In a flash of searing
light, the world changed. A massive solar flare has crippled the modern
world and brought chaos and destruction. David Hartsman is stuck in the
remote farm town of his youth on what was expected to be a short visit
to check on his ailing parents. While his wife and his daughter are
hundreds of miles away at home in Chicago, David must face the dangers
associated with his own survival and the pressures of not being with his
family. In a worldwide catastrophe, every struggle is personal.
EMP is the dramatic story of one man and his struggle for survival in a world that is falling apart.
My Review:
David's relationship is in a bit of trouble so he takes the opportunity to visit his parents in his old home town. While he is there, an EMP hits and everything comes to a stop. The community decide that they must work together under the guidance of lifelong prepper Ted to try to limit the damage and look after each other.
David is an ordinary guy on a visit to his parents, dealing with the usual issues. His relationship is falling apart, his mother is being treated for dementia and his father for a heart condition. His first worries when the solar flare causes an EMP is that his parents will no longer receive their vital medications and his partner is too fat away to reach. Ted is a lifelong prepper who has been getting ready for disaster, along with Hurricane Katrina survivor Kenny and they have a self sufficient compound that can look after themselves, but they agree to share some of their produce to help the rest of the town. Anne is David's old flame and she becomes one of his closest friends.
There are other people in the town who have other ways of doing things. There is another homestead which is set up as a party compound where women are given all the comforts they want or need in return for their services for the men there. Kenny still has to face a certain amount of small town racism when he gets into a fight with the man who has been stealing off everyone, and the town is divided about the punishment.
It's a decent enough story. It covers the initial confusion of the EMP event and how quickly the community gets organised with trying to supply everyone with the essential, preparing toilets and graves, and getting people into work groups according to their skills. I found this quite interesting to read and there is certainly nothing wrong with the writing or the way the story progresses. However I did feel it was lacking in the drama and tension that other apocalypse books offer. For example it talks about the suicide of 200 people in the town who can't cope with the new world they live in but it was dealt with in a somewhat clinical manner without any real emotion to it which left me disconnected from any feelings towards the dead.
There are a few crimes in the book. The thief story leads to the racism side plot which I didn't feel was necessary in the plot and it took one of my favourite characters out of the main plot, which was disappointing. The other action concerned the fate of a few people who tried to leave town, which leads to a shooting incident between the town and troublemakers. Again, I just felt that it lacked the tension I would have wanted in those scenes and I'd have liked to see this kind of scenario expanded on.
A decent, well written apocalypse book but I don't think I'd read on with the series. If you prefer your apocalypse with community rather than violence then you might enjoy this one.
Read September 2017
3 star
Top Ten Tuesday
is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the
Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are
particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love
to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your
top ten lists! http://www.brokeandbookish.com/
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This
week was a thanksgiving themed topic which we don't do in the UK so I'm
doing my own thing again. Ten Topics I love watching on TV or reading
about!
1) Snakes
I
LOVE watching shows with snake catchers who remove them from urban
areas without harming them, and setting them free. Guys like Steve
Irwin, Simon and Siouxsie (Snake City), Nigel Marven etc are good to
watch. As for me, yes given the chance I would stroke the snakes! I've
got a couple of books on South African snakes, and venomous snakes
around the world. My uncle is scared stiff of snakes but luckily he
lives in the UK!
2) The Tudors and Plantagenets
I
love docs about all things Tudor/War of the Roses and my book
collection has a pile of fiction and non fiction on Henry VIII, his
wives, his children and his court. I'm fascinated by Anne Boleyn in
particular but love finding new books on the other Queens especially if
they have been given twists. The War of the Roses fascinates me and I've
been to a couple of castles in Yorkshire and Lancashire! Would love to
visit York and Tower of London, Hampton Court!
3) Cookery
TV
wise I can't get enough of Masterchef, Great British Menu, Great
British Bake Off, Hell's Kitchen, The Restaurant etc Masterchef
Australia and Bake Off are my favourites. The irony is that I don't
enjoy cooking, I do very little of it, I rarely eat out and I tend to
look at the easiest meals possible! But I love the competitive cooking
element and drooling over the food!
4) Fish
I
am all over shows like Deadliest Catch, Wicked Tuna, Cold Water
Cowboys, Swords, Big Shrimping, Trawlermen...Again I have no interest in
actually going fishing, I don't eat much fish generally but there is
something about these shows that I really enjoy. I've read a few books
related to Deadliest Catch boats. I love books about sharks-fiction
horror or non fiction and films like Jaws. I got bored with Shark Week
on TV though as some docs were disappointing.
5) War
I
have books and documentaries on WW1, WWII, American Civil War, Vietnam,
Falklands War, Gulf Wars and the War on Terror. I've got big history
books about most of these wars and I've always watched docs about
terrorism and war, including things like nuclear war. I bought my first
nuclear war book when I was 10! I was always a strange child!
6) Crime
I
have a big collection of crime docs-everything from gangsters and Jack
the Ripper to serial killers and infamous robberies. OJ Simpson trial to
JFK assassination. I have football hooliganism and . I also like
reading about true crime, terrorism, scandals and so on. I like films
and TV shows based on true crime as well. I have a lot waiting to be
watched!
7) Royals
I
wouldn't term myself a big Royalist but I am interested in the docs
about various members of the Royal Family. I also watch films and TV
shows about the roysls including things like The Crown, Victoria, The
Queen, and even some of those cheap TV films about William and Kate! I
don't read much about the Royals though but I might look at a few of
these biography ones at a later date if time allows.
8) Disasters
I
watch docs and films about any disasters-mining, air crashes, sea
disasters, terrorist attacks, oil spills, football disasters etc. I've
got a few books on these subjects waiting to be read including the book
written by one of the Chile miners. Looking forward to that film as
well! I watched live coverage of that and unfolding terrorist attacks. I
guess I like to see what is happening around the world.
9) Politics
Politics
fascinate me. I love sitting up on election night watching UK and US
elections. I read political biographies and behind the scenes books of
elections and governments. I read memoirs of Republicans, Democrats,
Tories, Labour, Liberal, UKIP etc. I love political docs and films and
TV shows. LOVE The West Wing, House of Cards, Scandal etc and I'm always
watching Sky News, CNN and BBC.
10) Mountains
Ever
since I read Into Thin Air, I've had an obsession with mountain
climbing expeditions. I've read about climbs all over the world but I
paricularly love books about Everest and K2. I'd love to see these
mountains to photograph them. I have lots of mountain docs and a ton of
books I've still to get through.
Seeing Kermit surrounded and almost buried in leaves kind of reminds
me of my relationship with books. I'm pretty much buried in them too! I
have no more space in my house for the books I buy and piles are sitting
on the floor which isn't good and I can't read them quick enough
because I keep buying!!! I've battled to reduce the tbr without success
this year but now Kermit and I are embarking on a new plan to reduce the
book buying and give me a chance to reduce the tbr at last. The Plan?
Download samples instead of buying!
This is what I looked at last week:
1) Ryan Casey-When Darkness Falls
Alex is running late to an interview after being stuck in traffic. He decides to cut the other cars off by using a lane beside his, his car scratching others as it shoots through. He decides to let the lift door slam on a woman behind him so he isn't late and then realises she is one of the people interviewing him. Sophie and her boss spot a huge CME coming from the Sun and they know in minutes that the world will change forever. The CME hits Alex and others on the road, electrcuting people in their cars.
I'm really not sure about this one. I don't like Alex at all. He is selfish and thoughtless, and from the reaction of his wife to his interview fail, he's like this all the time and she is very long suffering. I would like to see more of Sophie and the disaster but how annoying would Alex get? My other issue is that I have now looked at three books by this author...two EMP and one zombie and all three start off with a dreadful MC at a job interview gone wrong and a disaster hitting on the way home from it. That to me shows a lack of imagination in both character and plot. I don't want to read the same plot rehashed with a different MC I don't like. I won't be reading on with this, or trying any more by this author.
If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when
it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye
as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or
Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a
book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might
mean I never look at the blurb at all.
This week-Juliana Haygert!
I haven't read this series but I love the covers!
