The Last Ranch

by William Stone

When an EMP wipes out the power grid, Caroline Thompson is alone on the family ranch while her husband, Luke, and their son are stranded in Fort Worth as chaos erupts. With no power, no law, and danger at every turn, Caroline must fight her way into the collapsing city to find them. But bringing her family back together is only the beginning. Looters are closing in, determined to take everything Caroline has fought to protect as their ranch turns into a battleground for survival.

Genres: Fiction

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2025

Reviews

[Andrew Buck · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise of an EMP attack is interesting, however the timeline of events that followed were unrealistically short. The events happening, as written, are highly unlikely. The motivations for the violence are not presented in a believable way. The detailed description of every event, given the short timeline, bogged down the storyline to a point that I found it hard to finish reading the story. I find myself down grading my rating of this story every time I think about it.

[Jon S Haas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent rhythm to this Story

The Last Ranch is a simple story, but it hits the perfect tone & perspectives. This is a story about a family, both related by blood and also related by shared work & history. I was actually sorry when the book ended, as I got to really like and respect the characters drawn out by William Stone. This is an easy & enjoyable read about Preppers' faced with the man made disaster of an EMP strike. We don't know how far and wide the destruction, nor who/what st it off. However, from this story we can learn about the effects of the attack and these characters handling their survival in the aftermath. I recommend this book and truly wish that Mr. Stone writes more about this family.

[Beauxeault · Rating 3 out of 5]

All of these people in the book constantly praying for escape from one dire situation or another, and then not one of them thinks to thank God when they are delivered?

The book has some genuinely good things in it. A couple of beautiful moments, a few apt psychological insights, a text that seems to have been proof-read: there are refreshingly few spelling or grammatical errors, aside from an inexplicable few chapters where the tense strangely wavers between present and past (???), and it is a fast-paced, action-filled story if that's what you're looking for.

On the other hand, there are some very silly things here as well. I could cite several examples, but not without introducing spoilers into this review. Aside from the nonsensical bits, the non-stop action comes at the cost of a healthy dose of deus ex machina and frequent insistence that you suspend disbelief in the ability of dead or mortally-injured people to nevertheless keep going strong within minutes of their injury or death. There are some relatively skillful descriptions of traumatic experiences, but each time a character experiences a similar trauma, the descriptions are very similar. For instance, it communicates terror when a character comes so close to being shot that they feel the bullet's displacement of air as it passes. But when characters repeatedly experience the displacement of air over and over again, the reading experience is suboptimal.

[paula tullar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strength of survival

Once I got into this book, I couldn't put it down. Well written and thoughtful. His descriptions made you want to be there. Sometimes in a beautiful meadow or standing beside them confronting an enemy. The characters all had their place in this book and were likeable and easy to admire. Written with harsh reality and touching moments.. I would recommend this book.

[Tracie Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a great book. The story line was fast, and engaging. I would have loved it, except for one thing. The author kept going from present tense to past tense in his writing. One chapter in present tense, one in past throughout the book. It wasn't for storytelling purposes, or stylistic purposes that I could see, and it totally ruined the book for me.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good story from this author

I love this story from beginning to end. The story of fighting to reach your family and keep your family safe. I was a bit concerned about the battle to save the ranch and tell Luke was ready to abandon all the workers with just his family if he had to. But overall, it was very good.

[Wendy Sahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Stars for the Rush

The five stars is for filling the purpose of the book, an adrenaline ride with enough realism to keep it real and characters with buy in. If you’re here for the ride, it’s a five star one. These one book, not a series, don’t have the character development that I prefer, nor the long recovery, but if you like the high…it’s a good one.

[John Kinnison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read, action packed

Since I am from that part of the country I can identify with many of the people and their work ethics. This book brings back memories of my life and understanding of people from the Southwest. Action packed with common sense, easy and quick read.

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

STORY OF A FAMILY THAT ARE PREPPERS BUT STILL FEEL UNPREPARED WHEN AN EMP STRIKES. THE FIGHT THEIR WAY HOME AND FIND THEY STILL HAVE TO FIGHT TO PROTECT THEIR HOME IT ONLY COVERS A FEW MONTHS BUT THERE ARE MANY EMOTIONS INVOLVED.

[Dawn Parnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such perils

What they endured. Fighting their way out of the city, making it to the ranch, luckily finding a doctor on their journey! The people that worked on the ranch all pitching in and Ethan being the main goal. His health and happiness the most important thing! It's

[Lucretia Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good fast read

Liked that it moved quickly. Characters were believable. They had doubts and flaws. But they have a good work ethics. They care about people but most of all they care about their family.

[carl e. james · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Very good reading. No cliff hanger. Lots of action with good family values. Goid to read a post apocalypse novel with some positivity. Really refreshing book.

[Mia Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story

Loved this story and this family. I was sad when it ended. I wanted to read more of the family.

[C. D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, easy read.

[Patricia Schaeufele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book alo! The setting of a ranch and a family desperately trying to hang on!

[Peg Bolger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a breathtaking read. WoW.

Found myself racing at times to get to the next Chapter. I will follow anything this Author writes. Thank you William Stone. 🌱

[Erth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my normal genre but a good book. Full of action and suspense. Audio narration was great.

[Rhonda L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good standalone

This was a good short standalone. It kind of makes you think of the future a some scary scenarios which could play out

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it!

This read is fairly realistic. You're always wondering if there's a happy ending coming or if all the work that's been done is for nothing. Read it and find out!

[Dianne L Lindenmeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read

Well written, kept you reading.
well developed characters and interesting story line. I will definitely look for more books written by this author.

[Adrion Kusant · Rating 4 out of 5]

breath taking action

The basic storyline is quite solid. The descriptive writing is excellent. My only concern is inconsistencies between what happens to characters and what would be in any way considered possible. Even so, I would read a sequel.