Things Fall Apart

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Enjoyable and well written with good bits of insight

Rating:
Summary: Good solid reading
Review: Good solid action adventure writing. What makes it really good are the characters. You get to feel for them. Theres a good shoot-em-up here but he gets into love and honor and stuff like that too. Really makes you think about things.

Rating:
Summary: Plodding, Pedantic, Predictable
Review: I've read this (in electronic format) many times...good story, especially if you are somebody who likes to "be prepared". I wish he'd write another in a series. Thanks for a story that will make you think. (and possibly stay awake at night wondering if it could actually happen)

Rating:
Summary: Plodding, Pedantic, Predictable
Review: Things Fall Apart, (with respects to Chinua Achebe, author of a wonderful story of the collapse of another civilization, which pre-dates this effort), is the latest in a steady stream of predictable, end-of-the-world survivalist scenario novels. This particular scenario involves a Chinese EMP weapon, which destroys all electronic systems within the U.S. Your typical cadre of rebellious, pre-calamity survivalist-minded individuals find themselves isolated in hostile environments, struggling to reunite in a safe location. The most common enemy which appears in this genre of novel, the evil, power-maddened Federal Government denizens (this time, led by a President who uses the attack upon the U.S. as a jusification to involve other innocent global powers), appears yet again, conspiring to keep the novel's wandering heroes from reuiniting in their survivalist utopia.

The characters are one-dimensional, the plot is thin, the story structure clearly marks the effort of an amateur (I use the phrase loosely) writer, and the ending is passe. Before purchasing this dud, (a mistake I made), take the time to preview the first five chapters online. The (again, forgive my use of the phrase) writer makes the first five chapters available on his website. There are far superior survival novels on the market today, like War Day, Nature's End, No Blade of Grass, Lucifers' Hammer,...