Without Warning

The Disappearance #1

by John Birmingham

In Kuwait, American forces are stacked up, locked and loaded for the invasion of Iraq. In Paris, a covert agent, a woman who inhabits a twilight of lies and death, is close to cracking a terrorist cell. And just north of the equator, a forty-foot wood-hulled sailboat, manned by a drug runner, a pirate, and two gun-slinging beauties, is witness to the unspeakable. In one instant, all around the world, for politicians and peasants, from Gaza to Geneva, things will never be the same. A wave of inexplicable energy has slammed into the continental United States.

America, as we know it, is gone. . . .

WITHOUT WARNING

Now U.S. soldiers are fighting a war without command or control. A correspondent records horrors for no one. Washington is gone and the line of succession is in tatters; the functioning remnants of government are in Pearl Harbor, Guantánamo Bay, and one desperate, isolated corner of the Northwest. For the jihadists, it’s Allah’s miracle. For Saddam, it’s a chance to attack. Iran declares war on an America that doesn’t exist–except in the hearts and souls of the men and women who want it to.

In this astounding work of alternate fiction, John Birmingham hurtles us into a scenario that is unimaginable but shatteringly real: a world of financial ruin where a cloud of noxious waste–from America’s burning cities–darkens Europe, while men and women in offices around the globe struggle to make decisions that cannot hold and opportunists unleash their secret demons.

From a slick Texas lawyer who happens to be in the right place at the right time to a hard-working city engineer in Seattle who becomes his terrified city’s only hope, from the cancer-stricken secret agent to a drug runner off the Mexican coast and a U.S. general in Cuba, Without Warning tells a fast, furious story of survival, violence, and a new, soul-shattering reality.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Alternate History, Post Apocalyptic, Thriller, Military Fiction, Apocalyptic

528 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2009

About the author

John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.

While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.

Birmingham has a degree in international relations.

Reviews

[Ashok Banker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointing book. What's worse is that it's not the first time I've been disappointed by a John Birmingham novel - I read the first book of his previous trilogy, Weapons of Choice, and found that almost unreadable. Even after persisting through to the end of that first book (as I did with this first book of the new trilogy too), I found the characters unlikable in the extreme, the American jingoism too much to take, and the overt racism, bigotry and sexist attitudes of the characters too unpleasant to either be entertaining or verisimilitudinous. Yes, I know that those attitudes aren't necessarily that of the author's, but when an author seems to choose mainly characters of that ilk, it gets tedious and unbearable. The problems with Without Warning don't end there: The idea is interesting to begin with, but Birmingham goes nowhere with it. The writing is plodding, pedestrian, and is like a painful attempt to write a military-cum-spy thriller which never succeeds. It's as if he picks all the wrong set pieces, executes them flatly, and throws in a lot of action and sturm and drang, signifying nothing, not even good entertainment. It actually gets boring after a while. As it that wasn't enough, the editing and copy-editing are both appalling, with literally dozens of errors popping out unbidden, perhaps many more that I didn't notice or tried to get past. I'm a huge fan of alt history, military SF and EOW/survivalist fiction, and regard Turtledove and Stirling as the benchmarks of those genres. This one definitely doesn't pass the Turtledove/Stirling standard. It's not worth picking up in paperback let alone hardcover. I want my money back and I will not be picking up a book by John Birmingham ever again. Sorry, John, you seem like a okay enough guy, but you just don't cut it as a writer of this kind of fiction. Better luck with another genre.

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Just finished binge watching the tv series Designated Survivor. In this a man becomes US President when everyone at the State of the Union address dies in a bombing. In this book most of the US is destroyed by an event so no designated survivor has been pronounced. Story flits between different characters and events across the world. Without the US keeping hands on the world Israel destroys most of the Arab world in nuclear strikes. But closer to home Tony Blair cuts the Uk off from Europe. While France degenerates into an Islam vs right wing war. The characters are well rounded and the pace just right. Unusually for me I managed to read the first in a trilogy. My Amazon order of book 2 arrived as I finished. So just a quick Jo Nesbo to read before I start again👍

[Annmarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take one part clumsier Tom Clancy, add one part S.M. Stirling, shake it up with an anti-Muslim bias, and you get this 2009 novel by an Aussie. Set just days prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it's an apocalyptic read, full of military exploits.

A strange inexplicable energy wave abruptly covers most of North America and all mammalian life disappears or is melted into a pile of goo. At least I think it's all mammalian life; only humans are of concern in this book. Only the Seattle area, Alaska, & Hawaii are left of the U.S. states. Also most of Canada's populated areas, most of Mexico, and most of Cuba. There are a lot of narratives to follow, a bit too many for my liking: an undercover assassin woman working for the U.S. & embedded in France, a general at Guantanamo Bay, the city engineer in Seattle, a couple of hot babe pirates, and a former ranger journalist in Qatar. I think that's all of them. Anyway the storylines jump around and take place just after the event, then 1 week after, then 1 month after. They depict what happens to the rest of the world after the U.S. is effectively gone (except for most of the military and a few million expats). Chaos, lots of fighting, lots of brains and heads getting splattered, France really goes to hell (oh those Muslims and their cheese eating surrender monkey sympathizers- if you don't like phrases like that, don't pick up this book), the Arab world is entirely unhelpful and basically has no sanity or restraint whatsoever (but Israel is still around so don't be happy for too long, Arab world), and the U.S. military must step in to save those city goverment buffoons in Seattle who can't run their freaked out city without them. Olympia, Washington's capitol, seems to have survived but the governor and Seattle's mayor were out of state and apparently the rest of the Olympia legislative and judicial folk aren't worth bringing into the story. Neither is Vancouver, BC. Why would the two surviving major population centers in N.A., 3 hours away from each other, chat with each other. They're busy, after all. Luckily a few military folk and the city engineer are still interested in the Constitution, despite the unruly liberal military-hating Seattle populace and the ineffectual city councillors. Scientists suck and are useless in this book, but that Bill Gates, he's all right.

Can you tell this book annoyed me a lot? Still, it's action filled and has a coherent storyline, so it'll have its fans. Especially if they love the military. There are further volumes.

[Graeme Rodaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the premise interesting. An 'inexplicable,' energy wave obliterates most of the continental US.

Of course, Australia then becomes one of the most important countries in the world - Crikey! As we inherit a sizable chunk of the US refugees and US Navy.

The book is of course much more than this, the world reels as the geo-political landscape is re-written by the remaining powers as everyone scrambles to fill the vacuum left by the now absent US.

I came off the Axis of Time (AoT) series to this book with high hopes and was kinda 'let down,' something was off, but I couldn't put my finger on it until I read the other reviews on goodreads.

The thing about the AoT series is that the different character threads are well contexted with each other, and drive toward a common set of inter-related conclusions for the highest of stakes (Nazi victory/defeat). Here, in this series, it's a lot like reading a set of novellas set in the same universe but which are fundamentally standalone and where the characters are mostly trying to survive or institute some order on a chaotic situation. Important yes, but world shaking? No.

The impact of that structure for me was a reduction in care factor - hence 4 stars at best.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

How many times have you read a story or seen a film where all seems to be lost until the USA steps in to help? I’m thinking Tom Clancy’s novels, Armageddon, Independence Day, films about World War 2 perhaps even Team America: World Police and so on.

Much of this is because the books and films are written to please their target audience, of course. However, in this alternate history, the saving of the world is not an option for the Americans. You see, without warning (and hence the title) an energy wave has caused the majority of the USA to disappear, with no survivors.

Really does set up a new scenario, doesn’t it?

With such a global event, and as you might expect, there are a broad range of characters having to deal with the issue from a number of different viewpoints.

In Paris we have a covert agent, Caitlin Monroe, who is being hunted by followers of terrorist recruiter Al-Banna and has now been forced out of cover. In Kuwait we have Bret Melton, an American news reporter who finds himself with American troops who have to adjust to a new situation. In Guantanamo Bay, we have General Tusk Musso and the Marine Corps who with Jed Culver, a lawyer trying to bring order, as they find themselves the highest-ranking remnants of the American government. In Seattle, James ‘Kip’ Kipper is the chief engineer of Seattle City Council who, with his family, has to deal with the social panic created by the Wave. In Acapulco, we have Julianne (Jules) Balwyn, an English cabin crew-worker who finds herself dealing with pirates whilst trying to coordinate refugees passage to a safe haven. Clearly, there’s plots and subplots all over the place, which is what a reader of such novels expects.

It is, all the same, rather strange to be set in 2003 whilst reading it in 2012/13, with Tony Blair the Prime Minister in the UK, George W. Bush about to be involved in the Middle East and Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein still around, whilst here in 2013 we’re entering the second term of Barack Obama. But, of course, this is an alternate timeline and therefore OK.

This is a BIG, meaty, novel, and as you might expect, it has big ideas and a broad canvas from the Iraq War in 2003 to Paris in Europe to Acapulco and Seattle. With America gone as primary peace keeper, the world soon descends into chaos as the remaining nations rearrange themselves in to some sort of new world order whilst the Middle East sees the event as some kind of miraculous, if not divine, intervention.

John has mentioned that much of the novel is a ‘what-if’ thought experiment, and two thirds of the book is about that. Without Warning is mainly about the consequences of ‘the Wave event’, which are scarily logical. Europe has to deal with the issues of pollution and a blocking out of the sunlight as a consequence of most of North America being damaged. India and China are in the wings waiting to reposition themselves. In the long term, the loss of global trade with a major superpower and the reorganisation of resources leads to famine, riots and unrest in what remains of the world.

There’s a lot of comments around about this being a Tom Clancey-esque techno-thriller, and I can see why. There are lots of the trappings of the traditional Clancy thriller - a lot of characters in a variety of global locations, lots of technology and action. Admittedly there’s quite a few board meetings and strategic planning, and at times you need to know your Heckler and Koch from your Smith & Wesson. But to define this as such would perhaps mislead or at least do a disservice. Whilst there are many of the clichés you might expect, John manages to put a few twists in that keep the reader guessing.

In the end this was a surprise, and a pleasant one. It is very accessible and although it can be a little long in places, anyone looking for a big, bold blockbuster-type holiday read could do a lot worse than read this one. Might be time to try an alternative to the Clancy and try some John Birmingham instead.

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, which no doubt leads to the next novel. There are now two sequels, After America and Angels of Vengeance, that will appear later in 2013.

[Mark Hebwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

What I disliked most about this book was the swearing. I give you an example: are you taking the fucking piss? Now, the first thing that springs to mind is whether it was really necessary to use two swearwords in a statement that short. At least the adjective is redundant, it seems to me. Of course, it is possible that John merely used this overly crass diction to build one of his characters, in which case this might have been ok. But no, almost every person in John's universe speaks like this, and the result is an ensemble of characters who constantly use foul language, and as a consequence all sound the same. Granted, some of his characters break this mould, but those that do appear to be modelled after characters that are not of John's own imagination. Jules, for example, is so obviously Lara Croft that you think you are in a video game. But you're not. You're in a fictional world inhabited by testosterone-driven macho types lacking in any finer sensitivities. I should have been warned by one of the endorsements on the back cover that referred to the "gritty realism of Tom Clancy" as if that was a good thing.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horrifying tale of a lost USA. Oddly, plausible in parts. Very well narrated. Leaves a reader wondering and wanting more. Will look for the next in series for more exciting entertainment and, importantly, the authors viewpoint. Profanity throughout and some “adult” subjects, LGBQ material — a lot to get thru to read an interesting subject ** but it is enthralling and frightening.

** use fast forward when preferred. 3-1/2⭐️⭐️⭐️🔅

[Roger Eschbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Described as a work of "alternate fiction", John Birmingham's "Without Warning" falls just inside the realm of science fiction, barely meeting that category description because of a deadly and unknown phenomenon that has scientists baffled.

A techno/political/military thriller in the best tradition of authors like Michael Crichton and John Clancy, it's a grand "what if" mashup that asks, "What would happen if the United States and much of North America was essentially wiped clean by some sort of mysterious energy wave?"

Naturally, the obvious haters are elated by this new development, but soon even they begin to rethink the benefits of living in a world without Pax Americana.

The story itself is a series of vignettes following the reactions of a group of drug smugglers, our surviving overseas military, a lethal assassin, and a lowly Seattle city engineer to the reality that America, with all her warts and beauty, no longer exists. Birmingham masterfully weaves the seemingly unconnected storylines together in a way that makes the book hard to put down.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is about what would happen if the U.S. suddenly was not here. I thought it was pretty interesting how they showed people and whole countries panicking and getting desperate. There is another book following this one and I'm anxious to read it when it comes out.

[Tripp · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like completely gonzo over the top alternate history, then you probably have already read or heard about John Birmingham. In his Axis of Time trilogy a US-led naval task force from 2021 finds itself catapulted back to 1942 where it quickly disrupts the timeline by accidentally sinking a good piece of the US Navy. World war 2 changes quite a but as you might guess.

His latest is even crazier. Without Warning starts a few weeks before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. For reasons unrevealed in this book (part one of a new trilogy), most of the population of North America disappear. The area around Seattle, Guantanamo and southern Mexico escape but that is about it. As you can imagine, the world is initially stunned, but then the chaos starts. The world economy is shattered and the conflicts really heat up the world over.

Perhaps this was the only way to go, but the way the conflicts fall out reads like the neocon scare list. Again, it is not to say that what he comes up with is unreasonable, but it may sound a bit like the Corner at National Review when you read it. I don't think, especially based on some other plot lines, that Birmingham is advocating a particular political line here, but you will certainly take note of the fate of certain nations and locales.

The characters are a mixed bag, serving to anchor stories in Seattle, Cuba, Mexico, France and the Middle East. The character in France has the most exciting story. She is ultra secret assassin type who finds herself on the run in an increasingly nasty Europe. I liked the Mexico story as well which involves some smugglers becoming Han Solo-esque good guys as they assist refugees escaping the collapsing Mexican state.

I like how Birmingham ratchets up the action and chaos as the book progresses. I suspect the action will get even crazier in subsequent volumes (the next of which is titled After America). The book suffers from a bit of bloat, but this one feels much sleeker than the recent efforts of Turtledove, the reigning king of the genre.

[Clay Kallam · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Birmingham’s latest, “Without Warning” (Del Rey, $26, 510 pages), was written before America let loose a lung-deep economic cough, and the world caught a recessionary cold – after all, its basic premise is how much everyone would really miss us if we were gone.

The setup is this: All of a sudden, most of North America is covered by an unknown shield, from the ground up to tens of thousands of feet into the air. All animals under that shield, including human beings, die an instant death. In a heartbeat, then, only the northwest corner of the state of Washington (including Seattle), Hawaii and Alaska remain inhabited. (Much of Mexico and Canada are also under the mysterious canopy.)

Birmingham then goes into alternate history mode, even though the book is set in 2003, and all sorts of nasty scenarios begin to play out. The events are seen through the filter of several narrators, most of whom wind up involved in bloody violence that Birmingham seems to specialize in. (He also seems to have a thing for brains: They get blown out, scattered on walls, etc., and one of the characters even has what appears to be a brain tumor.)

That said, “Without Warning” is a dystopic vision of the first year after The Disappearance, as it’s called, but it’s interesting to see how Birmingham traces the probable course of events. And, as the present U.S. economic struggles demonstrate, Birmingham believes that the rest of the world would miss America much more than it realizes.

There’s also room for a sequel or two, though hopefully, any succeeding books will focus as much on the nuts and bolts of rebuilding a society as on the bullets and scattered brains of escalating violence.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Birmingham’s latest novel wastes no time launching its premise: on March 14, 2003, as the world awaits the impending start of the Iraq War, a massive energy bubble appears in North America, instantly wiping out every lifeform within it. In the weeks that follow, the world faces the consequences of the loss of the world’s sole superpower. The military attempt to preserve order in the unaffected remnants of the United States, Saddam launches an attack on the now-stranded American forces, and a cloud of pollution created by the burning of hundreds of U.S. cities wreaks untold environmental damage.

The unfolding story makes for a sharp contrast with Birmingham’s previous work. His “Axis of Time” trilogy told of the story of a near-future battlefleet suddenly transported into the midst of the Second World War with a tinge of levity. As in the earlier series, he tells of events through a collection of strongly defined characters: a spy, a civil engineer, a pair of military commanders, a smuggler, and a reporter. Unlike his earlier works, however, the humor is absent as he takes an appropriately grimmer tone in detailing the unfolding horror of a world facing disorder and collapse.

The events that follow make for a gripping read. Birmingham’s novel develops a fresh premise in the alternate history genre into a well-realized tale of people caught up in the chaos of disaster. The global response he envisions is both well-reasoned and plausible, embodying the old adage of being careful of what one wishes for. He ends the novel with an appropriately dramatic revelation, one that offers great promise for a follow-up volume. If his last series is any guide, readers can expect it to be a promise fulfilled.

[Bryan]

When 300 million people die on page 1, you know you're in for something different. In "Without Warning", John Birmingham begins with the somewhat contrived scenario of almost everyone in the continental USA suddenly turning into a puddle of green ooze, but then takes a brave stab at exploring what might happen next. The result is an entertaining alternate history, containing a strange mix of real people (Tony Blair, Bill Gates, Tommy Franks) and fictitious characters. The writing is a little clunky, there's an excessive level of military jargon that I couldn't understand, and there are some strange plot holes (e.g., if there are only 10 million Americans left alive and they hold a constitutional convention to decide how to reform their government, why is Puerto Rico and its population of 3-4 million people not even mentioned?). But nevertheless, I couldn't help but enjoy this rollicking read, a huge step sideways from the last Birmingham book I read, "He Died With A Falafel In His Hand". I definitely recommend "Without Warning", although having read the very poor reviews for the sequel, "After America", I am tempted to walk away and not spoil a good story.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book immensely, well, amazing. Opening the pages transports the reader to a hellish alternate reality in which over 90% of the US is wiped out by a mysterious energy field on the eve of the US invasion of the Middle East that roughly a decade ago from present. Readers are transported to a world in which pirates now rule the seas with the US Navy now in pieces and distracted in it's efforts to pick up those pieces, in which countries like France and China are ravaged by rebellions while countries like the United Kingdom transform into essentially giant prisons, in which those seemingly small and unimportant government employee's such as the City Engineer play vital roles in the survival of the remnants of the United States... Oh, and did I forget to mention the spies?

Without Warning is by far one of my favorite reads in a long while, I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes awesome fiction books filled with spies, pirates, bandits, innocent people struggling to survive after a major disaster, or who just think reading about society nearly collapsing is interesting.

[Ajitabh Pandey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very different concept and I liked it. A page turner.
A lot of plot is based on current world affairs and how things would change with changing political and military scenerios. Characters are not very strong and none of them is the main character. It will be interesting to see what the next part has to offer.

[Suzanne Kittrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!! And is the start of this author's trilogy the last two yet to be written. It poses the question of what would happen to rest of the world if the US mostly disappeared except for its troops overseas and the NW corner of Washington state. Could not put this book down.

[Tien · Rating 2 out of 5]

One day, people all over America just... DISAPPEARED.

Hundreds of millions of people poof-ed out of existence and no one knew how/why. There were left little pockets in the country and, of course, those Americans who were overseas at the time of The Disappearance. How would these left behind survive and run a country which practically has no one left and with shortage of resources?

At first, when riots broke out as people wanting to stock up on supplies, I thought... yeah, too close to home atm and not sure if I could listen throughout the whole audiobook right now. However, there were just that many perspectives spread out all over the world that it was tolerable even if it didn't quite engage me. The stories that did engage me were the only 2 female perspectives, how's that!? One is a spy chick in the middle of her operation in France and the other, a smuggler off the Mexican coast. I think it just happens that these 2 threads were more action-like while the others were very political and/or military minded. Overall, it was okay (even with all the swearing) but not sure if I'd continue with the series.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 14 March 2003 and in a time of uncertainty and financial crisis, a wave of energy has fallen over America. The United States as we know it is gone. The soldiers are left to fight a war without command, the line of succession go so far back that it falls to the governments in Pearl Harbor, Guantánamo Bay, and a very isolated corner of the north east. What will the world be like now the last superpower has disappeared?

Without Warning is the first book in the disappearance series by John Birmingham and is an alternate history/political thriller/action novel that tries to look at what the world would be like if America just disappears. But does it work? For me, I think the book just follows all the clichés found in a thriller and while it tries to do something completely different. The blending of Alternative history just never seemed to work.

Don’t get me wrong; I think John Birmingham is a great writer with some interesting ideas, but I guess mainstream novels don’t work for me. While I do try, and have, enjoyed novels like this. I tend to think there is something missing. The book felt very Americanised, even trying to imitate people like Tom Clancy and if you are into that type of book, I’m sure you would enjoy Without Warning.

I tried really hard to get into this novel, but with so main false starts and the forcing myself to finish this novel, I just never enjoyed it. I was tempted not to review this novel because I’m not sure if I have anything constructive to say, but in the interest of showing my full reading journey I forced myself.

Without Warning did have a lot of pop culture references which I do enjoy and the idea of losing the last super power was well thought out, but in the end this just wasn’t a book for me. I remember reading Tom Clancy when I was a young and enjoying it but I don’t think I would now. Maybe this is a book for a younger me and for people that just want pure escapism into a world of action.

[Guy Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the eve of the Second Gulf War, North America is engulfed by a mysterious energy wave that kills/ disappears everyone underneath it. 400 million are dead, and the world is suddenly without the USA…

What ensues is a mix of Battlestar Galactica, Jericho, and Bourne as Earth is first ravaged by the environmental fallout of the burning of US cities, and then nuclear war. Birmingham follows a number of Anglophones as the disaster unfolds, and that gives you a clue to the spirit of the book; it’s unashamedly pro-American. Birmingham treats his foreigners as either honourable minorities, or the treacherous other. Likewise his women are all lookers with daddy fixations, his Brits toffs or cockneys, anyone who speaks English as a second language says “No?” at the end of every sentence, and his heroes are all over six foot. The scenario is pessimistic and misunderstands the power America holds, as Birmingham has the rest of humanity immediately go into Hobbesian overdrive without the moral US keeping us in check. What the French do is particularly difficult to swallow.

If this makes it sound shite, well it is, but paradoxically, if you ignore the questionable geopolitics, it’s also rather good fun. Beyond the aforementioned foibles, Birmingham’s characters are engaging, his action exciting, his research solid, and he writes really well. Whether you go for the two sequels depends on how much the latter points outweigh the former for you. High mark for entertainment value.

[Tony Calder · Rating 4 out of 5]

To those who only know John Birmingham through his first book, "He Died With a Felafel in His Hand", this book would come as quite a surprise. Those who know him through his World War trilogy will be on much more familiar ground.

Birmingham was become quite proficient in writing modern military techno thrillers to which he adds a science fiction element. In the World War series it was sending a modern carrier battle group back in time to World War Two, in this series it's an energy wave that takes out the continental USA plus most of Canada and Mexico. But that is the only science fiction element of the book, and it occurs right at the start. From then on the book is the story of how the world copes with the loss of its biggest economy. Birmingham has a good grasp of geopolitics, and the book requires, macguffin aside, no real suspension of disbelief.

Birmingham tells his story through a series of characters, each chapter concentrating on a different group, a style that has been increasingly popular of late. As always, he is a very easy author to read, and I certainly prefer his books to those of other Australian authors in this field, such as Matthew Reilly. This is the first of a trilogy, the other two being "After America" and "Angels of Vengeance".

[Ann-Catherine Morner · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎶 "For he is an Englishman..."

Please note that I am Swedish. I write from Sweden. I don't know why Amazon Kindle say that I am posting from the US. Ask them. My Worldview is not US-centric.
If this bothers you, please don't read this review.

🎶 For he is an Englishman...
Mr Birmingham is a Liverpuddlian. Like the Beatles. He is an Australian by choice. An author is not his characters. Of course not. But the Worldview in this tale is Anglophone-centric, and US-centric.

Whenever someone picks up a book that says 'post-apocalyptic on the cover, they know what they are getting. End Of The World As We Know It. Catastrophe. Blood and Carnage. Suffering. Cruelty without end. Swearing and cursing.
But.
"The proof is in the pudding". The details. How the tale is told.
Mr Birmingham makes a nice pudding. The ingredients are the usual, but the recipe is different. And the garnish on top is unusual. Tasty.
The first chapter only says 'March 14 2003'. A Very Important Date.
Without warning, a wall comes down (up?) around more than half of North America. All the way up into the strathosphere. 400 million people have disappeared. Are they dead?
We don't know. Anyone close to the wall turns into green jelly. A few have come through on vehicles who have continued on their own power. Consider a high voltage fence. Touch it and you die. Otherwise you are safe, on both sides.
So we don't really know.
400 million people gone. 280 million or so in the 48 US states. Population2003. There is only a sliver of Washington State left.
Horrible!
🎶 For he is an Englishman...
What about Canada? All the east and all the south gone. Most Canadians, and their government. Most of Mexico and their government. Most of Cuba and their government. 120 million people.
Mr Birmingham doesn't spare a drop of sympathetic ink on Canada or Mexico. Cuba needs to be gone for the sake of the tale.
The important thing is that the US is wiped out. As a superpower at least.
In our timeline, on March 14 2003, the US invaded Iraq. A war is a war is a war, no matter what you call it. Or do you agree with Mr Putin on the Ukraine?
Does the US still invade Iraq? Silly question. Of course they do. Does it go the same way? Do you even have to ask?
The US is wiped off the board in this story, but of course they won't admit it.
What about the rest of the world? Mr Birmingham needs the world to fall to pieces. He adds natural disaster. Only people can't cross the wall. All the big cities in the US burn. It only needs one iron without a human hand on it, after all.
The smoke drifts with the winds. Volcanic winter everywhere, at least in the northern hemisphere.
Presumably the same thing happens in Canada, Mexico and Cuba. Maybe they have better electrical appliances, with fail-safes? Mr Birmingham doesn't say.
🎶 For he is an Englishman...
What does this splinter of US citizens do next?
They decide that they must get their citizens home, to safety.
Home? To Washington State? To Hawaii? They are full up. To Alaska then?
No! Never!
Mr Birmingham is a typical Englishman. Alaska is too cold for human life. Alaska has no agriculture...
🎶 For he is an Englishman...
Actually, Alaska has a climate not much different from northern Sweden. Of course it has agriculture. And wast natural resourses. It does have real winter. Nice place, actually.
Alaska is treated shabbily throughout the whole book. If I were Alaska, I would seccede and join Canada.
The leftover US decides that all citizens must be brought to safety. The only safe countries in the world are the English speaking ones... Except Canada. Canada is too cold...
And England. Because England starts a civil war, and goes all Brexit-Farage. They deport all foreigners. "Unto the second and third generation". Apparently, foreigners only have children with other foreigners. For all generations. Amen.
Tony Blair does it in this tale...
Note that Scotland and Wales are not mentioned even once. Northern Ireland is mentioned exactly once,and as you would expect.
🎶 For he is an Englishman...
Who moved to Australia.
In this story, there are no good "foreigners". France goes down in bloody civil war too.
Well, England is still upset about the Hundred Years War. And Napoleon...
All of Central and South America is rotten to the core. Of course. Islas Malvinas? Called Falkland Islands in English.
Africa is, and I quote "A tribal slaughterhouse".
India and Pakistan are on the verge of nuclear war.
Russia and China keep on being Russia and China.
The Middle East...
I won't ruin that part for you.
What the US did next.
They quarrel. About politics. The horrible right. The awful left.
WARNING
I will now probably offend some people.
They quarrel about their bloody stupid Constitution.
Which is, apparently, Holy Writ. (Including, course, the Holy Amendments).
Could you write, or amend a Constitution, if your country shrinks to just a few percent of what it was?
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT ALASKA! EVER!
If your population is just 3 or 4 % of what it was?
People all over the world do it all the time, darling.
This part of the story is really incomprehensible.

The good parts.
There are half a dozen POV. Not all in the US. The world is a big place, I would gladly have had half a dozen more.
There is, of course, a lot of fighting and killing, but not endless splatter movie stuff. Not pages and pages of Weapons Porn.

There are a lot of real people in this. Mostly, but not all politicians. I wonder, can you sue for libel if you are put in an alternate history story? I am happy to tell you that Mr Trump does not make an apperance. I am a little disappointed that Madeleine Albright doesn't. But then, Señora Cujones would have sorted it, and the story would go better.

🎶 For he is an Englishman? From HSM Pinafore, by Gilbert & Sullivan, 1878. See it!

Recommended? Heck, yes! This is highly entertaining. I will now read the sequel.

Thank you for reading this non-US-centric Worldview review.

[Sfmurphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Granted, I'm the Military Research Assistant to John Birmingham, but here is my blurb.

The novel is a thought experiment, a wish fulfillment exercise wherein the bulk of the United States of America is covered by a massive energy field that becomes known as The Wave. The Wave, near as anyone can tell, has killed all human life within the US. This event takes place on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom with a large number of US troops deployed overseas.

Events in the novel follow the American Survivors navigating their way through a world where the center does not hold and everything is slowly falling apart. A nightmare scenario as opposed to the dawn of a new utopia, Birmingham's central message may well be, "Be Careful What You Wish For."

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange occurence takes out most of the continental U.S. and large portions of Mexico and Canada. All of a sudden you have displaced Americans stranded throughout the world as these areas are no longer hospitable. Of course a large contingent of the displaced would be our military as they are scattered throughout different portions of the world. And soon the world will experience what happens when a superpower such as the U.S dissapears. This is a great book that leaves off leaving the reader looking forward to more. Luckily there is more to come in a second book. And I cannot wait to find out what is going to happen next!

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly I read about 1/5 of the book, which is quite long, and skimmed the rest. It was uninteresting and I just couldn't get involved in any of the characters. The concept of the "wave" I did find interesting and I might skim future books (this one is the first of a trilogy) to see if he does anything with the technology.

[Paul Bork · Rating 5 out of 5]

There really are books you do not want to put down. This was one of those. Read in one day. Good scenario as to how a few small town in North Carolina handle themselves after a real/possible appocolypse.

[Caitlin Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is classic Birmingham: guns; toys; spies; characters getting knocked off; and a big 'what if?' Ok, it won't appeal to everyone and the technical details might grate, but it's a great read to churn through and then wonder.

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but the story never really went anywhere, and it all ended with a fizzle.

[Todd Heidrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever wonder what the world would be like without the United States? Do you like end of the world stories? This book is for you. I can't wait for the second book to come out!!!

[Brendan Brooks]

well bugger me. I'll have to read the next one at some point. Interesting setting, nice and light, well thought out implications.

[Adam Whitehead · Rating 3 out of 5]

14 March 2003. The world watches on as the United States and her allies prepare for the controversial invasion of Iraq. What happens next is totally unexpected: a field of energy materialises over the North American continent, stretching from north-east of Newfoundland to just north of Acapulco, and from just south-east of Seattle to a few miles north of Guantanamo Bay. Virtually the entirety of the continental United States, most of populated Canada and almost all of Mexico and Cuba are affected. Within the 'Wave', as it becomes known, every single living being is instantly incinerated, but the cities are left intact. However, the Wave remains, sealing off the continent to outsiders.

The United States government is annihilated, leaving its military - the overwhelming majority of which is on deployment outside the affected zone - leaderless. Hawaii, Alaska and the tiny surviving portion of Washington State attempt to keep the American flag flying, but the effective loss of the strongest nation on Earth is catastrophic. The world economy goes into meltdown and elements in the Middle-East, proclaiming the Disappearance to be a miracle, prepare for a cataclysmic showdown with Israel, now bereft of its most powerful benefactor and protector. Smoke from the burning American cities turns into a massive plume of toxic smog which encircles the northern hemisphere. As the weeks pass, ethnic tensions begin to tear France and the United Kingdom apart. Iran musters its forces to destroy the US forces in the Gulf. China's threatening moves towards Taiwan are abandoned when its internal economy, dependent on exports to the USA, collapses. Japan and South Korea finds themselves overstretched having to feed Hawaii. Australia and New Zealand are swamped by American refugees. Venezuela makes threatening moves towards the former US possessions in the Caribbean. Saddam Hussein, given a reprieve by fate, musters his forces for a renewed invasion of Kuwait as the coalition pulls out and begins to head home. The world is falling apart and it is up to a few people scattered across half the globe to begin the process of pulling it back together.

Without Warning is the first of a duology. The sequel, After America, will follow next year. This book had the potential to be both a thriller and sociological study, attempting to ask what would be the effects of the USA literally vanishing off the face of the globe. Unfortunately, this approach is undermined by the book's thriller side, which demands subplots involving a US intelligence agent fighting a clandestine extremist organisation in the streets of Paris and a pair of beautiful-and-tough female smugglers in the Pacific engaging in major gun battles and speedboat chases with sinister Mexican maritime warlords. Around the time that Britain seals its borders and begins forcibly deporting third and fourth-generation Muslim immigrants and Israel starts dishing out the nukes like they're going out of fashion, any claim the book had to seriously analyse what would happen to the world in the absence of the United States goes out the window.

What we are left with is a somewhat trashy, although still enjoyable, techno-thriller with a batty premise. It's all fun, but a bit on the forgettable side. This is a shame as the author's previous work, the alternate-history Axis of Time trilogy, was much more successful in exploring its premise (if the military leaders of WWII, particularly the Axis ones, knew in 1942 the future history of the war, what would they do to change the outcome?). Without Warning is entertaining hokum, but fails to answer its questions in any real depth.

Without Warning (***) is a fast-paced read which passes the time, but could have explored its premise a bit more effectively. The book is available now in the USA from Del Rey. A British edition isn't available yet, but imports are readily available on Amazon.co.uk.