One Second After by William R. Forstchen
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Book Reviews of One Second After
Book Review: One of the very best post-apocalypse books ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
The quality of a post-apocalyptic story is largely based on two criteria, the quality of the writing and the plausibility of the event triggering the apocalypse. Circumstances after the trigger event(s) tend to be similar in post-apocalyptic stories, people band together in isolated communities trying to survive and there are wild criminal gangs that rape, pillage, burn and often eat other people. Cults rise up, led by a person with a vision, a message or some promise of survival. Those circumstances are in this book, and Forstchen describes things in excellent detail and with sufficient drama and accuracy.
The main character is a retired Colonel that is now teaching history at a small college in Western North Carolina. His sense of history as expressed by Forstchen lends a great deal of accuracy to the story, as many of the events are taken from history, such as the siege of Leningrad in World War II. Despite the enormous difficulties and slow starvation, the people generally retain their civilized nature as leaders emerge and civil society manages to survive in their community even as the people are dying.
The characteristic that makes this one of the better post-apocalyptic stories is that the trigger event is plausible. Container ships off the coasts of the United States fire nuclear weapons that generate enhanced electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). When the three nuclear weapons detonate high above the surface of the Earth, the powerful pulses do not injure people, yet the pulses fry all but the most hardened of electronic devices, paralyzing the nation. Once the weapons are fired, the ships explode, leaving no trace as to their origin. While there is room for debate as to how vulnerable the United States is to an EMP attack, there is no question that the consequences would be catastrophic. Certainly, any enemy nation plotting such an action or nation harboring the terrorists capable of doing such a thing would do everything they could to make sure that that there is no possibility of tracing the weapons back.
The classic book "Alas Babylon" was required reading in my ninth grade English class, and it is a book that kept me thinking for some time. In one sense, this book was better, I found myself becoming emotionally fatigued after reading for awhile, so I read it in short installments rather than in lengthy sessions. It is an emotionally powerful book.
Book Review: You need to read this one
Summary: 5 Stars
OK, I have read a bunch of post-apoc fiction over the years, and my first exposure to EMP was back in the 1980's from the classic War Day by Whitley Strieber & James Kunetka. It frightened me then (a kid living in the world of and Evil Empire and MAD frightened by something that did not kill you in a flash of light, really it is kind of laughable). Here's the thing, in THAT book, which was circa early 1980's, there was a lot less technology that would be lost to an EMP. Plenty of cars would still run so the infrastructure would be able to be brought back on-line in a quicker fashion. BUT NOW, think how many pre-1980 cars you know of that still work? How many of you have books to reference or do you just Google it when you want to know how to plant a garden, fix a broken engine, or look up a malady? Most everything we have in our homes that needs electricity runs with a small little chip inside it. All gone even if you could rig up some power again. That's the start of the book in a nutshell, and not so far fetched as other post-apoc stuff.
I am always fascinated by the breakdown in society (just how quickly it would happen) and if you know anything about logistics you know just how thin the stock levels are in the Just in Time world we live in. Think about what is in your house, and then think about exactly how much of that you would be able to get from a 30 mile radius (and where they get what they need from) and you can start to see why the breakdown would be so fast. Just how much food is grown near where you live and not a hobby farm with a few cows and a couple of acres of corn? I am equally interested and what it takes to hold even a portion of it together once it goes away and this is a excellent depiction of that challenge and the heartbreak it causes having to make the decisions that need to be made, and how quickly we lose what makes us "civilized". You will see yourself among one of the characters in this book, and hopefully not among the Posse.
To flash forward a few years after this book, and you should read A World Made By Hand by James Howard Kunstler.
Book Review: Plausibility makes this one scary.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not much of a post-apocalyptic fan, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy William Forstchen's One Second After. Like most of this genre, the stories that are the scariest are the ones that are the most plausible. With that in mind, One Second After is a gripping and scary read.
Forstchen manages to create a story that allows him to build situation, after situation in a rising crescendo of terror. Characters are believable and well developed. With several surprises thrown in, the reader will find themselves shaken at each turn. Those readers that are the most empathetic and able to suspend disbelief the best will find themselves touched by this book the most.
Electro Magnetic Pulse's result when a nuclear device is exploded. In this case, three devices are exploded above the atmosphere making the EMP's even more devastating. Every electrical device within range is made useless. No electricity, computers, water purification and pumping, gasoline pumping, etc. Manufacturing of food ceases immediately. America's distribution system, the thing largely responsible for our survival stops. What you have in the way of food is what you have. Local law enforcement is nearly neutralized and you have to learn to survive on your own. You can forget any kind of central authority. The premise is truly frightening.
John Matherson, a retire Colonel is the type of guy you hope you live next to if something like this happens. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina with his two daughters and his mother-in-law. He takes charge and organizes the small community in an attempt to survive. And survive is about all you can hope fore.
One Second After reminds me a lot about Lucifer's Hammer, a post-apocalyptic story about and asteroid the hits the Earth. I read it in paperback form in the late 1970's. It was written by Larry Niven and Pournelle. Both stories deal extensively with survival and both feature roving gangs.
One Second After is an excellent read and one that will probably shake you to your core.
Book Review: You will need Ambien to be able to sleep after this one...
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read serial killer books, grisly murder books, but this was hands down the scariest book I have ever read. A book that caused me to lose sleep and kept me thinking long after I was finished reading.
The book follows what happens to an American community after and EMP attack is visited on our country. EMP occurs when a nuclear bomb is detonated above the atmosphere, causing every single thing in it's range containing anything electronic to fail. Cars, planes, pacemakers, electricity, you name it, it's gone forever. The country is immediately plunged into the dark ages, the population far too large to be supported by 18th century technology. Different parts of the country fare better or worse depending on their locations to urban areas. Gangs roam the land, bringing death and destruction to any remaining survivors.
What is frightening about this book is the fact that it is a very real possibility. The government is currently studying EMP attacks, as it is probably a more real threat than the thermonuclear attack we have always been raised to fear. If you ever had a thought of having your home prepared for a disaster, you will be propelled into action after reading the horrors entailed here for anyone who does not.
The day after reading I could not help but realize how fully dependent we are on electronics and technology. I found myself cataloging each thing I did during the day. How long can you last with the food in your pantry and maybe a week's worth of water before it becomes contaminated and cholera, dysentery, and thyphoid break out?
You may not have ever imagined America as a third-world country. This book will force you to.
By the way, if you have a project due or deadline, finish it before you pick this book up. It sucks you right in and you are compelled to finish it instead of doing anything else. I really came to love and care about the characters. It was hard to "watch" as the worst befell them.
Book Review: Not as bad as reality would be
Summary: 5 Stars
First, the griping in many reviews about typos and the imperfect writing is pathetic. Knock off a star for bad editing, if you must but to give it one star because "hoard" was misspelled as "horde" is rather anal-retentive.
In the late seventies I was part of a group in my physics department that discussed the EMP question. At the time we calculated it would kill about twice as much of the population as a percentage as the 1918 flu (which killed more people than the First World War). Of course, at that time electronics were far less susceptible to an EMP.
I feel this book understates the effect such an attack would have--if, as postulated--it involved several weapons detonated to cover the entire US. Some of the more complex electronics would still survive, but how much would depend on the yield and design of the weapons. If such an attack were timed to coincide with the onset of winter, the effects would be far worse than those in the book.
I live in earthquake country, and I have lived in hurricane country. I'm trained in outdoor survival and am a medic. I have six months of food, 110 gallons of water, plus many other survival items. I possess several firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition...but I am not some wild-eyed survivalist: I'm simply prudent. But if we were hit with a full-scale EMP attack, I would not expect to make it. It would take years to stabilize even a small part of the country, and decades to even begin to talk about "recovery."
So what do we do? As others have noted, protecting our infrastructure is paramount. The military must be able to function, or nothing could be done without looting (for example, moving trainloads of supplies).
Do I think anything will be done? No. So we'd better hope it doesn't happen.
And, oh, by the way--an extremely serious solar flare could do nearly as much, and it would be worldwide. Modern civilization would be set back by a generation, at the very least.
Have a nice day.