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Defiant: An Alaskan Apocalypse
Comply or fight back?
Bury your head or confront the enemy, but are they really the enemy?
Who decides what’s best for Alaskans? Mandates from on high, for the greater good. Reduce violence. Eliminate hunger. Save the people by dehumanizing them. Make them dependent. Take the citizens' voice. Remove their claws.
Cory Beringer’s old man took him to Rhodesia to fight as a mercenary when the boy was thirteen. Who does that? Someone who believes when society falls, it won’t be a catastrophic train wreck. It will be the slow death of a glacier overtaking a town.
His old man fought a guerrilla war to help others. He taught him about freedom and its value by showing what happened to people without liberty.
Civilization is defined by those in power. That's not the security anyone wants.
Is it possible to find allies or will Cory have to go it alone? One by one, the dominos start to fall. When is it too late? When will he be crushed by a growing authoritarian behemoth?
Is it enough to simply survive to fight another day? Maybe the battle is worth risking his life.
Defiant is a slow-burn fall toward a dystopian future. It is an in-your-face post-apocalyptic reality that could be now. Atlas Shrugged meets 1984 in Alaska. Look for the signs. They’re out there. Refuse to let the weeds take root. Defiant! Join the resistance today.
This book is completely human written - fighting the good fight against the machine.
Who decides what’s best for Alaskans? Mandates from on high, for the greater good. Reduce violence. Eliminate hunger. Save the people by dehumanizing them. Make them dependent. Take the citizens' voice. Remove their claws.
Cory Beringer’s old man took him to Rhodesia to fight as a mercenary when the boy was thirteen. Who does that? Someone who believes when society falls, it won’t be a catastrophic train wreck. It will be the slow death of a glacier overtaking a town.
His old man fought a guerrilla war to help others. He taught him about freedom and its value by showing what happened to people without liberty.
Civilization is defined by those in power. That's not the security anyone wants.
Is it possible to find allies or will Cory have to go it alone? One by one, the dominos start to fall. When is it too late? When will he be crushed by a growing authoritarian behemoth?
Is it enough to simply survive to fight another day? Maybe the battle is worth risking his life.
Defiant is a slow-burn fall toward a dystopian future. It is an in-your-face post-apocalyptic reality that could be now. Atlas Shrugged meets 1984 in Alaska. Look for the signs. They’re out there. Refuse to let the weeds take root. Defiant! Join the resistance today.
This book is completely human written - fighting the good fight against the machine.
588 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 20, 2025
About the author
Craig Martelle
381 books7,941 followersVisit Craig's web page, craigmartelle.com for the latest posts and updates or find him on Facebook, Author Craig Martelle. Send an email to craig@craigmartelle.com to join his mailing list for the latest on new releases, information on old releases, and anything related to his books.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
I see my other lives, a career in the Marines, those damn hand-written tests in law school, a business consultant, as if they're stories from a book. I see my books as if I lived there, as if I were friends with the characters. All things we remember are behind us, only those we imagine lie before.
I'm not sure which place I prefer, but I don't have to choose. They live together in my mind. My books have some award nominations, they have bestseller tags across multiple countries. I write about justice, honor, and loyalty because that's what I care about. My stories are mostly set within worlds that haven't been, but could be. We have to be ready for when those times come.
No matter where I went, I always had a book with me. Thanks to 21st Century technology, I now have hundreds of books loaded on my phone and always with me. This breakthrough allows me to binge read my favorites. How many books would I have read on deployments had I not had to have a physical book with me? I paced myself so I wouldn't finish too quickly.
We aren't encumbered like that now. I love the works of Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, JRR Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and so many more. I have been compared to Andre Norton and that is humbling - she was an incredible author with a huge list of novels to her credit. With every new book, I aspire to live up to those that you, the readers, have compared me to.
Through a bizarre series of events, I ended up in Fairbanks, Alaska. I never expected to retire to a place where golf courses are only open for four months out of the year. But that's the way it is. It is off the beaten path. My wife and I get to watch the northern lights from our driveway. Our dog has lots of room to run. And temperatures reach fifty below zero. We have from three and a half hours of daylight in the winter to twenty-four hours in the summer.
It's all part of the give and take of life. If we didn't have those extremes, then everyone would live in the sub-arctic.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 15, 2025
Defiant - a review by Rosemary Kenny.
In a near-future Alaska, Craig Martelle's Defiant shows humanity's wilful ignorance of its path to self-destruction.
Prepper's son Cory Beringer lives in Fairbanks, under a ruling Matrix-like assembly, who brook no opposition.But ex-Marine sniper Cory's determined to fight back by any means necessary...will he be alone in his mission?
A riveting near-future possibility, that will grip you firmly by the imagination and keep you frantically turning the pages, to see where Cory's grit and integrity will lead him, in a plot full of twists and turns and an unexpected ending that will have you eager for more of Craig Martelle's modest hero.
Grab a copy of Defiant today...and don't forget to keep your bug-out bag at the ready!
In a near-future Alaska, Craig Martelle's Defiant shows humanity's wilful ignorance of its path to self-destruction.
Prepper's son Cory Beringer lives in Fairbanks, under a ruling Matrix-like assembly, who brook no opposition.But ex-Marine sniper Cory's determined to fight back by any means necessary...will he be alone in his mission?
A riveting near-future possibility, that will grip you firmly by the imagination and keep you frantically turning the pages, to see where Cory's grit and integrity will lead him, in a plot full of twists and turns and an unexpected ending that will have you eager for more of Craig Martelle's modest hero.
Grab a copy of Defiant today...and don't forget to keep your bug-out bag at the ready!
January 27, 2025
I’m a sucker for a good apocalyptic tale. I admit, I had a hard time putting this one down. There was a lot that hits too close to our current society and that got me thinking. Some felt a bit heavy-handed, almost preachy, but at the same time illustrated so many of the circuitous fears and wishes we’ve all felt to stop “the writing on the wall” that those spots are justified.
“Be the resistance. Pay in cash.”
“Be the resistance. Pay in cash.”
July 1, 2025
Thought provoking.
Craig Martelle is a fantastic author. Everything is well researched and on the money. If Craig writes it you know it is so. This is different from other post apocalyptic stories I have read. This is about a breakdown of our rights by individuals that would be more than happy to remove them from us. A very thought provoking novel and well worth the read.
Craig Martelle is a fantastic author. Everything is well researched and on the money. If Craig writes it you know it is so. This is different from other post apocalyptic stories I have read. This is about a breakdown of our rights by individuals that would be more than happy to remove them from us. A very thought provoking novel and well worth the read.
December 28, 2025
Fascinating Tale
Having never left my Australian shores I found it fascinating reading about Alaska, Fairbanks sounds like a place I’d like to visit.
It does make one wonder how possible the story’s premise would be….
Having never left my Australian shores I found it fascinating reading about Alaska, Fairbanks sounds like a place I’d like to visit.
It does make one wonder how possible the story’s premise would be….
April 21, 2025
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A Great start to a new series.
A Great start to a new series.
August 18, 2025
Lots and lots of navel gazing...
95% what-ifs and 5% something happening. In a book about the 2nd Amendment and gun confiscation in solid red Alaska, how is that possible?
95% what-ifs and 5% something happening. In a book about the 2nd Amendment and gun confiscation in solid red Alaska, how is that possible?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews