Patriot Dawn: The Resistance Rises

by Max Velocity

The United States has descended into Civil War. The storm was rising for some time, a Resistance in the hearts of American Patriots to the strangulation of liberty by creeping authoritarianism. The scene was set. It just took a little push. A terrorist attack on the United States leads to war with Iran, followed by collapse, as the economy goes over the cliff. The final blow is a widespread opportunistic Chinese cyber attack, taking down the North American Power Grid. From the ashes, the Regime emerges. Liberty is dead. What remains of the United States of America is polarized. The Resistance Rises. Jack Berenger is a former Army Ranger Captain, living in northern Virginia with his family. Following the collapse, they fall foul of Regime violence and evacuate to the farm of an old Army friend. Jack is recruited into the resistance, to train the fledgling forces in the Shenandoah Valley. The fight begins. Live Hard, Die Free. Resist.

Genres: Fiction, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopia, War, Action, Military Fiction, Survival

399 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2013

Reviews

[Joseph Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a chance on this book and I'm glad I did. I don't often pick up books that have their focus on conflict and war so when this book started out seemingly flat with emotion and reaction to terrible events I thought I wouldn't be able to get into it. As I kept reading the story began to grow on me. The character development seemed slow but as I began to think about that and the circumstances it seemed to fit as what it takes to be a survivor. The tactics and battles in this book were elegantly described to convey the information and motives one needs to succeed in war. I started out noticing that preppers and patriots were described very much like the evangelical literature from the chosen ones dropped off at your front door. This propaganda points the finger at entitlement and government as the problem. Until it is shown that it is a few people in the government that abuse their power to feed their own greed and no longer serve the people they took an oath to represent. That is a theme that is strong and alive today in our government. This book is no joke and it is a great read!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a huge fan of this genre, I was highly disappointed and couldn't wait to be done with this book. It all started with one election, come on, a gentleman of a certain race gets elected and the country goes down the crapper. I can't imagine what he'll write about after a woman wins the next election. Let's be honest and say it's obvious the author has issues with other races and cultures and writes a book to spread the right wing bat guano crazy ideas. He pokes at the governments use of alphabet soup abbreviations for government agencies , but turns around and uses abbreviations for every thing he can think of in this book. The author fills this book with tons of worthless descriptions and military jargon and forgets to write a quality story worth reading. The only reason it got a 2, it was a easy read and I was able to finish it.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patriot Dawn follows the story of Jack through the final takeover and destruction of America by "progressive" global-socialists. The book covers a lot of ground, causing it to be somewhat nondescript in areas; but, the pace of the story moves along fairly quickly. It is obvious that the author is inclined towards company-sized tactics and strategy. The battles are laid out well, along with their locations. The book even includes a few rough maps depicting the battlegrounds (nice).

The story is focused more on the Resistance's combat actions, quickly summarizing the national collapse and other supporting events. All-in-all, it is a good read and a particularly entertaining story.

[Murgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and extremely detailed. This book is about an attached on America and what is it like when factions start to form on american soil. For anybody that likes a military read that walks you through "what would happen" if things ever went south this book would be a good choice. The author is very precise in his actions and does a good job of letting the reader paint a good picture of the environment.

[Kim e · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting

Good read and possibilities are scary.Informative and perhaps a learning manual for the future. Plan to start next part today.Should be required reading of possible plans of the well meaning.

[Mark A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Fairly fast paced, kept me reading and believable , makes you want to stay on top.of the headlines and news and be prepared

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given this book from a friend who loves post-apocalyptic/ military books. While I liked the book it was very militarily technical and that fact drew the average reader away and broke up the action and suspense. While the overall book was OK I was not impressed by the writing, storyline, or character development. Max Velocity seems to be more of a prepper and conspiracy theorists than a writer.

I will read more books in the genres but the lack of quality writing might negatively impact my view.

[Jeremy Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patriotism yay, but overall wordy

I love the story, love the country coming back from the ashes, but it got real wordy between the action. It felt over descriptive at times, especially when describing who was where relative to who. I would kinda skip all the “north of them but south of them, and north of that” stuff, and get to the fighting. Also thought it was odd to have so little dialogue throughout the book. Would have liked for a little more character development. But hey, it was entertaining and I’ll keep reading the series.

[Jason Mussett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one.
Terrorists run amok in Washington. China launches a cyber attack on the U.S. A dictorial Regime
does away with the Constitution but there are some who cherish freedom and fight back. Very good
descriptions of weapons and tactics-this guy knows his onions! A little jingoist in places but, yeah,
as a Brit, I enjoyed this one. Freedom is something to be cherished and, as this, book shows, if
necessary fought for. Bring on Book Two.

[David A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read but very different from my usual fare.
I like, what I call "after the bomb" books, or "after an EMP struck", where the power is off and people are surviving only by their wits.
This started that way but about halfway through it became just another war book, albiet one happening after most of the USA was defunct.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Americans face a Democrat government

I enjoyed the detail in the fight scenes and the colorful descriptions of life hiding from a despotic government. I feel this story could have been stretched out more, especially the final fight. Overall great book. Will read his next in line.

[David M. Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed military processes and procedures

Good detail on a regarding socialist takeover and the resulting fight from the patriotic side. Not that far fetched, specifically in today’s day and age

[Lori Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written story

Character development is rudimentary, but the story moves along well. My biggest complaint is that the first book was free, but the second one you have to buy.

[Michael Schertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly enjoyed!!



I found the book appropriate in its plot and timely. Nothing wrong with a bit of tactical thought with our country in its current situation.

[Michael Heit · Rating 5 out of 5]

great starter book

Now give me the rest…. This starter book is a teaser and I want more. Yes, it’s that good …

[John Podlaski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patriot Dawn pulled me in at the very beginning and had my full attention until reaching the half-way point when the book morphed into an instructors tactical manual - leaving me overwhelmed by military acronyms, road identifications and small unit tactics. A little bit would have been okay, but it continues heavily to the end - pausing for a battle or two. I was lured to this book by the concept of a resistance force trying to save the United States after the government is overthrown and tyranny reigns; parts of it read like the aftermath of an apocalypse sans zombies.

The actual battle scenes were full of action, descriptive and made for interesting reading, but the training and prepping seemed to bog the story down. I also thought the final battle would be much longer, instead, it was too short with more summary than detail. Same with the story ending - I've a handful of questions that remain unanswered.

After reading through the reviews- something I did not do prior to reading this book - it seems that readers of the author's earlier book, Contact, and Preppers alike, found this story extremely enjoyable; chock full of information and small unit tactical information for those preparing for a similar, real-life scenario sometime in the future.

I did finish the book and enjoyed the major characters, but would have liked to learn more about the daily life and hardships of those families living underground in the hidden base camp and about those resistance fighters positioned in the nearby triangle support bases. Recommended for all preppers, those wanting to learn about small unit tactics, and those readers of the author's prior book(s).

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one has got a little bit of everything for the tin-foil hat crowd. A major terrorist attack on Washington, DC, determined to have been sponsored by Iran, sparks reprisals by the U.S., causing the total meltdown of the Middle East, and a domestic economic collapse prompts a totalitarian-leaning administration to suspend posse committatus laws and take control.

Of course, resistance arises in scattered pockets around the country, and this novel details the beginning of one such campaign, in the Shenandoah River valley, mostly consisting of retired military men and their families, supported by preppers and farmers in the area.

What follows is probably a pretty good descriptive guerrilla warfare story, but unfortunately even after reading about half of the book one evening, I didn't give a hoot about any of the characters, including the main protagonist - it's telling I can't even recall his name a few days later. Nothing wrong, technically, with the writing, but I couldn't bring myself to care how it turned out.

Happily, it was a free download.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a very interesting read. the author was prior service and the book is about a guy trying to survive after the fall of America to liberal progressiveism. Its a hard read though because it portrays america at civil war and makes liberals seem pretty bad. The author isn't much for prose so there isn't really alot of character development or anything and you really dont get to see into the thoughts of the main character, or any other characters, but it is filled with action and some really good information for surviving the end of the world.

[Francis Budde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patriot Dawn, I only gave it 3 stars. The story read more like an after action report or a wordy situation report (strep).

The author knew his stuff or had a good military advisor.
The terminology used in this book, like "regime" rather than a named enemy, or the term "defiled", what gets defiled? Way to many acronyms.
Actually, much of the book had to many useless words. The storyline was a good one and a believable one, heaven forbid this does happen. Make it like a real book, add some personality.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max did a great job on this - his first fiction book. I was personally invested to the story start to finish having identified with a few of the characters. I would think this read would be also greatly enjoyed by anyone in law enforcement, or ex-military types. I would put the information in this book on par with Patriots - only the story line is better. ;-) Next book is due out soon - looking forward to it.

[Dan Otten · Rating 2 out of 5]

I almost didn't finish this book. It was a difficult read for me as the author who would be a great tactical leader; over explained every situation that arose. I skipped ahead many times to the action events. BUT..if I were ever in a situation where there is no longer local or government at all..This author or his main character I would trust with my life...

[Derk West · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of Conspiracy Theories abound..... This book was a pretty good read. There was a lot of military jargon and acronyms throw around but, it was easily understandable. The story is action packed and you find yourself liking the characters. It was kind of a mix between Red Dawn and One Second After. I recommend this one.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, it pointed out what could be done with determination. The story line is good and fast paced. A little to much time spent on tactics but it was still good. I h opp people to see more in the future.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horrible, horrible fiction - lousy story w/flat characters. However, great military tactics and excellent strategy from someone who know what they're talking about. Skip this book altogether and read instead his book "Contact" (non-fiction).

[Jonathan R Huff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story

It's overwhelmed by military jargon, abbreviations and political posturing. A little light character to character interaction and you are left wondering exactly what is going on with some of the characters.

[Chylene Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action Galpre

Non-veterans will find this book hard to follow but for those in the know it's constant action and plenty of battles between hard-core patriot resistance fighters and the evil regime forces.

[Seth Kinkaid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary I can see it happening

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

a waaste of time

[Brad Theado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it. Lacked a story.

[John Metcalfe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful book, couldn't even finish it... can I give a book negative stars?