Grid Down Reality Bites

by Bruce Hemming, Sara Freeman

The author of Buckshot's Modern Trapper's Guide for Xtreme Safety, Survival, Profit, Pleasure. This is now a collector's book. His new novel brings you a working man's guide to the end of the world. If you enjoyed One Second After and Lights Out then you will love this fast paced novel of 3 different groups surviving the confusion and terror of The End Of The World As We Know It.

Two young men, Mark and Eric struggle desperately trying to make it to their retreat in Northern California. Their truck is dead from an EMP. They have to walk 200 miles. Will they make it passed the gangs and the utter confusion of a powerless society?

George and his son Junior, are set up in a retreat in Northern Wisconsin. Everything is going along great until disaster strikes. One mistake leaves his 18 year old son to survive alone.

When the power goes out from the EMP Preston tries to convince his girlfriend to leave the big city and head to the farmstead where his friends are. Will they escape the complete chaos of the city in time or wait until it's too late?

From one harrowing adventure to the next this novel will keep you on the edge of your seat, cheering the characters on as they face the impossible odds against them.

Genres: Post Apocalyptic, Survival, Fiction, Apocalyptic

464 pages, Paperback

First published August 17, 2011

Reviews

[Myrna Loy · Rating 1 out of 5]

WORST. BOOK. EVER.


If you want to be preached at, ranted at, have a Ted Kazinski type manifesto shoved down your throat... then this "book" is for you. This is an ANTI-OBAMA not a shtf book... don't waste your time....don't waste your money. This is not anywhere near the caliber of one second after. Not even close. Copy & paste "examples" from other authors fringe writings and out of context. Think Westboro Baptist Church, if they were rabid, insane, foaming at the mouth and locked up in an insane asylum. That bad.

I am trying to figure out what this book is supposed to be. An extreme, fundamentalist, anti-government, anti-literacy, anti-science, anti-facts, anti-school no middle ground anywhere - beyond extreme right leaning... beyond that... way, waaaaaaaay.... beyond that. Think "slowly back away from the rabid dog"... that extreme off the rails. If you live in the city you are just wrong, if you go to school in public schools you are just wrong. If you are a single parent (say your husband or wife dies, oh... say in a car accident) then you are wrong. The "author" and I use that term lightly... extremely lightly seems to "preach teach" using cherry picked words and ideas from other "authors" some crossing the border of fringe writing. Hidden agendas behind every corner, boogey men everywhere. Women are ungrateful and stupid. Rewriting history. Hmmm.

I love shtf books, and waiting for some action but can't get past the mind numbing, lunatic, bigoted, anti-semitic, imbecile ranting, extreme fringe ranting. Rant, rant, rant, rant... mind numbing dry, and I mean dry explanations about "preparing" and yes, I love prepping fiction.... love it... but this... what the hell is this? OMG... what is this?!!! I feel like Charlie Brown when Lucy pulls away the football at the last second.

Complaining about child support for the characters two children? Really? Seriously? There were so many things wrong in the first two chapters alone. "people who lived in the city never could understand" Really? Seriously? Incoherent. I hope to goodness this author is not from Minnesota or went to school in Minnesota because if he did... OMG!!! NO!!!

Short sentences "His property was in Northern Wisconsin. It was prime property in his eyes. It had plenty of oak trees to keep deer in his area year around. George Johnson was divorced. He met a woman named Marion.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love zombie apocalypse and shtf/teotwawki books. But this is bad. I like reading indie-authors, a lot them are really bad, but every now and then I find a gem. This is not a gem. The writing is amateurish and really needs polish. This is not an attack on the authors. I've read a lot of books! I'm not a professional critic or reviewer, but I know when what I'm reading just isn't good.

The female characters are f**king stupid c**ts. There's something wrong when the mother died and I was glad she was finally dead from her stupidity. The daughter isn't that much better. I can't believe the stupid shit that the characters do in a shtf situation where everyone is out to rob and kill them. Except for Jr. who's still a teenager, the other characters don't have any survival instincts or just plain common sense. There's a heavy snow storm, any stranger you meet will most likely rape you if your woman, and if you're lucky they'll kill you afterwards...and you leave a safe and warm sanctuary stocked with food for what? To get killed by a damn pack of dogs? If the dogs hadn't killed the mother, she would've died from the freezing cold.



How this book got so many high star ratings boggles my mind. I love these post apocalyptic books, but I wouldn't recommend this even if it was free.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read one of the Grid Down books previously and loved it, but this one takes the cake. It follows three different groups of people as they try to cope with a nationwide collapse due to an EMP. The section of Preston, Amy, and Sharon working things out in the apartment had my family laughing until we cried. I kept thinking that any man with a woman like Amy would be the luckiest man in the world, then looked across the living room and realized she was sitting right there. The emphasis on trapping and snaring in this book is well thought out and from what I, an unitiated, can tell was written by someone who truly knows his stuff. I've definitely got to add an Emergency Snare Kit to my list of things to get. Course I need to learn how to use it as well. On pages 62-63 the reader will find a pretty good list of equipment for a Bug Out Bag, of course it will need to be tailored to the readers' skill set and geographic location, but of all the lists I've seen online, this one is the best.

The stories are fast paced and as the book jumps from group to group, it does so fairly flawlessly. The reader will find himself reading and 4 hours later realize just how quickly time has flown. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in EMP aftereffects, survival, trapping/snaring, or just plain wanting a good book about the day the world ended!

[Rbjumbob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book really more of a 4.8. pretty much I agreed with the authors description of the reality that might ensue with the situation ( EMP and of the world as we know it). While it is completely true that in the situation gangs would form up most would be disorganized and not anywhere near a combat level force that is fielded by modern military forces of the free world. the reason I didn't give it a five was I felt there were two areas that were not very realistic. I don't believe packs of dogs of 50 or 60 smaller packs do seem likely attended 15. while it is true in most survival situations someone who is prepared and has a year to his worth of food is going to be in a good situation I think it is unrealistic that someone would have quite a bit of C4 and tens of thousands of rounds. perhaps if after the collapse you could break into an armory that was unguarded. however the armory would likely become an a hotly contended zone certainly a large firefight likely to ensue.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is told from three different places and had a lot of characters along with a lot of action. I ended up having to take notes on the characters and their situations. This is probably due to my mental status not due to a flaw in the storytelling, I do have trouble keeping up with things sometimes due to an illness. It also had a lot of technical details, because it was supposed to be a sort of instructional or informative novel as well as entertaining. I think the author succeeded on both counts. There is a sequel, I cannot wait to read. This book also felt longer than usual for the books I have been reading lately. I am glad of this. Short books do not allow the reader (me) to form an attachment to the characters or invest in the outcome of the situation. I have come to care for them thanks to the length. Thanks to the author's for an entertaining read.

[Virginia Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for fans of Apocalypse ( end of world , disaster ) type books.
The U.S.A. is hit with EMP ( which triggers EMPs worldwide ), shutting down everything modern in the country ( electric , phones , cars , etc ).
The book follows three different groups of survivors as they struggle to get the safety of their survivalist cabins or homes ( they have prepared for years for this type of crisis ). Once there , they must deal with life post EMP ( gangs , dog packs , no medicine , etc ).
The book devotes a chapter to each group ( meaning one group's story picks up 3 chapters later ). The characters are well fleshed , and you want to keep turning pages to find out what happens next.
One warning : President Obama fans will not like how he is portrayed ( book is set in present time ).

[Steven Sheeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better written post-apocalyptic books I've read in a while Grid Down Reality Bites is a easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the situations to be believable and well thought out.

One of the plot lines was very realistic and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the author put something like that in his book. Accidents happen to the best of us.

This is not a how-to guide, it is a fictional story, however, that being said, it does contain things that should help you plan out what you need to do in the event that TSHTF.

[Gary Close · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a frustrating book because as much as I wanted to just throw it against the wall I couldn't. The story was just too good. It is clearly written by a man for men. I liked that aspect...but sometimes you just had to laugh at the manner in which relationships are portrayed...think John Wayne and you get the idea. Repetitive sentences. Too much "getting there"...ok, enough carping. The storyline is great. The technical information is clearly authentic and practical. The author is a political conservative and he gives short shrift to the loons on the left....as a conservative I kinda like it. So it gets four stars. A good editor would make this a five star best seller.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know how this book got so many good ratings! I made it one chapter (7 pages) before I had to stop. The author doesn't seem to understand how to use a comma, apostrophe, or hyphen. There were numerous misspelled words or words used out of the proper context on every page. It was difficult to read. The text just didn't flow well at all.

It may be a good story of survival, but I couldn't get past the horrible spelling and punctuation.

[Emma Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Well written extremely detailed (on survival) but not hard work or boring. The characters were strong and interesting. People paired up romantically a bit quicker than I think is realistic but that was to keep it moving a pace. Cannot wait for th sequel!

[Michelle]

I tried pushing through but finally gave up after I read maybe half the book. There is some great prep info throughout the book,, but the writing and storyline were so horrible and unrealistic, it was almost impossible to read. Maybe I'm a little sensitive, being a vegan.

[Linda]

It made me think about how unprepared most of us are.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Follows three groups of people through different post-apocalyptic experiences. Great character development and unique ideas about dangers in the new world.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read, writing not polished, but ok storylines.

[Katherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story and some good tips for an advanced woodsman/farmer/prepper. Pretty poorly written though and the author needs a new editor - there are multiple sentences with words missing or misused.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful awful awful.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story cant wait for the second book!!