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Under a Broken Sun
An unprecedented solar storm rips a hole in the magnetosphere, and combined with the gravitational pull and EMP that follows, destroys all that we know about electricity. The world is left in darkness, the Earth's repositioned axes create earthquakes and wildly changing temperatures, leaving the human race to fend for its life. The sixth great extinction event begins, and the most dangerous people are the extremely religious.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
16 people are currently reading
447 people want to read
About the author
Kevin P. Sheridan
3 books10 followersI live in a small town in Eastern Pennsylvania, with my wife, son and two daughters (when they’re not in college). I also share my living quarters, for some reason, with two dogs, and now, TWO cats. I am a lover of realism: books that seem like they could happen now (The Stand by Stephen King comes to mind) or in the future (but only in a realistic way, like Orwell or Bradbury) or DID happen (almost anything by Jeff Shaara)
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 16, 2015
After an apocalyptic disaster Adam ventures from Philadelphia to Chicago to reunite with his father.
I didn’t like Adam to begin with. The whole “my father didn’t give me enough attention so I’m going to cut myself “just made him sound like a self centred brat. However, Adam did develop during the novel and proved that he could think of others and also put them before himself. The more I learnt about him the more I grew to understand him.
I did worry that this was going to be ant-Christian, with Adam announcing on the very first page that he doesn’t believe in a God, but this wasn’t the case. The focus was more on religious zealots and how easy people are manipulated/brainwashed into following them.
Adam contradicts himself a couple of times by mentioning a God he doesn’t believe in. “I could feel the heat on my arm, burning it like God holding a magnifying glass on me.” And “As God as my witness, the man actually started to cry.” This shows Adams confusion in life. He wasn’t sure what he believed.
The story travels at a fast pace, there is plenty of action and always something happening. The group come across a lot of danger and tight situations that they must overcome.
I felt Adams personal story held as much weight as the apocalyptic side. I would class it as a post apocalyptic coming of age.
I personally would have liked more details on the conditions they endured, the hunger, the agonising sunburn, the heat and cold, the tiredness.
With thanks to Goodreads and the author for my copy to read and review.
I didn’t like Adam to begin with. The whole “my father didn’t give me enough attention so I’m going to cut myself “just made him sound like a self centred brat. However, Adam did develop during the novel and proved that he could think of others and also put them before himself. The more I learnt about him the more I grew to understand him.
I did worry that this was going to be ant-Christian, with Adam announcing on the very first page that he doesn’t believe in a God, but this wasn’t the case. The focus was more on religious zealots and how easy people are manipulated/brainwashed into following them.
Adam contradicts himself a couple of times by mentioning a God he doesn’t believe in. “I could feel the heat on my arm, burning it like God holding a magnifying glass on me.” And “As God as my witness, the man actually started to cry.” This shows Adams confusion in life. He wasn’t sure what he believed.
The story travels at a fast pace, there is plenty of action and always something happening. The group come across a lot of danger and tight situations that they must overcome.
I felt Adams personal story held as much weight as the apocalyptic side. I would class it as a post apocalyptic coming of age.
I personally would have liked more details on the conditions they endured, the hunger, the agonising sunburn, the heat and cold, the tiredness.
With thanks to Goodreads and the author for my copy to read and review.
September 8, 2013
Post-apocalyptic, but with some interesting variations from the standard... The protagonist, rather than being the usual every-man evolving hero/heroine, is a young man who is a self-professed geek and a "cutter". He does, however, rise to the hero status, as he helps people escape from an airport that is burning, from the riots that follow, and from the religious fanatics who use the "event" to further their own agendas. He must find his father, a scientist who knew what was happening and why. Between the two of them, they may just be able to survive.
December 8, 2015
A couple weeks ago I won this book through the Goodreads.com giveaway and was mailed a copy by the author. There was a note inside that he had written which was a great indication that he had a great sense of humour.
As many of you might have noticed I am a huge fan of the apocalypse and post-apocalyptic society types of books whether they be zombies or natural disasters. So I was ecstatic when I found out I had won a copy of this book.
Let me tell you a bit about the book:
Adam Dawson is the son of a famous astrophysicist who works for the President of the United States. He is coming back from a trip abroad when he gets a frantic phone call from his dad telling him that the end of the world as he knows it is coming and that he has to find him in Chicago as soon as possible.
Not 15 minutes later all electronic devices fail. This might not have been such a big concern to Adam if he didn't happen to be in the middle of a crowded airport where planes are falling from the sky directly into the building every couple of minutes.
It is shown then that the Earth has changed and during the day the Sun becomes a deadly foe and at night the temperature drops well below freezing. In this new world where even batteries don't work anymore no one knows how to get on with life. And as Adam's dad has hinted, in a years time there may not be any life to get back to.
Armed with his knowledge that his dad might know what is going on Adam, and woman named Marylyn who happens to be a 'cutter' like him, and a young girl named Ashley who has a mysterious past start making their way through the city on their way to Chicago to find Adam's dad.
As they go along it is shown that Adam is being hunted by a group of hateful Christians who believe that this is Armageddon and that Adam's dad is the Anti-Christ. As they arm together killing all 'non-believers' and taking children from their homes Adam and his group has to fight to stay ahead of them. It is important that Adam beats their group to Chicago to warn his dad of the oncoming army.
Will Adam and his growing group be able to outrun an entire army without getting fried by the much hotter sun? Or will Reverend Hill and his army kill him as a son of Satan and take all his friends away?
I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I read the whole thing in one sitting. It seemed relatively realistic keeping true to what science has taught us. The author clearly knew a lot about the subject, or at least did his research, while writing the book.
One thing I really enjoyed about the characters was that no one was the 'hero' that people expect. When it came to the lootings Adam was the first one into the store and the first one to figure out what was going on. He dealt with the fact that he had to get to his dad a soon as possible. This lead to him debating leaving his friends behind many times.
I almost thought that anyone Christian reading this book might have been a bit offended by the crazy Christian belief the author used to try to kill off the main character. But somehow it seemed he made it better by making his father just as bad as a 'Non-believer'. They even explain near the end that not all Christians are bad just as not all Non-believers are good. I liked that the author was able to do that.
So if you are a bit offended by that while reading keep reading and hopefully it will be resolved. If not than I am sure he didn't mean any offence.
With all of that being said I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Certainly recommended for those of you who love to read about people living through disasters and learning how they cope.
As many of you might have noticed I am a huge fan of the apocalypse and post-apocalyptic society types of books whether they be zombies or natural disasters. So I was ecstatic when I found out I had won a copy of this book.
Let me tell you a bit about the book:
Adam Dawson is the son of a famous astrophysicist who works for the President of the United States. He is coming back from a trip abroad when he gets a frantic phone call from his dad telling him that the end of the world as he knows it is coming and that he has to find him in Chicago as soon as possible.
Not 15 minutes later all electronic devices fail. This might not have been such a big concern to Adam if he didn't happen to be in the middle of a crowded airport where planes are falling from the sky directly into the building every couple of minutes.
It is shown then that the Earth has changed and during the day the Sun becomes a deadly foe and at night the temperature drops well below freezing. In this new world where even batteries don't work anymore no one knows how to get on with life. And as Adam's dad has hinted, in a years time there may not be any life to get back to.
Armed with his knowledge that his dad might know what is going on Adam, and woman named Marylyn who happens to be a 'cutter' like him, and a young girl named Ashley who has a mysterious past start making their way through the city on their way to Chicago to find Adam's dad.
As they go along it is shown that Adam is being hunted by a group of hateful Christians who believe that this is Armageddon and that Adam's dad is the Anti-Christ. As they arm together killing all 'non-believers' and taking children from their homes Adam and his group has to fight to stay ahead of them. It is important that Adam beats their group to Chicago to warn his dad of the oncoming army.
Will Adam and his growing group be able to outrun an entire army without getting fried by the much hotter sun? Or will Reverend Hill and his army kill him as a son of Satan and take all his friends away?
I really enjoyed this book, so much so that I read the whole thing in one sitting. It seemed relatively realistic keeping true to what science has taught us. The author clearly knew a lot about the subject, or at least did his research, while writing the book.
One thing I really enjoyed about the characters was that no one was the 'hero' that people expect. When it came to the lootings Adam was the first one into the store and the first one to figure out what was going on. He dealt with the fact that he had to get to his dad a soon as possible. This lead to him debating leaving his friends behind many times.
I almost thought that anyone Christian reading this book might have been a bit offended by the crazy Christian belief the author used to try to kill off the main character. But somehow it seemed he made it better by making his father just as bad as a 'Non-believer'. They even explain near the end that not all Christians are bad just as not all Non-believers are good. I liked that the author was able to do that.
So if you are a bit offended by that while reading keep reading and hopefully it will be resolved. If not than I am sure he didn't mean any offence.
With all of that being said I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Certainly recommended for those of you who love to read about people living through disasters and learning how they cope.
May 31, 2015
I want to thank the author, Kevin Sheridan, for the signed copy of this book and the wonderful letter included. Funny. I will NOT be burning the book. Also, thank you to Goodreads for the First Reads program.
I was mixed on the Star Rating for this one, but finally decided to rate the story alone. The other consideration here were the many editing mistakes, including misspellings, missing or incorrect words, and some little details such as time and distance (such as how far the characters walk in a day, at night, off trail through woods without light).
The story itself, I really liked. The earth is shaken off its foundation by a massive cosmic event. All modern conveniences are shut down. So, what would happen? We've seen what would happen on much smaller scale in past events, and this story takes that to a more grand scale. Survival mode kicks in and humans start to panic, take matters into their own hands, seek out 'leaders' to tell them what to do and form groups. In this case we see a narcissistic psychopath take advantage of the situation and use others for his goal to power. Think like me or die! (To be fair, both sides of this battle, the goD followers and the 'establishment' followers are from the same mindset, and no disrespect to either is intended) Similar to any leader(s)in history who took over or tried to take over lands occupied by others.
What does the future hold for those who survive? That is left to the reader to decide.
I really enjoyed the storyline of Under a Broken Sun. I would have liked it even more if there had been more editing done to polish the book up. That aside, again, it was a good read.
I was mixed on the Star Rating for this one, but finally decided to rate the story alone. The other consideration here were the many editing mistakes, including misspellings, missing or incorrect words, and some little details such as time and distance (such as how far the characters walk in a day, at night, off trail through woods without light).
The story itself, I really liked. The earth is shaken off its foundation by a massive cosmic event. All modern conveniences are shut down. So, what would happen? We've seen what would happen on much smaller scale in past events, and this story takes that to a more grand scale. Survival mode kicks in and humans start to panic, take matters into their own hands, seek out 'leaders' to tell them what to do and form groups. In this case we see a narcissistic psychopath take advantage of the situation and use others for his goal to power. Think like me or die! (To be fair, both sides of this battle, the goD followers and the 'establishment' followers are from the same mindset, and no disrespect to either is intended) Similar to any leader(s)in history who took over or tried to take over lands occupied by others.
What does the future hold for those who survive? That is left to the reader to decide.
I really enjoyed the storyline of Under a Broken Sun. I would have liked it even more if there had been more editing done to polish the book up. That aside, again, it was a good read.
June 9, 2015
fantastic book, one of the better post apocalyptic books I've read in a while. I really liked that the science wasn't over the top and technical. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys post apocalyptic books.
March 21, 2014
This novel is a first person narrative set in the present day when without warning the Earth is thrown into chaos. All of a sudden technology stops and anything powered by electricity, mains or battery plus all engines stop. All motor vehicles grind to a halt and planes crash out of the sky. Mobile phones stop working, the internet is down and all radio and television are silent. The sun is unbearably hot as the Earth heats up and people think it is the end of the world. Can 23 year old Adam Dawson live through this strange disaster or will he die with the rest of mankind?
Under a Broken Sun is an okay read as you follow Adam's quest to travel to Chicago where his father claimed he would be safe. Adam's character is well developed for all his strengths and weaknesses. Adam is a cutter and his self harm is compassionately explained.
This novel has a credibility weakness because although climate change could be the end of our world, the possibility of ALL electricity and engines suddenly stopping simply would NEVER happen. But this book does plod along and you can enjoy it for what it is, a mediocre 3 star read.
Under a Broken Sun is available as an 2234 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.
Under a Broken Sun is an okay read as you follow Adam's quest to travel to Chicago where his father claimed he would be safe. Adam's character is well developed for all his strengths and weaknesses. Adam is a cutter and his self harm is compassionately explained.
This novel has a credibility weakness because although climate change could be the end of our world, the possibility of ALL electricity and engines suddenly stopping simply would NEVER happen. But this book does plod along and you can enjoy it for what it is, a mediocre 3 star read.
Under a Broken Sun is available as an 2234 KB Amazon Kindle eBook and was written in 2013.
October 21, 2013
I'm a character driven reader and I found myself struggling with the characters in this one, quite a lot of character development with some of the characters but way too much angst.
Plot was predictable, which isn't something I always object to, but a lot of stereotypes which grated to some extent.
Plot was predictable, which isn't something I always object to, but a lot of stereotypes which grated to some extent.
November 4, 2013
Not a bad book. Works very hard to be anti-religion. Even though i am a Christian, I am not so narrow minded that I can't enjoy a book that is anti religious. I found the plot to be a bit thin at times with way too much organization happening in too short of a time frame. The way that the villain is always two steps ahead of the protagonist was a bit of a stretch.
I would read book 2.
I would read book 2.
August 16, 2015
Amateurish and poorly proofread. A lot of small incorrect details (Call TO Duty instead of Call OF Duty) that were distracting. Some bad science. And the worst offender: an ending where the fanatics are effectively and immediately defeated by a single rout. yeah, that happens all the time.
August 1, 2015
I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. I am happy I did. I found the main character difficult to connect with but the overall story good enough to keep me reading. There is room for a second book and I would give it a shot.
November 25, 2013
Enjoyed this Post Apocolyptic book, it was a bit of a different story from the usual, a good storyline that moved along nicely.
December 8, 2014
Its alright, I read the whole book. I was tempted to stop reading after the 100th f@$$ bomb.
December 9, 2014
Slow starter but worth it.
Book was good . Started slow but gets very captivating after the first few pages. Highly recommended. Sequel would be good.
Book was good . Started slow but gets very captivating after the first few pages. Highly recommended. Sequel would be good.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews