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A father and his family find sanctuary in their old family homestead, hidden deep in the forest during an EMP crisis.

Cody Russell leaves the city with his family and heads to his father’s old homestead, concealed deep in the woods. For Russell, the only thing worse than failing to reach sanctuary is the failure to protect his family in this dangerous post-EMP world.

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2020

381 people are currently reading
77 people want to read

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Colton Lively

181 books19 followers

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5 stars
148 (50%)
4 stars
69 (23%)
3 stars
52 (17%)
2 stars
14 (4%)
1 star
8 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
422 reviews56 followers
June 28, 2020
It was a very realistic view of what could happen if we have an EMP situation. It shows how society could break apart into groups and then how every has to have skills already to survive in the mess that happens otherwise family might not survive.
121 reviews1 follower
July 30, 2020
Protecting Our Home

The book Protecting Our Home: EMO Survival in a Powerless World is a wonderful book to read. The book is worth the read. The characters were easy to believe and remember. A good read
Profile Image for Pam Shelton-Anderson.
1,962 reviews66 followers
September 18, 2021
I wanted to like this book, but ended up being glad that it was not the first book in a series. There are editing issues throughout, including that we suddenly have a Randy speaking (instead of Cody) where we have not seen a Randy before and don't see one after. This tale starts with a not unfamiliar plot of a disaster (in this case an EMP) and a family trying to get together and find a safe place. Unfortunately, the Russell family are foolish people. Cody and Mary realize what has happened quickly and head out to retrieve their children at the high school. The entire way there, the couple constantly belly-aches about the state of society and despite hearing an explosion coming from the direction of the school, they stop to shop. This small New Hampshire town literally erupts in chaos and destruction very, very, VERY quickly after the power goes out. They reach the school which is clearly staffed by incompetent people and Cody can only get through by telling them no Facebook or internet for a long time? Emma and Jacob (pardon me-Geek Lord) never shut up while they are trying to get to a safer place and when they come across one poor lone policeman trying to stop the carnage, when the shooting starts and Emma is hit with paint splashed from a punctured can, they all blame the "idiot cop." And the kids just never shut up. Ever. Cody's idea of a safe haven is a cabin owned by his deceased father, though he has not been there for 20 years and rarely kept up with dear old dad. Lucky that the people who had joined dad were good folks, though prone to some right-wing ranting on occasion. They also have some good opposition from a Neo-Nazi group, and for a long time, the Russell fade to become bit players in the homestead group. That is until the end, when they have defeated the invading Nazis and rather than just finish off the leader, Cody dramatically challenges him to one-on-one and hand-to-hand combat. Everyone whose home was at risk just encircles to watch. This was just so very silly that had this not happened until the end of the book, I would not have finished.
6,228 reviews40 followers
November 12, 2020
Another book dealing with an apocalypse (EMP form). One good thing is the main character Cody who teaches shop and thus has an inside knowledge of some of the traits that will be needed to survive.l Other charracters include Emma and Mary.

One slightly unusual thing is that gunshots happen with just a few hours after the event. Almost all the teachers have left the school and the building ends up on fire. There's a very realistic and good description of the chaos, flame and death at the school.

Cody has access to a vehicle made in 1943 which has the major advantage of not having all the fancy electronics of modern cars which means an EMP has not had any kind of major effect on the car. This is something noted in various books of this kind, that sometimes the older something is the better it will be for survival purposes.

There's more shooting and more thugs.

No one knows exactly what happened. Some thing it's a Russian attack and some think it's a Chinese attack. This points out the importance of electronic communication which will mostly be lost during such an event. (Some ham radio operators may be able to work.) There's also a far-right group who go into attack mode.

Overall a good story that shows how quickly some problems might arise and how the lack of information can nearly cripple a survival effort.
824 reviews7 followers
March 23, 2022
Very entertaining

Interesting storyline with intriguing characters. It’s true, if you build it someone will come and try to take it away from you, by hook or crook or extremely violent behavior. Such is the story.
EMP sends Cody and his family arrive at the cabin in the woods he and his father built. But to his surprise more cabins have been built and are occupied. Apparently his father neglected to tell him about starting a community and that he remarried. In fact he was such an asshole he never bothered to meet his own grandchildren.
Profile Image for Hope Hatton.
65 reviews1 follower
October 4, 2024
one of the better stories in the EMP series

This was one of the better stories of the EMP series. There were a few grammatical errors, and oddly, some British words and phrases, even though the people are supposedly American. I read the book, and I listened to the audiobook. The audiobook reader mispronounced several words (“nucular” instead of nuclear, “Calvary” instead of cavalry, etc), which was annoying, but did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. This one has a lot of action, with the main characters being likable and believable.
237 reviews2 followers
July 12, 2020
Great book

Love all post apocalyptic fiction, the especially when family members work for common good. And the author is right, we must never encourage hate but stand up for our principles.
Profile Image for Susan Weintrob.
207 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2020
EMP dystopian novel

The immediate after effects of an EMP, with confusion, violence and a reshaping of society as we know it. Interesting inclusion of teenagers and veterans add to the depth.
73 reviews
February 15, 2021
Yep. More EMP stuff.

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021

What else would you expect? Really enjoyed this one. It was a bit different than the others. That was nice.

Thank you for your review.
1 review
September 22, 2021
Realistic and with good values

Normal people confronted by an extraordinary situation. Much more believable than a lot of EMP fiction. Also, it takes human life seriously — none of the absurd body counts some other books have.
183 reviews1 follower
November 18, 2022
Great

A really terrific storyline based upon what is happening in the world today...unfortunately. A critical review of the attitudes and values of modern society and where we are headed.
Profile Image for Sarah Lemire.
27 reviews
June 27, 2020
Meh. It was free

Entertaining. Not a lot of character or story development, but it was a free Kindle book, so ok. Interesting idea.
3,604 reviews16 followers
June 27, 2020
Awesome storyline!

Loved this book! l have become a bit addicted to these EMP style stories , and this one is among some of best! Really enjoyed it!
33 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2020
Thought provoking

Very good book these books like this will make you sir and think about how people can change when their very lives change.
Profile Image for Readsall.
433 reviews5 followers
June 29, 2020
Exciting story with a very suspenseful ending.
56 reviews
July 16, 2020
Everybody's safe haven

Even with all the precautions : evil can still get through. Can only prepare as best we can and pray.
4,416 reviews28 followers
August 21, 2020
Protecting Our Home review

Protecting Our Home, written by author Colton Lively, is the eighteenth post apocalyptic book in the EMP Survival in a Powerless World series.
488 reviews3 followers
January 19, 2021
5 stars

Whew. What a ride. EMP and instantly society fell apart and it was non - stop action and chaos. Well written book.
187 reviews1 follower
October 18, 2022
Protecting Our Home

This book has easy to follow plot and interesting characters. I recommend this book to all readers that enjoy learning more about post Apocalypse.
1 review
April 9, 2025
great book

Love it. The story moved quickly. I’ll be looking up this author to read more. Enjoyed the book very much.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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