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Disaster Thriller
Fallout: A Novel
Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, is hit by a monster storm. When a massive lightning strike hits one of the nuclear reactors that provides power to Silver Lake and much of the state, essential components fail. Explosions and containment breaches follow. Radiation pours into the storm-wracked air.
Preparing for a storm was one thing, but all the duct tape, plastic tarps, and particle board in the world won't protect the townspeople from the fallout. Sarah Redmond, acting mayor of Silver Lake, and her husband, an EMT, find themselves battling the storm and nuclear disaster simultaneously: flash floods and evacuations, downed trees and radiation sickness.
Staff at the power plant scramble to determine the extent of the damage and stop the leaks. Everything's being streamed onto the internet by Marla Hollis, a local journalist who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. Trapped at the plant, she's determined to get the story out at any cost.
Nuclear disaster, not in far-off Chernobyl or Fukushima, but on American soil. How much of Pennsylvania will become a radioactive nightmare for generations to come?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Preparing for a storm was one thing, but all the duct tape, plastic tarps, and particle board in the world won't protect the townspeople from the fallout. Sarah Redmond, acting mayor of Silver Lake, and her husband, an EMT, find themselves battling the storm and nuclear disaster simultaneously: flash floods and evacuations, downed trees and radiation sickness.
Staff at the power plant scramble to determine the extent of the damage and stop the leaks. Everything's being streamed onto the internet by Marla Hollis, a local journalist who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. Trapped at the plant, she's determined to get the story out at any cost.
Nuclear disaster, not in far-off Chernobyl or Fukushima, but on American soil. How much of Pennsylvania will become a radioactive nightmare for generations to come?
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2017
3 people are currently reading
619 people want to read
About the author
Wil Mara
262 books61 followersWil Mara has worked as an author for over 34 years and currently has more than 325 books in print. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His books have won multiple awards, reached bestseller lists, earned excellent reviews, and been translated into more than a dozen languages. 2005’s Wave won the New Jersey Notable Book Award, and 2012’s The Gemini Virus remained on Amazon’s list of ‘Ten Bestseller Medical Thrillers’ for 14 consecutive weeks. The most recent novel in his disaster series, Fallout, was nominated for the Edgar Award for Novel of the Year. And his children’s nonfiction publications have won countless awards and terrific reviews in all the leading trade journals, including Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus, and others.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
Much of his work for children has been nonfiction for the school-library market. He also ghostwrote five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. And starting in 2019, Rosen Publishing released the first of his new ‘Twisted’ series, which has been described as “Twilight Zones for kids.” It became the most pre-ordered fiction series in the company’s history. The first ‘Twisted’ book, The Videomaniac, was released on January 1 and sold through its first printing in less than a month. The second, House of a Million Rooms, was released on March 1 and, just a few weeks later, was chosen as a Main Selection Title by the Junior Library Guild.
Wil was also an editor, administrator, and executive inside the industry for over 20 years, working for such houses as Scholastic, McGraw-Hill, Macmillan, and Prentice-Hall until turning to fulltime writing in 2005. He is an associate member of the NJASL and an executive member of the Board of Directors for the New Jersey Center for the Book, which is an affiliate of the US Library of Congress. He is also the vice president of the Literary Alliance of New Jersey, the host of the ‘Voice of American Libraries’ podcast, and the 2019 recipient of the Literary Lion of New Jersey Award, whose past winners include Gus Friedrich, Dean Emeritus of Rutgers University, and Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist.
Wil is also an experienced speaker, presenter, and voice artist, having visited more than 300 schools and other institutions, and done the audio readings for many books, including his 2012 thriller The Gemini Virus. He continues to speak to audiences across the country (including via video) and do voice work as his writing schedule permits.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 25, 2021
The cover blurb states "A nuclear power plant. A monster storm. What can go wrong?" Well it turns out a hell of a lot of Fallout. I have read three of Wil Mara's books The Wave, The Gemini Virus and now Fallout and I have not been disappointed by any of them.
April 7, 2017
There is a perfect storm heading for Silver Lake and it results in a nuclear disaster of major proportions. Sarah is the acting mayor while the current mayor is out recovering from heart surgery. She is put to the test to see this town through the storm and resulting disaster. She thought that the only ill effects would be major flooding from the storm. But when lightening hits the nuclear facility and results in a massive breach she has her hands full. Her husband is one of the town's EMT's and he does everything he can to help save as many residents as he can.
Marla is a local journalist and is at the plant interviewing the owner when the breach occurs. She had previously been tipped off about things not being as they should. While reporting on the disaster she uncovers just what has been going on at the plant and who exactly tipped her off.
Not everyone will survive this disaster, but heroes are revealed amid the heartbreak.
I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
Marla is a local journalist and is at the plant interviewing the owner when the breach occurs. She had previously been tipped off about things not being as they should. While reporting on the disaster she uncovers just what has been going on at the plant and who exactly tipped her off.
Not everyone will survive this disaster, but heroes are revealed amid the heartbreak.
I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley.
May 20, 2018
I think this had so much potential, but in the end
I found it to be rather boring.
I found it to be rather boring.
September 29, 2018
I got sucked into this book immediately, and as a Pennsylvanian resident, it was nice to read a story set in my state with discussion about the effects on Amish farms, etc. I liked how the author threw in some history about Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima in the interview between the journalist and the owner (or son of) of the plant. I wasn't expecting the twist right at the end over who had been leaking secret information about the nuclear plant to the journalist, so that was fun. I earlier thought I knew exactly who it was, so it was refreshing to have been wrong. I couldn't put the book down, and I found the story of the married couple who shall remain unnamed heart-rending. The foreshadowing made me feel like a stone dropped in my stomach. Unfortunately, the conclusion left me wanting.
*Spoilers ahead*
The conclusion centered around the journalist and the acting mayor of the town and all that they accomplished in the years after the accident. That was all fine and well, but I would have liked to have learned how others in the community fared, like the young pregnant woman and her unborn (the fate was implied but not specified), the young man who was caught in the storm outside for hours (his future ability to have children was called into question), and the father who went out after his son and also got trapped in the storm. I would have liked more information about Barbara the secretary and her coworker and what happened to them, and to have learned the fate of the foreman of the plant and the other employees who worked there during the accident, trying to save the reactor.
Finally, I thought it was unrealistic how most people, including those who were caught in the storm, even for several hours, escaped pretty well unscathed. Aside from an implied potential pregnancy termination, the possibility of sterility or genetic mutations in future offspring, and I believe some nervous system issues like painful neuropathy, everyone survived quite well. The author stated within a conversation between characters what a normal dose is and what the maximum allowable dose is for a nuclear worker. The plant was supposed to have been leaking 120,000 or more millirems per hour, which was much greater than these maximum allowable doses, and was implied to be a horrifyingly large amount of radiation. It is unfathomable to me how people who lived just downwind of the plant and were outside for several hours, possibly drinking radioactive raindrops (catching them on their tongue, thus ingesting them), and were exposed to such great amounts of radiation could have survived with such health. Particularly when they lost consciousness and were vomiting, both signs of radiation poisoning. I had expected some graphic, but perhaps realistic descriptions about skin sloughing off, decimated blood counts, thyroid concerns, and severe digestive system dysfunction and damage that could have included the necessity of surgery to remove damaged or dead tissue with a possible colostomy bag, etc.. At the least, I had expected there to be more blood: coughing it up, vomiting blood, and diarrhea (with or without blood). While the graphic nature of radiation sickness and poisoning is horrifying, it seemed unrealistic that these individuals who were exposed to the worst of the radiation suffered such few lasting effects. If they had suffered more issues over the years, I wish the author would have included that, including future health statistics on the exposed population, like any increases in cancer incidence, etc. I would have also liked more information about how the Amish farmers coped with the effects of the radiation. I can understand wanting to leave a happy-ish ending, but it completely took me out of the story because I felt that it was just too unrealistic. While it was un-put-downable up to the ending, the conclusion fell flat for me and seemed much too optimistic.
*Spoilers ahead*
The conclusion centered around the journalist and the acting mayor of the town and all that they accomplished in the years after the accident. That was all fine and well, but I would have liked to have learned how others in the community fared, like the young pregnant woman and her unborn (the fate was implied but not specified), the young man who was caught in the storm outside for hours (his future ability to have children was called into question), and the father who went out after his son and also got trapped in the storm. I would have liked more information about Barbara the secretary and her coworker and what happened to them, and to have learned the fate of the foreman of the plant and the other employees who worked there during the accident, trying to save the reactor.
Finally, I thought it was unrealistic how most people, including those who were caught in the storm, even for several hours, escaped pretty well unscathed. Aside from an implied potential pregnancy termination, the possibility of sterility or genetic mutations in future offspring, and I believe some nervous system issues like painful neuropathy, everyone survived quite well. The author stated within a conversation between characters what a normal dose is and what the maximum allowable dose is for a nuclear worker. The plant was supposed to have been leaking 120,000 or more millirems per hour, which was much greater than these maximum allowable doses, and was implied to be a horrifyingly large amount of radiation. It is unfathomable to me how people who lived just downwind of the plant and were outside for several hours, possibly drinking radioactive raindrops (catching them on their tongue, thus ingesting them), and were exposed to such great amounts of radiation could have survived with such health. Particularly when they lost consciousness and were vomiting, both signs of radiation poisoning. I had expected some graphic, but perhaps realistic descriptions about skin sloughing off, decimated blood counts, thyroid concerns, and severe digestive system dysfunction and damage that could have included the necessity of surgery to remove damaged or dead tissue with a possible colostomy bag, etc.. At the least, I had expected there to be more blood: coughing it up, vomiting blood, and diarrhea (with or without blood). While the graphic nature of radiation sickness and poisoning is horrifying, it seemed unrealistic that these individuals who were exposed to the worst of the radiation suffered such few lasting effects. If they had suffered more issues over the years, I wish the author would have included that, including future health statistics on the exposed population, like any increases in cancer incidence, etc. I would have also liked more information about how the Amish farmers coped with the effects of the radiation. I can understand wanting to leave a happy-ish ending, but it completely took me out of the story because I felt that it was just too unrealistic. While it was un-put-downable up to the ending, the conclusion fell flat for me and seemed much too optimistic.
May 15, 2017
I wavered between 4-5 stars and kept saying 4.5 so, I said, hey, let's round up on this one! I enjoyed Fallout as much as any of Mara's other books. It follows two main characters (Sarah-acting mayor and Marla-journalist) through a 'perfect storm' in a small town in rural PA. Silver Lake is much like any other small town, everyone knows everyone, everyone looks out for everyone, and most people always believe in glass half full. Silver Lake is also located near a nuclear power plant. So, on a day when double digit rainfall is expected, the power plant has a melt down due to a lightening strike. Noxious, radioactive gasses are spewed into the storm headed for Silver Lake. Marla is at the plant for an interview at the time, and Sarah is doing all she can to keep the citizens of Silver Lake as safe as is possible.
Two very strong female characters, who persevere and come out in the end heroines. It was obvious that Mara had done his homework as well and was deftly able to teach the reader about the ins and outs of nuclear power in a readable, understandable, and meaningful to the plot line, way. Again, Mara's skill with creating believable characters makes reading this novel an edge of your seat nail biter. Who will make it? Who won't? What will happen to Silver Lake?
Two very strong female characters, who persevere and come out in the end heroines. It was obvious that Mara had done his homework as well and was deftly able to teach the reader about the ins and outs of nuclear power in a readable, understandable, and meaningful to the plot line, way. Again, Mara's skill with creating believable characters makes reading this novel an edge of your seat nail biter. Who will make it? Who won't? What will happen to Silver Lake?
January 5, 2024
I hate to rate books as 1 star out of 5, I really do. This one, I could not possibly rate any higher than that.
I haven't written a review for a while but this one has kind of brought me out of retirement.
What I was expecting when I read the synopsis on this: I read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, especially the nuclear kind, having worked at jobs where radiation is involved, it's an obvious draw for me, and I was hoping for something that I could vaguely hold onto as being realistic here, or at the very least, be entertaining. Alas, what I got: Simple, anti-nuclear energy propaganda. And not only is the story sad, the prose, grammar, characters, and overall laziness of this work are sad, too.
Wil Mara, if you read this, I apologize if my words sting, but, I honestly feel that this novel is an absolute embarrassment. I get, an author's need to season their works with some of their own views, but you could have released a paragraph as a statement for that, rather than writing this.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this to anyone.
I haven't written a review for a while but this one has kind of brought me out of retirement.
What I was expecting when I read the synopsis on this: I read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, especially the nuclear kind, having worked at jobs where radiation is involved, it's an obvious draw for me, and I was hoping for something that I could vaguely hold onto as being realistic here, or at the very least, be entertaining. Alas, what I got: Simple, anti-nuclear energy propaganda. And not only is the story sad, the prose, grammar, characters, and overall laziness of this work are sad, too.
Wil Mara, if you read this, I apologize if my words sting, but, I honestly feel that this novel is an absolute embarrassment. I get, an author's need to season their works with some of their own views, but you could have released a paragraph as a statement for that, rather than writing this.
I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this to anyone.
March 30, 2019
OK, not spectacular. I'm not enough of a scientist to know if the argument that nuclear reactors don't explode is actually true. What I do know is that when I see a character described as having been in New Orleans an hour before Katrina hit, "standing on the beach", I cry bullshit. New Orleans is a good 60-70 miles north of the beach. Unless the author was talking about the edge of Lake Pontchartrain.
*spoilers* I also didn't like that we didn't find out what happened to Pete, Mark, and Sharon. And the author needs a refresher in human gestation. It's Sharon's first baby. She's 10 weeks pregnant. It's very unlikely that the pregnancy will be causing a noticeable bulge. For subsequent babies, possible, since the abdominal muscles go "oh yeah, we remember this....FLOOMP" and you can't get into your jeans at 8 weeks. But first babies? It can be 16, 18, even 20 weeks before that kid starts to show.
*spoilers* I also didn't like that we didn't find out what happened to Pete, Mark, and Sharon. And the author needs a refresher in human gestation. It's Sharon's first baby. She's 10 weeks pregnant. It's very unlikely that the pregnancy will be causing a noticeable bulge. For subsequent babies, possible, since the abdominal muscles go "oh yeah, we remember this....FLOOMP" and you can't get into your jeans at 8 weeks. But first babies? It can be 16, 18, even 20 weeks before that kid starts to show.
May 18, 2017
Please read all of my reviews at http://ultraviolentlit.blogspot.ca!
A massive storm is about to hit Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, bringing with it the threat of flooding and evacuation. The storm alone is dangerous, but the situation rapidly gets much worse when lightning strikes the nuclear reactor that provides power to much of the state. The containment breach is immediate, and the spread of nuclear waste is hastened by the severity of the quickly moving storm system. With extreme wind and rainfall, the contamination has spread for miles before anyone even knows what has happened.
Conveniently, journalist Marla Hollis happened to be inside the nuclear plant at the time of the breach, writing an expose on the many safety rules that are being broken and ignored by the plant’s wealthy owners. Inside the building at the time of the explosion, Marla gains access to shocking information about the dangerous practices occurring at the plant – trapped inside, she releases minute-by-minute updates as conditions worsen in Silver Lake.
Meanwhile, at city hall, acting mayor Sarah Redmond struggles to control the situation, simultaneously dealing with flash floods, evacuation and increasing cases of radiation sickness. Sarah’s husband is an EMT on the front lines of the disaster, and he risks his own life to save as many residents of Silver Lake as he can from the threat of radioactive waste.
It is shocking to read about a nuclear disaster close up, through the eyes of these three characters who have very different perspectives and circumstances. The story is immediate, completely engrossing and very believable. Realizing how easy it would be for a disaster such as this to happen, not far away but right here in North America, is unsettling to say the least – as I’m sure is Mara’s intention. However, I just didn’t connect with the characters, who seemed formulaic and flat. So, while the plot was fast-paced and thought-provoking, I felt that in this case, the message overshadowed the medium. The story was lost in the author’s need to take a stand about the dangers of nuclear energy – although he makes a very good point.
I received this book from Forge Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A massive storm is about to hit Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, bringing with it the threat of flooding and evacuation. The storm alone is dangerous, but the situation rapidly gets much worse when lightning strikes the nuclear reactor that provides power to much of the state. The containment breach is immediate, and the spread of nuclear waste is hastened by the severity of the quickly moving storm system. With extreme wind and rainfall, the contamination has spread for miles before anyone even knows what has happened.
Conveniently, journalist Marla Hollis happened to be inside the nuclear plant at the time of the breach, writing an expose on the many safety rules that are being broken and ignored by the plant’s wealthy owners. Inside the building at the time of the explosion, Marla gains access to shocking information about the dangerous practices occurring at the plant – trapped inside, she releases minute-by-minute updates as conditions worsen in Silver Lake.
Meanwhile, at city hall, acting mayor Sarah Redmond struggles to control the situation, simultaneously dealing with flash floods, evacuation and increasing cases of radiation sickness. Sarah’s husband is an EMT on the front lines of the disaster, and he risks his own life to save as many residents of Silver Lake as he can from the threat of radioactive waste.
It is shocking to read about a nuclear disaster close up, through the eyes of these three characters who have very different perspectives and circumstances. The story is immediate, completely engrossing and very believable. Realizing how easy it would be for a disaster such as this to happen, not far away but right here in North America, is unsettling to say the least – as I’m sure is Mara’s intention. However, I just didn’t connect with the characters, who seemed formulaic and flat. So, while the plot was fast-paced and thought-provoking, I felt that in this case, the message overshadowed the medium. The story was lost in the author’s need to take a stand about the dangers of nuclear energy – although he makes a very good point.
I received this book from Forge Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 20, 2017
Small town Silver Lake, Pennsylvania is about to get a doozy of a storm. Sarah Redmond is the acting mayor and she’s making sure her, and the townspeople, are fully prepared to ride it out. When lightning happens to strike the nearby power plant, taking out a nuclear reactor, Sarah realizes what she thought was bad, just became a whole lot worse.
I could not put this book down and could not read fast enough; an unnerving thrill ride to the end! Wil Mara creates characters you will root for to the very last page!
I could not put this book down and could not read fast enough; an unnerving thrill ride to the end! Wil Mara creates characters you will root for to the very last page!
April 24, 2019
A fun and easy read. It was refreshing for the technical explanations to be in simple terms and introduced to the story in a way that didn't feel shoehorned, or stated in a way that made the reader feel dumb or break the immersion. The ending was rather nice, and the fantasy of a world run on clean energy is a nice one to imagine.
June 12, 2020
I cannot wait to read the other books now. I could not put this book down. I just had to know what was going to happen to the characters. I would have loved to know what happened to a few of the other characters that were talked alot about in the book, but I was still happy about what happened in the end.
May 9, 2023
Started out good, but near the end was boring and drawn out. Also surprised that Sarah was suddenly in her 60s; throughout the book she was portrayed as young. Not sure if I missed something but that seemed to be a huge disconnect.
November 2, 2019
I couldn't get into it
February 27, 2021
I’m officially terrified of radiation. All that radiation, contained in that nuclear core and so little separating it from the population. This book had me in anxious fits thru the whole thing!! I am kept having to calm me down by telling me that we’re nowhere near a nuclear power plant. So I was enjoying being scared and working myself up ... but there are only 3 stars up there. The ending. How can a book be so great and then ruined by a sucky ending!! I wish I could go into way more detail, but I can’t because I don’t want to give anything away!! I’m sure y’all can imagine what it would take to reduce a 5 star rating to a 3, so I’ll let y’all ponder. I just wish I could say that I loved this book because 90% was awesome! I’d definitely recommend this book to most people, it’s scary because it’s so possible, yet safe, because it’s so improbable.
December 25, 2018
Check out my review for Seattle Book Review here.
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April 21, 2017
** Awesome novel, review forthcoming **
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews