What do you think?
Rate this book
Echo Island: Be Prepared
2020 BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD in BEST ADVENTURE FICTION. Good Reads 5 Stars The Prescott family is unknowingly caught in the middle of a massive, sinister, global conspiracy. They band together with like-minded friends with special skills on Echo Island and prepare for the next onslaught. They must overcome the forces of both nature and man which come at them from all sides. Will their faith and love for each other be enough to bring them together in their fight to survive?
Audible Audio
Published April 19, 2025
21 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Gary Travis
3 books4 followersBOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER in Best: Adventure Fiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 9 reviews
November 9, 2021
Great Apocalyptic read!
Was very interesting spin on all the survival plots with no zombies😎 gave it five stars and hope it will Encourage the author to write the second book
Was very interesting spin on all the survival plots with no zombies😎 gave it five stars and hope it will Encourage the author to write the second book
May 5, 2020
Excellent
Well done. This was definitely a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the story immensely, and can’t believe I had it in my library for a few months before I started reading it. Although it is totally apocalyptic science fiction, it is definitely one of the better stories I have read this year, with lovable characters, hateable villains, and a storyline that is easy to follow.
Well done. This was definitely a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed the story immensely, and can’t believe I had it in my library for a few months before I started reading it. Although it is totally apocalyptic science fiction, it is definitely one of the better stories I have read this year, with lovable characters, hateable villains, and a storyline that is easy to follow.
April 14, 2020
Highly enjoyable book!
This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. If you have ever wondered what it would take to survive an ice age caused by man manipulating nature, this book is for you.
This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. If you have ever wondered what it would take to survive an ice age caused by man manipulating nature, this book is for you.
November 21, 2020
Juvenile
Read like a class C movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. There were Unnecessary rape scenarios that did nothing to expand the storyline.
Read like a class C movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. There were Unnecessary rape scenarios that did nothing to expand the storyline.
June 30, 2025
I can't recommend this book. It feels like it was AI written.
September 30, 2019
Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman
Echo Island: Be Prepared by Gary Travis is an action/adventure, dystopian novel that focuses on a group of survivalists who are preparing for the worst. Dillon Prescott, an ex-Navy Seal, is in class at College in California when a massive earthquake strikes the Palo Alto region. Rushing home, fearing the worst, Dillon discovers his parent’s house has been totally destroyed, burying his mother and father. Thankfully his young brother is still at school but when Dillon finally manages to dig his father out of the rubble, he discovers his mother is dead and his father needs urgent medical assistance and an amputation of one of his legs. He texts his Seal buddies who swiftly arrive to assist him. After the younger brother Jack sells an invention to GE, the Prescott’s find themselves immensely wealthy. Determined not to be caught out by natural disasters again, the Prescott’s go full-on survival mode and purchase an island in Maine where they will set up an invincible fortress and a self-contained community for themselves and their friends. They will first have to deal with a corrupt and over-zealous local sheriff who wants the island for himself and is determined to send these interlopers packing. Once they become aware that evil forces somewhere are actually triggering these natural disasters, for their own financial benefit, Dillon and his team understand just how important their sanctuary will become in what looks like being a near-extinction event.
Echo Island: Be Prepared is an exciting, action-packed, roller-coaster of a ride for any reader. The survivalists, who have special forces soldiers at their core are experienced and well capable of building an impregnable fortress there on Echo Island. Author Gary Travis has unpacked a set of characters who although stereotypical of special forces personnel are indeed endearing and likeable. They don’t take any crap but that being said, they have hearts of gold. I have to admit though, I did get a little tired of their endless “hooyahs” eventually but it didn’t detract from the story too much. For lovers of a little romance there’s plenty of that here and the relationship between Dillon and Lauren was well written. The writing style is fast and frenetic as befits a thriller as well as being incredibly easy to read. I was thrilled as I get to the end of the story and realise that it wasn’t necessarily, actually, all over and that the door was left wide open for a sequel. I am particularly excited about the prospect of Dillon and his team attempting to take down the forces that caused this mass-extinction event. This appears to be a debut novel from Travis and I would have to say he’s done an exceptional job first up. I look forward to more from this author and can definitely recommend this tale for those who like their action, fast and frenetic with plenty of human values thrown in for good measure.
Echo Island: Be Prepared by Gary Travis is an action/adventure, dystopian novel that focuses on a group of survivalists who are preparing for the worst. Dillon Prescott, an ex-Navy Seal, is in class at College in California when a massive earthquake strikes the Palo Alto region. Rushing home, fearing the worst, Dillon discovers his parent’s house has been totally destroyed, burying his mother and father. Thankfully his young brother is still at school but when Dillon finally manages to dig his father out of the rubble, he discovers his mother is dead and his father needs urgent medical assistance and an amputation of one of his legs. He texts his Seal buddies who swiftly arrive to assist him. After the younger brother Jack sells an invention to GE, the Prescott’s find themselves immensely wealthy. Determined not to be caught out by natural disasters again, the Prescott’s go full-on survival mode and purchase an island in Maine where they will set up an invincible fortress and a self-contained community for themselves and their friends. They will first have to deal with a corrupt and over-zealous local sheriff who wants the island for himself and is determined to send these interlopers packing. Once they become aware that evil forces somewhere are actually triggering these natural disasters, for their own financial benefit, Dillon and his team understand just how important their sanctuary will become in what looks like being a near-extinction event.
Echo Island: Be Prepared is an exciting, action-packed, roller-coaster of a ride for any reader. The survivalists, who have special forces soldiers at their core are experienced and well capable of building an impregnable fortress there on Echo Island. Author Gary Travis has unpacked a set of characters who although stereotypical of special forces personnel are indeed endearing and likeable. They don’t take any crap but that being said, they have hearts of gold. I have to admit though, I did get a little tired of their endless “hooyahs” eventually but it didn’t detract from the story too much. For lovers of a little romance there’s plenty of that here and the relationship between Dillon and Lauren was well written. The writing style is fast and frenetic as befits a thriller as well as being incredibly easy to read. I was thrilled as I get to the end of the story and realise that it wasn’t necessarily, actually, all over and that the door was left wide open for a sequel. I am particularly excited about the prospect of Dillon and his team attempting to take down the forces that caused this mass-extinction event. This appears to be a debut novel from Travis and I would have to say he’s done an exceptional job first up. I look forward to more from this author and can definitely recommend this tale for those who like their action, fast and frenetic with plenty of human values thrown in for good measure.
October 6, 2019
Echo Island: Be Prepared by Gary Travis is a prepper fiction novel that follows the Prescott family after a destabilizing earthquake takes the life of the family matriarch, Dana Prescott. From the wreckage and with the help of Dillon Prescott's former military comrades, father Taylor Prescott is lifted from the collapsed California home—the loss of a limb less of a hardship when young Jack Prescott sells off a lucrative patent for a sum in the hundreds of millions. The Prescott's vow to never be unprepared again, pooling their material resources, training, and survival knowledge to build up an offshore colony. When the truth of the first earthquake arises at the same time a catastrophic second worldwide disaster strikes, the Echo Island community is forced to contend not just with the environmental effects, but the societal upheaval that follows.
Gary Travis has written an engrossing tale of conspiracy, survival, and social psychology in Echo Island: Be Prepared. There is a lot of red meat out there for readers of the prepper genre, but I've found most to be a little chewy and overcooked. Travis allows for the seasoning of the story, layering its progress with strong characters that are well developed and pacing that builds with steady, evenhanded momentum before the searing scold of its climax hits. Having grown up in San Francisco in a military family and watched my city burn after the Loma Prieta earthquake, there was a personal connection that I felt to the underlying theme of being prepared. Of course, the little bug-out bags we created in the aftermath pale in comparison to the work of the Prescott family, but nevertheless Travis struck a cord in a book that gives a no-holds-barred look at the devolution of humanity in the face of catastrophe, and the innate desire that families are sure to have that is universal: to survive at all cost.
This book ranks in the top 5 for books I've read in the prep genre, particularly as it pertains to the writing itself and the creativity of the underlying plot.
Review written for Readers' Favorite.
Gary Travis has written an engrossing tale of conspiracy, survival, and social psychology in Echo Island: Be Prepared. There is a lot of red meat out there for readers of the prepper genre, but I've found most to be a little chewy and overcooked. Travis allows for the seasoning of the story, layering its progress with strong characters that are well developed and pacing that builds with steady, evenhanded momentum before the searing scold of its climax hits. Having grown up in San Francisco in a military family and watched my city burn after the Loma Prieta earthquake, there was a personal connection that I felt to the underlying theme of being prepared. Of course, the little bug-out bags we created in the aftermath pale in comparison to the work of the Prescott family, but nevertheless Travis struck a cord in a book that gives a no-holds-barred look at the devolution of humanity in the face of catastrophe, and the innate desire that families are sure to have that is universal: to survive at all cost.
This book ranks in the top 5 for books I've read in the prep genre, particularly as it pertains to the writing itself and the creativity of the underlying plot.
Review written for Readers' Favorite.
October 17, 2019
The action started on the first page (actually, the first paragraph) and the Prescotts were pressed to adapt to everything that followed. Themes of family, trusted friends, betrayals, danger, life and death struggles, and community are explored in this novel. I felt a part of their quest and was fascinated how it all came together, fell apart ... and with an ending that begs for more. I hear there's a follow-up book in the works. Keep it coming, Gary.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 9 reviews