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The Coming Collapse #2
Survivors
This lightening-paced instant New York Times bestseller asks the What if the world as we know it ended tomorrow?
WHAT IF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ENDED TOMORROW?
The America we are accustomed to is no more. Practically overnight the stock market has plum-meted, hyperinflation has crippled commerce, and the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure have fallen. The power grids are down. Brutal rioting and looting grip every major city. The volatile era known as “the Crunch” has begun, and this new period in our history will leave no one untouched. In this unfamiliar environment, only a handful of individuals are equipped to survive.
WHAT IF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ENDED TOMORROW?
The America we are accustomed to is no more. Practically overnight the stock market has plum-meted, hyperinflation has crippled commerce, and the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure have fallen. The power grids are down. Brutal rioting and looting grip every major city. The volatile era known as “the Crunch” has begun, and this new period in our history will leave no one untouched. In this unfamiliar environment, only a handful of individuals are equipped to survive.
496 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 4, 2011
183 people are currently reading
1247 people want to read
About the author
James Wesley, Rawles
22 books249 followersJames Wesley, Rawles is a internationally recognized authority on family disaster preparedness and survivalism. He has been described by journalists as the "conscience of survivalism." Formerly a U.S. Army intelligence officer, Rawles is now a fiction and nonfiction author, as well as a rancher. His books have been translated into seven languages. He is also a lecturer and the founder and Senior Editor of http://www.SurvivalBlog.com, the Internet's first blogs on preparedness that has enjoyed perennial popularity and now receives more than 320,000 unique visits per week. He and his family live at a remote self-sufficient ranch surrounded by National Forest lands that is is cryptically identified as located "somewhere west of the Rockies.
Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation. In 2005, he began blogging full-time. On his book covers and in his blog, he presents his name with a comma, as James Wesley, Rawles, to distinguish between his given name and his family name.
James Wesley, Rawles was born James Wesley Rawles in California in 1960 and attended local public schools. Rawles received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose University.
From 1984 to 1993, he served as a United States Army Military Intelligence officer. He resigned his commission as a U.S. Army Captain immediately after Bill Clinton was inaugurated as President of the United States.
Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on survival and preparedness topics. The blog has been described as "the guiding light of the prepper movement." The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. One journalist called him a "survival guru" He was described as the "conscience of survivalism." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well-armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity. In an interview in The New York Times, Rawles identified himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles interprets the 2nd Amendment as supporting citizens' individual rights to bear and keep arms. He believes they should be able to take arms to public events.
Rawles is opposed to racism. He supports abolition of modern slavery in the world.
Rawles is a spokeman for the surivalist movement. A central premise of that movement is that there is a high risk of a coming societal meltdown and the need to prepare for the repercussions. Rawles said that the popular media has developed an incorrect far-right "lunatic fringe" image in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the handful of fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on family preparedness and personal freedom. Rawles explained that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency a
Rawles worked as an Associate Editor and Regional Editor (for the Western U.S.) with Defense Electronics magazine in the late 1980s and early 1990s and concurrently was Managing Editor of The International Countermeasures Handbook. He worked as a technical writer through most of the 1990s with a variety of electronics and software companies including Oracle Corporation. In 2005, he began blogging full-time. On his book covers and in his blog, he presents his name with a comma, as James Wesley, Rawles, to distinguish between his given name and his family name.
James Wesley, Rawles was born James Wesley Rawles in California in 1960 and attended local public schools. Rawles received a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose University.
From 1984 to 1993, he served as a United States Army Military Intelligence officer. He resigned his commission as a U.S. Army Captain immediately after Bill Clinton was inaugurated as President of the United States.
Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com, a popular blog on survival and preparedness topics. The blog has been described as "the guiding light of the prepper movement." The main focus of his blog is preparing for the multitude of possible threats toward society. In his various writings, Rawles has warned about socio-economic collapse, terrorist attacks, and food shortages.
He is now a freelance writer, blogger, and survival retreat consultant. One journalist called him a "survival guru" He was described as the "conscience of survivalism." Rawles is best known as the author of the survivalist novel Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse.
Rawles is an outspoken proponent of family preparedness, especially regarding food storage and advocates relocating to lightly populated rural "retreat" areas. His preparedness philosophy emphasizes the fragility of modern society, the value of silver and other tangibles for barter, recognition of moral absolutes, being well-armed, maintaining a "deep larder," relocation to rural retreats, and Christian charity. In an interview in The New York Times, Rawles identified himself as a "guns and groceries" survivalist.
Rawles interprets the 2nd Amendment as supporting citizens' individual rights to bear and keep arms. He believes they should be able to take arms to public events.
Rawles is opposed to racism. He supports abolition of modern slavery in the world.
Rawles is a spokeman for the surivalist movement. A central premise of that movement is that there is a high risk of a coming societal meltdown and the need to prepare for the repercussions. Rawles said that the popular media has developed an incorrect far-right "lunatic fringe" image in part because of the actions of a radical few such as Timothy McVeigh. He called this a distortion of the true message of survivalism. Unlike the handful of fringe proponents, Rawles focuses instead on family preparedness and personal freedom. Rawles explained that the typical survivalist does not actually live in a rural area, but is rather is a city dweller worried about the collapse of society who views the rural lifestyle as idyllic. Speaking from his experience, Rawles cautions that rural self-sufficiency a
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 256 reviews
December 11, 2015
If I could give negative stars, I think I would. I read the whole book in two days mainly because I started skimming towards the end. Normally, I love post-apocalyptic tales and, since I'd found this author's previous non-fiction book to be fascinating, I thought I would likely enjoy this book, too. I didn't. I fully expected the writing to be mediocre, and I was okay with that as long as I got an interesting and informative story. Unfortunately, the story was filled with unbelievable characters who could do everything well and who preached at me constantly. There was no plot, just paper people running around surviving because they could shoot other people and because they were such wonderful Christians. The timeline was all screwed up, too. We, the readers, were jerked back and forth through time and space so often with so little warnings that I struggled keep track of where the story was and who I was reading about. Most of the info about surviving in a collapsed economy came down to having guns and gold or silver. Some of what was written might have been handy or interesting if I knew more about guns already, but rattling off gun names and characteristics doesn't teach me much. I perked up a little when he wrote that Magic Flash cubes can be rigged as an alarm system, but he never said how it was done, so I'm not sure how useful that was. One thing I did learn that could be useful is that most bad guys have shaved heads and tattoos. I'll make sure to watch out for that type.
I hate to just spout complaints about a book, but with this one it's hard to come up with something nice to say. And yet I did read it all the way through, which says something about it. It was oddly compelling and I wanted to like it. In the end, though, the only thing that kept me from throwing the book at the wall was that I didn't want to wake up my sleeping man.
I hate to just spout complaints about a book, but with this one it's hard to come up with something nice to say. And yet I did read it all the way through, which says something about it. It was oddly compelling and I wanted to like it. In the end, though, the only thing that kept me from throwing the book at the wall was that I didn't want to wake up my sleeping man.
February 4, 2012
Reading this book cheered me up quite a bit. Why? Because if an author of his caliber can have a book like this printed in large quantities by a major publisher, as well as having an ebook and audio book made of his novel, than I too have a good future hope in the publisher world, once I write a book based on questions I asked on a forum.
Hey, I want a write a book about how America is going to fall apart because of the national debt, what should I include in it?
"All countries except America will do just fine"
"The president will call in the United Nations to take over with their armed forces"
"87% of the population of Ohio will die in a few months, with only a few farmers and armed gang members left alive"
"Silver and ammo will be the only forms of currency left"
"Dracula will come back from the dead"
Will, he included everything but Dracula. In no particular order. BUT, I do know exactly how to make molotov cocktails in Bulgarian fashion, how to send morse code, what to feed a horse, and how to stabilize fuel for long term storage.
Hey, I want a write a book about how America is going to fall apart because of the national debt, what should I include in it?
"All countries except America will do just fine"
"The president will call in the United Nations to take over with their armed forces"
"87% of the population of Ohio will die in a few months, with only a few farmers and armed gang members left alive"
"Silver and ammo will be the only forms of currency left"
"Dracula will come back from the dead"
Will, he included everything but Dracula. In no particular order. BUT, I do know exactly how to make molotov cocktails in Bulgarian fashion, how to send morse code, what to feed a horse, and how to stabilize fuel for long term storage.
February 27, 2013
I am a Conservative and a Christian. I believe the world could very well be headed toward a collapse very similar to the one Rawles describes. I agree with many of his characters' viewpoints and choices. BUT, that being said, his characters are not only one dimensional, shallow and overly stereotypical, but they're from the mind of an obviously one-dimensional thinker. The author obviously believes a collapse is inevitable and we are all hurtling toward it without hope of surviving, unless we heed his warning.
The story felt like a walk down a large hallway with no rooms to either side, but you're being forced to keep going (specifically referring to Andy's trek across Europe and Central America). I find the kindness of so many along his route especially unrealistic, considering the economic woes everyone had been suffering.
Finally, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE ENDING??? He never ties up the loose ends with the woman in Tennessee or the compounds in the Southwest or the self-sustaining power plant. He never says what happens to La Fuerza or the provisional government. He sets up characters just to abandon them. That's no way to write a novel.
I had this book in the bathroom one day and it dropped into the toilet accidentally. Maybe I should have left it there.
The story felt like a walk down a large hallway with no rooms to either side, but you're being forced to keep going (specifically referring to Andy's trek across Europe and Central America). I find the kindness of so many along his route especially unrealistic, considering the economic woes everyone had been suffering.
Finally, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE ENDING??? He never ties up the loose ends with the woman in Tennessee or the compounds in the Southwest or the self-sustaining power plant. He never says what happens to La Fuerza or the provisional government. He sets up characters just to abandon them. That's no way to write a novel.
I had this book in the bathroom one day and it dropped into the toilet accidentally. Maybe I should have left it there.
January 27, 2013
This, quite simply, is the single worst "book" I have ever read. It is an extreme right-wing conservative's wet dream...Hey, Mr. Author-dude, thanks for your thinly veiled christian views and nut-bang anti-government rantings proliferated throughout 400 pages of THE WORST characters ever put to pen and paper. GOOD GOD, the writing is TERRIBLE. Positively brutal, and worse than just being boringly repetitive, the holier-than-thou slant the protagonists have just grinds on the senses after about 10 pages.
I have never read a book with a solid premise like this one portends and then watch as the author so completely butchers said premise that I often times wanted to punch a wall. This trash reads much closer to some psycho's pseudo-manifesto than a dooms-day novel. If you ever have an opportunity to burn this book, please do so with extreme prejudice.
GOD DAMN, this dickweed is so conservative that even through some truly traumatic events in his characters lives that they not only DO NOT SWEAR, but immediately drop to their knees and begin devoutly praying. "Golly gee willikers, Tommy, I hath runneth a foul-mouth varmint of a Mexican drug lord through with a shiv...let us pray." Ok, not an exact quote from the book, but this next one is, and I shit you not...
(Andy, writing an email to his fiancee): "My darling Kaylee, I cannot wait to hold you in my arms. Please remain prayerful, and do not worry. All that worrying doesn't accomplish anything. Read Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalm 46 and write them on your heart..."
Write them with some farts, more correctly. This book sucks in ways that would make a porn-star blush. If I'm being really honest it's not his views I found irksome, although completely insane, it's just how damn pathetic his writing style is that kills me. Good guys, villains, and all other characters both major and minor are so colorless and bland that they are nearly impossible to tell apart from one another.
So to summarize, do not read this book as it's not good.
That is all.
I have never read a book with a solid premise like this one portends and then watch as the author so completely butchers said premise that I often times wanted to punch a wall. This trash reads much closer to some psycho's pseudo-manifesto than a dooms-day novel. If you ever have an opportunity to burn this book, please do so with extreme prejudice.
GOD DAMN, this dickweed is so conservative that even through some truly traumatic events in his characters lives that they not only DO NOT SWEAR, but immediately drop to their knees and begin devoutly praying. "Golly gee willikers, Tommy, I hath runneth a foul-mouth varmint of a Mexican drug lord through with a shiv...let us pray." Ok, not an exact quote from the book, but this next one is, and I shit you not...
(Andy, writing an email to his fiancee): "My darling Kaylee, I cannot wait to hold you in my arms. Please remain prayerful, and do not worry. All that worrying doesn't accomplish anything. Read Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalm 46 and write them on your heart..."
Write them with some farts, more correctly. This book sucks in ways that would make a porn-star blush. If I'm being really honest it's not his views I found irksome, although completely insane, it's just how damn pathetic his writing style is that kills me. Good guys, villains, and all other characters both major and minor are so colorless and bland that they are nearly impossible to tell apart from one another.
So to summarize, do not read this book as it's not good.
That is all.
July 16, 2012
This is why editors make the big bucks, people!
Man, as a prepper I wanted so badly to like this book. JWR's is so smart and his website is truly fantastic, a treasure trove of prepper knowledge and techniques. But the man is not a novelist. Sorry, JWR...I still respect you, but your book just about killed me. I forced myself to finish it, but it was excruciatingly boring and disconnected. The characters are not very well fleshed out; mostly just a conglomerate of their laboriously listed actions.
And holy cow, I have nothing against guns but the author wants to marry them and bear their children. Pages of long descriptions of the individual guns overwhelmed and bored me. I AM interested in owning guns for self-defense. I AM interested in learning to fire them accurately. I AM interested in owning enough ammo to defend my family for as long as possible. I AM interested in knowing which gun is best for which purpose. However, I am NOT interested in what every scratch and curve means, what their histories are, irrelevant details about their look and feel, what their bullets are made of, etc. You might as well try to get me interested in the history of lamp pull cords because I'd like to create my own source of electricity production. Yes, they are related, but one is irrelevant.
Also, very few people are going to stop reading halfway through the book and take two days just to memorize the radio code lingo in order to understand everything that is communicated from that point on. I'll be honest, I skipped it rather than have to go back and forth over and over again. That's a very slow way to get to the end, especially when you find out how irrelevant the conversation was to the actual point of the book.
I would like to have seen better connections between the preppers' actions and how those preparations helped them. The best example was the soldier getting across the borders to the US. But most of the other preparation stories were not carried out to their fruition. I understand letting us wonder what happened in order to put ourselves in their shoes, but a little fleshing out of results to give us more ideas would be nice.
And last, but not least--JWR, you claim to be a God-fearing man, right? You creeped me out a little there at some places. At one point in the story, the author makes sure that we know the character is a moral man by pointing out that he could have stared lustily at the woman's luscious behind, but it didn't even cross his mind. So, who's mind did it cross enough to tell me about it then? Ew, the author's!! Heebie-jeebie central!
Yes, I'm going to read his other book "Patriots", but I need a break for a bit first.
Man, as a prepper I wanted so badly to like this book. JWR's is so smart and his website is truly fantastic, a treasure trove of prepper knowledge and techniques. But the man is not a novelist. Sorry, JWR...I still respect you, but your book just about killed me. I forced myself to finish it, but it was excruciatingly boring and disconnected. The characters are not very well fleshed out; mostly just a conglomerate of their laboriously listed actions.
And holy cow, I have nothing against guns but the author wants to marry them and bear their children. Pages of long descriptions of the individual guns overwhelmed and bored me. I AM interested in owning guns for self-defense. I AM interested in learning to fire them accurately. I AM interested in owning enough ammo to defend my family for as long as possible. I AM interested in knowing which gun is best for which purpose. However, I am NOT interested in what every scratch and curve means, what their histories are, irrelevant details about their look and feel, what their bullets are made of, etc. You might as well try to get me interested in the history of lamp pull cords because I'd like to create my own source of electricity production. Yes, they are related, but one is irrelevant.
Also, very few people are going to stop reading halfway through the book and take two days just to memorize the radio code lingo in order to understand everything that is communicated from that point on. I'll be honest, I skipped it rather than have to go back and forth over and over again. That's a very slow way to get to the end, especially when you find out how irrelevant the conversation was to the actual point of the book.
I would like to have seen better connections between the preppers' actions and how those preparations helped them. The best example was the soldier getting across the borders to the US. But most of the other preparation stories were not carried out to their fruition. I understand letting us wonder what happened in order to put ourselves in their shoes, but a little fleshing out of results to give us more ideas would be nice.
And last, but not least--JWR, you claim to be a God-fearing man, right? You creeped me out a little there at some places. At one point in the story, the author makes sure that we know the character is a moral man by pointing out that he could have stared lustily at the woman's luscious behind, but it didn't even cross his mind. So, who's mind did it cross enough to tell me about it then? Ew, the author's!! Heebie-jeebie central!
Yes, I'm going to read his other book "Patriots", but I need a break for a bit first.
January 27, 2015
The worst book ever! ...or maybe not, because this goes to a campy territory, it's so bad it is good...if you are reading it loudly (and maybe a little bit drunk) to your friends.
This warning should be in cover:
'Contains only a good Christians characters and the bad guys are just bad and non-Christians.'
I don't have anything against Christian characters if they have a good function within a story and are reasonably believable, recent good example doing this can be found in Great North Road. But if they are just there because an author is one, then there is something wrong (very wrong).
First warning came when one family prayed 10 minutes and then smiled, all was fine and dandy, like the Ned Flanders family style. And all good guys were praying and preaching like every other page.
Side note, i think all religions are silly, i just worship the Great Cthulhu, "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!
There is no character development, all action scenes fall flat. The whole collapse-TEOTWAWKI plot is not explained, maybe it can be found Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, but i have no stamina for that after this painful experience. Out of blue we get those NWO-baddies, UN-soldiers coming to get your guns, no reason, but maybe that will be the plot point for the sequel, yes there is one already. One very strange and a very long chapter contains a love story background for characters that are maybe a 5% part of the whole book.
Only thing that was mildly interesting, if you put all the praying aside, was the main 'character' Andy's journey from Afghanistan to USA, a little glimpse of hope for the good story, that got lost under the pile of long infodump sections (and praying).
I have read and heard Rawles non-fiction stuff, and will stick to those in the future.
This warning should be in cover:
'Contains only a good Christians characters and the bad guys are just bad and non-Christians.'
I don't have anything against Christian characters if they have a good function within a story and are reasonably believable, recent good example doing this can be found in Great North Road. But if they are just there because an author is one, then there is something wrong (very wrong).
First warning came when one family prayed 10 minutes and then smiled, all was fine and dandy, like the Ned Flanders family style. And all good guys were praying and preaching like every other page.
Side note, i think all religions are silly, i just worship the Great Cthulhu, "Iä! Iä! Cthulhu Fhtagn!
There is no character development, all action scenes fall flat. The whole collapse-TEOTWAWKI plot is not explained, maybe it can be found Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, but i have no stamina for that after this painful experience. Out of blue we get those NWO-baddies, UN-soldiers coming to get your guns, no reason, but maybe that will be the plot point for the sequel, yes there is one already. One very strange and a very long chapter contains a love story background for characters that are maybe a 5% part of the whole book.
Only thing that was mildly interesting, if you put all the praying aside, was the main 'character' Andy's journey from Afghanistan to USA, a little glimpse of hope for the good story, that got lost under the pile of long infodump sections (and praying).
I have read and heard Rawles non-fiction stuff, and will stick to those in the future.
October 26, 2011
I'm half finished and much to my surprise I'm enjoying it. As you might expect in a book leaning this far to the right, there's a lot of praying and guns but the writing is a lot better than other reviews had led me to expect.
Finished Survivors a couple of days ago. I definitely don't agree with the politics but the book is enjoyable to read. I recommend it to anyone but especially people with right leaning politics particularly if they think social collapse is in the works. The situations in the book are a lot more simplistic than a real social collapse would cause but as a result it's a much nicer reading experience. Too much realism would be doggone depressing.
Finished Survivors a couple of days ago. I definitely don't agree with the politics but the book is enjoyable to read. I recommend it to anyone but especially people with right leaning politics particularly if they think social collapse is in the works. The situations in the book are a lot more simplistic than a real social collapse would cause but as a result it's a much nicer reading experience. Too much realism would be doggone depressing.
April 5, 2014
I stopped reading this less than 200 pages in. This should be filed under Christian fiction. I don't think I've ever read a book with characters this proper. There isn't even any swearing, considering the world is falling apart, christian or not you might utter aloud some expletives worthy of the situation. I have to say I'm sure there are some folks who eat this stuff up but after reading through some of the other reviews I'm in good company slapping this turd with 1 star.
January 13, 2013
(I wrote this review when I was only halfway through, and I stand by it). Though I respect the point the author is trying to make with this novel, there are moments where this book is painfully dull and repetitive.
To the people saying how it's not the kind of Post-Apocalyptic story they were expecting... I urge you to start being more intelligent, and actually read the description of the book, and a few pages of it, before purchasing and diving in just because you liked the cover.
I digress, on to the actual review. I will go with a "Pros" and "Cons" style.
Pros:
Informative - This book does have some great ideas and tactics for surviving a world that is going through an economic crisis. In this regard, the authors life experience shines through brilliantly.
Makes You Think - This story is not too far off of reality. What happened is this book is entirely possible in reality, and makes you want to become as prepared as possible for such events.
Cons:
A Very Slow Read - This book is riddled with trivial information and excessively long menial conversations between characters.
Attack of the Clones - There is very little diversity between characters in this novel. Almost all of the characters seem to have the exact same personality. All of them seem to have been people who expected "The Crunch" to occur, and all but perhaps one maybe two characters seem to be incredibly devout Christians. Though there is nothing wrong with giving characters a belief system, it is entirely unrealistic to make it seem that nearly everyone on the planet is christian.
Come Again? - The author seems to feel the need to repeat information over and over again to the point where it goes beyond broken record, and starts feeling like you are being brainwashed. There is an entire chapter presenting a conversation between Lars Laine, and L. Roy Martin... in which they basically repeat many of the past events already mentioned earlier in the book in excruciating detail. Even beyond the chapter, it seems like the author is continuously beating me in the face with a bat chiseled with the words "ECONOMIC FALLOUT IS BAD"
I give this book, a 2 out of 5.
To the people saying how it's not the kind of Post-Apocalyptic story they were expecting... I urge you to start being more intelligent, and actually read the description of the book, and a few pages of it, before purchasing and diving in just because you liked the cover.
I digress, on to the actual review. I will go with a "Pros" and "Cons" style.
Pros:
Informative - This book does have some great ideas and tactics for surviving a world that is going through an economic crisis. In this regard, the authors life experience shines through brilliantly.
Makes You Think - This story is not too far off of reality. What happened is this book is entirely possible in reality, and makes you want to become as prepared as possible for such events.
Cons:
A Very Slow Read - This book is riddled with trivial information and excessively long menial conversations between characters.
Attack of the Clones - There is very little diversity between characters in this novel. Almost all of the characters seem to have the exact same personality. All of them seem to have been people who expected "The Crunch" to occur, and all but perhaps one maybe two characters seem to be incredibly devout Christians. Though there is nothing wrong with giving characters a belief system, it is entirely unrealistic to make it seem that nearly everyone on the planet is christian.
Come Again? - The author seems to feel the need to repeat information over and over again to the point where it goes beyond broken record, and starts feeling like you are being brainwashed. There is an entire chapter presenting a conversation between Lars Laine, and L. Roy Martin... in which they basically repeat many of the past events already mentioned earlier in the book in excruciating detail. Even beyond the chapter, it seems like the author is continuously beating me in the face with a bat chiseled with the words "ECONOMIC FALLOUT IS BAD"
I give this book, a 2 out of 5.
October 30, 2012
If you love military and morse code jargon, and are a smarmy christian who thinks everyone else is gonna burn and has no sense of humor, while you might like the content of the book, you will find it badly organized and edited.
September 26, 2011
This story takes place just as the United States’ economy crashes. The first thing that happens is the dollar becomes increasingly useless. Silver, gold, or barter is the way many people end up getting goods. But others try to rob, loot, or kill to make their own way. This story follows several people as they struggle to survive in the crunch.
Andy Laine is in Afghanistan and sees how everything is working toward a crash. He gets himself some off base supplies and makes a plan to get back home to his family.
Lars Laine is Andy’s brother. He is living on the family farm trying to keep everyone safe and the farm running. He is a veteran that was injured during his service.
Ian and Blanco Doyle are ex-military that first try to get their daughter then provide security for a group of homeowners for a place to stay.
Ignacio Garcia is the leader of a gang that start looting to feed all in the group.
Matthew, Reuben, and Shadrack Phelps are orphans that are sent out on their own. They find Lars Laine and help out on the farm.
Sheila Randall has her son and mother and starts a general store to help out others in the little town she moves to.
The story is full of truth. The way events happen in the book, I can easily see the same thing happening in the country today. The value of the dollar crashing, only silver, gold, or barter used for transactions, and how people rob, steal, or kill for things they need. I really liked the different quotes at the beginning of each new section. They really make you thing about human nature.
Sadly there is just way too much happening in this story. You follow way too many people and not always in the same time frame. There will be a not at the top of each section that tells who is being followed in that section and when. The problem comes when you read about Andy in November then Lars in January or Ian twenty years prior.
Also, there was way too much information. There is exact figures for how the dollar rate goes down every day, all the acronyms for the military things, exact short hand for the radio, and even a three page list of who all the characters are. I couldn’t keep up with most of it and ended up skimming through a lot of the book.
I couldn’t finish this book. It just bounced everywhere, had way too much information, and too many characters to follow. It has good potential for a end of the country book, but I couldn’t stick with it.
I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab in exchange for an honest opinion.
Andy Laine is in Afghanistan and sees how everything is working toward a crash. He gets himself some off base supplies and makes a plan to get back home to his family.
Lars Laine is Andy’s brother. He is living on the family farm trying to keep everyone safe and the farm running. He is a veteran that was injured during his service.
Ian and Blanco Doyle are ex-military that first try to get their daughter then provide security for a group of homeowners for a place to stay.
Ignacio Garcia is the leader of a gang that start looting to feed all in the group.
Matthew, Reuben, and Shadrack Phelps are orphans that are sent out on their own. They find Lars Laine and help out on the farm.
Sheila Randall has her son and mother and starts a general store to help out others in the little town she moves to.
The story is full of truth. The way events happen in the book, I can easily see the same thing happening in the country today. The value of the dollar crashing, only silver, gold, or barter used for transactions, and how people rob, steal, or kill for things they need. I really liked the different quotes at the beginning of each new section. They really make you thing about human nature.
Sadly there is just way too much happening in this story. You follow way too many people and not always in the same time frame. There will be a not at the top of each section that tells who is being followed in that section and when. The problem comes when you read about Andy in November then Lars in January or Ian twenty years prior.
Also, there was way too much information. There is exact figures for how the dollar rate goes down every day, all the acronyms for the military things, exact short hand for the radio, and even a three page list of who all the characters are. I couldn’t keep up with most of it and ended up skimming through a lot of the book.
I couldn’t finish this book. It just bounced everywhere, had way too much information, and too many characters to follow. It has good potential for a end of the country book, but I couldn’t stick with it.
I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab in exchange for an honest opinion.
October 24, 2011
This was rated a two because it deals with a very interesting subject based upon today's times, however it just fails to deliver a good story. The book starts off strong giving us a potential glimpse as to what may happen in reality in the near future if the economy was to get worse and deals with an interesting concept of the world once again "becoming small". However after a while you begin to realise that he is trying to write a non-fiction book in a literary category. He gives way too much description of the compatibility of munitions and weaponry and even plane payloads to try and show that his characters which are already way ahead of most people in reality in "being prepared" that they are still having a tough time. The writer knows what he is talking about but just isn't a fiction author. There are some chapters that can easily be skipped as they provide background only because it is a fiction book but have no relevance because you already know who these people are. I am aware that the book is supposed to be a sort-of concurrent trilogy however they don't match nor provide a very compelling story. Things are left open to never be closed, scenes are plotted without an end having been thought about and some issues are just in for literary fodder.
I wanted to like the book, and in fact I did go so far as to finish it, but that was because I always felt it was going to get better, instead it left me flat.
I wanted to like the book, and in fact I did go so far as to finish it, but that was because I always felt it was going to get better, instead it left me flat.
January 3, 2012
I emailed the following fan letter to the author:
Hello, James, Thank you for taking time to read this. A quick review of SurvivalBlog shows how busy you are. Just finished Survivors and loved it. The ending makes me think there may be a sequel. Call me an emotional pushover (for a 64 year old straight and married guy) – I shed a tear when ["Spoiler" edited out]. Call me Pollyanna – my wife and I live near Boston and I continue to work as administrator of an urban library. Call me a poor prognosticator – halfway through Survivors I wondered if [another Spoiler edited out.] If there is a sequel I’ll be interested in the political future you create. I know this is presumptuous, but I would love for you to visit my blog and read my short essay on “The Library as Barn-Raising” at
http://harrythelibrarian.blogspot.com...
It is my clumsy attempt to formulate an intelligent perspective on the need to know when to share – including sharing work – and when to be self-sufficient. The current public discussion that offers an either-or choice of collectivism versus private property and personal responsibility seems to miss the wisdom and common sense of our forefathers. Whether you do that or not, I thank you for a great read.
I realize you don’t “do” social media networking, but I am going to praise Survivors on Goodreads, and to my personal network. Happy New Year! Harry The Librarian
Hello, James, Thank you for taking time to read this. A quick review of SurvivalBlog shows how busy you are. Just finished Survivors and loved it. The ending makes me think there may be a sequel. Call me an emotional pushover (for a 64 year old straight and married guy) – I shed a tear when ["Spoiler" edited out]. Call me Pollyanna – my wife and I live near Boston and I continue to work as administrator of an urban library. Call me a poor prognosticator – halfway through Survivors I wondered if [another Spoiler edited out.] If there is a sequel I’ll be interested in the political future you create. I know this is presumptuous, but I would love for you to visit my blog and read my short essay on “The Library as Barn-Raising” at
http://harrythelibrarian.blogspot.com...
It is my clumsy attempt to formulate an intelligent perspective on the need to know when to share – including sharing work – and when to be self-sufficient. The current public discussion that offers an either-or choice of collectivism versus private property and personal responsibility seems to miss the wisdom and common sense of our forefathers. Whether you do that or not, I thank you for a great read.
I realize you don’t “do” social media networking, but I am going to praise Survivors on Goodreads, and to my personal network. Happy New Year! Harry The Librarian
December 28, 2011
Okay, I admit I totally fell for the Walking Dead-esque cover image with the lone horseback rider and the guns and the whole rest-of-the-world has gone to shit look. And it is a solid premise for a story: survivors are inherently an interesting bunch.
Well, except these survivors.
Survivors and characters who *overcome* problems are interesting. Survivors who do Everything Right and who Never Have Problems are, well, boring. Plus, this does not seem to be an author for whom writing an iota of emotional realism is possible. Preppers prep with no apparent worry, fear, trepidation, or questioning themselves. Survivors kill others with no apparent sympathy or fear. It's simply scene after scene of characters getting ready, doing it all right (including running a small oil refinery. Really?), and occasionally talking to one another in Complete Agreement about the causes and solutions to the world's issues.
If the world is ending, take this book for some far-fetched ideas on how to get by. But, man oh man, don't take the book for entertainment. Wesley Rawles as your tribe's advisor, sure thing.
As your tribe's storyteller? Um, no.
Well, except these survivors.
Survivors and characters who *overcome* problems are interesting. Survivors who do Everything Right and who Never Have Problems are, well, boring. Plus, this does not seem to be an author for whom writing an iota of emotional realism is possible. Preppers prep with no apparent worry, fear, trepidation, or questioning themselves. Survivors kill others with no apparent sympathy or fear. It's simply scene after scene of characters getting ready, doing it all right (including running a small oil refinery. Really?), and occasionally talking to one another in Complete Agreement about the causes and solutions to the world's issues.
If the world is ending, take this book for some far-fetched ideas on how to get by. But, man oh man, don't take the book for entertainment. Wesley Rawles as your tribe's advisor, sure thing.
As your tribe's storyteller? Um, no.
January 10, 2012
I am a fan of apocalyptic literature and I thought the subject matter of this novel was thought provoking in its simplicity. There is no one major event that leads to society's collapse, but rather a series of governmental missteps, many that are scarily familiar to us living through this economic period, that result in a gradual breakdown of the United States and Europe. While there were times I felt that the author's message of reliance on faith and the constitution became heavy-handed, the true reason I only gave it two stars was that I never felt a connection with the characters. The success of this type of apocalyptic novel rests on the reader's commitment to the characters' journey (for example think of novels such as Alas Babylon, On the Beach, and Lucifer's Hammer). I never felt fully vested in these characters and I began to lose interest in their individual stories. Survivors then became more of an author's manifesto and the characters simply mirrors of the author's personal belief system without any life of their own.
October 23, 2011
Leaves the reader hanging--what's going to happen to the ruthless gang La Fuerza, whose leader has threatened to kill everyone in the community which ambushed them and destroyed their vehicles?
And what's going to happen to the ProvGov, which is more like a dictatorship?
Doesn't get interesting towards the end of the book, then leaves you hanging. Not a must read. Only interesting in a few parts.
And what's going to happen to the ProvGov, which is more like a dictatorship?
Doesn't get interesting towards the end of the book, then leaves you hanging. Not a must read. Only interesting in a few parts.
June 11, 2017
Listened to on CD.
Not just another "end of the world novel" but an extremely realistic look at what would happen to the US and the rest of the world in the midst of a complete economic collapse. The writing and story telling is excellent. Rawles does a great job fleshing out and developing his characters as well as the story arcs. I have no idea as to what the author's background is, but I would guess he spent some time in the Army. There's a lot of "inside baseball" references that only a vet would know. This made reading the story even better for me!
A lot of research went into this book. Every chapter begins with a pithy quote to set up the chapter. I knew most of the references but anyone not familiar should take the time to research the quotes and the people that said the quotes. Note: anyone politically Left of Center will probably not enjoy this book.
I CANNOT wait to start the sequel!
Not just another "end of the world novel" but an extremely realistic look at what would happen to the US and the rest of the world in the midst of a complete economic collapse. The writing and story telling is excellent. Rawles does a great job fleshing out and developing his characters as well as the story arcs. I have no idea as to what the author's background is, but I would guess he spent some time in the Army. There's a lot of "inside baseball" references that only a vet would know. This made reading the story even better for me!
A lot of research went into this book. Every chapter begins with a pithy quote to set up the chapter. I knew most of the references but anyone not familiar should take the time to research the quotes and the people that said the quotes. Note: anyone politically Left of Center will probably not enjoy this book.
I CANNOT wait to start the sequel!
April 23, 2025
Hard slog, felt disjointed, some good story lines perhaps not as deep as could have been, then others that went on for many pages in detail.
I thought the start was excellent, but felt it became more disjointed at times with the flow not there.
Frustrating, could and should have been much more, I do appreciate the writer worked hard to weave a lot of things together, but for me the overall experience reading this was less than positive.
I thought the start was excellent, but felt it became more disjointed at times with the flow not there.
Frustrating, could and should have been much more, I do appreciate the writer worked hard to weave a lot of things together, but for me the overall experience reading this was less than positive.
November 9, 2023
It's a decent story post "crunch". In the global turmoil that faces us today, who truly knows where the roller coaster ride ends?
November 16, 2014
Just finished this book, the 2nd in Rawles "Coming Collapse" series. I enjoy the premise and also the information that the author is able to convey through a format like this. I also like the quotes the author uses to introduce each chapter; gems such as:
"The government turns every contingency into an excuse for enhancing power in itself." - John Adams
and:
"There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place." - Washington Irving
Most of the quotes grant a window into the author's own reading proclivities, from Ludwig von Mises to Ted Nugent, Ron Paul, and liberal doses of Jeff Cooper. Progressive, the author is not!
From a pure literary perspective, unfortunately, the books leave much to be desired. The characters, whether male or female, are pretty much cardboard cutouts and often differ very little from each other outside of names and geographic location. The entertainment value comes from the environment and situations the characters confront, NOT from the characters themselves. The primary protagonists are the authors visions of the ideal human beings, without any obvious faults, and uber-competent regardless of circumstances. I'm of the opinion that James Wesley really just projects his own vision of himself into ALL of his characters, and thereby populates his fantasy TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It in survivalist parlance) scenario. I could be wrong. /shrug
The dialogue is stilted, and leans toward chivalric idealism and rigid doctrinalism. If there is a place in America in this day and age where people are actually like this, I've yet to hear of it. Good intentions, however...
The book would also benefit from some serious editorial direction. The subchapters are not arranged properly and hurt the natural flow of the book, even while attempting to follow several different story threads. Often they feel random, almost as if the author is sitting at his computer and saying to himself: "I think I'll write 3 paragraphs about what is going on with this character, since it's been awhile, even though it doesn't necessarily fit here or match up with my own internal timeline."
Reading the above, it sounds like I dislike these books, but that is not the case. The author has perhaps more raw knowledge on survivalism that anyone else, and these books pass it along in a way that is very digestible. The books are also clean and are written from a judeo-christian POV, which is a rarity these days. ALso, I like end-of-the-world scenarios, and this one is very believable. It is a good mental exercise to think through situations like this, and Rawles' books make this exercise accessible to a wide audience outside hardcore "preppers" and survivalists.
I'm happy to give them 3 stars based on their strengths, and look forward to reading the next one, actually.
"The government turns every contingency into an excuse for enhancing power in itself." - John Adams
and:
"There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stage-coach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place." - Washington Irving
Most of the quotes grant a window into the author's own reading proclivities, from Ludwig von Mises to Ted Nugent, Ron Paul, and liberal doses of Jeff Cooper. Progressive, the author is not!
From a pure literary perspective, unfortunately, the books leave much to be desired. The characters, whether male or female, are pretty much cardboard cutouts and often differ very little from each other outside of names and geographic location. The entertainment value comes from the environment and situations the characters confront, NOT from the characters themselves. The primary protagonists are the authors visions of the ideal human beings, without any obvious faults, and uber-competent regardless of circumstances. I'm of the opinion that James Wesley really just projects his own vision of himself into ALL of his characters, and thereby populates his fantasy TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It in survivalist parlance) scenario. I could be wrong. /shrug
The dialogue is stilted, and leans toward chivalric idealism and rigid doctrinalism. If there is a place in America in this day and age where people are actually like this, I've yet to hear of it. Good intentions, however...
The book would also benefit from some serious editorial direction. The subchapters are not arranged properly and hurt the natural flow of the book, even while attempting to follow several different story threads. Often they feel random, almost as if the author is sitting at his computer and saying to himself: "I think I'll write 3 paragraphs about what is going on with this character, since it's been awhile, even though it doesn't necessarily fit here or match up with my own internal timeline."
Reading the above, it sounds like I dislike these books, but that is not the case. The author has perhaps more raw knowledge on survivalism that anyone else, and these books pass it along in a way that is very digestible. The books are also clean and are written from a judeo-christian POV, which is a rarity these days. ALso, I like end-of-the-world scenarios, and this one is very believable. It is a good mental exercise to think through situations like this, and Rawles' books make this exercise accessible to a wide audience outside hardcore "preppers" and survivalists.
I'm happy to give them 3 stars based on their strengths, and look forward to reading the next one, actually.
September 30, 2012
I've enjoyed James Wesley, Rawles' survivalblog and I liked "How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It." While I hadn't read "Patriots," I wanted to give "Survivors" a try. It looked like a good read, and I do enjoy reading about surviving. So, now that I finished the book this morning, I have mixed feelings. I really liked parts of this book, but there were other holes in the story that really needed filling, and I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It leaves you hanging, wondering what happened to the characters you've been reading about.
Maybe Rawles will pick up where he left off in the next book he writes. I don't know. If so, I wish there was some indication of this. If not, I feel the story was not completed. Being prior military, I didn't mind the military jargon, but I imagine those without a military background might not follow as easily in parts, even with the glossary that is included in the back. I also found it a bit different to have the "Dramatis Personae" at the beginning of the book. However, with the jumping around between many "stories" within the novel, I almost found myself wanting to look back to this list.
The yarn is pretty simple actually. It is the story of a few survivors of an economic collapse, or as it is called in the book, "the Crunch." These survivors are not together, but rather the book jumps around between these stories. Some are related, some not. And as I stated earlier, the stories are not wrapped up. You are left hanging and wondering just what happened, or will happen.
I started thinking, maybe Rawles did this on purpose. Maybe he intentionally left it open because that's how life is. How many people enter our lives, even those we get to know, and then disappear, without us ever knowing what happened, where they are, etc. Sometimes we even wonder where old friends have gone. Maybe this was what Rawles was getting at, I don't know. The problem is, when we read novels, we are escaping from real life and want some closure to our fictional stories. Clifffhangers only work when you know things will be concluded in the next installment.
While the book is not classified as "Christian Fiction" it could be. Rawles' main characters are strong Christians and there are many prayers and religious references throughout the book. If you like, or dislike, this in your novels, know that it is here. The survival stuff, and as I read I thought of what I was doing to prepare, etc. was good. Yes, there were parts that were far fetched, but it is fiction after all. I still liked reading about people surviving a total financial and governmental collapse. So overall, I enjoyed a lot of it while I was reading, but felt disappointed at the end.
Maybe Rawles will pick up where he left off in the next book he writes. I don't know. If so, I wish there was some indication of this. If not, I feel the story was not completed. Being prior military, I didn't mind the military jargon, but I imagine those without a military background might not follow as easily in parts, even with the glossary that is included in the back. I also found it a bit different to have the "Dramatis Personae" at the beginning of the book. However, with the jumping around between many "stories" within the novel, I almost found myself wanting to look back to this list.
The yarn is pretty simple actually. It is the story of a few survivors of an economic collapse, or as it is called in the book, "the Crunch." These survivors are not together, but rather the book jumps around between these stories. Some are related, some not. And as I stated earlier, the stories are not wrapped up. You are left hanging and wondering just what happened, or will happen.
I started thinking, maybe Rawles did this on purpose. Maybe he intentionally left it open because that's how life is. How many people enter our lives, even those we get to know, and then disappear, without us ever knowing what happened, where they are, etc. Sometimes we even wonder where old friends have gone. Maybe this was what Rawles was getting at, I don't know. The problem is, when we read novels, we are escaping from real life and want some closure to our fictional stories. Clifffhangers only work when you know things will be concluded in the next installment.
While the book is not classified as "Christian Fiction" it could be. Rawles' main characters are strong Christians and there are many prayers and religious references throughout the book. If you like, or dislike, this in your novels, know that it is here. The survival stuff, and as I read I thought of what I was doing to prepare, etc. was good. Yes, there were parts that were far fetched, but it is fiction after all. I still liked reading about people surviving a total financial and governmental collapse. So overall, I enjoyed a lot of it while I was reading, but felt disappointed at the end.
January 14, 2018
I never thought I would read a book like this one. Extremists, militants, survivalists. It must be the challenge of planning, forethought and detail that makes this genre so compelling - the challenge is that you will survive the collapse, the confidence that you have the skills to do so.
Survivors could be a much better book. After the failed attempt to stop the marauders, everything goes to shit. We don't know enough about Alex to know if he should have been better prepared or equipped. After Andy's tortuous journey home, we don't know what happens to him. After all of L. Roy's fortifications, we don't know how he's coming out of the conflict. And Lars and his wife just drop off the face of the earth. And what happened to the three orphans, noble characters so finely developed. And why the hell introduce the Amish, Tennessee and Kentucky characters if they get all of 3 pages and they're gone.
Well, the Collapse was three years ago and maybe Survivors is the setup for that next phase of recovery or later delusion.
I don't know. But I did buy extra cans of soup today.
Survivors could be a much better book. After the failed attempt to stop the marauders, everything goes to shit. We don't know enough about Alex to know if he should have been better prepared or equipped. After Andy's tortuous journey home, we don't know what happens to him. After all of L. Roy's fortifications, we don't know how he's coming out of the conflict. And Lars and his wife just drop off the face of the earth. And what happened to the three orphans, noble characters so finely developed. And why the hell introduce the Amish, Tennessee and Kentucky characters if they get all of 3 pages and they're gone.
Well, the Collapse was three years ago and maybe Survivors is the setup for that next phase of recovery or later delusion.
I don't know. But I did buy extra cans of soup today.
December 2, 2013
I would have never picked this up if my uncle hadn't insisted that I give it a try. I told myself not to judge this book by its cover, but I really should have because it was easily the worst book I've read in many years. While I found its conservative survivalist-porn perspective eye roll worthy, it's not the politics that bothered me, it's just a poorly written mess of a book. It's littered with far too many one dimensional interchangeable characters, distracting jumps in time and location, the complete lack of any kind of resolution, and egregious overuse of technical jargon, but these are all things mentioned in other reviews. Here are some things I haven't seen mentioned:
-While Rawles clearly knows how to list firearms he knows nothing about culture. Early on in the book, one of the characters specifically referenced Streetcar Named Desire and said that she has "always depended on the kindness of strangers" but does so straight-faced, completely missing the irony of the line as it was said by a sexually assaulted woman being dragged off to the nuthouse. Or later when he writes the line "Even the local newspaper mentioned it from time to time, often by it's nicknames, Rick's Cafe Americain or Rick's Place, in honor of the Humphrey Bogart movie Casablanca." Who the hell needs to be told that Casablanca is 1)a film, that 2) stars Humphrey Bogart? Anyone who would get the reference knows that already and anyone who doesn't isn't going to be informed by this statement.
-Rawles has clearly tried to be "multicultural" (everyone is basically the same anyway, so the fact that someone is described as Navajo or South American means next to nothing) but, every character is a devout Christian. And one "Jew for Jesus", which is just a Christian by another name. No other religions are brought up, other than some passing references of Muslims causing riots in Europe. You'd think there would be a single Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or Atheist (that isn't Ayn Rand) worth mentioning, but Rawles clearly has a different opinion.
-There is no swearing in the book, which isn't a problem, but while characters specifically go out of their way to not swear, they have no problem with the word "fag". Classy.
-The book has far too much jargon to be interesting, but far too few actual instructions on how to survive (other than own a ton of guns and silver) to qualify as actually informative.
On the plus side, it was a quick read and I've learned what not to do when writing a book.
-While Rawles clearly knows how to list firearms he knows nothing about culture. Early on in the book, one of the characters specifically referenced Streetcar Named Desire and said that she has "always depended on the kindness of strangers" but does so straight-faced, completely missing the irony of the line as it was said by a sexually assaulted woman being dragged off to the nuthouse. Or later when he writes the line "Even the local newspaper mentioned it from time to time, often by it's nicknames, Rick's Cafe Americain or Rick's Place, in honor of the Humphrey Bogart movie Casablanca." Who the hell needs to be told that Casablanca is 1)a film, that 2) stars Humphrey Bogart? Anyone who would get the reference knows that already and anyone who doesn't isn't going to be informed by this statement.
-Rawles has clearly tried to be "multicultural" (everyone is basically the same anyway, so the fact that someone is described as Navajo or South American means next to nothing) but, every character is a devout Christian. And one "Jew for Jesus", which is just a Christian by another name. No other religions are brought up, other than some passing references of Muslims causing riots in Europe. You'd think there would be a single Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or Atheist (that isn't Ayn Rand) worth mentioning, but Rawles clearly has a different opinion.
-There is no swearing in the book, which isn't a problem, but while characters specifically go out of their way to not swear, they have no problem with the word "fag". Classy.
-The book has far too much jargon to be interesting, but far too few actual instructions on how to survive (other than own a ton of guns and silver) to qualify as actually informative.
On the plus side, it was a quick read and I've learned what not to do when writing a book.
October 17, 2011
I'll start by saying that I really liked the book. Rawles does "instructive fiction" better than anyone else. The book kept me entertained throughout, but it wasn't as instructive or entertaining as Patriots.
There were several errors about Belize and Mexico (both areas where I've spent a lot of time) that disappointed me. They could have been easily corrected by traveling there or talking to someone who has.
The biggest annoyance to me is the constant referencing of religious themes. I recognize that Rawles is a devout Christian, but I think he overdid it in this book. There were constant biblical references, scenes of characters praying for advice after killing people and even an entire chapter about the Christian courting rituals that two of the characters went through. I'm afraid that Rawles will lose a lot of future readers if he keeps this trend up in his next novel.
If you are into apocalyptic, end of the world style stories, this is a good one, but stay away if you are easily annoyed by a fundamentalist Christian overtone.
There were several errors about Belize and Mexico (both areas where I've spent a lot of time) that disappointed me. They could have been easily corrected by traveling there or talking to someone who has.
The biggest annoyance to me is the constant referencing of religious themes. I recognize that Rawles is a devout Christian, but I think he overdid it in this book. There were constant biblical references, scenes of characters praying for advice after killing people and even an entire chapter about the Christian courting rituals that two of the characters went through. I'm afraid that Rawles will lose a lot of future readers if he keeps this trend up in his next novel.
If you are into apocalyptic, end of the world style stories, this is a good one, but stay away if you are easily annoyed by a fundamentalist Christian overtone.
December 20, 2013
Loved the premise of a disintegrating society. Unfortunately this is where the good part ends.
First of all it is entirely United States - which is fine, but it would be interesting to know what is going on in the rest of the world.
Then - there is the obvious agenda of the author to the effect that all should be heavily armed with an array of battleground weapons - just in case.
Then come the tedious descriptions in minute detail of all the different weapons being deployed by the soon to be survivors preparing for a dystopian world.
No build up to anything interesting, just a puzzling acceptance by all that the end is near and better set up an armed fortress.
I do like the genre - The Road; Alas Babylon - excellent examples.
Survivors is a painful read - I gave up after about thirty pages.
First of all it is entirely United States - which is fine, but it would be interesting to know what is going on in the rest of the world.
Then - there is the obvious agenda of the author to the effect that all should be heavily armed with an array of battleground weapons - just in case.
Then come the tedious descriptions in minute detail of all the different weapons being deployed by the soon to be survivors preparing for a dystopian world.
No build up to anything interesting, just a puzzling acceptance by all that the end is near and better set up an armed fortress.
I do like the genre - The Road; Alas Babylon - excellent examples.
Survivors is a painful read - I gave up after about thirty pages.
June 10, 2013
I should start by saying I am likely not the intended audience for this book. But my husband was reading it, so I started reading it aloud to him, for fun. It didn't take long for us both to start wondering at the absent plot, the nearly absent character development (every single character is ex-military, it seems; every good character is a strong church-going Christian etc... basically there is no nuance in character here), the formulaic drama, the paragraphs of unrealistic dialogue as well as irrelevant detail. Also, an editor seemed missing in action. It read like an interesting first draft-- keep going and he might have found an interesting, coherent story. But, as is, I'm shocked this thing is in print.
November 8, 2014
Excellent forecast of future probabilities!
Excellent forecast of likely scenarios in the days immediately ahead for America and or the world! A great read to get us all thinking straight!!!
Excellent forecast of likely scenarios in the days immediately ahead for America and or the world! A great read to get us all thinking straight!!!
October 7, 2011
Things to consider:
This is a prequel to the authors other book, Patriots.
The Christian overtones are very, very heavy.
This is a prequel to the authors other book, Patriots.
The Christian overtones are very, very heavy.
Want to read
October 23, 2011Thinking about reading this, but it comes with a scorecard in front, so I'm not sure.
October 31, 2011
Don't believe the negative reviews about this book, it's totally awesome. people that don't like this book are people that don't want to accept the reality about our country and our economy!
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