299 The Community, the third book in the 299 Days series, reunites Grant Matson with his family after his wife, children, and in-laws accept that the only way to survive the Collapse is to flee the comfort of their suburban lives and join him at his isolated cabin in the woods. With riots becoming more violent, power outages more widespread, and the military crumbling, Grant and others throughout Washington State realize they must organize if they want to endure. From the secure confines of the relocated state capitol building, to a rural self-sustaining farm, to the developing community of Pierce Point, The Community explores the mental, emotional, and physical changes everyone must make to adapt to a collapsed society. The years of preparing and training position Grant to lead Pierce Point as he begins to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and unpredictable situations to help build a new community that can withstand the threats closing in on them. Will people join forces or stand alone? Can communities successfully organize themselves in times of chaos? Will what is left of government help those who cannot help themselves? And if so, at what cost?
The third volume of this work. It is just as poorly written and as tiresome as the first two volumes. It moves on to the mechanism by which a collapse is contained. The first volume provided the prelude to the collapse, the second volume provided a description of the collapse, and the third volume lays out the infrastructure through which society can adjust to the collapse.
It seems that the answer is a self-sustaining community. This is an answer that is a non-answer. For example, by magic, the supply of electricity is maintained. Whilst the food distribution system is severely degraded, the distribution of fuel to the power plants remains unaffected. I don't accept that. If the United States is under a cyber-attack, then surely the critical infrastructure would be one of the first targets? I don't accept that fuel could be transported, but not food and medications.
However, let us accept the power fantasy for a moment. The answer to the crisis is the forming of a community of 'nice' people to counter the actions of the 'nasty' people. I did wonder how we could distinguish the two? Apparently, the 'nice' people are those of whom we approve; whilst the 'nasty' people are those of who we disapprove. There is a judgemental approach to lifestyle here, and the characters are too clear cut and wooden to be believable. None of the heroes have flaws and none of the villains have redeeming factors. I'm afraid that I don't know too many people like that.
I think that I have reached the end of my patience with this nonsense for a little while. I might continue with the series later in the year, but for now I would like a break from it.
While I really enjoyed the first book, mildly enjoyed the second, the third is starting to wear me down. The writing makes it difficult to remain enthralled as a reader, I am continually thought for and all of my character judgements are made for me almost immediately. The story is interesting to me, even the characters are somewhat fun to read about, but I'm having a difficult time believing I will be fully invested for 10 books at $15 each. However, I will keep reading with hope that the story will push me through.
The writing remains plain. The story is plodding along. It's OK, but not great. The story takes place in the Pacific Northwest, where I live...so that is helping keep my attention more that it might to others. I am enjoying the book enough to continue the series, but this is a not a great read.
Grant's 5.11 pants will win the hearts and minds in the end....I can predict the cheesiness in subsequent books. This narcissist lead is surrounded by wooden characters who have no flaws. (So far) He seems super judgemental and book 3 might be a listing of folks he'll have to shoot later. But killing has no affect on the TEAM as they practiced shooting every other Sunday for a year or so. Grant's kind of a dick, to be honest.
Grant Matson has been ready for this ; the fan has officially been hit and now all his preparing will be tested . This stories could be a true story that just happened yet , and you should.read it and prepare like it will happen very soon , because it just might
The third book of Glen Tate’s economic collapse series 299 Days called The Community is a fascinating exploration into the nature and function of both large and small groups of people and how they form a society. With the world coming apart at the seams in an inflationary depression, many of the functions of modern government have been returned to the community. This is especially true in the Pierce Point area where Grant, his family, friends and neighbors reclaim the burden of responsibility for maintaining their own well-being. Each level of the community, starting with the family unit, cooperates to address specific concerns like safety and security. Grant Matson, being a politically insightful person, uses both his “team” of civilian gunfighters and his ER Doctor wife as political capital to gain access to the Pierce Point’s inner circle. The Community is formed with the premise of providing safety and security for its residents. In contrast, we watch as the government of Washington State, operating from within a National Guard base, is actually using the collapse as an opportunity to increase their control by dissolving many of the remaining civil liberties. They seek to enhance their power by seizing private operations such as the transport and food production in order to provide basic necessities to a large portion of the population, namely the larger urban centers. Additionally, the government has taken over the savings and retirement accounts of millions of people in order to pay for its new safety net. It is really an interesting contrast, with Grant and his people rallying to become more self-sufficient and the government seeking to actually increase public dependence as a way to maintain control and to increase their power. The Community is a very well-considered and detailed account of how new communities may form and how the powers that be may react to a widespread economic collapse. On another level, The Community really is a common sense exploration into the very nature of human cooperation.
Reviewing books one and two to refresh my aging memory. I like and agree with my original reviews of those first books so I'll leave them as is. A slow, but enlightening read. Much of the authors declarations have or are coming true. All Americans should read and ponder upon this series.
Again this series doesn't let you down. It is a very realistic approach to a possible economic collapse of the US and how some people would handle it. I enjoyed it very much.