I always like a good post-apocalypse novel but this one is just a little better than a mediocre entry in the genre, set in the present day. Nuclear explosions high in the atmosphere deliver an EMP to most of the US, knocking out anything with even relatively unsophisticated electronics. A retired Army colonel in the mountains of South Carolina assists his family and his small town to survive.
I thought the portrayal of the breakdown of communications, transportation, and the hardships that would inevitably follow were pretty good. I'm still not so sure that we'd see cannibal armies launching themselves against towns - it seems to be a favorite scene in almost every post-apocalypse book out there but at least it wasn't zombies. As in real life, not all the good guys survive.
Given who blurbed the book I expected the political message to beat me over the head for the entire novel, but it wasn't so bad. But sadly, the dialogue is flat, the characters are cardboard, and Forstchen really needed someone to clean up the spelling errors and grammar. I cared more about the dogs and one little girl than I did about any of the adults. I had a real problem with the protagonist, who seems to think that everyone should act for the good of the community but is okay with hoarding insulin for his daughter while other diabetics are dying.
In the end, this book feels more like a rewrite of the classic Alas, Babylon than a book with any fresh ideas. It's a quick read though and you never know, may inspire a few folks to put together a household emergency kit.
I thought the portrayal of the breakdown of communications, transportation, and the hardships that would inevitably follow were pretty good. I'm still not so sure that we'd see cannibal armies launching themselves against towns - it seems to be a favorite scene in almost every post-apocalypse book out there but at least it wasn't zombies. As in real life, not all the good guys survive.
Given who blurbed the book I expected the political message to beat me over the head for the entire novel, but it wasn't so bad. But sadly, the dialogue is flat, the characters are cardboard, and Forstchen really needed someone to clean up the spelling errors and grammar. I cared more about the dogs and one little girl than I did about any of the adults. I had a real problem with the protagonist, who seems to think that everyone should act for the good of the community but is okay with hoarding insulin for his daughter while other diabetics are dying.
In the end, this book feels more like a rewrite of the classic Alas, Babylon than a book with any fresh ideas. It's a quick read though and you never know, may inspire a few folks to put together a household emergency kit.
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