Cold as Thunder

by Jerry Apps

Since the Eagle Party took power in the United States, all schools and public utilities have been privatized, churches and libraries closed, and independent news media shut down. Drones buzz overhead in constant surveillance of the populace, and the open internet has been replaced by the network of the New Society Corporation. Environmental degradation and unchecked climate change have brought raging wildfires to the Western states and disastrous flooding to Eastern coastal regions.In the Midwest, a massive storm sends Lake Michigan surging over the Door County peninsula, and thousands of refugees flee inland. In the midst of this apocalypse, a resourceful band of Wisconsin sixty-somethings calling themselves the Oldsters lays secret plans to fight the ruling regime's propaganda and show people how to think for themselves.

232 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 29, 2018

About the author

Jerold W. Apps, born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of more than 30 books, many of them on rural history and country life. His nonfiction books include: Living a Country Year, Every Farm Tells a Story, When Chores Were Done, Humor from the Country, Country Ways and Country Days, One-Room Schools, Cheese, Breweries of Wisconsin, Ringlingville USA (History of Ringling Brothers circus), Old Farm: A History, Barns of Wisconsin, Horse Drawn Days: A Century of Farming With Horses, and Campfires and Loon Calls. His children's books include: Stormy, Eat Rutabagas, Tents, Tigers and the Ringling Brothers, and Casper Jaggi: Master Swiss Cheese Maker. He has an audio book, The Back Porch and Other Stories. Jerry has published four novels, The Travels of Increase Joseph, In a Pickle: A Family Farm Story, Blue Shadows Farm and Cranberry Red. Jerry is a former publications editor for UW-Extension, an acquisitions editor for the McGraw-Hill Book Company, and editor of a national professional journal.

Jerry has won awards for his writing from the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Library Association (the 2007 Notable Authors Award), American Library Association, Foreword Magazine, Midwest Independent Publishers Association, Robert E. Gard Foundation, The Wisconsin Council for Writers (the 2007 Major Achievement Award), Upper Midwest Booksellers, and Barnes and Noble Bookstores, among others. In 2010 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Check www.jerryapps.com for more information.

Reviews

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am actually surprised that so few people have read this book as it has me totally captivated since I started it late yesterday. It's a dystopian story set in a future United States that was taken over by the Eagle Party. Unfortunately the Eagle Party did things that the public never expected and thus the US Constitution was abolished. Instead a book called "A Guide for a Moral Society" took over everyone's lives. The government then had control over everything and thinking wasn't allowed. Only rules. Either you did what you were told to do (for very cheap wages, and no medical care either) or else you disappeared... So that is the setting the characters in here face as the story starts. It's set in a small Wisconsin town called Crystal River.

Some parts of this story reminded me of other books I have read this year. The government control stuff reminds me a bit of the communism I read in one of the books set in Russia (Soviet Union) but I am unsure if this actually is communism as I don't feel confident enough to actually say that's what it is. It also reminded me of the spy network that I read about in World War II books and the spy network is a huge part of this tale. Because the older people in here, they remember life as it was before in the US and they want to fix it. So they hold secret meetings and try to figure out what they can possibly do. But it's not easy as the government is always watching and listening. And there are drones overhead too, always watching.

I totally got hooked on this scenario. And it was so odd how I could actually see something like this happening. This little known book was more of a page turner than the very popular book I am also reading at the moment (The Fury of the Gods). Yes, I actually preferred this book to that one! I guess because I wanted to know "how in the world do you fix this crazy situation". I guess it's nearly impossible to not ask that as you read this. And would the attempts by a small group of individuals actually have an affect? How do you fix a bad government, especially when that government totally changed how it works?

And so many of the systems in here were changed. Including ones they shouldn't have touched. And that plays big into the plot. Because the idiots in the government changed the weather warning stuff. In fact they controlled the news too. All the citizens in here are living in the dark when it comes to natural disasters. For example, a major US city on the west coast could be wiped out by a major earthquake and the people in other parts of the country wouldn't be told. They only tell them "happy news". There is no earthquake in the story by the way: that was an example I used. There are lots of other ones though, fires and floods.

So I often like reading disaster stories and I somehow had found this book about Lake Michigan...which I see in person almost daily. But I've never read a book about a huge tidal wave on Lake Michigan before... Decided I had to read this. Now the disaster isn't the main part of the plot (the government controlling everything is) but I quickly got so hooked on this I didn't mind. But northeast Wisconsin gets clobbered bad in here ... Fear the Lake (a play on our "fear the deer" slogan).

And wether you believe in climate change or not, this is an intriguing story to read.. if I would have started this book earlier yesterday I would have read this in one sitting.

Now the book has given me a few questions about the plot in here. Well, more about the details I should say. Like can people with no skills actually build homes? Can you actually take people who were doing some mindless task in some factory previously and somehow expect them to be able to build a house? I think building a structure is tricky?? Even if you have the equipment... And on page 113, from the "before", a farmer stated he only had ten cows and no electricity. Hmmm... I suppose maybe a very small family farm might only have ten cows but why didn't he have electric? Sometimes I felt that passage of the book was talking about the 1800s versus our modern society of smart phones and computers and satellites that was taken over by the Eagle Party. So I did feel a tiny bit confused...

Either way I found the story captivating and it has made me think about stuff. And a good book should make you think.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Eagle party took over the US government and kept people in fear with drones listening and observing to assure people stayed on the moral path. Schools were privatized and families had to pay, parks were sold to the highest bidder and libraries were closed. This book is cautionary tale of what will happen in the future if climate change and science are ignored. The ending of the story was satisfying, but unrealistic because the rich didn't fight back when they were voted out. There were some great characters and I loved the concept of the Oldsters helping bring back democracy.

[Stacey Bene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced readers copy of Cold as Thunder. This is a very fast-paced and easy to read teen novel that would be perfect for those interested in dystopian fiction. It focuses on what the world would be like after the fall of democracy. I think there are many parallels that can be made with our current political environment. I'm typically not interested in this type of book, but it held my attention and was very interesting.

[Denise Riehle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading Jerry Apps book because he is a local author for me, and I've had the pleasure of going to his talks and learning about his writing style. This book was rather different from his other books, so I am so happy to say that it was a wonderful change and a book I'm happy to recommend to others. If you care about environmental change, and what happens when people in positions of power try to hide or swing the story, this is a book you should read.

[Rudy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. All political statement and little plot

[Shane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by the prolific Mr. Apps. Cold as Thunder is a book set in a dystopian near-future United States where there have been wholesale changes to the rights and freedoms of its citizens, none of them for the better.

The ideas presented here are powerful and thought-provoking, but the execution is lacking. Much of the plot is presented via exposition, and character development is thin. Also, the breadth of the ideas exceed the page count, and at times it seems that Thunder is a novel told in shorthand. Twice as many pages would have gone a long way to making this story stronger.

Not quite recommended.