentially she would be tied to a bed and forced to have their children! The narrative repeatedly mentions another young woman, Katie, who escaped the compound only after having her tongue pulled out for bad behavior! Aside from these horrific details, there’s not much provided about the cult ideology, leadership, or motivations.

If playing in the interactive mode, with over a dozen ways to die, you’ll likely have multiple deaths before making it to the end. The final chapters are quite gruesome and filled with pulse-pounding adventure and horrifying creatures you won’t soon forget! The ending feels rushed, with some storyline threads unresolved. There's definitely an opportunity to have a sequel here—with this novel’s ending becoming a terrible twist of fate for the characters—and a whole new interactive adventure beginning!

Fans of choose-your-own-path fiction and pulse-pounding adventure stories will really love this book and series.

🎙️Narrator Performance🎙️

Andre Emmes delivers her narration using a commanding and immersive voice. From the very first chapter, she pulls listeners into the story, fully embodying protagonist Ruby and bringing readers into her psyche to experience all her fear, indecisiveness, unease, and feisty determination. Emmes maintains a constant sense of tension and urgency in her tone and amplifies the emotional intensity of her performance whenever Ruby is presented with sudden horrifying threats or harrowing decisions. All of this offers readers a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled listening experience, and listeners will be eager to replay the audiobook to experience all its modes and possibilities!

Each character Ruby interacts with is given a distinct voice, individualized pacing, and a unique emotional range. Emmes's portrayal of Auntie Martha, the woman imprisoned in the cell next to her brother, is especially convincing, and listeners will be hanging on to every word to make decisions about her! Emmes also seamlessly shifts between narration and character dialogue, masterfully guiding listeners through the story and choices.

In the survivor version, Emmes adapts to a more straightforward narrative delivery. Even though the adrenaline surge of real-time choices is missing, her performance remains gripping and entirely immersive!

Pulse-pounding Horror Adventure

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Listener received this title free

Surprisngly wonderfully cartoonishly macabra, better for being willing to go dark. The setup was a bit cliche and I started to check out but then it gets wild. Narratively told from the perspectice of a heroine without a lot of foreshadowing or dramatic irony so surprises come from nowhere. The wrong choice deaths feel mean spirited (complimentary) and visceral. I liked this better than the Grandma's House books in the series (those were weird but veered into a safer campy terror that felt family friendly; less so here). There are 29 chapters or branching choices and each option has about three pathways. Sometimes I felt like the text tipped it's hand leading in a certain direction, 'we could go through the trees where we can't be followed or we could...'. Some of the twists while unexpected horror fun reek of trickery, I may have chosen a dark stairwell but the outcome is so unexpected one could not have deuced it and therefore some of the payouts felt random. Sometimes the narration somewhat spoils the wrong choice, 'had we gone down that path we would have...,' which feels like it diminishes replay/exploration. It took me about 2-3 hours to get through (run time also includes three 40-60 minute complete linear narrative options and a 4 minute bonus story). Decent fun.

Keep Ripping or Die

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Listener received this title free

This was such a fun way to listen to an audiobook. Really loved the concept and the story itself. Well done!

Good time!

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Listener received this title free

Try Not to Die: Escaping the Cult by Angel Van Atta and Mark Tullius is an amazing horror adventure. Andrea Emmes did an amazing job with the narration. The story is entertaining, interesting, thrilling, adventurous, suspenseful, and more. I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. Highly recommend.

Thrilling

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