One Second After by William R. Forstchen
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Book Reviews of One Second After
Book Review: powerful apocalyptic cautionary thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Retired Colonel John Matherson lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina with his two daughters; one of them suffers from Type A Diabetes and needs insulin to stay alive. They think the serenity of their location high in the mountains can never be destroyed until the day the lights go out. Everything electric based no longer works to include cars. John immediately understands what happened; that the United States was nuked in the atmosphere by a few bombs containing an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP).
John becomes one of the town's leaders trying to keep things calm and peaceful as no station on the transistor radio in his car broadcasts. Food rationing is instituted and former high school students are trained as a militia. They turn away desperate refugees and as the food supply dwindles they must hunt and forage, and chop wood for heat. The Posse, a cruel group of cannibalistic gangbangers, murders, and rapists, are taking over the mountain. John and his allies must stop them before they overrun Black Mountain.
Meanwhile, his daughter's supply of insulin is getting dangerously low.
Already frightening the Pentagon and the Congress is the plausibly including the ease in which the United States can be sent reeling back to a modified medieval era. John and his fellow survivors are figuratively and literally in the dark as to who did this, but the first directive is survival which includes not giving up o hope that the USA still functions and will bring relief especially medical. Fans will appreciate this powerful apocalyptic cautionary thriller but also fear how simply this can actually happen.
Harriet Klausner
Book Review: Low Key but Frightening
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first book I purchased on my new Kindle. Ironic that it deals with an EMP pulse that destroys electronics. It starts sort of slowly with the main characters discovering that something radically wrong is occurring. There are no scenes from a fictional Oval Office or from military units, just a small town and a retired Army intelligence officer who's also a history professor. The very ordinary nature of this unlikely hero and a setting from small town America gives the book tremendous impact.
Like the author mentioned at one point, it does have echoes of Pat Frank's "Alas,Babylon" and updates that classic to the present day. The book is not preachy, right wing drivel as a previous reviewer wrote but it is the story of what could actually happen. You find yourself asking "What if this person was me? How would I react?" And think of how dependant we are on electric power and micro-electronics. Cars stop running, planes fall, food and medicines can no longer be delivered. The professor's daughter is a Type 1 diabetic like my daughter so that makes the book particularly poignant.
Unlike other apocalyptic thrillers, it doesn't preach, it doesn't have larger than life people, just ordinary folks faced with an extraordinary crisis.
It also wouldn't be a Bill Forstchen novel without combat action and that does happen in an intense but believable way. All in all, it is a sobering tale of what could happen even if an EMP strike isn't the cause of civil chaos. It isn't a survivalist tale but rather one stressing the importance of community and working together to survive and keep your dignity as a person. Well done, Bill and may our Kindle's never blank out!
Book Review: America must read this
Summary: 5 Stars
"One Second After" is an excellent, accurate, and sobering depiction of what could happen tomorrow or six months from now, if a rogue nation or a terrorist group with the right connections, realized how easy it could be to bring the U.S to its knees. Virtually everything we do in our daily lives uses more sensitive, vulnerable electronics than has ever been used by a nation so totally dependant on this technology. All you would need is a suitcase sized nuke, a small, less than intercontinental ballistic missile, and an innocuous launch platform like a 75-100 foot fishing trawler parked in the Gulf of Mexico. Fire it straight up over St. Louis (you don't even need a missile with orbital capabilities), and set off a 150 mile high altitude blast of electromagnetic energy that instantly fries all those electronics and shuts down our electrical power grids, television, computers, radios, and telephones. Imagine how quickly society shuts down and becomes barbaric when everyone is thirsty, hungry, and needs pharmaceuticals, electrical power, and leadership from a government that is no longer in contact with the people. A study commissioned by congress in about 2004 that predicted just such a scenario got hardly any notice. The really scary part is that it is completely realistic and could happen with little trouble and no notice. Now the missile interceptors that have been designed for this type of attack are being cut back, and the media is not even covering the story. I've never been a conspiracy enthusiast or doomsday believer, but this message has got me thinking about stockpiling canned foods, first aid supplies, and ammo. I just hope its not too late to start now.Book Review: Chilling. Reads like Stephen King's "The Stand", except without Randall Flagg
Summary: 5 Stars
If the author, William R. Forstchen, were to throw a little bit of a supernatural element into this superbly written novel, he would be well on his way to becoming the next Stephen King. Even the strongest of fully grown men will be wanting to sleep in their mama's room with their Scooby Doo nightlights on for at least a week after reading this intense, apocalyptic thriller. The characters that the author creates are very believable and the scenario is even more believable, given the type of world that we, unfortunately, currently inhabit. Forstchen also does a marvelous job at detailing how society would break down should an EMP ever be detonated. Also, another strength of the author is his discription. This is particularly evident in the part where he describes the absolute hell that the main character, John, has to navigate through when he is in the nursing home. (I almost got sick myself. It was that well described).
I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of this book. Unlike a Stephen King novel, this is a scenario that could very well become a terrifying reality if we are not prepared. Also, I would like to mention that, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, I felt that a number of the negative reviewers were completely off the mark in their reviews of this gem. After reading their "reviews", I really have to wonder if they even read the book at all. Or, to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they just need to read it again to get a more firm grasp on the plot. I think the former is the more accurate scenario.
This book is well worth it. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.
Book Review: Private citizens should prepare
Summary: 5 Stars
I am not a sci-fi lover or reader of military novels, so I was unfamiliar with this author until this book. I read it because I had heard a bit about EMP, high altitude nukes, and solar storms. In understanding the implications to our current lifestyle from the loss of electronics, my imagination created horrifying senarios. So, I was intrigued enough to read this novel. I think Mr. Forstchen's perception of human behavior is extremely accurrate, as well as the picture of the life we can expect after such an event.
Knowing that an EMP attact as an act of terrorism is debatable, I think Americans need to understand that an EMP event from a solar storm is inevitable. This understanding should not lead us to panic, but to prepare, as a nation, as municipalities, as communities, and as families/individuals. It is simply now a "way of life" to have insurance against disasters (we do for possessions and health). Every family unit should have a room or closet with food, water and other survival supplies. Plans for how to stay warm in winter without heat, how to cook without the stove, etc. Many of us have camped and been exposed to survival skills. We need to reaquaint ourselves with these techniques, gather the necessary information and supplies. This will reduce panic, increase survival and reduce the violence. It is my understanding that short wave radios will still work, so maybe we need to explore this method for alternative communications.
I applaud the author for helping to educate Americans to this threat, and encouraging us to take some necessary steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones.