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maryehavens's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As hard as this was to listen to, given the subject matter, I did like this book. I thought it brought up a lot of really good issues that would happen immediately after a devastating event. Jokingly, I wanted to say "that escalated quickly" and I wondered if events would unfold exactly as described. Prior to March 2020, I would have said no. But, we have lived through a pandemic and the hoarding behaviors of humans were revealed during that time.
What struck me the most, besides the lack of communication which sent most people in a tailspin (and, agreed!) was how quickly people started starving. I thought back to the Holocaust and other war-time events where so many people starved. Like Forstchen said towards the end: you think of 2/3rds of people dying in an area and it doesn't seem like a big deal. But when you are there and understand how many individuals that is, you start to really understand the impact.
I cried at the end. I knew it was coming but still.
I picked this book because it was recommended a long time ago as a companion piece, of sorts, to "Alas, Babylon". I read it now for the Reading Challenge since I used to live in North Carolina and was familiar with some of the area. It's a challenging read but I think it's worth it. It can get a little preachy at times on the patriotism but I'm sure most military personnel would think the same thing: not in America. But we too are humans with our human nature so why not America?
What struck me the most, besides the lack of communication which sent most people in a tailspin (and, agreed!) was how quickly people started starving. I thought back to the Holocaust and other war-time events where so many people starved. Like Forstchen said towards the end: you think of 2/3rds of people dying in an area and it doesn't seem like a big deal. But when you are there and understand how many individuals that is, you start to really understand the impact.
I cried at the end. I knew it was coming but still.
I picked this book because it was recommended a long time ago as a companion piece, of sorts, to "Alas, Babylon". I read it now for the Reading Challenge since I used to live in North Carolina and was familiar with some of the area. It's a challenging read but I think it's worth it. It can get a little preachy at times on the patriotism but I'm sure most military personnel would think the same thing: not in America. But we too are humans with our human nature so why not America?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Cannibalism
saighnean's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Animal death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Child death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Rape and Racial slurs
smashingreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Initial thoughts: This book is awful to the point that I’m confused how and why other people like it. It objectifies women, acts as if being American is the be-all and end-all, treats conversations as historical monologues, and has a questionable timeline. I stuck through it because Wikipedia mentioned there would be a fight against cannibals , but it was an extremely small portion of the book.
I was also disappointed that the book was all about the MC. I cant even pretend to care about the MC because of his views towards women, constant references to being American, and monologuing.
My other heartache was that I was interested in the things the book didn’t spend time on (the town as a whole, the impact of the disaster, the conflicts that are mostly glazed over, the things the town did to improve the situation, the deaths and causes of death in town, etc.) and I didn’t care for the things the book focused on (the MC and monologuing about history).
Overall, this book felt as shallow as its MC.
(It may be worth mentioning - I currently have to interact with a sexist monologuer and I have lost all tolerance for it)
I was also disappointed that the book was all about the MC. I cant even pretend to care about the MC because of his views towards women, constant references to being American, and monologuing.
My other heartache was that I was interested in the things the book didn’t spend time on (the town as a whole, the impact of the disaster, the conflicts that are mostly glazed over, the things the town did to improve the situation, the deaths and causes of death in town, etc.) and I didn’t care for the things the book focused on (the MC and monologuing about history).
Overall, this book felt as shallow as its MC.
(It may be worth mentioning - I currently have to interact with a sexist monologuer and I have lost all tolerance for it)
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, Gun violence, War, and Vomit
kaisu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Cannibalism, War, and Violence
erafact's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Cannibalism
tnarg's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, and Cannibalism
Minor: Rape
delphinaris's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
If I could rate this book zero stars I would. I hate this book so much it is one of the worst things I've ever read. This book is a republican senator's wet dream. That non-withstanding, the amount of wildly offensive and racist writing in here was atrocious.
I don't even know where to start. The main character is an awful self-insert of the author. He's also a major hypocrite and views women including his own daughters as either hot or not. He has very few reservations about cold blooded murder and freaked out more about eating dogs than shooting people in the head. I hated the guy. I wanted this man to die. I cheered every time he got hurt. He's the absolute worst.
Nevermind that the whole book is basically dick-riding the military. Like it's bad. And the plot is just trash, like actual garbage.
Also, they wouldn't stop mentioning 9/11 and Desert Storm. I get it, he's a military guy, but this is ridiculous. It's fucking silly that I am tallying it on a sticky note. Fifteen times. That's too many times dude.
Ignoring the terrible pacing and quite possibly worse than Chat GPT prose, the book could've been good. The idea of an EMP taking out America's electro-mechanical resources and the slow descent into apocalyptic chaos that follows is a great idea. However, that idea almost immediately grows sour for me when the author who cannot write to begin with, attempts to turn it into some sort of climate change denial alpha male military propaganda.
In conclusion, fuck Newt Gingrich, fuck William R. Forstchen, and fuck this book. BOOOOOOOOO.
0/5 stars, I want my time back
I don't even know where to start. The main character is an awful self-insert of the author. He's also a major hypocrite and views women including his own daughters as either hot or not. He has very few reservations about cold blooded murder and freaked out more about eating dogs than shooting people in the head. I hated the guy. I wanted this man to die. I cheered every time he got hurt. He's the absolute worst.
Nevermind that the whole book is basically dick-riding the military. Like it's bad. And the plot is just trash, like actual garbage.
Also, they wouldn't stop mentioning 9/11 and Desert Storm. I get it, he's a military guy, but this is ridiculous. It's fucking silly that I am tallying it on a sticky note. Fifteen times. That's too many times dude.
Ignoring the terrible pacing and quite possibly worse than Chat GPT prose, the book could've been good. The idea of an EMP taking out America's electro-mechanical resources and the slow descent into apocalyptic chaos that follows is a great idea. However, that idea almost immediately grows sour for me when the author who cannot write to begin with, attempts to turn it into some sort of climate change denial alpha male military propaganda.
In conclusion, fuck Newt Gingrich, fuck William R. Forstchen, and fuck this book. BOOOOOOOOO.
0/5 stars, I want my time back
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Child death, and Sexism
this book is terriblehiseat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Homophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Racial slurs
jharman44's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Dementia, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Violence, Cannibalism, Police brutality, Suicide, Gun violence, Murder, Cursing, Chronic illness, Ableism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Animal death, Grief, Blood, Child death, Misogyny, and War
shellybelly's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A little too pro-military and "rah rah America" for my liking. The writing was just ok, but the story was engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Blood, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dementia, Gun violence, Murder, and War
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