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FUBAR #1
Blackout
The year is 2009.
Specialist Jason Chantry and his fellow soldiers are about to get a bit more than they signed up for on this deployment to Iraq. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot doesn't begin to sum up Chantry's feelings about what is going on. Between the temperature, the sand, and the monster infestation that is running rampant, he should have just stayed in bed. He woke up to his entire world being FUBAR.
"The book was dope, I can't wait for the next one!" -Ronnie S.
As an Army veteran, Harry always found discrepancies with non-military or non-law enforcement writers trying to write their assessment on what it feels like to be in the middle of turmoil. The smell of the country. The feel of the recoil of a weapon. The taste of fear.
As heard about on Others May Fall Podcast!
- GenresHorror
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2019
11 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
About the author
Harry Carpenter
15 books14 followersHarry Carpenter is an author born in Baltimore, Maryland. Sometimes they call that "Bawlmer," where he's from. He's a huge fan of video games, 80s movies and 90s Rock. Some of his favorites are playing Mortal Kombat and Doom, and watching Ghostbusters and Big Trouble in Little China while listening to Smashing Pumpkins and Chevelle. When he's not wasting time playing Xbox, he's writing some wild horror, science fiction and thriller stories. Some of his short stories have won awards! Harry is a huge fan of putting himself as the main characters in most of his books, most noticeably in FUBAR, with the protagonist mirroring his thoughts and feelings while in the United States Army, which took him all around the world.
Harry now lives in Baltimore with his wife and cats.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 14, 2020
( Format : Audio book )
"We have to get out of here."
A short, but very atmospheric, tale of a not so routine day in the life of four soldiers in Iraq. Something felt wrong to Jason Chantry, a runner, and it was. Part battle scene, part horror tale, and even a bit like a video game, he and his companions try to survive in the heat and the sand against a most unexpected attack. Witty, lots of profanity, the author places the reader right there in the forefront of the fighting: quite brilliant.
The narration, a first person telling of the story from Jason's point of view, is fast paced, echoing the emotions and horror felt by the character. Michael Penate gives believable voicing to all of the protagonists but especially captures that of the storyteller, adding to the depth of character already written. A fine performance.
My thanks to the rights holder of FUBAR, who at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. It was a very pleasant surprise and hope that author Harry Carpenter will be adding a second one book to follow this one. If he does, I will most definitely want to read it. Highly recommended (provided no offence is easily taken by character use of swearing under duress).
"We have to get out of here."
A short, but very atmospheric, tale of a not so routine day in the life of four soldiers in Iraq. Something felt wrong to Jason Chantry, a runner, and it was. Part battle scene, part horror tale, and even a bit like a video game, he and his companions try to survive in the heat and the sand against a most unexpected attack. Witty, lots of profanity, the author places the reader right there in the forefront of the fighting: quite brilliant.
The narration, a first person telling of the story from Jason's point of view, is fast paced, echoing the emotions and horror felt by the character. Michael Penate gives believable voicing to all of the protagonists but especially captures that of the storyteller, adding to the depth of character already written. A fine performance.
My thanks to the rights holder of FUBAR, who at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy via Audiobook Boom. It was a very pleasant surprise and hope that author Harry Carpenter will be adding a second one book to follow this one. If he does, I will most definitely want to read it. Highly recommended (provided no offence is easily taken by character use of swearing under duress).
October 13, 2022
I really enjoyed Blackout! Carpenter writes in a comforting way that drew me in well. This story was cool, started out feeling like a classic Zombie type thing, like Dawn of the Dead, but then he had his own uniqueness to it that really caught me off guard, it really wasn't what I assumed, and really got me invested. Very fun story!
September 7, 2020
The beginning of this story reads like another military story. But once the inciting incident reveals itself, the reader is off to quite a ride from the point of view of the protagonist, Army Specialist Jason Chantry. Chantry is a run-of-the-mill nothing special sort of character who complains too much and sees the world through a very witty, sarcastic lens. He hates his job and he hates being here, but suddenly he's placed on the path to lead his squad in a shooting frenzy battle against monsters.
Harry Carpenter's cast of characters range from nerdy video game players to gritty, battle tested special ops types, with a strong female lead to boot. With the number of characters involved, it would truly be a challenge to bring these to life for an audiobook. Michael Penate, in his debut reading, does a marvelous job of bringing each of these characters to life.
All in all, I was truly entertained by this little story, and truly look forward to listening to the next book in the series. Fans of 90s action flicks, third person shooter video games, and B-movie science fiction films will love Harry Carpenter's wit and writing style in this little romp through the wilds of Iraq infested with the remnants of a science experience gone terribly wrong.
Harry Carpenter's cast of characters range from nerdy video game players to gritty, battle tested special ops types, with a strong female lead to boot. With the number of characters involved, it would truly be a challenge to bring these to life for an audiobook. Michael Penate, in his debut reading, does a marvelous job of bringing each of these characters to life.
All in all, I was truly entertained by this little story, and truly look forward to listening to the next book in the series. Fans of 90s action flicks, third person shooter video games, and B-movie science fiction films will love Harry Carpenter's wit and writing style in this little romp through the wilds of Iraq infested with the remnants of a science experience gone terribly wrong.
September 20, 2020
We find our intrepid soldiers on tour in Iran. The soldier on point sees something move but it is definitely not normal. WTF! Are our boys in a video game or is this shit for real? Monsters? We didn’t sign up for this shit. Had an experiment gone wrong? Where did these things come from? Stay tuned as we follow our boys through hell. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
November 17, 2020
Cool beans!
Excellent action novella, great character building, well done suspense. I really did not expect to get all the way through the story but it just kept growing on me.
Excellent action novella, great character building, well done suspense. I really did not expect to get all the way through the story but it just kept growing on me.
November 24, 2020
What just happened?!?!
I’ll be honest, this book started out like a 20 year old video gamer’s dream. Then it quickly escalated into your worst nightmare. Imagine being deployed in country when the zombie apocalypse strikes... but it’s not zombies. It’s skitters/hell bugs/darn it! I don’t know what to call them either! The fight or flight constant tension was nerve racking and although I was happy with the resolution, there’s still so much more I NEED to know. I’ll be back for book two.
I’ll be honest, this book started out like a 20 year old video gamer’s dream. Then it quickly escalated into your worst nightmare. Imagine being deployed in country when the zombie apocalypse strikes... but it’s not zombies. It’s skitters/hell bugs/darn it! I don’t know what to call them either! The fight or flight constant tension was nerve racking and although I was happy with the resolution, there’s still so much more I NEED to know. I’ll be back for book two.
May 3, 2021
This book is a blow by blow account of a group of soldiers at a base in Iraq that is over run by mutant bugs. Many of the characters are killed. I thought the characters were interesting and varied. There is a lot of action, but it does leave you with a cliffhanger. The ending was a surprise. I would recommend the story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 1, 2021
Definitely yes!
This is really good, exciting read. Four Iraqui vets have to fight against a completely unexpected attack. Told from Jason's pov this is a humour filled read as his team try to survive a horror attack that should not be happening... but it is
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is really good, exciting read. Four Iraqui vets have to fight against a completely unexpected attack. Told from Jason's pov this is a humour filled read as his team try to survive a horror attack that should not be happening... but it is
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
December 30, 2023
Book 1
Book 1 had errors throughout and was an okay read. The overall plot and characters were a bit odd. The plot was interesting with it's monsters and had a fun twist, but was somewhat predictable overall. The characters were a bit annoying and a lot of back and forth to places.
Book 1 had errors throughout and was an okay read. The overall plot and characters were a bit odd. The plot was interesting with it's monsters and had a fun twist, but was somewhat predictable overall. The characters were a bit annoying and a lot of back and forth to places.
July 13, 2025
Good Writing
Starts off strong describing the grinding boredom of being deployed. Instead of the expected 1 minute of terror, they then experience a couple days worth of non-stop action.
Starts off strong describing the grinding boredom of being deployed. Instead of the expected 1 minute of terror, they then experience a couple days worth of non-stop action.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews