When David and Sarah Woodson take a much-needed vacation with their ten-year old son, John, their intention is to find a relaxing, remote spot to take a break from the artificial stimulation of their busy world back in Jacksonville, Florida. What happens within hours of settling in to their rural, rustic little cottage in a far-flung spot on the coast of Ireland is an international incident that leaves the family stranded and dependent on themselves for their survival. Facing starvation, as well as looters and opportunists, they learn the hard way the important things in life. Can a family skilled only in modern day suburbia and corporate workplaces learn to survive when the world is flung back a hundred years? When there is no internet, no telephones, no electricity and no cars? And when every person near them is desperate to survive at any cost?
From the simplistic language and the uncomplicated plot, I deduced this was aimed at the Young Adult market or Adult Numbskulls like me. That said, it’s pretty dark and depressing, and doesn’t enthuse me into wanting to visit Ireland any time soon – despite having a lot of Irish friends.
After reading this, I’d worry that a wandering band of Gypsies might jump me and steal my ... Hmm. What would they steal? Well my cell phone’s buggered and I don’t have money. Maybe they’d steal my secret home brew recipe. Anyhoo, my apologies to the Romani for even mentioning it. I doubt many of our Traveller friends will be reading this book since they're the bad guys.
I liked the storyline, and that the author got straight into it with no fart-arsing about. Big flash – EMP – nothing works – welcome back Stone Age. No cell phones. No normal phones. No imported Japanese toilet seats with optional bum-wiping attachment. Lucky the family in this story are in Ireland, in a house with a wood stove, wood heater, wood-powered everything, except for the hay-powered horses. How handy. Also handy was the cellar full of horsey food, people food and seeds and a bunch of other handy stuff. Lucky they know how to ride. Lucky they have a gun and lucky they have neighbours who know stuff. Lucky they also have chickens and goats. In fact, maybe TOO much luck.
By now the religion-hating reviewers will have toasted the author for including way too many Christian references. They didn’t bother me, but I kinda feel ‘tis best to avoid Religion or Politics unless you’re writing specifically about Religion or Politics, in which case, you better hide quickly! Maybe the praying and God references could have just been toned down a wee bit.
What did hurt the book were the typos and grammar. Are editors really that expensive? The last half of the book seemed to have less typos and better editing. Did the proofreaders only receive half the script? Also, terminology was a bit skew-whiff with a few supposedly Irish words used that are actually Scottish (Bairn for instance). Oh well, Scottish, Irish; does it matter?
Another problem was, two thirds of the story comprises of the family members riding from their cottage to the village and home again – over and over and over... “Hey Darl, will you pick up a 9mm and a shitload of ammo while you’re in town. Oh and a gallon of milk too.” Character development was lacking. The people were all pretty vanilla, but Dan the horse was pretty memorable.
I didn't feel this was a literary disaster, rating only one star, but neither did it leave me pleased about having read it. Two stars is about right.
I was given a free ebook Fear of Falling to review by Susan Kiernan-Lewis. It was a quick read. I was easily drawn into the story. With a daughter and husband of my own, I was continually thinking how we would survive in a situation like this family had been put in. Sarah & Matt Woodson take their son John, a 10 year old, went on a vacation to Ireland. After arriving at the cottage they booked, there is an "incident" that leaves them without any communication. There is no heat, no phones, no TV and the cars stop working. The Woodson family now have to learn how to survive without any modern conveniences, and start living off of food they get from the animals at their farm or they can ride into the nearest town to trade at the market. A group of gypsies start roaming the land killing and stealing from the people who choose to stay. Sarah, Matt & John are all faced with difficult situations and all have to put aside any fears they have to help the family get through. The author did a great job with this story, This book made me think about myself and my family, if something like this ever happened. Could you imagine if it happened? The characters were really well done and the plot was amazing. Sarah was really into praying and "trusting God" which made me feel like it was more a Christian fiction, although even though I am not a heavy religious person, I didn't mind it as some people who are stuck in horrible situations turn more to faith to get them through. There was only one thing that made me a overly annoyed: They constantly talk about "this is their life, not a movie and not to expect a movie outcome", yet it ended exactly how a movie would end it, pretty much everything worked out even though it was probably a near impossible to go that way for them in the real world. That is why I gave 4/5 stars for that one reason. I would recommend this to any adults or YA because it is a really inspiring story of how a small family can ban together and work as a team in a difficult situation, as a mother I related more to Sarah and Matt, but I think if a teenager read it, they could easily relate to John.
This book is currently a freebie on Amazon. The cover caught my attention when I was looking for some TEOTWAWKI fiction. On the cover, it claims to be a 'The Kindle Book Reviews Best Indie Books of 2012 Semi-Finalist.
I knew there was going to be trouble when in the first couple of paragraphs my inner grammar and punctuation nazi was painting the pages with red ink.
I kept with it though, after having to deal with people bitching when I don't finish a book because it is fraught with GSP (my own personal acronym for grammar, spelling, and punctuation) errors.
But the worst sin, if you will, of this entire book was the blatant racism against gypsies. There are bad people from all walks of life, but it seems that the author has a particular issues the travelling people and I found it to be distasteful.
Add to that the use of speech patterns within the text of the story, outside of the dialog, and the whole cause of the TEOTWAWKI scenario (nuclear attacks within the US and attacks on England because they are American allies) being forgotten about, and the fact it is one of those serial books that failed to give a whole and decent conclusion within the first novel while at the same time hooking a reader to continue is what lead to my rating.
I will not be purchasing the next two novels in this series, and I would have to be mighty impressed with a sample of another novel by the author to bother buying it.
Only a couple of chapters in and I'm already laughing at how poorly written this book is. I am constantly having to stop to determine which person (or animal) her (that is, the author's) pronouns refer to. The actions of the characters are not believable, ("We booked a vacation home but wound up in a shack with some horses that we have to now take care of. Oh well, we'll make the best of it"), and I still have yet to determine how old the son John is supposed to be. At times he seems very juvenile for his supposed age. I have also run into several editing errors, including the main character David being called "Mat".
Also, I was immediately offended when not 50 pages into the book, the author's blatant racism came out. In reference to who is attacking the US - "They're suggesting some place in the Middle East, big surprise." I understand that the opinions of a character are not necessarily that of the author's, and that some would argue that David's statement is justified, but it is a turn off for me. I wouldn't give the book fewer stars for it, but I also won't be recommending this book to anyone simply for that reason.
We shall see if the book takes a turn for the better.
Edit: Upon completion of the book...no, it did not take a turn for the better. The actions of the characters remained just as unbelievable, and the writing didn't improve. The timeline was hard to follow as well, as time would jump weeks ahead a times between paragraphs.
This is the first book in the series, and while it could be counted as a stand alone, the story does continue with several other books. The family has just arrived in Ireland for a vacation when an EMP occurs, killing all forms of electronics, communication and cars not working. The family is forced to stay in a one room cottage in Ireland, learning how to live off the land, barter for items they need and to feed animals, kill for food, etc. They are also forced to deal with a gang of gypsies who are into murdering and looting.
My first 'apocalypse' novel of the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the story and flow are solid with the main characters not going all Walking Dead on you (i.e., acting incredibly stupid). The premise, however, while initially quite believable (nuclear war) turns out to be not so much and it made for an unsatisfying end.
* I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.*
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading it because I tend not to read (ok, maybe "remember" would be a better term) back covers or summaries of books. The story centres around a family comprised of an American philosophy professor, Matt, his high strung wife, Sarah, and their 10 year-old son John who are flung back to pioneer days when they are vacationing in rural Ireland. I enjoyed how the author visualized the family coping with how to survive with no amenities available to them.
There were so many interesting and clever adaptations to this huge change in the family's circumstances such as learning how to spin the wool from sheep, how to make butter from goat's milk, and how to trap rabbits for example. I could totally put myself in their shoes when they were problem solving with regards to what they needed to do to survive.
Then it got really dark and I must admit that I was not quite prepared for the viciousness of "the bad guys". It reminded me of The Road where people seemed to have completely lost their humanity. The story was already intense enough with the family just needing to survive, especially with winter coming on, so when the violence begins and escalates, it makes it even more intense (perhaps bordering on uncomfortably so).
I also agree with other reviewers with regards to the praying and religious quotes in the text. I, personally, could have done without it but it's not completely out of place either.
Regardless, this was a very engaging story - I was totally hooked from the start all the way to the last page. Great story!
The author was kind enough to give me a copy of the ebook, so before I even had a Kindle, I started reading it on my computer. And then I stopped at 61%, and never took it up again for more than a year. My bad, not fair to the author. This is really a 2.5 for me. The story was good, I am fine with post-apocalyptic tales, but I did have a hard time with the graphic violence perpetrated by the villain, an Irish gypsy sociopath named Finn. I am a little bothered also that it seems to perpetuate the stereotype of gypsies as a criminal element. But a decent story overall. I was very surprised though to find now as I went to look at other works by the author, that while this book seemed to end quite finally at home in the U.S., the story in fact continued through two more novels. Perhaps the author had a change of heart and changed the original ending. Since the blurb for book 2 suggests that violence continues, I'll probably pass.
I enjoyed the book. I'm planning to read the next in the series. This book has suspense, plot twists and surprises, the main characters are likeable, at times you can see from other characters' viewpoints, etc. I never read anything by this author before, but I gave it a try because it sounded interesting, had good reviews, was free, and part of a long series. (I've been into series lately.) I didn't read this. I had Alexa read it out loud to me. It probably would've been even better to listen to the Audible version, but I just can't afford to buy the audio version of every single book I read. I only buy the Audible version if it's at least 15 hours or if it's one of my favorite narrators. I'm very grateful to Alexa for reading Kindle books, because I have vision problems which keep me from reading normally.
Personal response: I think Susan Lewis demonstrates high creativity in Free Falling. I enjoyed the large amounts of mysteries that are presented throughout the book. One way Lewis shows her creativity in Free Falling is through the mystery of the types of storms the characters go through. It’s enjoyable to see all of the characters in the book progress in their emotions dealing with the storms that cut off communications to the public. In the end, I think that Susan created a novel that many audiences can connect to in term of the daily struggles that the characters go through.
Plot: Free Falling is about Sara, David, and their child fighting the chaos of the storms while on vacation in Ireland. Along the way, Sara and David arrive with their son to experience the Irish culture in Ireland. They wake up to find the storms pushing their way to the resort, which turned their lives upside down because of the effects of radioactive material produced. Sara and David decide to pack up and bring along their son, John, on an adventurous journey. During their escape, they make the decision to embark on a journey to better the chances of survival while trying to stay in their normal ways. Facing the threat of starvation is one of Sara and David’s biggest worries while trying to care for their child. While the storm lingers around, the time change dates back hundreds of years, forced to evolve to the lack of transportation and lack of cellular connectivity. During the next couple of months, Sara, David, and John are forced to adapt to the connecting world of dangers around them.
Characterization: Free Falling is told in third person point of view. The main characters are: Sarah, David, and John. The protagonist is: Sarah, David, and John because of the sympathy they have for each other in times of need. The antagonist in this novel is the storm due to the amount of stress and inconveniences it portrays. ThroughoutFree Falling, all three of the characters experience many hardships and make the best decision possible even with the pressures that the storm produces and the lack of resources available.
Setting: This novel takes place throughout different parts of Ireland. This novel takes place in the future and then the storm takes them back in time hundreds of years ago, explaining where and when Sarah and John endured the most struggles. This impacts the storyline because of the lack of technology and changes in their lifestyle.
Recommendations: I recommendFree Falling to a more developed reader due to the complex word choice and sentence structures used throughout. People who enjoy reading mystery and adventurous novels may find interest in this book.
(April 2nd) Review to follow - need time to process!
(April 4th) Foregoing the usual synopsis to get to the heart of the matter - how on Earth did Susan Kiernan-Lewis so accurately predict the future?!?
With the pandemic going on in the world, this was a very hard book to read. To a degree, I knew it would be but I rather thought it would be akin to her other dystopian Series, Stranded in France, which is much more light-hearted. This, The Irish End Game series, asks the incredibly difficult question - how far would you go to survive in a world that's been turned upside down? Well, I now know that I'm a wimp - these heroes are much much stronger than I could ever be. And here's hoping we never have to face down the troubles they did.
As with the initial books in her other series, the author has a divided audience. From reading the Goodreads comments, it seems the reviewers have very polarising stances about this book. There is no middle of the road. I'll be taking a break from this series since I'm down to one last fingernail after chewing all the others to the quick as I read.
I got this book thinking I wasn't going to like it but that I was going to give it a try anyways and the story ended up catching me entirely to the point that I know wish to learn things that could help me live without the regular commodities that we usually have. This is book one of a series and I can't wait to read the next.
I’ll admit, especially in the beginning, I couldn’t put the book down. But it became too dark and completely unbelievable for me. I will say this, a couple of yuppies really rose to the situation...maybe that was the unbelievable part I couldn’t get past. I’d really rate this a 2.75 if I could, and I won’t read any more in the very long series of books.
I quit reading this today at the 56% mark. Although, at first, I was intrigued by the premise and interested in the characters, I now just don’t care what happens to them. Yes, their circumstances are dire, but I simply do not believe Sarah and David. Their son John is the most believable, but he’s not enough to carry the book.
This book was pretty good at the start but then when the apocalypse hit it got very very repetitive. The almost constant telling of the food they ate was one. I get it food was scarce but I felt like there was no need to make it a constant point of what was eaten and when. Got a bit predictable after a while too.
Those who read my blog know that I love disaster movies and apocalyptic scenarios. So the premise of this book, which begins with an EMP attack on London that knocks out all electronics in the British Isles, is right up my alley. What makes this book different from some of the other EMP scenarios, however, are the characters and their circumstances. Matt and Sarah are staying at a cabin in Ireland for vacation when the disaster happens and must deal not only with the scenario of being without power, but also with the fact that they are Americans and strangers to the local community. Ms. Kiernan-Lewis plays well with this tension and the cultural differences that exist between people who have been living close to the land for centuries with those who are used to a more urban environment.
One last thing I really liked about the story was the main character's personal journey to combat her almost neurotic fears of things,from horseback riding to just letting her child grow up. I liked her inner journey even more than the physical challenges presented in the book.
My only criticism was the timeline for when Matt is imprisoned and the abuse that he survives. It seemed a bit excessive and almost cartoonish, after the stark reality of the rest of the book (typical bad guy notwithstanding). A part of my suspended disbelief was stretched too far to accept that with no antibiotics and no medical care in general a man could survive breaking his leg and being chained to a bed for over a month with as few complications as Matt endures. Also, I have a hard time believing that the society left behind in the U.S. would do as well in such a crisis as the book describes, but that's only a minor nit as it was only in the epilogue.
Overall, I really enjoyed the tale, and would recommend this book both to those who love dystopian fiction as well as those who love the Irish. And horses.
I honestly don't remember how I came across this book, but it is dystopian and set in Ireland, so I thought it might be a good read. It starts off with a two parents and their ten year old son, all of whom are addicted to technology - like so many other families today - off on a holiday to rural Ireland. Then KABOOM - somebody drops and bomb - and all of a sudden technology doesn't work. None of it. No cars, no electronics, not even the electrical grid.
Luckily for them, the house they are holidaying at in BFE Ireland has a wood cook stove and a fireplace and a whole crapload of supplies in the root cellar, and best yet, it has horses, sheep, chickens etc.
Of course these city slickers don't know crud about living off the land, except they have some experience with horses, although Sarah, the wife, is terrified of them for some unexplained reason even though she rode them for years.
Quite frankly, Sarah is the main protagonist and she's a mess. She's whiny, anxiety ridden, over-protective, and a nag. To be fair, she does grow over the course of the book but she's so darn unlikable in the beginning that I nearly gave up on this book. There are also quite a few prayers going on here, which for an agnostic like myself tended to be a little off-putting, but it wasn't so bad that I would consider this specifically Christian fiction.
Now other than Sarah's unlikability my only real complaint about this book - and I admit it is probably extremely nit-picky of me - is that Sarah says in the book that Deirdre (a neighbor) taught her to knit the wool from the sheep. That's all well and good, but first, they never shear the sheep to get the wool, and second, you don't just knit the wool straight from the sheep. It has to be spun into yarn first. Okay, that rant is over.
In the end, it was actually a decent story, and I do see that it is a trilogy. Will I read the remaining books in the series? Probably not.
This is the story of an American family--Sarah, David, and John--on vacation in Ireland when an EMP blast knocks out all electronics. They have no idea what is going on in the world and are stuck in a rundown shack. I wasn't sure if this was for a young adult audience because the writing is very simplistic--very short sentences and stilted dialogue.
There seemed to be a lot of stereotypes about Irish people. The author made them sound like stupid drunks. Then there was the implausibility that three pampered Americans are able to run a farm with sheep, horses, goats, chickens, and dogs with no experience and that the mother can all of a sudden become a great cook.
Plus, the mother just happens to have experience riding horses and shooting and the kid is just a great shot right off the bat.
And why do the bad guys slaughter all the animals when they are a source of food and no other food is coming into the area? Shouldn't they have just stolen them?
The book does get better in the second half when there are multiple confrontations between the family and the bad guys, but even those confrontations are not very realistic. I did like the relationships between Sarah and Deirdre, Michael, Gavin, and John, and some of the other good Irish people. That's the only reason I'm giving this two stars.
I can't believe there are seven books in this series. This one was free, but I won't be paying to read any of the others.
I was given a free e-book of Fear of Falling to review. I really liked this story. I was kept interested the entire book and ended up reading it within 1 day. The only part that I didn't like was how they ended up in Ireland-booking a vacation in another country from pictures on the internet. I just can't imagine doing that, but aside from that I enjoyed the story. Sarah & Matt Woodson take their 10yr old son on a vacation to rural Ireland to get away from their hectic life in Florida. Trouble starts as soon as they arrive at their cottage. There is an international incident that leaves them without any communication. There is no electricity, no phones, cars don't run and winter is coming. Sarah, Matt & John quickly learn how to survive without any modern conviences, and living off food they get from the animals or bartered for in the nearest town. There are gypsies roaming the land stealing from people & killing them. Sarah who is a nervous mother that worries about everything is able to put aside her doubts & fears and protect her son when she faced with dangerous situations. Susan Kiernan-Lewis did a great job writing this story. I look forward to reading more of her work.
I just finished Fear of Falling by Susan Kiernan- Lewis. This book was good. In this book we meet Matt and Sarah Woodson. They are a tech savvy, suburban living, needing a vacation set of parents. I can totally relate (especially the needing the vacation part) they even go to Ireland the one place I would love to go. They get online and book it. Once there it is off the beaten path. They settle in when it happens…I am not telling you what it is because I want you to read it and I don’t want to spoil the book. They find there selves totally on their own, with no way to call home, not way to get home. They have to depend on their selves for every bit of food they get. They have to depend on themselves for their own security. This book makes you think about yourself. Could you manage if it happened? I thought the writer Susan Keirnan- Lewis did a great job on this book. The plot was good and there was drama. Some things in it, I thought I so would have planned better but this book made me think and that’s not at all bad. This book is easy to read at 221 pages. This book is a good read and for that I give it four stars.
I received this as a free ebook from the author and am glad I did. It was an amazing account of how life would change if all our luxuries were taken away.
The way the book began, I wasn't really sure of where it was going but it definitely hooked me. I was met with a family, not unlike my own, caught up in electronics and digital gadgets running from practice to games to work.
As the crisis unfolded and life for Sarah, Matt and John became barebones, the message of the book was clear. We depend way too much on things that could easily be taken away and we are so dependent upon them that life without them stalls us, infuriates us and makes our anxiety take over. When we get past all that and learn to enjoy life, the real things, it is so much sweeter.
I truly enjoyed this book, could not put it down. The characters were realistic and endearing. I felt very connected to Sarah and her struggles. The plot moved quickly, was entertaining and evoked quite a bit of emotion for me. It also was a quick read, I was able to read it in one sitting which I liked a lot.
When I first read the summary of this book, I just knew it was a book I had to read. It really makes you wonder what you'd do in Matt and Sarah's situation. Their peaceful family trip to Ireland, turns into a nightmare when a nuclear attack prevents all electronics and cars from working. They are forced to live a lifestyle they know nothing about and have to survive in a lawless and dangerous world.
The topic of this book is so intriguing. It shows you have to do things you normally wouldn't do, just to survive. The author did a great job in creating a realistic setting and storyline. You felt like you were right there with the family every step of the way. The book was great overall and I wish I had more time to read right now, because I didn't want to put it down and would've finished alot sooner. I definitely recommend this book!
I can't stand books that have undeserved happy endings. I liked the way it started, except for the fact that everything was just so easy for them to pick up on. I hated the main character. I hated the fact that stupid and poor decisions were made but yet nothing at all bad really happened to them.. Someone in that family should have died. That would have been more realistic. I love how someone that is so against and afraid of guns can master it in such a short amount of time. How interesting! Not really.
I did like that it was a Glock. That was cool and I liked that it was mentioned about there not being an actual safety. I hate it when people write in details that don't exist about guns (looking at you Stephen King!)
Anyway, did I like it? Not much. Will I read more in the series? Probably not, I'm only really interested in seeing something bad happen to Sarah, which I doubt will happen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I recently had won "Fear of Falling" from the author's site here on Goodreads!! Susan Kiernan-Lewis is one heck of a writer. Oh, I enjoyed reading this book so very much, a page turner, great characters and I want more, I want a 2nd book for this one. There are a few characters that I'd like to see how they made out in their lives.
The Woodson family is on vacation in the country side of Ireland when a nuclear bomb detonates in the atmosphere over the Irish Sea. Nothing works, no electric, no cars, no nothing, so they try to survive in a small Irish cottage. But there's trouble brewing, a mother's worse nightmare and courage she never knew she had, changes their lives forever. The country side is turning into kill or be killed, bad men killing people, animals, torture.......but can one mother/wife save her family? Oh, this is a must read!!!!!!
I have a complaint about this book: I wish I had started reading it during a less hectic time because it was so amazing I hated to put it down! I don’t think I’m doing any spoilers when I say this novel is about a family on holiday in Ireland when EMP strikes assault the world. They fall off the grid, no cells, no TV, no news, and must learn to survive and thrive amidst hardships, food shortages, no contact with the outside world, and of course, villains. I love a book that makes me pause, think, and wonder, this did all that and more. Go out and buy this page-turner, but don’t start reading it until you have time to enjoy every page, even the ones where you want to close your eyes. A complex and wonderful read.
This book was pretty poorly done in. I do not recommend this for a read because you will be bored after the first ten pages. The plot is unoriginal from the start and I felt like I had seen it countless other times. It is hard to differentiate one character from another and I find the story takes to log to get good. All and all a horrible read and not recommended.
If an extra chapter was added to the story it would be before chapter 1. It would give more background into the status and relationship of the world and it s countries. It would also give more backgrounds to the characters in the story.
I really enjoyed this book. It was fast moving, and kept me guessing until the end. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, but I think the ending I wanted was a bit too unrealistic anyway. Would definitely read another book by this author.