Dark Grid

Dark Grid #1

by David C. Waldron

In the wake of a solar event, the likes of which hasn't been seen since 1859 when the height of technology was the telegraph, the northern hemisphere is faced with a new reality...a life without power. The electrical grids of virtually the entire planet have shorted out as a result of expected but completely unplanned for sunspot activity during the peak of the current solar cycle.

Joel Turner and his family, along with a few close trusted friends, have to decide how and even if they can survive in their suburban Nashville neighborhood as things deteriorate within a matter of days with no electricity. Once they decide to strike out on their own, the only question that remains is where? Through the recent prior military service of Eric Tripp, one of the small group to leave the neighborhood, they are allowed to attach themselves to the local National Guard Unit until they decide where they are headed.

With the power out and no communication with higher authority the Guard is on its own, and downtown Nashville is becoming a less safe place to be. The entire Armory, group and all, relocates to Natchez Trace State Park to set up operations for the duration of the crisis…however long that may be.

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Fiction, Survival, Apocalyptic

403 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2011

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this book about 2/3 of the way through. The only reason I got that far was because I didn't want to spend more money on another book to read. The author tries to tell the story through conversation and it just doesn't work. First of all, people don't speak to each other in monologue. He uses the same jokes and figures of speech repeatedly. Many slag words and figures of speech I had never heard are used over and over as if they are common-place. Maybe it was the military thing but I just didn't get it. I love a good end of the world saga but this bored the heck out of me. I liked the concept but there was no real danger, no action, and no value.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so frustrating to read. The conversations felt forced. People don't talk this way. Especially during an emergency. The only character that seemed real was Clint. He wasn't even a main character. The author spent paragraph after paragraph explaining the situation to every single person. It was hard to picture the characters. There were no descriptions of them. Hardly any descriptions of any of the locations. The same dumb jokes kept getting told over and over again. Ugh, I'm not sure why I fought through reading this.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I waited so long to read this one! I would see it in my suggestions, read the synopsis and say meh. It came up for $ .99 on celebration of the anniversary of release and I love free, $ .99 is almost as good. As of 12-11-10 it is still on sale for a limited time. Take the chance. If you love the genre you will love this one. I am downloading #2 as I type this. I know, ironic to read these books on a Kindle. Get it, read it, you won't be sorry.

[Mari Stroud · Rating 2 out of 5]

Waldron clearly knows his stuff. The plot was strong and interesting (I'm morbid; I love learning of new ways that the world can end), and the research is integrated without becoming overwhelming or show-offy. That being said...

I did not enjoy this one. At all. I was willing to cut it a certain amount of slack at first, because most of the early issues appeared to be line-editing. (I don't begrudge self-published titles for mistakes commonly seen in traditionally published books as well. It's just not fair.) But the deeper we got in, the more I realized...I just didn't like these people. Part of the joy of dystopian fiction is smashing the world to pieces, but I have an issue when the characters themselves appear to be enjoying it. At one point early in the book, a character actually laughs as he slams the door in a pushy neighbor's face. LOL, DON'T YOU GET IT, IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE!!! A real knee-slapper, that one.

[Joecon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could have also rated this a 3 Star, but I gave it a 4 Star.
I enjoyed the book. I really enjoyed the integration of the military into the story. I served 8 years in the military and found myself thinking back to my time there. Enjoyed the terminology and you can tell that the author did his homework in regards to the military as well. I enjoy the EMP type stories & it was woven well into the story. Perhaps for someone that isn't as familiar with the military as I, the author could have toned down the military aspect a bit.
I enjoyed the book & would recommend the book to anyone. I believe that the author has followed it up with "Dark Road", which I intend to read. I believe that the author--David C. Waldron--has a bright future ahead as an author!

[Squermish the Book Cat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Four stars for the idea but only one star for execution. There are huge chunks of poorly punctuated dialogue, with very little helpful ‘he says, Karen said’ to help with the flow, or much in the way of narrative, description or scene setting. Rounded up to two stars
Having said that, the kindle edition includes the first chapter or so of the second book, which looks to have been much better put together, and so I’ll probably read it!

[Robyn Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book and the characters - very interesting concept, examining what would happen to our modern day to day lives if suddenly there was no more power.

[David A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new author to me. I really enjoyed the book and hope Mr. Waldron writes some more.

[Meghan Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent first novel

Mr. Waldron has written a decently engaging novel. The beginning is a bit rough. There is a significant lack of build up towards the climax. The first half of this book was like reading through mud, yet I pressed on hoping it would improve. I was not disappointed. Some things I felt were causing the novel to drag were: the over reliance on dialogue, characters all spoke with the same snarky personality, and the slow pace from one scene to the next. I never came close to tears, never felt the thrill of true love, never wondered how my own family would react in this situation... Over time however I felt that Mr. Waldron's characters developed a bit more individual personalities, and the final climax roped me into page turning. By far my favorite line is the last one. I won't spoil it by copying it here however.
I read the brief excerpt from the second book, and found the writing to have improved. Opening scene dealt with personal hardship, a topic barely touched on in the first book. I look forward to continuing the series.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing read! David C. Waldron knows his stuff!

Following a solar event, the world is plunged into darkness, the likes of which our technological world has never known. Imagine the breakdown of society with no electricity, no phones, no Facebook, no Internet. And the reality of it all? THAT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE FIXED OVERNIGHT.

In this realistic book, Mr. Waldron gives us a glimpse of what could happen should we loose the electricity grid, overnight, and with no way of fixing it for 10 years or more. Families pack up when they realize their neighborhoods aren't safe without the police, and mere locks aren't keeping anyone out.

This book had me making a plan for survival, and stocking up on batteries and bottled water!

All I can say is WOW! FIVE STARS! I do NOT agree at ALL with any negative reviews! I would happily pay full price for this eBook!

*Amazon freebie.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm giving this guy two stars because, unlike most other people who write self published books about the end of the world, Waldron actually tries to use and develop female characters. On the down side, as another reviewer noted.... all the characters run together. Yes, even the women.

I feel that the author was overreaching with the amount of characters he had in there. Several characters could be distilled to one or two. Of the eight characters we meet in the beginning, none of their stories really had very much development behind it. Once those eight characters meet up with the National Guard, all but two of them are basically forgotten about until the very end.

The scene at the very beginning with Carey was way too reminiscent of a similar character in The Jarkarta Pandemic. Almost eerily so.

I was also disturbed by how few people seemed concerned about their families.

Overall, this reads like a good outline for a book. Now, Mr. Waldron, go flesh it out.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Dark Grid” was a tough book for me. First off let me say that I absolutely love the story and the premise. A massive CME hits the globe and we’re all plunged into darkness for a good long time and chaos ensues. The characters are interesting (if a bit static) and likable. What I didn’t like about this book was its execution. You know that chaos I talked about, well the reader doesn’t get to really see much of it. There are a couple of action scenes and interludes but they’re few and far between. There is a lot of discussion about how the people at the camp are getting ready as well as a lot of discussion of their supplies and such. During these times I found myself skimming some pages. It seems like it’s setting up the reader for better things in later books so if you want to read this book just be prepared to move on in the series if you want a complete look at the story.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to say this, but this book is kind of amateurishly written. The dialogue sometimes reads like a high schooler wrote it, and there were several missing or incorrect words: Due instead of do, through instead of threw. BUT... It's still a decent book. The story is good, and the characters are likable. I liked it enough to want to read the second book, which was much better.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, a little boring but I keep reading because there's hope for a few characters to be more define and hopefully (yeah I'm that kind of person always seeing her glass half full) the story will go to survival, relationships and not a firearms catalog and some philosophical disgressions form Mr Author.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise was good: solar surge knocks put power with no hope of getting it back anytime soon. But, the way it was written gave me a headache!! All those one line paragraphs and the dialogue was like a teenager had written it. I gave up on it about half way through.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an easy reading series. It is not supposed to teach you to survive off the grid or any other teotwawki situation. It was supposed to be and is light interesting reading. I enjoyed that very much.

[Dayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me want to go out and buy a short wave radio or CB and a years supply of MRE's!! I love this kind of book...end of life as we know it, how to cope, etc.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amateur writing style, not much action and little usable information. This really isn't a very good book. I had to stop reading it about halfway through out of sheer boredom.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books I wish I could give 3.5 stars to. Very fun and engaging to read.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of a two part series. Kind of drug a bit in the middle, but overall pretty good. Post EMP America from the perspective of many.

[Michelle Mercer-burke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible! I couldn't finish it!

[Liz Shaw · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great idea, never fully executed. Not enough conflict. There was the promise of an evil plot in the beginning that was dropped and never mentioned again. Without conflict, the book is a long yawn.

[Garth · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good premise, but I was underwhelmed by the characterisation of the players. The writing comes across with a hint that the author is a US military groupie.

[Brad Theado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved his book. It struggled a bit as it transitioned from a story of civilians to that of soldiers but once it got going I really enjoyed it. I bought books 2 and 3 just on the basis of book 1.

[Mike Pate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and very believable.

[Diane T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice solid start to a series. I would rate this one 3.5 stars. Interesting characters, mix of good and bad, but they are fleshed out and believable. Brings up interesting questions.

[Owen]

First book I can remember for a long time that I did not finish.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many characters, and some of them go by two different names! That can make it confusing at times. Other than that, it is a pretty decent and easy read.