Setting Out: A Post-Apocalyptic Journey

by Lars Larsen, Michael Neeb (Narrator)

DARK HIGHWAY HOMEBOOK SETTING OUTAN EMP & POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL STORY

China, its military ravaged by Covid and stung by the loss of its only significant ally, Russia, launches four intercontinental, nuclear-tipped missiles from submarines off the coast of North Korea. Detonating high in the atmosphere over North America, the missiles create an electromagnetic pulse that takes down the entire power grid.

The US is set back to the eighteenth century. It now lacks any power, transportation, communication, food supplies, water, or electronics.

Jon Kristen, a special forces veteran, is in Las Vegas, Nevada, attending a year-end corporate gathering. The power goes out. Jon, along with five of his coworkers, set out on a perilous two-thousand-mile journey back to their homes and families in Seattle, Washington.

The Dark Highway Home tells the “realistic” tale of survival and perseverance in a dark and lawless landscape.

Genres: Post Apocalyptic

Audible Audio

Published May 1, 2025

Reviews

[Crystal Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Agree to disagree

This may have been a good book had you left your political views out of it. I wouldn't know because I could not finish it. You could even try changing the presidents names in the future so those that dont share your political views could finish reading it and maybe even enjoy it. I love reading apocalyptic novels and have many favorite authors. Unfortunately I don't think I will be downloading any more of your books anytime soon. Everyone has a right to an opinion. I just choose not to read yours. Normally, I just follow the author if I enjoy their book. If I do not enjoy it, I will just look for another book to read. This is the first negative review I have ever written.

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I am not a fan of using current political/celebrity persons as part of a story. I am definitely on the liberal political side of the spectrum and have often been critical of authors whose right-wing views tread into the story. I feel like I have to take the same stance with liberal political commentary, no matter how refreshing it may be. Some of these view would definitely not be coming from small-town Nevada characters. The writing was uneven, with sometimes way too much extraneous detail. I didn't really need to know the height, weight, coloring, clothing of each and every person. I rather expected their autosomal DNA results to be included as well. There was often a lot (a lot!) of equipment detail, especially weapons. All of that really caused the story to slow down. I also had some issues with the way-too-convenience of some plot elements. The man character is a former Special Forces (of course) and is somehow able to quickly get the female civilians traveling with him to act like a decent military cadre. There is a secret, fully stocked government facility that considers Jon and his coworkers so important that they bumped members of Congress to get them a ride. Wow. Jon has an Army buddy with a supply store right there in Vegas that is able to give his traveling group absolutely everything they could need to go to Seattle, including a Barrett. It does not occur to Jon to get himself extra clothing, though he tells his group to make sure to do so (but call the footwear hiking boots or shoes and not sneakers, please). Jon also has a large fully-prepped ranch to get to that belongs to his parents. Even though his parents are major preppers, he seems to be very slow to understand that an EMP has happened. At the start, they have a delay getting their work group together and don't immediately start to gather some supplies like normal people might (maybe having access to the above made that concern unnecessary?). All along the way, they encounter good guys that all had military backgrounds, people in rural Nevada that knew his parents in Montana and even a fully trained military dog. What luck!! If there is an apocalypse, I want to travel with Jon. The ending of this book is extremely abrupt with not much of a segue for the next volume. Even with those things that strained my ability to believe in this, I kind of liked Jon who is a good guy and with the first person language aside, there were no huge grammatical or spelling issues. I will likely continue with book 2 to see what happens.

[Michael Guidry · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pure unbelievable nonsense. Fiction should hold basis in reality to a degree. The protagonist is the luckiest man on earth and through his contacts he receives all the treasure he could want to help him on his journey. He and his Amazon warriors are invincible as they travel through the world accumulating more treasure and eliminating bad guys while helping others. Save your time and pass on this one unless you enjoy fantasy without basis in realistic situations.

[DarcyJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

How does this book have such a high rating? It is boring AF! Got to 18% before stopping. My first gripe, the author kept refering to the females in the group as "the women." It's probably me, but it sounded a little caveman-ish. My biggest complaint? OVER EXPLAINING EV-ERY-THING!!! Good lord! They spent so long giving us every gun detail, equipment detail, clothing detail, that they forgot to put some story in there. Sorry! This book is NOT for me.

[Matt Egan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bleak, no holds barred portrayal of America post EMP

Setting Out, Book 1 in the Dark Highway Home series, and introduces us to the primary protagonists, A group of IT security professionals in Las Vegas for A convention when the EMP hits. This book is one of the more graphic and disturbing post temp survival thrillers I've read, and I've read most of them. Sexual assault is a common occurrence, though our protagonists try to stop it. Other graphic violent is scattered throughout, so be forewarned. The writing is exceptionally good, with believable characters, extreme situations, and realistic dialogue. The characters really do grow and sacrifice for each other, mostly. One woman runs off and ends up in a very dangerous situation as a result in her rush to get to Seattle. I avoided this series for a while, expecting the far right, conservative viewpoint of many books in the genre, its moderate and makes the scenario more believable. All in all, A great start to a series, just know what you're getting into when you tart it! 5/5 stars, highly recommended to fans of adult apocalyptic survival thrillers, you'll love Setting Out!!

[Jim Gutzwiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Setting Out

Interesting take on an EMP story that I hope we don't see occur anytime soon. Points out how fast society can break down and atrocities become common.
Almost a harem type story but not.
Being prepped is nothing to be ashamed of.

[larry Mccauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too True

The story is our future in America. We haven't been attacked yet, but Americans have already shown they can
Be as bad as a anyone in this story during riots with no.reason to do so but being g angry

[Lisa Diggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Story

Mr. Larsen is an excellent story teller that kept my attention the whole way. It would have been 5 stars except for the political pointing fingers. I’m all for arguments for and against but the random insertion threw me out of the story and didn’t really fit each time except at the first and maybe when telling people about what happened, but what disappointed me was the one way slant, to me an author should show both sides both good and bad if you want to keep it as part of the storyline and be realistic. Love the characters and how the storyline is progressing.

[Bex O'R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't want to rate it too low- tbh I don't know whether to do 5 stars or 1 star 😅

I found the main character over explains everything repeatedly to the point where I'm questioning whether his companions were listening to a word he said at any point. I was left wondering at some points if the women's character building was kinda sexist? They all seemed very 2D and useless- when they were useful it was unexpected and the main character surprised. And the volume of complaining about roughing it - I'm certain a group of women could do without showering for a few days during an apocalyptic event...

The dialogue felt awkward. I think some work could be done there to smooth it out and whittle down all the "he/she said"s.

The politics- I didn't mind it, found it refreshing? Thinking about how something like this could unfold in today's political context. I can see though how some readers might find it jarring. And as a non American, I had to check up on a lot of the references.

All that being said, I really liked the premise. I read *a lot* of apoc/post apoc, especially military. I enjoyed the author's knowledge of combat and weapons. I think, like a lot of reviewers are saying, it could have used some more proofing- it's a solid and enjoyable story that I (surprisingly all things considered) couldn't put down. I believe some work on the dialogue and character building would make this a fantastic book.

It's a quick read, I recommend this book to people who enjoy the military/prepper apocalypse genres. I wasn't blown away, nor was I completely disappointed.

I haven't decided whether to read the next book yet!

Author- I found the premise and base story unique and original, a tough feat in this genre! Great work there.

[Amy Whitten · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐+

Read it. Oh, my goodness. Just read it. I have been in such a reading slump lately and have put down several books and series more than half way through because they couldn't keep my interest. But this book wowed me. I literally stayed up all night in order to finish it. I am starting the second book now with such excitement! It is worth it!

[Elizabeth Duckworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good read, pure escapism. I got the political bent of the story but it doesn't bother me, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I won't lose sleep over it. Can't wait to download Book two.

[Christopher Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for books 1-3. First, I very much enjoyed the storyline, and it was mostly well written. It had a bit of an 80s action movie feel - super soldier hero who can easily dispatch forces many times larger, bulletproof, surrounded by beautiful women, etc. But I do like 80s action movies. Overall, I would recommend this series. But there are some annoyances worth mentioning, in ascending order. 1. I wish the author knew what the A in PSA stood for. Repeating the line “PSA announcement” over and over was highly annoying. Probably more so to me than most people. Luckily, PIN number was never mentioned. 2. Repeatedly referring to magazines as clips almost makes me stop reading a book. I could understand it from the women in the story who had very little previous exposure to firearms, but even the “ex special forces soldier” was guilty of it. Someone may have informed the author though, as this was seemingly eliminated by the third book. 3. Worst of all, the author could not keep their political agenda and TDS from creeping into the story. There were multiple references to the upside of the situation being that climate change would finally be under control. It was mentioned that Montana ranchers did not trust the federal government, very plausible. But the reason for their distrust was the tariffs imposed by the former president (keep in mind when this was published). Laughable, and one must only look as far as Montana’s federal election results to see how far off base the author is in trying to share the hatred of “the former president”. There was a reference to a CNN reporter who was very smart and very good at her job. I know this book is fiction, but that’s pushing it. Every front line leader was female. That’s fine, and possible, but the frequency with which it was repeated clearly expressed a bias. Especially when one of the women had to step in during battle to save the incompetent male veteran, who appeared to be completely lost in battle until the woman stepped in. And when the first A10 taxied up, there was zero doubt that the pilot would be female. Possible, yes, but highly unlikely when considering the percentage of fighter pilots who are female. By itself, no problem, but when taken with the rest of the female front line leaders, it was all a bit much. Overall though, I would still read this series again.

[Laura Byley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Political and anti Christian garbage

It didn’t take long to realize that this author is incredibly opinionated about their biased beliefs.

Just a few pages in and I can see we are praising liberal ideologies, have a strong dislike for “Christians” and are blaming those who refuse to pump untried or tested poisons in their bodies just “because the government said so” for the continued spread of COVID.

So yeah, I didn’t finish this ignorance.


So let me just share my thoughts and opinion on the matter.

If this would have been fact driven narrative, the author could hardly praise a “vaccine” that did nothing but cause major health issues in a large percentage of the public who received it. And surprise, we can see today those “ignorant” “selfish” Christians, myself included were right to refuse it, as it has done NOTHING to protect those who received it from getting COVID, AGAIN and AGAIN. Like the flu, COVID is here and it’s not going anywhere.

So please go on and continue to pat yourself on the back for your truly concerning hate and idiocy and by all means continue to blame the people who have common sense not to trust a government who supplied the Native Americans with blankets riddled with pathogens with the sole intent of killing as many as possible, as they probably released this epidemic on the public as well. They isolated family member’s, loved ones died alone with no one to comfort them…

You want to blindly trust the puppets who allow deceitful information to pass their lips without blinking an eye, you go right on ahead and jump in line to receive what ever they offer you, but don’t blame those with actual common sense who can think for themselves, and who were as it turns out, absolutely right not to take their poison like “good little citizens”
Oh, and Jesus is Lord!

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some Interesting Parts

Storyline line is straightforward. Easy read. If you think you might like post-apocalyptic stories, this is a pretty good one to start with. If you think it's too dark, this is like corn candy.

I'm an old frat, lived through some deployments, and was a member of a team writing evacuation plans for a large municipality. I was mostly outvoted for being too negative and cynical. This book hinted at the deaths by murder, and medical equipment ceasing to work, but didn't even hint at the predicted 90% of deaths in the first year. Or the impression given that five to seven citizens armed with commercially available weapons will be able to safely resist raiding gangs is simply wrong. Survival will need to be able to resist large, determined gangs with no morals. Defenders, to be successful, have at least100-120+ shooters, and people with the knowledge and facilities to make homemade claymores, and pipe bombs, and foo gas.

One thing I noticed almost immediately was that Mr Larson missed something almost all male writers miss. Escorting five women and collecting supplies and not mentioning toilet paper shortage or needs is almost sinful. Think about it. Five women and no female sanitary supplies? That IS sinful. Sex scenes and no mention of birth control. That 90% might be upgraded too fast for the limited medical staff, and mid-wives to handle.

Oh. And finding an up-armored Hum-Vee with what sounded like almost half of a daily load out of ammunition?

Even though I rated it as three stars, in reality, two and a half would be generous

[Duane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good read with a lot of detail. The technical details about the loadouts and weapons was accurate for the most part. I really enjoyed the immediate justice that was used. An eye for an eye should be the norm once it is proven without a shadow of a doubt that someone is guilty. Murder should be punished with death. Rape should be punished with castration.

The 2,000 mile journey is accurate based on the deeper that we're made in the story. I loved how the group stopped to support others. I don't imagine that would be too common in our world of last minute peppers if we're ever faced with the same situation. There would be too many people to help.

I was a bit skeptical about the short time it took to not only train the women to conduct effective defensive perimeters, but to get them in the mindset necessary to be in a position to kill someone. You can watch all the movies you want, but the real thing is the real thing. This would apply to males or females that go into a situation with no tactical experience.

I enjoyed the read and I am on book two. If you have a pepper and survival mindset; I'm sure you will also enjoy the book.

Remember, you can't prepare after the fact.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could be better if we saw the other characters perspectives not just the main characters view of what he sees. The book has way too much information. I feel like I'm constantly being fed information and it's more of a "how to" book, versus an enjoyable novel. The reader doesn't need to know everyone's height. After a very traumatic sexual assault on one of the characters, her breast size is described, along with her height. After reading that, I decided I was done with the book. I always finish books but this is not for me. Describe how she's covered in brain matter and blood, don't describe her breast. I'm also not a fan of how often he calls his group "ladies" and the way they are described and their actions are being talked about seem demeaning. Why not ask them if they know how to do specific things? Why are you making them sound so inferior. Discuss their strengths and weaknesses instead of having the main character just show them everything. We can easily understand the main character knows how to do these things, we don't need a step by step of him teaching "the ladies" these things.

[Dr Rev · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my lord what rubbish
Really should be under a young adult science fiction fantasy heading
So much bs and ridiculousness I started skimming and every time I stopped skimming there was more and more nonsense
It took about 20 minutes to get through the first book, even though it was free to me it was a rip off. Such nonsense. It's so horrible to think that the author of this crap is allowed to roam free and breed and vote at will. There really should be government tracking collars on people like this so we all know where they are with an alarm system if they go near schools.
I'll skim the second book but I'm sure there are no take aways in that one either.
Don't waste your time it's 20 minutes of your life wasted you can't get back.

[cathryn baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

This story grabs you from the start, I was a bit worried about the very intense describing of the weapons , but stuck with it and Im glad I did, Ive read loads of apocalypse books over the years especially emp books, this story is different, and best of all very intelligent , not the usual light weight horror tales, yes terrible things do happen but their part of the story and believable , not just to shock you. I like how it's relatable politicaly and up to date.
The characters are likeable especially the main man in it and we could all use a Jon in our lives.
Highly recommended. Can't wait to read the next book, ......who needs sleep?.

[Johnothan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knocked down two star because of politics.

Not a very original story line, but good enough writing to follow as a time waster. The artist's insistence on inserting his apparent opinions on current real world politicians into his story line is jarring and to be honest, enough to make you consider abandoning the book. People like me read fiction to get AWAY from real world politics, something the author seems to never have learned. I have not yet decided to continue the series.

[Feather Farm · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could have been a five star read except for...

The politics!

This book was very well written and was very engaging and then there be passages where the author bashes everything from former President Trump to people who refused the Covid vaccines! If I want to listen to someone rant about politics, I would watch the so called national news!

A little advice for the author, if you want me to buy your books, leave you political views at the door of the room you choose to write in before you enter it.

[Adolf von Wurttemberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book Review:
Setting Out: A Post-Apocalyptic Journey (Dark Highway Home Book 1) Kindle Edition
by Lars Larsen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
This is a “five-star” quality story but I gave it only one-star. In fact, I almost didn’t purchase it. Reason: as some other reviewers noted, Lars Larsen injected wholly superfluous left-wing political cant into a good story. I skimmed over the garbage because the story itself is good. The proofreading is excellent, the characters are believable, and Larsen has a good knowledge of weapons.

[Bob Prol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fast paced story with a few large holes in the plot. One was jets falling from the sky. Passenger jets aren’t impacted by EMPs from everything I read. Also, the author claims to have served in the infantry. Yet the main character who is supposed to be some super special commando dude, tells people to safe their M4s but leave them on automatic fire. It’s one selector switch. Safe, Semi, Auto/3-round burst. Unless there’s some variant of the M4 I never heard of. The luck of this guy just gets better and better. He finds every single thing a small community would need along the drive. Every. Thing. Even. People.

[Virginia L. Huard · Rating 5 out of 5]

organization.determination.and ruthlessness. and a great storyline

This book is well done. All characters are survivors and work together as a team very well. Except for one, of course.

The team works well to manage the relentless onslaught of nasty people as they make their journey to remaking their lives in this nightmare of present life. Very entertaining read.
Some attention to proofing these pages would be appropriate.
An informative read…..

[Aloma Arp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a humdinger!!!!! I like it!

Las Vegas gambling and carousing having a great time then bam, bam, bam. A group of specialists from a Security Company that are in Vegas for a company rally are shocked and scared. What has happened? No electricity and no cell phone service what’s going on? Now you must read on to fine out this fascinating story of how to survive in an apocalypse. Next book please!!!!!!

[lola · Rating 1 out of 5]

Trash

This book is not good. Writing is amateurish, needs some editing, and the story as a whole is dull. Like reading a transcript. But the kicker is the flaws politics and Covid rhetoric. The writer is a big Biden fan and seems to gush over that buffoon while praising vaccines and NPR. Liberal hack tries to write apocalyptic fiction equals lame story.

[monica lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

So very unusual

You have such an interesting way of writing! I really feel like you are actually telling me a story. Took me awhile to realize that was part of what I was enjoying PLUS the actual story being so addictive I didn't want to put it down. Thank you so much for your work!!!

[Wilfred H. Steen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, good and good!

It is fun to read a book that is so well written and has a storyline that is well put together. The story isn't much different from other EMP's, but carries itself very well. The different people that they come across only adds to the whole point of the story, good will be good but bad will be even worse than ever.

[Sharon Seliskar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the heck will we do!!!

The writer could have left out the sex and just suggested what they were doing, well written, hated all the vulgarity, but today that's all you hear. I enjoyed the book so will read the next even though I don't like certain aspects of the sex and language. Scary as heck.

[Jeanne Melsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really entertaining

Not your same ole’ story;different, different, different! Can’t wait to read the next in series. The good guys are really good, and the bad guys all get permanent ink that identify them as really bad. Plus a death sentence. Well written, better so than most.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 3 out of 5]

EOTWAWKI, EMP. A Corporate guy gets a wish list of survival gear complete with women and guns to travel 2000 miles from Vegas to North West. Way too much pro-republican corporate politics. DNF as it was just more good fortune than a guy deserves. Borrowed this edition on February 21, 2024, from Amazon for free.