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The world is a dangerous place in 2016 and the United States has become more isolated than ever before. Things get unimaginably worse when two nuclear devices are detonated in the atmosphere over the United States. The country is torn to pieces and only the strong can put it back together again.


Nick is stuck in traffic on his way to work in Denver. General Sutherland is on his way to Ft. Drum for a routine inspection. Sandra is sitting on her porch and drinking her morning tea.

The United States of America is about to change forever.

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 28, 2014

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Orion Enzo Gaudio

5 books6 followers

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5 stars
122 (32%)
4 stars
124 (33%)
3 stars
77 (20%)
2 stars
34 (9%)
1 star
15 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for chucklesthescot.
3,000 reviews134 followers
May 3, 2018
The President is removed from the White House as soon as the EMP hits but a second attack leaves him missing presumed dead along with his VP. General Sutherland is told of the tragedy by a representative of Section M and as the ranking officer he is expected to take charge. He is more interested in getting out of the bunker and going to find his family so he is refusing to do anything and sulking about the obligations that he is expected to shoulder. I get that he is worried about his family but he is a military general who should be concentrating on securing his location and getting his people organised instead of sulking in his room like a child!

Nick is an FBI analyst in Denver and witnesses panic at his office and planes falling out of the sky. Yet he is aimlessly driving around in his new car which puzzled me. Why is his modern car still working when planes are falling back to earth? Considering his job, Nick seems oblivious to what is happening for a long time and the fact that hell is breaking loose makes his decision to just go to his bed as normal a bit strange. He basically does nothing to help himself until his prepper neighbour decides to look after him. What thanks does Mike get? Nick has a tantrum over why Mike is not helping every other person not prepared for the situation! He then questions every decision Mike makes and accuses him of overreacting to everything. His whining was getting on my nerves.

Sandra is alone at her farm when the EMP hits and is another one who is able to put these life changing events aside and go to her bed instead of organising herself. When she finds out that her friends took things without paying from a looted store, she gets all angry and moral about it, making me want to hit her and explain what the end of the world actually means!

With the exception of Mike the prepper, everyone seems to know less than Jon Snow! OK, if you are not a prepper and don't read that kind of book, you are less likely to know about an EMP and that is the kind of characters being portrayed in the book so I'm less bothered by that. What does bug me is the level of whining that they do, especially Nick. His life has been saved by Mike but he just argues about everything and I'm surprised that Mike wasn't tempted to get rid of him. He is the last person you'd want to be stuck with in the apocalypse. I got fed up listening to adults sulking and complaining instead of getting on with things. The plot itself might have been different if it had just focused on Mike, who was the only one I liked, perhaps with a non whiny eager to learn sidekick. As it is I did not finish the book.
Profile Image for Pam Shelton-Anderson.
1,961 reviews66 followers
August 26, 2021
Somewhat standard EMP story, but with some glaring holes in the plot. First, there were a lot of writing and editing errors (a garage door that creeks not creaks, walking out of a tent and getting slapping in the face by odor instead of slapped, burry instead of bury pikes in the ground etc). Now to some weaknesses in the plot. The EMP causes planes to fall, most electronics to fail, batteries in a drawer to become inert, general mayhem...but the cars keep working? Nick is pretty useless and surprisingly for an FBI employee, even if not a field agent, unfamiliar with guns. He only gets a wakeup to the situation when approached by his neighbor, Mike. Even with the help, Nick remains clueless and borders on just whiny. Mike is a prepper though when he gets to his bugout cabin, not as prepared as he should be. I found it odd that after the first EMP, the president and staff were OK and on their way to being evacuated, but a second EMP causes their convenient demise. Did they decide it was OK to evacuate in a helicopter or plane? The Section M people, especially Rodgers were beyond strange and have clearly read way too many dystopian books to come up with a Districts model, complete with a wardrobe. The General is faced with a catastrophic attack on the country but goes into a full-blown toddler tantrum and refuses to do anything until Section M finds his family. He is also prone to backdown repeatedly when in Rodgers' presence and then accepts a mission from her (even though he is the head of District 1) with the flimsiest of equipment and personnel. Just wow. Sandra has a good setup on the farm, but is upset when her friends get needed supplies and there was no one at the store to take payment. Huh. Nathan seems to be a good guy but his kindness and belief that they can help any unvetted person that comes along is surely a recipe for disaster (like Section M and unlike Nathan, I read a lot of disaster books so I know this). To top it off, we have the token thug out to enslave women and the weak and build an empire. I don't plan to continue to find out what happens to these silly people.
Profile Image for Kimball Stock.
6 reviews
October 8, 2023
It’s a very easy read and easy to keep track of all the different stories going on. I’ve never read a book like this before, so it was very interesting! I didn’t pay attention to the fact that this book was part of a series, so I was disappointed at the end! I wouldn’t have started this book if I’d have known! I wanted to see what each character did, but not enough to read the following books!
I found it weird that the General who becomes the leader of his District seemed shocked and naive about his role and had no clue what was going on? Seems like he should’ve known more and been involved in the planning of such things?
Also not a fan of the sweat words, but that’s a personal preference
51 reviews
August 29, 2019
Good read

I've read a lot of EMP books and this was a good one. I just have one question...why didn't the electronics in the cars and trucks get fried? There wasn't any mention to their ages, so I was just wondering.
I liked the characters and the way the story was written around each one. I did find some mistakes and highlighted them if the author would be interested. If he needs a beta reader I'd be glad to help him. Any way I really liked the book and I'm looking forward to book 2.
P.s. Please let the woman go and get rid of her kidnapper!!
821 reviews4 followers
June 1, 2018
Book 1

Book 1 had errors throughout and was a fun read. The type of writing is interesting, with different view points about the plot. Some characters are more enjoyable to read about than others, but overall was an OK book.
Profile Image for Tammy R. Blackwell.
Author 1 book6 followers
June 28, 2018
In this book the author introduces us to the first few days after a nuclear attack on our country. As always you have the evil people that take advantage of the situation and the good people that try to help. This book has strong characters. I'm not a big fan of short books thou.
289 reviews3 followers
November 4, 2018
Interesting read.

I read a lot. This is another take on the life after EMP. I don't know how most cars or trucks would run as most have so much electronics. But, ignoring that fact, the book was still a good read
Profile Image for Shannon Glen.
264 reviews5 followers
December 2, 2018
The writing wasn't bad by any stretch, but I couldn't get into any of the characters. No indepth characterization was done. Glossed over all people. Have to say I will not read any more of this series because I could care less. Great story line though and description of what happened.
18 reviews
July 14, 2019
Good book!

I liked the different character stories and the author didn't introduce everyone right away with made it easy to follow. The story had a few new things I hadn't seen in other EMP or apocalyptic books. The author either needs a good editor tho!
1 review
November 30, 2020
Very readable story

I enjoyed the characters. As well, I liked the aspect of the story that most of the characters are just ordinary people caught in horrible circumstances. Real life asunder.
9 reviews1 follower
November 8, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. Great read, the pages turned quickly. I am looking forward to continuing this series. Thank You!
Profile Image for Tony Mastrolacasa.
Author 4 books6 followers
July 19, 2020
An excellent read and one of my absolute favourite series in the Post-Ap genre. Definitely worth checking out!
Tony Mastrolacasa, Author, EMP: Collateral Darkness.
69 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2021
I didn't know

This was a short story or I wouldn't have started reading it. I hate getting involved in a book and left hanging , sure hope there is another part.
Profile Image for Wayne.
3 reviews
January 25, 2022
Good book series, but the author seriously needs to find a new editor. There are spelling and grammar mistakes almost every other page.
82 reviews
August 30, 2015
Good part 1

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I do like the "EMP" type of stories. I didn't like the way the General was portrayed. Letting a subordinate boss him around. How he gave up so quickly his defending the country and he just seemed "wimpy" to me. Not a confident take charge kind of guy that a General should be. I also didn't like that there's no definitive conclusions to any of the 4 stories. All had cliff-hanger finishes, so you must read the next book. I feel he should've finished their stories and started new ones for the next book in the series. I guess he's more interested in selling books than finishing his stories.
Profile Image for Autumn.
311 reviews14 followers
February 19, 2015
Not a book, a serial

Good story, but this is not a book. A book has a conclusion, even a series, each novel will have a conclusion and this has no conclusion. Had this been properly advertised, I might have continued if the installments were .99, but I won't be, nor do I recommend.
10 reviews
January 23, 2015
EMP: After the Fall

I believe this book could have been better if there had been better proofreading. The subject matter is credible and interesting. Proofreading would enhance my opinion considerably.
57 reviews
February 17, 2015
Good start

Nice start to this series. I am looking forward to the next one. I like how the author tells each story giving just enough of the background. Some parts are left untold. But I can use my imagination.
15 reviews
May 3, 2016
No power!

I love finding new authors to read, and I've done just that with Orion Enzo Gaudio! He's got characters you care about and some you wish would die horrible deaths! READ THIS SERIES! 5 outta 5
Profile Image for Trisha.
42 reviews8 followers
February 7, 2015
Exciting read!

I could not put down this book. Many characters both good and evil made for an excellent, fast-paced book. I'm off to read districts 2!
2 reviews
February 7, 2015
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F2f :) ::) ::) ::) f2f ::) ::) hubbub ::) c Bhutan b :/ ::) hubbub g :/ ::) g
Profile Image for Vicki.
443 reviews
January 3, 2016
I love this book, I love when it written so you can't wait to see what happens next .
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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