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After the EMP Saga #2

Darkness Grows

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Four days into the apocalypse, would you still be alive? The day the power went out, Madison gave up her college-student life and risked everything to make it home to her mom in Sacramento. Tracy fought off looters and thieves to prepare for her daughter’s return. Now reunited, they must defend themselves from everyone else. What would you do to see your family again? Walter watched the lights blink out across the country from 37,000 feet up in the air. Emergency landing a 737 in the middle of nowhere turned out to be the easy part. With riots and fires creating chaos, finding his way home might get him killed. The end of the world brings out the best and worst in all of us. With the power grid destroyed and the government unable to help, the Sloanes find themselves stuck in a city growing increasingly desperate. Will Madison and Tracy have what it takes to survive with neighbors and thieves closing in? Can Walter make it home to his wife and daughter before disaster strikes? The EMP is only the beginning. Darkness Grows is book two in After the EMP, a post-apocalyptic thriller series following ordinary people attempting to survive after a geomagnetic storm destroys the nation’s power grid.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 10, 2017

1240 people are currently reading
226 people want to read

About the author

Harley Tate

47 books160 followers
When the world as we know it falls apart, how far will you go to survive?

Harley Tate writes edge-of-your-seat post-apocalyptic fiction exploring what happens when ordinary people are faced with impossible choices.

Subscribe to Harley's newsletter for two exclusive prequels you can't get anywhere else: www.harleytate.com/subscribe

The end of life as we know it brings out the best and worst in all of us. The apocalypse is only the beginning.

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5 stars
849 (46%)
4 stars
665 (36%)
3 stars
271 (14%)
2 stars
44 (2%)
1 star
12 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
Profile Image for carol. .
1,760 reviews10k followers
June 13, 2018
It's not like I want the world to end; it's more like I can't stand the suspense. In Tate's series, civilization was profoundly interrupted when a solar flare and a geomagnetic storm hit the earth at the same time, frying much of the California's, and presumably the U.S.'s electrical grid. The discovery that this is occurring and the subsequent efforts to protect themselves by a small group of college kids and one of their parents was explored in book one. Book two begins about day four after the power goes out, with the kids and the mom, Tracy, reunited at Tracy's small house.

Darkness Grows explores the reaction in the small gated community that Tracy and Walter live in as the college kids catch their breath. Madison is Tracy's daughter, and her dad, Walter, is still missing, so both Madison and Tracy would like to give him a chance to return before moving on. One of the kids, Brianna, comes from a family of 'preppers,' so they're all focused on making their way to Brianna's family cabin. Meanwhile, the current neighborhood is organized enough to have had an informational meeting, but only a small number of people out of 120 homes attended, and not everyone welcomes the idea that things aren't going to improve. Other people, recognizing Tracy and Madison's friends have stockpiled supplies, start pressuring the group to "share." Meanwhile, Madison and friends are trying to ensure they have items likely needed for survival.

The narrative in this book also includes Walter's story of trying to make his way back home from Northern California, where he and his copilot made an emergency landing, to Sacremento, where Tracy is. Walter was in the Marines and feels at least semi-competent to make the journey, but his much younger co-pilot Drew is clueless when it comes to survival skills. It's an interesting contrast and does a lot to illustrate the challenges many people will face.

I think one of Tate's strengths is in capturing some of the psychology of disaster. For any crisis, there will be some that want to 'shelter in place' in an attempt to be self-reliant and to protect their homes and belongings. That approach dovetails with the more passive response of 'holding on' until the powers-that-be provide information and a plan. I enjoyed the dynamics, but occasionally it comes with awkward dialogue that feels more didactic than genuine, acting as a mouthpiece for Tate more than the character.

Along those lines, it's worth noting that Tate's writing seems to bring up issues of gun ownership and government reliance that strongly support the first and are dismissive of the latter. I was able to mostly ignore it, and it does seem that people would be frustrated in absence of official communication.

One of the main arcs is satisfactorily resolved, but then a new opportunity is opened up at the end. I appreciate that there was a clear ending to each book, while paying attention to a larger picture. It means you can certainly stop reading at any one book for the night. Direct writing, a mild delving into the social and ethical issues, a plot that has both small and larger focus means that overall, you could do much worse with these types of books.
Profile Image for Michele Rene.
141 reviews66 followers
April 22, 2018
Man this book was as good as the first one. This series has a great storyline, which keeps you engaged from the beginning. It make you think if that were to happen now, would you be ready?I know I'm not but I am working on it now. Tracy the mom is still my favorite. Well, I'm off to read the third book.
Profile Image for Kevin.
218 reviews12 followers
July 29, 2017
I felt for the characters, and understood their naive beginnings. A little preachy at times, but that is true to character for parents and college students facing the toughest challenges ever, tests they'd never known to study for.
Although this is the second in the After the EMP series, it's so fast paced it only seems like chapter two in lighting rounds of survival of the fittest. Students of all ages should take these lessons to heart.
252 reviews1 follower
February 19, 2018
I have been enjoying this series. It really makes me wonder how we would really react if we had an apocalypse happen
Profile Image for Sue  .
325 reviews28 followers
September 10, 2017
What a fantastic read and a great continuation in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thought it was even better than the first one. Lots of action and drama in this story and even a few sad bits. Loved the alternating chapters between a mother, a father and a daughter, and how they all deal with events that play out during the apocalypse. This is a very realistic story of what happens in the days following an EMP. Can't wait to start book 3!
444 reviews3 followers
May 20, 2017
Like the story

I liked the story & the writing but Madison is not a character I liked. She wants to help everyone but seems to have no consideration for her friend Brianna who has parents waiting for her that may be just as worried as her own parents were. Sometimes all you can do is all you can do.
Profile Image for Bob.
126 reviews4 followers
December 18, 2017
What would you do

It is hard to imagine what it would be like if we got hit by an EMP. Harley Tate has done a good job making this real.
279 reviews3 followers
August 5, 2020
This is book two in After the EMP. It has good characters, some action, but to be as short as it is, it moves too slow. Madison and her three friends, her mother and her employer are having to fight off neighbors. One in particular. They end up loosing a lot. Meanwhile Madison’s dad and his co-pilot Drew are still trying to get to Sacramento from Eugene, Oregon to get to Drew’s fiancée and then Walter to get to his family. If you are going to read After the EMP start in the beginning. There are nine books in all. I am on to number three. I hope they get better before I decide it is not worth the time or money to see what happens.
Profile Image for C..
770 reviews122 followers
July 17, 2018
Another for my Favorites shelf, but sadly I had to deduct one star for an extend scene of crude sexual talk, between an MC and a pair of would be rapists, that I would have preferred it not have been so explicit!
Otherwise, also an excellent read and I can't wait to begin book-3,which I am starting now!
Profile Image for Patiscynical.
287 reviews4 followers
July 6, 2017
Plot failure

And it's going downhill fast.
The first book was fairly interesting, and I was hoping this one would be as good, but no.
After surviving all kinds of attacks, the Sloane family and friends are still in Sacramento, still not heading to the compound in the mountains. With so many people trying to steal all their supplies, chaos all around, the last chapter of this book has the characters about to go do something completely outside of what they should be doing. And I'm fairly certain that it's to pad this series into one more unnecessary book.
Results: Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not wasting anymore time.
Profile Image for Johnny.
2,183 reviews83 followers
November 21, 2017
Walter

Is impressive. Stripping the car showed me a few tricks I'd never thought of. However I'm highly disappointed in everyone so far when it comes to weapons. If you are in a hunting supplies store, or a Wal-Mart hours before something like this happens and you can't get past the restrictions for a gun, (California) guess what! You can buy a bow or a crossbow with no wait!
Most gun battles will be at close range. Doesn't matter if it's a civilian or a hardened criminal, most folks are bad shots when the chips are down. While slower firing than a gun a crossbow bolt at 20 to 40 feet will kill a man just as dead as a gun. Added bonus, they are a lot quieter than a gun. Most people think a gun automatically gives them power. Real power comes from hitting your target when your life is on the line.
This book was a basic walk through of what not to do in these kinds of disasters. All the MC's probably would have died if this had been real.
Still an enjoyable read.
Profile Image for Stonebender.
94 reviews17 followers
June 6, 2018
I've read six After the EMP series. They all have problems and don't rise to my being able to recommend any of them. They were interesting enough for me to read. Especially since they only cost me a buck or two each. The author definitely has an ax to grind. (To be fair many of these after disaster stories do.) Several of his particular axes rubbed me the wrong way. Many times he will have characters be convinced not to do something, but if his particular main character decides to do it, it suddenly becomes the thing to do. There is a lot of, surviving is the point of all of morality. His characters are very uneven. Many times they do things because that would give the story more conflict rather than this is how it would work in the real world. His impatience for any alternate theories for how to live one's life bothered me a great deal. Still, I read six of them and am reading the seventh. Take that for what it's worth.
Profile Image for Jeff.
382 reviews5 followers
December 7, 2017
I certainly enjoyed this story. The characters are real, likable, flawed, & in some big trouble. The pace of the story wasn’t breakneck but even & realistic. I find myself pulling for the Sloane’s. They don’t have to kill every thug they meet. They don’t have ninja like skills. They occasionally do stupid stuff. This is the pleasure of this series so far.
Spoiler: If I have anything close to a problem with the whole EMP/solar flare situation, the cities fall apart within 24 hours. I guess, maybe... Maybe not. Hope we don’t find out. The situation with the cop came off somewhat silly. I have a son that is a cop, wouldn’t he have found another cop on shift or gone back to the PD if his radio wasn’t working? Small complaint really. I’m buying the next book & looking forward to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Connie.
309 reviews6 followers
May 15, 2018
This series has me on the edge of my seat. Once again I read book 2 in less then 24 hrs, and I can't wait to get started on book 3. I am totally hooked on the characters, and want to see how they all make out in this apocalyptic world they are now living in.

May 14th, re-reading the series. As good as the first time!!!!
Profile Image for Nikita.
132 reviews9 followers
June 13, 2017
Man this book was bull. Filled with dumb people doing dumb people things. If it was written solely from Walter's pov it would've at least be a 3 star read but Madison?! Is this what book smarts without common sense looks like? They all have the scientific reasoning behind the griddown apocalypse, they've got the experience of what the world is beginning to devolve into from the drive they made from school and the neighborhood meeting they attended. Yet, they resemble people who didn't have a headstart. Even Tracy's fallen from grace: that Wal-Mart trip was the dumbest scene I've read in a while. Wtf was she dancing and singing for dudes who were close to making themselves incapacitated enough for Tracy, Breanna and Tucker to get the stuff they wasted gas and time to get in the first place. If they'd got the guns and ammo, maybe they'd have been able to fend off Bill and his helpers.
This book just made me rethink the 3 stars I gave part1.
Profile Image for Clyde.
966 reviews52 followers
February 22, 2020
A continuation of book 1 (Darkness Begins) in Tate's After the EMP series with many of the same characters. Civilization continues to break down. Tracy, Madison, Walter, and their friends continue their struggle to survive. It won't be easy. Though a bit preachy at times (as stories like this tend to be) this story is fast-paced and kept me engaged. I would have made some different decisions, but whatever -- the story isn't about me.
One of the characters comments at one point that a total loss of the technology supporting civilization (power, transportation, communications) would result in a 90% die-off in North America. We can quibble about the numbers, but I reckon that is in the right ballpark and doubtless numbers would be similar or worse worldwide.
A quick read. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Profile Image for Missy~.
1,015 reviews17 followers
January 27, 2024
After the EMP book 2

I don’t have a lot additional to say about this story book 2 basically continued the adventures of the Sloan family, trying to find each other and make a plan about what to do with the complete collapse of the electrical grid in the United States. Of course there’s crazy evil people who burn them out of their house, which makes no sense. They basically burnt down all the supplies that crazies felt the Sloan family was hoarding.
I love the premise of this series and I love Tracy and Walter Sloan. They’re both pretty much bad asses, their daughter, Madison, though, is completely annoying too stupid to live and makes you want slap.
Buddy Drew if he’s still in the next book, I feel that he will be massively annoying as well.
But I guess that’s the point of the book if there’s not bad guys and stupid people, then the whole story is not as rich and complex.
Profile Image for Jack Skeleton.
6 reviews2 followers
May 30, 2024
Entertaining, somewhat contrived

I've enjoyed reading the first two books enough that I kept plotting on even though sometimes the dialogue and writing is a little bit contrived and clearly the author is pushing their agenda but I guess I should expect that with any kind of survival fiction. I certainly don't generally disagree with the ideas and worldview of someone who is even conscious enough to give the state of humanity after a major CME or EMP serious consideration. The characters were interesting enough although fairly flat and some of them like Wanda were a bit of a caricature but perhaps that is the best job of a less experienced author writing in a fairly small genre to create a compelling story without as much subtlety. Still a good read I have recommended to others.
Profile Image for Brittany Duszczyszyn.
1,123 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2025
These kids are resourceful but these books are short yet boring. They get back to the one girls house but her moms not there but a creepy neighbour comes to the house at night to ask her where her parents are are mentioned all the stuff he saw her mom bring home from Costco & the suv the kids have packed full of camping gear! Like if that wasn’t a huge red flag I don’t know what is!

Then she goes to a town hall meeting where he ends up putting a shot gun in her face, until her mom showed up and threatened to kill him. (They should of) he convinced another guy to break into their place and things don’t go well the house ends up burning down with lots of supplies inside and the mom gets hurt and the old lady died. Probably could of been prevented 🤷‍♀️

So they leave and ask a neighbour to let her husband the dad know where they are. Because ya traveling across California is that easy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books.
2,636 reviews10.9k followers
July 29, 2025
After diving into book#1 and enjoying it, I grabbed this one and jumped right in, also finishing it that very same day!! These aren't long but come action packed of goodness.

This series seems to have grabbed me unawares and hooked me right in as they prepared to gather supplies for the future, this had my heart racing with the threats that kept coming their way, especially when the neighbourhood knows what they have and it didn't take long before they came in wanting to take what they'd sourced even if it mean't burning down their house and flushing them out.

Death toll #1
And just when this person was accepting things within this new world and was adapting accordingly. It was a blow to the group.

This definitely gets you thinking about how prepared you would be if something out of the ordinary struck leaving you without everything you've become accustomed to.
Profile Image for Nathan Miller.
563 reviews2 followers
August 23, 2019
This is one of those series that was decent enough to keep reading, despite certain shortcomings in execution. Mainly, I want to know what happens with the characters. Which I guess means the author made me care about them.

Overall, I think the author improved over the first book. Character consistency, plot points, exposition, etc.

As an aside, I continue to scratch my head over what seem to be two extremes when it comes to how post-apocalyptic authors--and, well, filmmakers, too--treat the military. They're either too competent, or not nearly competent enough. I suppose the military has a particular role to play in storytelling, but it rarely seems terribly balanced.
Profile Image for William.
12 reviews
March 10, 2019
This one was definitely better than the first. It kept me on the edge of my seat. There were still moments that were completely unbelievable, but I was able to get past that. The innocence of the kids is lost even more here and reality smacks the princess Madison in the face finally. I'm very excited about reading the third one. One thing both this book and the first one have done to me is make me think what I would do in the situations they face. We can all talk a big game...but would we really do what we say we would do?
3,198 reviews26 followers
January 20, 2019
An HT. SYFY. Novel (ATEMP-2)/Sacremento/Trucker/Highway 397

HT. has. penned a SYF Y novel , the second in the series After the EM P and what it has meant to the people who had I idea what was happening to the few that did. Society was taking its first step down and step two was not far behind. The family and friends are traveling to a compound in Northeast California. This is an excellent read for the genre...DEHS
1 review
October 21, 2022
Thought Provoking Book

After reading the first two books, I have started to think about how fast everything we have could be gone if the US lost the entire power grid. That grid as well as all other pieces of our infrastructure are in a poor state, and and EMP or CME are both real possibilities.

I am not a doom and gloom person, so these books don't scare me. But they do present a real world situation that we need to be prepared for just in case something goes wrong.
Profile Image for Tony.
39 reviews
September 1, 2024
This is the second book of the series and I'd say I am committed to reading the whole series. Some of the other reviews on Goodreads are a bit over the top with critiques on the book's realism or writing acumen. For me, I'm not looking for a science lesson or Shaekespearan writing, I want good clean entertainment in a genre I like. This book works for me and the genre is a bit addictive.
I bet alot of people might find this interesting. The big test......will my wife like it, we will see.
172 reviews1 follower
May 14, 2017
Enjoyed

I give a 4 rating to books I enjoy and would continue reading the series if their is one. This book kept me reading through the first and the second book. Good amount of characters and not a terrible lot of violence. I enjoy that each gun isn't fully described like so many I read. Will look for more books by Harley Tate.
Profile Image for Pam Shelton-Anderson.
1,964 reviews67 followers
May 21, 2017
I have enjoyed this series so far. Both the adults and kids have a lot of strengths unlike a lot of books where one or the other is out of balance. Madison needs to wise up and listen to her friend Brianna and the group as a whole may want to rethink their "shiny keys" reaction to helping everyone and anyone. I look forward to the next book in this series.
15 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2017
Not a bad read at all. Quick and entertaining.

While this series isn't quite as dark and gritty as other post-emp novels I've read it touches on some specific scenarios that are unique to the books premise which is why I've given it 4 stars. I prefer my books to be longer and more character driven hence the missing 5th star.
3 reviews
August 29, 2017
Keep em coming

I Adam hooked on these disaster books. My church (LDS)has been t Ellington us to prepare for disasters for years with food and water storage, water filtration systems, etc hopefully your books and those of other authors will wake people up. Easy reading but with substance and interesting characters.
Profile Image for  ✰  Charlie  ✰ Chisholm.
1,984 reviews22 followers
February 11, 2018

I really enjoyed this book.

I think it was better than book one it has so much going on action and drama. even some sad parts in this one. Loved the chapters from mother, daughter and father's point of view. great seeing it all through their eyes. Another well written book can’t wait to start book 3
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