What do you think?
The Collapse
One day the lights will go out. How prepared are you?
An enormous coronal mass ejection engulfs the world, destroying electrical grids and causing secondary fires to break out in every major city. Millions die in the first few hours, and even those who are most prepared are caught unawares. Trapped in the firestorm raging across Chicago, Leonard will stop at nothing to find his family while his wife and son struggle to stay alive in the chaos.
When a CME that dwarfs the Carrington Event engulfs the world, Len - a businessman with next to zero survival training and experience - sets off to find his wife and child. Emerging out of the heart of Chicago, he will face dangers of all types and experience both the heights and depths of humanity. His survival depends solely on his ability to learn on the fly in this twisted new hellscape of a world.
From the #1 best-selling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus and author E.S. Richards comes a fresh new take on the EMP/CME story. With characters that are learning how to survive as they go - and finding some unlikely teachers along the way - they represent the true "everyday person" who isn't a hardcore prepper or survivalist, something unique and exciting in this genre.
Solar Crash is a 6-part series that will be published monthly.
An enormous coronal mass ejection engulfs the world, destroying electrical grids and causing secondary fires to break out in every major city. Millions die in the first few hours, and even those who are most prepared are caught unawares. Trapped in the firestorm raging across Chicago, Leonard will stop at nothing to find his family while his wife and son struggle to stay alive in the chaos.
When a CME that dwarfs the Carrington Event engulfs the world, Len - a businessman with next to zero survival training and experience - sets off to find his wife and child. Emerging out of the heart of Chicago, he will face dangers of all types and experience both the heights and depths of humanity. His survival depends solely on his ability to learn on the fly in this twisted new hellscape of a world.
From the #1 best-selling post-apocalyptic author Mike Kraus and author E.S. Richards comes a fresh new take on the EMP/CME story. With characters that are learning how to survive as they go - and finding some unlikely teachers along the way - they represent the true "everyday person" who isn't a hardcore prepper or survivalist, something unique and exciting in this genre.
Solar Crash is a 6-part series that will be published monthly.
- GenresSurvival
188 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 7, 2019
The series is worth reading, if you have KU. Not sure if I'd purchase them though.
The story is told in vignettes by chapter, bouncing between the main characters. The author does add additional chapters about various random people, which one other reviewer mentioned as odd. I agree with her, but I believe the author did this to SHOW us that the impact is world-wide, though we could have just been informed during the TV and radio broadcasts. So, throughout the series the readers encounter the EVENT in California, D.C., Antartica, and in the waters off Australia, later on.
The looters and gang violence kick off right away, and the main characters Amy, Len, and their son, James are the focus. Len and Amy are divorced and living apart, with Amy having custody of their 8 yr old son, James. They both make awful decisions and mistakes that had me shaking my head at their stupidity. Which means I was doing the same thing to the author. Don't get me wrong, people who are suddenly thrust into apocalyptic nightmares are not expected to know what to do all the time, but...
***SPOILERS***
Amy drags James through the center of town while people are panicking and cars are exploding. You cannot tell me there are NO other roads to take, or even backyards, alleyways, etc... they could have gone through? And, about the car and cell phone explosions... Seriously? Would a CME do that? I'm not talking about a transformer that can be shorted by electrical lines. And, once they make it home Amy doesn't lock the door. Maybe it's just me, but every time I come in the door I lock it behind me. This woman used to live in Chicago, please! If she can't remember to lock a door after going through hell to get her son home she's simply TSTL.
Len, man oh man, this guy! He was bullied as a kid and has NO idea how to step up and deal with... anything. A very useless person. To his credit, as the series continues, he DOES step up and actually becomes a man, finally. But it's a slow and painful process for US as the readers. He sees a man try to rescue a baby to get him out of an apartment building that's on fire. He watches the guy tuck the baby into his jacket, and then watches the guy fall to the street. And he never stops to check on the baby?! He just keeps going, though later he does find the baby very much alive. Another roll my eyes moment, and there are many more.
Despite my criticism, it was a good read, IF you can suspend your disbelief. Each book is fairly short and ends on a cliffhanger. You can also tell that the author isn't American as he has little to no knowledge of our governmental processes, and the slang used isn't always American in nature.
The story is told in vignettes by chapter, bouncing between the main characters. The author does add additional chapters about various random people, which one other reviewer mentioned as odd. I agree with her, but I believe the author did this to SHOW us that the impact is world-wide, though we could have just been informed during the TV and radio broadcasts. So, throughout the series the readers encounter the EVENT in California, D.C., Antartica, and in the waters off Australia, later on.
The looters and gang violence kick off right away, and the main characters Amy, Len, and their son, James are the focus. Len and Amy are divorced and living apart, with Amy having custody of their 8 yr old son, James. They both make awful decisions and mistakes that had me shaking my head at their stupidity. Which means I was doing the same thing to the author. Don't get me wrong, people who are suddenly thrust into apocalyptic nightmares are not expected to know what to do all the time, but...
***SPOILERS***
Amy drags James through the center of town while people are panicking and cars are exploding. You cannot tell me there are NO other roads to take, or even backyards, alleyways, etc... they could have gone through? And, about the car and cell phone explosions... Seriously? Would a CME do that? I'm not talking about a transformer that can be shorted by electrical lines. And, once they make it home Amy doesn't lock the door. Maybe it's just me, but every time I come in the door I lock it behind me. This woman used to live in Chicago, please! If she can't remember to lock a door after going through hell to get her son home she's simply TSTL.
Len, man oh man, this guy! He was bullied as a kid and has NO idea how to step up and deal with... anything. A very useless person. To his credit, as the series continues, he DOES step up and actually becomes a man, finally. But it's a slow and painful process for US as the readers. He sees a man try to rescue a baby to get him out of an apartment building that's on fire. He watches the guy tuck the baby into his jacket, and then watches the guy fall to the street. And he never stops to check on the baby?! He just keeps going, though later he does find the baby very much alive. Another roll my eyes moment, and there are many more.
Despite my criticism, it was a good read, IF you can suspend your disbelief. Each book is fairly short and ends on a cliffhanger. You can also tell that the author isn't American as he has little to no knowledge of our governmental processes, and the slang used isn't always American in nature.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2019
Very Good
A post apocalyptic world begins, and it’s not a man made one, it’s natural.
A Solar burst from the sun has phones exploding, cars catching fire, power grids wiped out.
Len was trying to get home for a video call to his son, the streets were gridlocked and it was sweltering outside, Len took refuge in his local pub, the television was saying something of a solar burst....stay in side...maybe power outages. Len decides to go back to his office, his unsure of what’s going on, and when he reaches his office building things have gone very frantic, there is mayhem in the streets of Chicago, cars exploding people screaming, buildings on fire. Len goes to the underground parking lot of his building, minutes before everything comes crashing down.
Now he emerges in the morning, to a different world he left last night,his only thought to get to his family in Michigan as he sees total destruction around him.
A very scary and enjoyable read, join Len on his journey to find his family. Worth reading
A post apocalyptic world begins, and it’s not a man made one, it’s natural.
A Solar burst from the sun has phones exploding, cars catching fire, power grids wiped out.
Len was trying to get home for a video call to his son, the streets were gridlocked and it was sweltering outside, Len took refuge in his local pub, the television was saying something of a solar burst....stay in side...maybe power outages. Len decides to go back to his office, his unsure of what’s going on, and when he reaches his office building things have gone very frantic, there is mayhem in the streets of Chicago, cars exploding people screaming, buildings on fire. Len goes to the underground parking lot of his building, minutes before everything comes crashing down.
Now he emerges in the morning, to a different world he left last night,his only thought to get to his family in Michigan as he sees total destruction around him.
A very scary and enjoyable read, join Len on his journey to find his family. Worth reading
September 1, 2019
Not great
I read a lot of post apoc fiction and I will admit many of them are very similar. Sometimes too much so. I have read through as many chapters of this book as I could and it just never grabbed my interest. At all. None. It is slow and has character development but even that is not interesting. Obviously the book is about a solar flare but this has more an emotional tendency than a technical or researched one. I just really want to know if the gas in the underground lines spontaneously at +400° or if the gasoline and diesel in the vehicles spontaneously ignited in what must not be more than, let's say 125° outside? I'm pretty sure that if that is hot enough to spontaneously explode, your characters would not have survived. Shoot, I wouldn't have survived myself during this heat wave we had this summer because everyday it was at least that where I work. Or how is a man who was beaten to the brink of life, including broken ribs (with an "s",) carrying) 12+ pounds of gas?
I read a lot of post apoc fiction and I will admit many of them are very similar. Sometimes too much so. I have read through as many chapters of this book as I could and it just never grabbed my interest. At all. None. It is slow and has character development but even that is not interesting. Obviously the book is about a solar flare but this has more an emotional tendency than a technical or researched one. I just really want to know if the gas in the underground lines spontaneously at +400° or if the gasoline and diesel in the vehicles spontaneously ignited in what must not be more than, let's say 125° outside? I'm pretty sure that if that is hot enough to spontaneously explode, your characters would not have survived. Shoot, I wouldn't have survived myself during this heat wave we had this summer because everyday it was at least that where I work. Or how is a man who was beaten to the brink of life, including broken ribs (with an "s",) carrying) 12+ pounds of gas?
March 11, 2019
This is a decent starting book though quite short. There are not a lot of writing errors which is nice. It took a bit, but I finally started to like Len. He was unprepared etc, but determined (and lucky rather than smart). The plot line of the estranged guy needing to find his far away family has been done a lot and it is not especially well-done here, at least not enough to stand out. From a science point of view, I don't see how a CME (which doesn't build up, it just happens), would cause so many devices to melt and or explode. Law and order in the small community of South Haven seemed to fall apart very, very fast, even though a lot of people clearly didn't know what was happening. I also didn't really understand the side story of the doctors and of the research time in Antarctica, as they did not add anything to the main plot. Perhaps in the future those stories will converge?
March 17, 2019
I liked it
I love apocalyptic tales and was not disappointed in reading this, the first in a series. I have not read of an apocalypse event with the Sun. I like the characters and hope I find a person who’s prepared for any earth shattering happenings. I’m looking forward to what happens next.
A couple of things bothered me as I read, the words by both Len and Amy “my son” was very overused. I wanted to know what the temperature was, I would never survive this type of apocalypse.
I don’t know how you can be an adult and not know what the Northern Lights were, surely they had seen them on a rare occasion up that far north?
I was curious as to where the authors lived, the use of tins, bins and tens lead me to believe they are in the UK. It gave me a giggle, destroy the US not England!
I will be reading the second book in a matter of minutes, thank you authors!
I love apocalyptic tales and was not disappointed in reading this, the first in a series. I have not read of an apocalypse event with the Sun. I like the characters and hope I find a person who’s prepared for any earth shattering happenings. I’m looking forward to what happens next.
A couple of things bothered me as I read, the words by both Len and Amy “my son” was very overused. I wanted to know what the temperature was, I would never survive this type of apocalypse.
I don’t know how you can be an adult and not know what the Northern Lights were, surely they had seen them on a rare occasion up that far north?
I was curious as to where the authors lived, the use of tins, bins and tens lead me to believe they are in the UK. It gave me a giggle, destroy the US not England!
I will be reading the second book in a matter of minutes, thank you authors!
February 17, 2019
Excellent
Imagine you are a nice but none assertive guy who always put work ahead of family. Now a solar flare has struck and you must find your ex-wife and the son you love more than life. How do you deal with all of the changes that come from no modern coveniences. Follow Len on his struggles to find his family.
Imagine you are a nice but none assertive guy who always put work ahead of family. Now a solar flare has struck and you must find your ex-wife and the son you love more than life. How do you deal with all of the changes that come from no modern coveniences. Follow Len on his struggles to find his family.
April 16, 2019
Promising
This book is apparently part of a series that deals with a natural disaster and how survivors deal with it. First is a man who has never stood up for himself and the ones he cares for, he meets a man who is a prepper, lucky for him. Meanwhile his ex-wife and son, living in another, are doing their best to cope.
Interesting concept.
This book is apparently part of a series that deals with a natural disaster and how survivors deal with it. First is a man who has never stood up for himself and the ones he cares for, he meets a man who is a prepper, lucky for him. Meanwhile his ex-wife and son, living in another, are doing their best to cope.
Interesting concept.
May 24, 2019
Great characters!
The character build is the best thing about the book. Despite the action early on, it was hard to get into, especially not knowing how the side stories fit in with the rest. So there is some mystery that kept me reading along with Len's determination and his new traveling companion. It's definitely enough to keep me wanting more.
The character build is the best thing about the book. Despite the action early on, it was hard to get into, especially not knowing how the side stories fit in with the rest. So there is some mystery that kept me reading along with Len's determination and his new traveling companion. It's definitely enough to keep me wanting more.
August 7, 2019
Quick Read
This is definitely a quick read, but fairly typical of a book with Mike Kraus. I'm still not a fan of this publication style but generally the story outweighs the aggravation. With this one I'm just not sure, I usually like or dislike a book it's very cut and dry. But I'm just kind of apathetic with this one.
This is definitely a quick read, but fairly typical of a book with Mike Kraus. I'm still not a fan of this publication style but generally the story outweighs the aggravation. With this one I'm just not sure, I usually like or dislike a book it's very cut and dry. But I'm just kind of apathetic with this one.
April 7, 2019
Story. Line well set.
This book has a decent story line but the writing is loose and often repetitive in explanations.....like stretching to simply add more words.....the pace is disruptive. Characters need more development.
This book has a decent story line but the writing is loose and often repetitive in explanations.....like stretching to simply add more words.....the pace is disruptive. Characters need more development.
July 19, 2019
A great start for the series.
I enjoyed reading this book and was impressed by the style and structure of the fresh storyline and characters. Len's character changes and grows in-depth and realization of what it is going to take to get to Amy and his son. This is a must read.o
I enjoyed reading this book and was impressed by the style and structure of the fresh storyline and characters. Len's character changes and grows in-depth and realization of what it is going to take to get to Amy and his son. This is a must read.o
July 29, 2019
A different kind of apocalypse
A different kind of apocalypse. This time it's not man-made. Good story and characters with graphic descriptions of the terror. Have to keep going on to find what happens next.
A different kind of apocalypse. This time it's not man-made. Good story and characters with graphic descriptions of the terror. Have to keep going on to find what happens next.
August 19, 2019
Good character development. Enjoyed mind picture of beginning apocalyptic event
Nice touch on bridge escape always need a prepper to save a city dweller. A country boy will always survive
Nice touch on bridge escape always need a prepper to save a city dweller. A country boy will always survive
February 18, 2019
Wow. What a story. A solar flare has struck, and danger is all around. It’s impossible to not be intrigued. A gripping, perhaps a bit realistic story. Fabulous as always
February 18, 2019
I received a copy of this book from the author and I am voluntarily reviewing it. This is a great beginning to another great series.
February 22, 2019
Good action and suspense. Holds your hand and leaves you waiting for the next!
March 2, 2019
The Collapse review
The Collapse is the first post apocalyptic book in the Solar Crash series written by authors E. S. Richards and Mike Kraus.
The Collapse is the first post apocalyptic book in the Solar Crash series written by authors E. S. Richards and Mike Kraus.
March 4, 2019
Excellent!
Loved this book. It is refreshingly different for a post apocalyptic book. Finally, we get to follow a non prepper through survival. Can’t wait to read the next book.
Loved this book. It is refreshingly different for a post apocalyptic book. Finally, we get to follow a non prepper through survival. Can’t wait to read the next book.
March 8, 2019
Well written, left me wanting more!
This book is a great start to what has potential to be be a great series. The characters are believable and are already beginning to grow.
This book is a great start to what has potential to be be a great series. The characters are believable and are already beginning to grow.
March 25, 2019
It was good not great as not much happened in this book, Hope book 2 is better, as I'm just downloaded the book this morning.
August 11, 2019
Swing and a miss. Cool idea but no likeable characters in book 1
October 21, 2019
Good
Enjoyed this book although EMP books are scary because the possibility is so real. Good characters and well written. Good job Mr.s Richards and Kraus!
Enjoyed this book although EMP books are scary because the possibility is so real. Good characters and well written. Good job Mr.s Richards and Kraus!
February 24, 2019
Great read. I have read a few of Kraus' books and I am never let down, but you can tell that it isn't written all by Kraus Something like this could very well happen and although people don't like to think along those lines, I think this book brings that out a bit. Some mayhem, lots of chaos. Easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews