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EMP: John's War
A novel of justice, vengeance, and the line between them.
The world ended in silence.
When the electromagnetic pulse hit, John Pritchard lost everything—his home, his town, and the two people who meant the most to him. But what followed wasn’t chaos. It was calculated. Orchestrated. His wife and daughter weren’t victims of random collapse. They were executed by a shadow order called Orion.
Now, John walks the ashes of what once was, hunting the operatives who carried out the purge and the architects who sanctioned it. Each name he crosses off his list unearths a deeper truth—Orion isn’t just a terrorist network. It’s a global doctrine. A belief system coded into silence, hidden in symbols, and built to survive.
Joined by a fractured team of survivors, former officers, and a penitent ex-believer marked for death, John must navigate a landscape scarred by betrayal and faith twisted into fanaticism. But vengeance cuts both ways, and as his path converges with an old friend turned rival, John must decide what kind of man he is willing to become—and what justice really means in a world with no laws left to break.
The line between justice and vengeance is razor-thin.
And John Pritchard is done walking it.
The world ended in silence.
When the electromagnetic pulse hit, John Pritchard lost everything—his home, his town, and the two people who meant the most to him. But what followed wasn’t chaos. It was calculated. Orchestrated. His wife and daughter weren’t victims of random collapse. They were executed by a shadow order called Orion.
Now, John walks the ashes of what once was, hunting the operatives who carried out the purge and the architects who sanctioned it. Each name he crosses off his list unearths a deeper truth—Orion isn’t just a terrorist network. It’s a global doctrine. A belief system coded into silence, hidden in symbols, and built to survive.
Joined by a fractured team of survivors, former officers, and a penitent ex-believer marked for death, John must navigate a landscape scarred by betrayal and faith twisted into fanaticism. But vengeance cuts both ways, and as his path converges with an old friend turned rival, John must decide what kind of man he is willing to become—and what justice really means in a world with no laws left to break.
The line between justice and vengeance is razor-thin.
And John Pritchard is done walking it.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 12, 2025
3 people are currently reading
About the author
L. Douglas Hogan
32 books34 followersL. Douglas Hogan is a U.S.M.C. veteran with over twenty years in public service. Among these are three years as an anti-tank infantryman, one year as a Marine Corps Marksmanship Instructor, ten years as a part-time police officer, and eighteen years working in state government doing security work and supervision. He has been married over twenty years, has two children, and is faithful to his church, where he resides in southern Illinois.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 14, 2026
L. Douglas Hogan’s EMP: John's War is a masterful second installment that elevates the post apocalyptic genre from a story of survival into a gripping, philosophically charged quest for justice in a world stripped of all order. This is a novel that doesn’t just explore the ashes of civilization, but the fire of one man’s grief and the chilling, calculated ideology that rises from the ruins.
John Pritchard returns as a protagonist forged in unbearable loss, and Hogan deepens his journey with remarkable intensity. The revelation that his family’s death was not random tragedy but a calculated execution by the shadowy Orion order transforms John’s path from one of mere endurance to a focused, relentless hunt. The prose is sharp and visceral, painting a landscape of both physical and moral desolation with stark, compelling clarity.
Where the novel truly excels is in its exploration of Orion. This is no simple band of raiders; it’s a “global doctrine,” a belief system woven into the fabric of the collapse, making the threat both more intelligent and more terrifying. The inclusion of a “penitent ex-believer” and the themes of “faith twisted into fanaticism” add profound layers of moral complexity, forcing John, and the reader, to confront the nature of evil in a world without laws.
The action is taut and satisfying, but the core of the book is John’s internal struggle. The central question, “what kind of man he is willing to become”, hangs over every confrontation, making this far more than a simple revenge thriller. It’s a study in the corrosive nature of vengeance and the desperate search for meaning when all traditional structures have fallen.
Hogan’s world-building remains top-notch, and the convergence of John’s path with an “old friend turned rival” promises explosive consequences. EMP: John's War is a fiercely intelligent, emotionally resonant, and relentlessly paced novel that confirms the Ashes of Order series as a standout in the genre. For fans of gritty, thought-provoking post-apocalyptic fiction, this is an absolute must-read.
John Pritchard returns as a protagonist forged in unbearable loss, and Hogan deepens his journey with remarkable intensity. The revelation that his family’s death was not random tragedy but a calculated execution by the shadowy Orion order transforms John’s path from one of mere endurance to a focused, relentless hunt. The prose is sharp and visceral, painting a landscape of both physical and moral desolation with stark, compelling clarity.
Where the novel truly excels is in its exploration of Orion. This is no simple band of raiders; it’s a “global doctrine,” a belief system woven into the fabric of the collapse, making the threat both more intelligent and more terrifying. The inclusion of a “penitent ex-believer” and the themes of “faith twisted into fanaticism” add profound layers of moral complexity, forcing John, and the reader, to confront the nature of evil in a world without laws.
The action is taut and satisfying, but the core of the book is John’s internal struggle. The central question, “what kind of man he is willing to become”, hangs over every confrontation, making this far more than a simple revenge thriller. It’s a study in the corrosive nature of vengeance and the desperate search for meaning when all traditional structures have fallen.
Hogan’s world-building remains top-notch, and the convergence of John’s path with an “old friend turned rival” promises explosive consequences. EMP: John's War is a fiercely intelligent, emotionally resonant, and relentlessly paced novel that confirms the Ashes of Order series as a standout in the genre. For fans of gritty, thought-provoking post-apocalyptic fiction, this is an absolute must-read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review