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4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
The title sums this book up well; a scenario in which North Korea launches nuclear missiles at the United States. The chapters are a minute by minute break down of the US detecting the missiles, retaliating, the strikes and resulting fall out, with regular asides for historical and geographical context.
The research was thorough and varied, pulling not only from survivors of nuclear attacks and accidents, but from declassified CIA documents. It also acknowledges gaps in current knowledge - mostly regarding North Korean arsenal and limitations of the computers testing past nuclear experiments.
I appreciated that the book doesn't shy away from the horrors of radiation, and dispels some of the commonly held myths, However, the book is fanciful in some places. For example, the POTUS - writer doesn't pick a president to be represented, and successfully avoids making political generalizations as far as I noticed - parachutes from a plane, breaks an arm and a leg on landing, and dies alone in a woodland. Obviously, it's impossible to guess exactly what important people will do within this scenario, but this chapter and a few others read more like a cut from a Patterson novel than a reframing of facts.
I would recommend this book to readers looking for the facts of nuclear war, such as dystopia writers, anyone looking drop a bomb on the US, and fans of the Fall Out series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
informative
tense
fast-paced
Horrifying.
I’m no military expert or weapons aficionado so I have no idea how accurate the descriptions of the missiles and warheads are, but it is convincing. The “story” part of this book seems terrifyingly plausible. The effects and aftermath are nightmarish.
I took one star off because sometimes the writing style is repetitive and heavy handed. It doesn’t necessarily detract from the message but it just kind of seems unnecessary. Then again maybe that’s the point.
Overall, very good and informative.
I’m no military expert or weapons aficionado so I have no idea how accurate the descriptions of the missiles and warheads are, but it is convincing. The “story” part of this book seems terrifyingly plausible. The effects and aftermath are nightmarish.
I took one star off because sometimes the writing style is repetitive and heavy handed. It doesn’t necessarily detract from the message but it just kind of seems unnecessary. Then again maybe that’s the point.
Overall, very good and informative.