The Defiant: An Unbeaten Path

The Defiant #2

by John W. Vance

Two weeks have passed since the lights went out and in that time, Nicholas McNeil has assembled the equipment, a team of devoted survivors and has located a safe place to go bunker down, the catch is that it's over a thousand miles away. He is ready for a tough journey but as the miles grow longer he discovers he's not quite as prepared for what mankind is capable of until he's face to face with it.
He discovers the once picturesque landscape has been replaced with brutality and barbarism. Can the defiant few make it and if they do, will they only find more of the same there?

Genres: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Survival, Apocalyptic

173 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2015

About the author

Who Is John W. Vance?

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." - George Orwell

John W. Vance is the author of THE DEATH TRILOGY and THE DEFIANT SERIES. He is a former Marine and retired Intelligence Analyst with the CIA. When not writing he spends as much time as he can either in the water or with his family.

He lives in complete bliss where the waves meet the shore.

Reviews

[G. Hopf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Another excellent read. I hope there's more to this series. It appears there should be. I'll be looking out for other books by Vance.

[David Francesconi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book two in the defiant series which should be read in order. This is an EMP story which was inspired by G. Michael Hopf's series The New World. If you read The New World series you notice similarities .There is a minor difference in why the EMP attacked happened. All in all I enjoyed this book.

[Robert Chapman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my first review I called this series strictly average. Nothing has changed in this second book. There is a bit more action and the story is ok, but it's just not as good as others I have read in the EMP genre.

[Julie Strassle · Rating 5 out of 5]

these are amazing books, love the way the story is told, feels very realistic, it could happen
interesting twist to post apoc, very happy I found this author.

[seasalt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storyline: 7
Setting: 7
Characters: 6,5
Conclusion: the first book was way better.

[Val Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next please!

What a great series! Can't wait to read the next one. I hope it'll be out soon so I know what happens.

[Marlene de Leeuw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories are merging somewhat. I found the story of the marine a little drawn out and dramatic but a good story. Where is the next book?

[Keith Cofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different Read on Apocalypse

At first, it is difficult to know who started the nuclear exchange. About the middle of the first book, it's revealed who started it then a completely unexpected twist is brought in. Both books are excellent reads with the old saying," I didn't want to quit reading it". A good 'end of world' story with a new reason for the war and not bogged down with a lot of 'prepper' advertising for brand name 'prepper' materials.

[Darren Dilnott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the sequel to a great book can be very difficult to follow up. This is not the case here. If i thought book one was incredible, then i was thrilled to find book two was even better.Again i found myself really disappointed that the end of the book came, and i just wanted more.
John W. Vance's vast knowledge has made him a natural to write about an EMP attack, and the consequent collapse of civilisation.

[RJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the first book follows through to book two; "the once picturesque landscape has been replaced with brutality and barbarism". The "defiant ones" was what the small group of survivors called themselves. I forget now which character coined the phrase. Better development and a more interesting tale in book two. Three.point.five
"Desired by all, destined for one." What is in the urn?

[Gillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of the book even with the grammatical errors. The second half of the book through me for a loop. The inclusion of the mystical artifact, with the first born male of the family protecting it just turned me off. With that being said, I still really like the story and I am looking forward to Vance's next book, at least now I will know what to expect from it.

[Kim Kuhne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good continuation from book #1. It is a fair approximation of what the world will be looking like a few weeks after the power stops working. The story is told from 4 different perspectives, so they don't move that far ahead in each story. Still worth reading in you like this type of book.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, but each book reads like a single episode of a TV show. You don't reach the conclusion of what's going on in the plot. I'm still curious to see what happens, but, it's frustrating to be cut off as soon as the plot pace starts picking up. I'd classify these as a series of novellas rather than subsequent books in a series.

[michael rietman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

I was anxious to read the second book, but would have gladly waited another month if it would have meant the book would have been proofed read. The errors were beyond bad and took away from the enjoyment of the book.

[Bernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Defiant: An Unbeaten Path review

The Defiant: An Unbeaten Path is the second book in this post apocalyptic series written by author John W. Vance. It's a good story and I sure hope there are more to be written.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of on the fence with this one. I like it for the most part, but the whole artifact thing is kind of bothering me. Maybe it will make more sense with book 3? Guess the only way to find out is to continue the series as soon as the next book is out. And now back to some zombie reading.....

[D.R.Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Defiant Unbeaten Path

Excellent reading with a ruthless storyline, endless twist and turns that provokes thought of our own future if we we're place in the same life's plot. As a read will suggest to continue with this Goodreads and move on to the next follow-up novel.

[L. Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of John Vance's work. I like his characters, and the plot's always entertaining and suspenseful.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of apocalyptic fiction, but c'mon why do we need to weave a mystical treasure hunt into this. The book was fine standing on it's own without the ancient artifact.