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Ready Set Chaos: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller
A colossal solar storm. The collapse of the power grid. A sister trapped in the worst place imaginable.
Willa Rane walks out of court convinced she’s failed at the only thing that matters—proving her sister’s innocence. When the power grid collapses, it turns out a courtroom hearing is the least of her worries. Her little sister is trapped in a prison rapidly falling apart and she’s the only person who can save her.
Ava’s managed to keep her head down in prison, dodging gangs and unscrupulous guards. When the lights go out, her carefully constructed status quo crumbles in an instant. She’s trapped behind bars with people who won’t hesitate to take what they want, even if that means her.
Nic Peja’s a semester away from graduating law school, becoming a JAG, and living the American dream. When he offers Willa a ride to court, he never imagines he’ll end up barreling toward a women’s prison a few hours later, ready to break and enter. But a promise is a promise, and he’ll do what it takes to see it through.
As dawn edges closer, each must decide how far they’ll go—and what they’ll sacrifice—to protect the ones they love.
Ready Set Chaos is book one of an apocalyptic disaster thriller series following ordinary people struggling to survive when an EMP plunges the United States into chaos.
Willa Rane walks out of court convinced she’s failed at the only thing that matters—proving her sister’s innocence. When the power grid collapses, it turns out a courtroom hearing is the least of her worries. Her little sister is trapped in a prison rapidly falling apart and she’s the only person who can save her.
Ava’s managed to keep her head down in prison, dodging gangs and unscrupulous guards. When the lights go out, her carefully constructed status quo crumbles in an instant. She’s trapped behind bars with people who won’t hesitate to take what they want, even if that means her.
Nic Peja’s a semester away from graduating law school, becoming a JAG, and living the American dream. When he offers Willa a ride to court, he never imagines he’ll end up barreling toward a women’s prison a few hours later, ready to break and enter. But a promise is a promise, and he’ll do what it takes to see it through.
As dawn edges closer, each must decide how far they’ll go—and what they’ll sacrifice—to protect the ones they love.
Ready Set Chaos is book one of an apocalyptic disaster thriller series following ordinary people struggling to survive when an EMP plunges the United States into chaos.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 18, 2025
374 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
About the author
Harley Tate
47 books160 followersWhen the world as we know it falls apart, how far will you go to survive?
Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.
Subscribe to Harley's newsletter for two exclusive prequels you can't get anywhere else: www.harleytate.com/subscribe
The end of life as we know it brings out the best and worst in all of us. The apocalypse is only the beginning.
Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.
Subscribe to Harley's newsletter for two exclusive prequels you can't get anywhere else: www.harleytate.com/subscribe
The end of life as we know it brings out the best and worst in all of us. The apocalypse is only the beginning.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 19, 2025
*3.5* This one kicks off with a solar storm that triggers a catastrophic power grid failure.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sawyer. We’re not going back to the Stone Age because of some sunspot.”
Willa Rane’s sister trapped in a collapsing prison for a crime, she did not commit. Willa teams up with Nic, a near-stranger hoping to save her sister while somehow surviving an unraveling society.
This is a blend of disaster thriller and survival fiction.
Tropes/themes:
Apocalyptic
EMP event
Found family
Survival thriller
Action/rescue mission
Cliffhanger ending
Way too many characters
I was especially thankful that each chapter had a title heading to state whose POV I was reading. There are a ton of people to keep track of in this book!!
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sawyer. We’re not going back to the Stone Age because of some sunspot.”
Willa Rane’s sister trapped in a collapsing prison for a crime, she did not commit. Willa teams up with Nic, a near-stranger hoping to save her sister while somehow surviving an unraveling society.
This is a blend of disaster thriller and survival fiction.
Tropes/themes:
Apocalyptic
EMP event
Found family
Survival thriller
Action/rescue mission
Cliffhanger ending
Way too many characters
I was especially thankful that each chapter had a title heading to state whose POV I was reading. There are a ton of people to keep track of in this book!!
June 23, 2025
Just okay so far. A lot of different povs. Moving on to book 2 and hoping it sucks me in.
February 28, 2025
Excellent opening salvo in post-CME survival thriller
Ready Set Chaos is an excellent start to a fresh Post-CME thriller series. Wills and Nic, the primary protagonists are realistic, relatable and flawed. Tate does a very good job setting the scene with superb descriptions of characters and settings. Once things start going wrong, they go wrong fast! Ready Set Chaos is a superlative addition to the genre! 5/5 stars, recommended for fans of survival thrillers, thrillers in general as well as general audiences as a whole. Beware, there is a graphic attempted rape, so sensitive readers should be aware of that fact.
I'm surprised this doesn't seem to be included in the Ravaged Skies universe, it would be a perfect addition to it!
Ready Set Chaos is an excellent start to a fresh Post-CME thriller series. Wills and Nic, the primary protagonists are realistic, relatable and flawed. Tate does a very good job setting the scene with superb descriptions of characters and settings. Once things start going wrong, they go wrong fast! Ready Set Chaos is a superlative addition to the genre! 5/5 stars, recommended for fans of survival thrillers, thrillers in general as well as general audiences as a whole. Beware, there is a graphic attempted rape, so sensitive readers should be aware of that fact.
I'm surprised this doesn't seem to be included in the Ravaged Skies universe, it would be a perfect addition to it!
February 22, 2025
Just imagine a solar flare stronger than the Carrington Event of 1859 happening today...a massive failure of all the global systems we now count on. No electricity, no satellites, no cell service, no GPS, and it happens in a matter of hours. Every system that keeps us safe is gone. The story is set in Atlanta, a brilliant choice because it's home to the world's busiest airport, the CDC, huge hospitals, and much more. This story is truly the stuff of nightmares because we know it could happen. This is the first book in a new series so don't expect any of the scenarios in the plot to be solved. I'll definitely read the next book when it's released.
March 25, 2025
Heart-pounding thrill ride
From beginning to end, Ready, Set Chaos doesn’t let up on the pace. Yet woven in between the action scenes we glimpse the emotional turmoil the chaos has created in the two main protagonists, Willa and Nic. I also enjoyed seeing the burgeoning crisis through the eyes of emergency personnel, the mayor of Atlanta, scientists at the CD and NOAA, and others. These perspectives gave texture to the extent of the problem and heightened the stakes of the story for me. Will be continuing on in this series!
From beginning to end, Ready, Set Chaos doesn’t let up on the pace. Yet woven in between the action scenes we glimpse the emotional turmoil the chaos has created in the two main protagonists, Willa and Nic. I also enjoyed seeing the burgeoning crisis through the eyes of emergency personnel, the mayor of Atlanta, scientists at the CD and NOAA, and others. These perspectives gave texture to the extent of the problem and heightened the stakes of the story for me. Will be continuing on in this series!
June 18, 2025
I have enjoyed other books from this author, so decided to try this series. The premise is a good one with a massive CME going to hit the planet. It is centered on Atlanta which has the plot advantage of being a large urban area, having one of the largest airports and the CDC. I'm not really a fan of the prison part of the plot as I think this gets overused in the genre. Nic was kind of a mystery as he didn't really want to help Willa as much as he did and I hope his dad is OK. The prison part really was a 3star for me, but the writing is quite good so I bumped to a 4. On to book 2
March 22, 2025
Not good
A major CME and vehicles are running?! Yeah, I don't think so. Very little character development until much later in the story. I can't really recommend this book, nor do I have any interest in continuing this series.
A major CME and vehicles are running?! Yeah, I don't think so. Very little character development until much later in the story. I can't really recommend this book, nor do I have any interest in continuing this series.
Read
November 24, 202575% in and we are still meeting characters reacting to the beginning of the apocalypse. The FMC and MMC and their stories are interesting but it’s just not progressing fast enough - there are too many random new character introductions for no good reason
April 28, 2025
Kept my interest 3.5
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews