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New Madrid Earthquake
A Disaster Thriller
In the not too distant past, along the Mississippi River,
North America tried to tear itself in half.
It failed. It won't the second time.
New Madrid.
A standalone disaster thriller from international bestselling author, Bobby Akart, one of America's favorite storytellers, who has delivered up-all-night thrillers to readers in 245 countries and territories worldwide.
"Akart is a master of suspense, keeping us on the edge of our seats. But, he does it with fact-based fiction that would scare even the most hardened readers."
Two hundred years ago, several faults within the New Madrid seismic zone along the Mississippi River ruptured triggering some of the largest earthquakes in American history. The three massive quakes ripped open America's Heartland, shaking residents as far away as New York City and Washington, DC while ringing church bells in Boston and Charleston, South Carolina.
"No one can research like Bobby Akart and then turn this meticulous research into one exciting thrill ride."
Akart's standalone novel, New Madrid, is based on actual events. It just hasn't happened yet, until now. 200 years later after the historic quake sequence of 1811-12, it's reawakened.
" This is a story of fortitude and love for family - do you have what it takes to survive and make it back to your loved ones ."
The New Madrid fault zone, six times larger than the San Andreas in California, has generated a series of massive earthquakes thrusting the Atwood and Chandler families in a fight to survive. Attorney Jack Atwood and his brother-in-law Tony Chandler are winding up their year-end tax planning presentation atop The Met, a skyscraper in St. Louis, before returning to Memphis for their family's Christmas celebration. Jill Atwood, her daughter Emily and teenage son Tate, are in a downtown Memphis performing arts theater attending the dress rehearsal for Emily's Christmas pageant. Beth Chandler, 28 weeks pregnant, together with her 3-year old autistic son, are traveling from Louisiana to join the rest of the family in Memphis.
Will they arrive for Christmas? Will they arrive at all? Their lives are about to change forever.
"You are there. Feeling what they feel. Anger, joy, love, mourning. You feel it all. Not everyone can write a book like this. It takes a special writer to make you feel a book."
Bobby Akart has delivered intense, up-all-night thrillers causing you to whisper just one more chapter until the end.
In the not too distant past, along the Mississippi River,
North America tried to tear itself in half.
It failed. It won't the second time.
New Madrid.
A standalone disaster thriller from international bestselling author, Bobby Akart, one of America's favorite storytellers, who has delivered up-all-night thrillers to readers in 245 countries and territories worldwide.
"Akart is a master of suspense, keeping us on the edge of our seats. But, he does it with fact-based fiction that would scare even the most hardened readers."
Two hundred years ago, several faults within the New Madrid seismic zone along the Mississippi River ruptured triggering some of the largest earthquakes in American history. The three massive quakes ripped open America's Heartland, shaking residents as far away as New York City and Washington, DC while ringing church bells in Boston and Charleston, South Carolina.
"No one can research like Bobby Akart and then turn this meticulous research into one exciting thrill ride."
Akart's standalone novel, New Madrid, is based on actual events. It just hasn't happened yet, until now. 200 years later after the historic quake sequence of 1811-12, it's reawakened.
" This is a story of fortitude and love for family - do you have what it takes to survive and make it back to your loved ones ."
The New Madrid fault zone, six times larger than the San Andreas in California, has generated a series of massive earthquakes thrusting the Atwood and Chandler families in a fight to survive. Attorney Jack Atwood and his brother-in-law Tony Chandler are winding up their year-end tax planning presentation atop The Met, a skyscraper in St. Louis, before returning to Memphis for their family's Christmas celebration. Jill Atwood, her daughter Emily and teenage son Tate, are in a downtown Memphis performing arts theater attending the dress rehearsal for Emily's Christmas pageant. Beth Chandler, 28 weeks pregnant, together with her 3-year old autistic son, are traveling from Louisiana to join the rest of the family in Memphis.
Will they arrive for Christmas? Will they arrive at all? Their lives are about to change forever.
"You are there. Feeling what they feel. Anger, joy, love, mourning. You feel it all. Not everyone can write a book like this. It takes a special writer to make you feel a book."
Bobby Akart has delivered intense, up-all-night thrillers causing you to whisper just one more chapter until the end.
397 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2020
1119 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
About the author
Bobby Akart
98 books405 followersInternational bestselling author, Bobby Akart, one of America's favorite storytellers, delivers up-all-night thrillers to readers in 245 countries and territories worldwide. He's achieved Amazon Top 5 Author status in both fiction and non-fiction genres, Amazon Kindle All Star and Top 50 Amazon Author (#35) and Top 25 Best Selling Book on Amazon Charts (Yellowstone #25).
"He's right up there with James Patterson, David Baldacci, Brad Thor and others that write thrillers. To me he actually surpasses them.”
He has written more than 80 novels in the disaster, survival, medical and political thriller genres.
"He's right up there with James Patterson, David Baldacci, Brad Thor and others that write thrillers. To me he actually surpasses them.”
He has written more than 80 novels in the disaster, survival, medical and political thriller genres.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 203 reviews
April 26, 2021
This book introduced me to a subject matter I wasn’t aware of & find very intriguing, the New Madrid fault in the middle of North America. As far as the book goes, picture a sci-fi channel movie written by Lifetime or Hallmark writers. This was horrendous. Save your brain cells and read something else.
April 17, 2021
This is a slightly odd blend of novel and scientific treatises on earthquakes. We're following a few characters as they get caught up in this horrific event--the fictional elements of the story. But as things happen to them, an overarching narrator, the science guy if you like, interjects with what's happening. As an example, a woman's car spins on the road and facing a field she sees weird lights and water spouts erupting from the ground. She's obviously bewildered and terrified, but then we're told something like Changes caused by permanent deformation only last until the pressure equilibrates with the water table. This can happen in minutes or may take months. The time scale is approximately given by the square of the aquifer depth divided by the vertical hydraulic diffusivity of the overlying material. This is only relevant in the near field of the earthquake.
It is so jarring and weird, but oddly amusing too. I'm learning a lot about earthquakes, anyway. There's also an incredibly annoying tendency to say something and then immediately explain it to the reader as if we're toddlers, as if we're not actually readers. Toby picked up his teddy bear and hugged it tight. A teddy bear is a traditional toy for a small child to find comfort in and Toby was no exception to this rule.
However, despite these flaws, it's a pretty good account of a vast earthquake and the damage that ensues.
I'll persevere and report back when finished.
I finished this last night. These days, finishing a book is a sort of recommendation in itself, as so many books (like movies and TV shows) seem like utter dross to me. However, I'd not really recommend this to anyone except those who like extremely gentle books about the apocalypse (!), or perhaps someone studying geology and Earth formation who needs a break from pure textbook study. The human storyline is so gluppy-sweet it's like watching the Waltons whilst consuming chocolate (ah, those Sunday afternoons decades ago). So if you watch Hallmark and wear cute Christmas sweaters and like safe spaces, but also want to read about the worst natural event in human history then this is the book for you.
I now live my life to far harsher dictates than this book describes, so it was too much of a dichotomy between the sickly sweet cuteness of the family and the end-of-their world events happening around them.
It is so jarring and weird, but oddly amusing too. I'm learning a lot about earthquakes, anyway. There's also an incredibly annoying tendency to say something and then immediately explain it to the reader as if we're toddlers, as if we're not actually readers. Toby picked up his teddy bear and hugged it tight. A teddy bear is a traditional toy for a small child to find comfort in and Toby was no exception to this rule.
However, despite these flaws, it's a pretty good account of a vast earthquake and the damage that ensues.
I'll persevere and report back when finished.
I finished this last night. These days, finishing a book is a sort of recommendation in itself, as so many books (like movies and TV shows) seem like utter dross to me. However, I'd not really recommend this to anyone except those who like extremely gentle books about the apocalypse (!), or perhaps someone studying geology and Earth formation who needs a break from pure textbook study. The human storyline is so gluppy-sweet it's like watching the Waltons whilst consuming chocolate (ah, those Sunday afternoons decades ago). So if you watch Hallmark and wear cute Christmas sweaters and like safe spaces, but also want to read about the worst natural event in human history then this is the book for you.
I now live my life to far harsher dictates than this book describes, so it was too much of a dichotomy between the sickly sweet cuteness of the family and the end-of-their world events happening around them.
August 11, 2021
The Good, the Bad, and the Factually Incorrect
The Good:
- The action sequences. The author excelled at describing what was happening to the characters and the environment around them both as the earthquake was happening and how they navigated the wreckage afterwards. I didn't have a hard time picturing it in my head at all.
- The science (with a BIG caveat). The author clearly did his research, and was very eager to share every bit of it, whether or not it fit into the story at that exact moment.
The Bad:
- The writing. Dear god, the writing. Let me give a few examples.
Why? Why was so much time spent on describing how to turn on the phone's flashlight? Why did I need to know that it was fifty lumens? (He drops this number more than once.)
After all that, we don't even learn if the Arch survived the first quake.
Um...yes?
- The characters. This is the one that surprises me the most in other reviews, praising the characters. I just don't get it. Family one: upper-middle class cis het white family with two high-achieving kids. Family two: upper-middle class cis het white family with questionably faithful father, wife who got pregnant because she wanted to bring the family back together, and autistic son.
- The research. (Bear with me for a second.)
He is wholly accurate with this statement. He made very little of it up. But that was also his downfall - he did very little speculation here. But keep in mind that the previous earthquakes of 1811-1812 happened a mere decade after the Louisiana Purchase. The Lewis and Clark expedition had just wrapped up five years earlier. There are no eyewitness accounts of the 1811-1812 earthquakes west of the Mississippi because no one (well, no white people) was living out there at the time. And, surprise, the author doesn't give any descriptions of how the earthquake hit anything west of the Mississippi. Back in 1811, the earthquake was felt all the way to the eastern seaboard. But a chunk of the story takes place in Golden, Colorado, and yet they didn't feel anything? Seems a little suspect. The last thing I want to note on this topic is that the historic earthquakes started on Dec 16, 1811, and the first earthquake in this book happened on Dec 21. Feels lazy - the author could basically lift climate/weather reports from back then and use them for his book.
- The localization. I am a Missouri native and have been living in St Louis for the last decade, and some of the author's descriptions of local things are just off.
Literally no one here calls it that, and especially not native Columbians. It's either MU or Mizzou.
I'll give the author a partial pass for this one - this chapter follows a non-native, so it makes sense for the non-native to refer to the building that way. That being said, I had to look up every official name the author gave for the various downtown buildings and go, "Oh that one." For the Met, though, he should have included the green roof. Not many people here know which building is the Met. They do, however, know exactly which building "the giant one with the green roof" is. Yeah, I know, it's a bit of a quibble, but still.
The author gets NO pass for this one. Absolutely none. Why? The Busch Stadium he's referring to? The one that's reminiscent of the Colosseum? That Busch Stadium (AKA Busch Stadium II) was demolished in 2005 and replaced with the current Busch Stadium (AKA Busch Stadium III). The new one looks like, you know, an actual ballpark. Go on, go look up some pictures.
- The ending. Without getting too spoiler-y, the ending is gooey sappy sweet and suddenly in the last two chapters everyone is super Christian.
The Wrong:
A few major errors in this book just completely took me out of it.
- The science.
That's not how weightlessness, momentary or otherwise, works. It's just...not. It's just a way to say "gravity, lol" except sound super technical about it.
No! No! The Mercalli scale is used because it doesn't require instrumental data! You can't use the Mercalli scale if you don't have eyewitness reports, because that's literally all that's used for determining the intensity on the Mercalli scale.
- The pregnancy. Sorry, this is all spoilers.
If you want a light doomsday feel-good thriller, this is a great book. If you want to know what the 1811-1812 earthquakes might have been like in modern times, this is a decent book. If you're interested in science, plausibility, and/or realistic characters, this is a terrible book. Unfortunately, I was interested in the science. I did not enjoy this book.
The Good:
- The action sequences. The author excelled at describing what was happening to the characters and the environment around them both as the earthquake was happening and how they navigated the wreckage afterwards. I didn't have a hard time picturing it in my head at all.
- The science (with a BIG caveat). The author clearly did his research, and was very eager to share every bit of it, whether or not it fit into the story at that exact moment.
The Bad:
- The writing. Dear god, the writing. Let me give a few examples.
Tony swung around and faced the remains of the opulent banquet room. He squinted his eyes to assess their situation. Then he remembered his iPhone. He pulled it out of his pants pocket, swiped his thumb down the screen to bring up the device’s control panel, and tapped on the flashlight icon. The fifty lumens provided by the phone was equal to a small flashlight, but in the darkness it illuminated the entire room.
Why? Why was so much time spent on describing how to turn on the phone's flashlight? Why did I need to know that it was fifty lumens? (He drops this number more than once.)
The Gateway Arch was bending and bouncing like a Slinky on a pogo stick. The structure, designed to withstand an earthquake, according to the attractive young tour guide, was now being put to the test. The giant wedding band built to fit the ring finger of Gargantua’s bride was being forced down only to spring back into shape. Shaken like Jell-O dumped out of its mold, it quivered under the enormous forces rolling just below the planet’s surface.
After all that, we don't even learn if the Arch survived the first quake.
After decades of being under water, the soil leading into the lake was moist and muddy.
Um...yes?
- The characters. This is the one that surprises me the most in other reviews, praising the characters. I just don't get it. Family one: upper-middle class cis het white family with two high-achieving kids. Family two: upper-middle class cis het white family with questionably faithful father, wife who got pregnant because she wanted to bring the family back together, and autistic son.
- The research. (Bear with me for a second.)
[Author's Note] The most alarming aspect of telling the story of New Madrid's fault and its history of earthquakes was how little of it I made up.
He is wholly accurate with this statement. He made very little of it up. But that was also his downfall - he did very little speculation here. But keep in mind that the previous earthquakes of 1811-1812 happened a mere decade after the Louisiana Purchase. The Lewis and Clark expedition had just wrapped up five years earlier. There are no eyewitness accounts of the 1811-1812 earthquakes west of the Mississippi because no one (well, no white people) was living out there at the time. And, surprise, the author doesn't give any descriptions of how the earthquake hit anything west of the Mississippi. Back in 1811, the earthquake was felt all the way to the eastern seaboard. But a chunk of the story takes place in Golden, Colorado, and yet they didn't feel anything? Seems a little suspect. The last thing I want to note on this topic is that the historic earthquakes started on Dec 16, 1811, and the first earthquake in this book happened on Dec 21. Feels lazy - the author could basically lift climate/weather reports from back then and use them for his book.
- The localization. I am a Missouri native and have been living in St Louis for the last decade, and some of the author's descriptions of local things are just off.
She recalled the day she had been accepted into the earth sciences program at Missouri-Columbia.
Literally no one here calls it that, and especially not native Columbians. It's either MU or Mizzou.
One Metropolitan Square, commonly known as the Met, was a striking granite skyscraper that had long been an architectural landmark in St. Louis.
I'll give the author a partial pass for this one - this chapter follows a non-native, so it makes sense for the non-native to refer to the building that way. That being said, I had to look up every official name the author gave for the various downtown buildings and go, "Oh that one." For the Met, though, he should have included the green roof. Not many people here know which building is the Met. They do, however, know exactly which building "the giant one with the green roof" is. Yeah, I know, it's a bit of a quibble, but still.
Off to their left, the collapsed remains of Busch Stadium resembled the Colosseum in Rome.
The author gets NO pass for this one. Absolutely none. Why? The Busch Stadium he's referring to? The one that's reminiscent of the Colosseum? That Busch Stadium (AKA Busch Stadium II) was demolished in 2005 and replaced with the current Busch Stadium (AKA Busch Stadium III). The new one looks like, you know, an actual ballpark. Go on, go look up some pictures.
- The ending. Without getting too spoiler-y, the ending is gooey sappy sweet and suddenly in the last two chapters everyone is super Christian.
The Wrong:
A few major errors in this book just completely took me out of it.
- The science.
The bridge had the kinetic energy of a brick. As the pilings gave way, there was an enormous amount of potential energy associated with the pull of gravity on the bridge structure. The gravitational pull reached up from the center of the Earth and yanked the bridge into the water. As it did, air was displaced, creating a momentary weightless effect for Jack and Tony.
That's not how weightlessness, momentary or otherwise, works. It's just...not. It's just a way to say "gravity, lol" except sound super technical about it.
"Under accepted definitions of intensity as being the measure of human observations, which are unavailable at this moment for obvious reasons, coupled with instrumental data at each station location, we've determined locations near Memphis and Keokuk, Iowa have registered as level VIII, severe."
No! No! The Mercalli scale is used because it doesn't require instrumental data! You can't use the Mercalli scale if you don't have eyewitness reports, because that's literally all that's used for determining the intensity on the Mercalli scale.
- The pregnancy. Sorry, this is all spoilers.
If you want a light doomsday feel-good thriller, this is a great book. If you want to know what the 1811-1812 earthquakes might have been like in modern times, this is a decent book. If you're interested in science, plausibility, and/or realistic characters, this is a terrible book. Unfortunately, I was interested in the science. I did not enjoy this book.
January 4, 2021
New Madrid Earthquake is a Sci-Fi/Thriller lover's dream. Bobby Akart combines a tightly wound plot including heart wrenching details, with deeply accurate scientific research.
I was a prisoner of the destruction caused by this massive seismic event and it's effects upon the two families struggling to make their way back to each other.
Tears were cried, cheers were raised, my heart was broken and then mended. And I spent most of the book biting my fingernails. I am a fan for life!
I was a prisoner of the destruction caused by this massive seismic event and it's effects upon the two families struggling to make their way back to each other.
Tears were cried, cheers were raised, my heart was broken and then mended. And I spent most of the book biting my fingernails. I am a fan for life!
July 5, 2021
Fun, enjoyable disaster thriller. Having grown up on Irwin Allen movies, disaster or post-apocalyptic novels are a guilty pleasure of mine. About five years ago, I read and enjoyed Walter Jon Williams' The Rift, which is also focused on an earthquake along the New Madrd fault zone so when Bobby Akart's book appeared as a recommendation on my Kindle, I could not resist. I was not familiar with Akart's work prior to finding this book, but I intend to read (many) more of his impressive catalogue. This book can be considered a great beach read (or a "popcorn" read as my wife likes to call them) - an enjoyable way to pass some hours.
I thought that Akart put together a very enjoyable read. Particularly important to me was that his characters were likable - none of them annoyed me and I was rooting for them as the story unfolded. Without giving anything away, I also appreciated how people in the book in general tended to pull together rather than immediately form into sadistic death cults, which is an annoying trend in some post-apocalyptic fiction these days.
I am trying to reserve the 5-star rating for truly fantastic books that will stay with me and likely be re-read in the future (i.e. The Stand, The Lord of the Rings, etc) so I only gave this one four stars (if allowed, I think I may have gone 4.5). I enjoyed Akart's writing and I plan to buy more of his books soon.
I thought that Akart put together a very enjoyable read. Particularly important to me was that his characters were likable - none of them annoyed me and I was rooting for them as the story unfolded. Without giving anything away, I also appreciated how people in the book in general tended to pull together rather than immediately form into sadistic death cults, which is an annoying trend in some post-apocalyptic fiction these days.
I am trying to reserve the 5-star rating for truly fantastic books that will stay with me and likely be re-read in the future (i.e. The Stand, The Lord of the Rings, etc) so I only gave this one four stars (if allowed, I think I may have gone 4.5). I enjoyed Akart's writing and I plan to buy more of his books soon.
May 10, 2021
YA? Christian fiction?
I thought this would be an exciting adventure, and that I would learn a bit about the New Madrid fault, too. I used to live in Arkansas, and there was a time in the 80s or 90s that everyone thought they'd need earthquake insurance. But this book was full of painful, elementary descriptions of everything, with a few exceptions. The narrator, especially in the beginning, would explain something a character had just explained, or vice versa. Characters were lightweight stereotypes. For example, there's the ne'er-do-well brother in law, but he's just made a killing investment and never cheated on his wife. There's perfect super dad/husband, a mom who thinks her 12 year old has a "potty mouth" because she said "hell," and the stereotypical black, overweight Mississippi cop and his wife. The ending is too neat and tidy. And I could have done without some of the political opinions in the beginning. They seemed forced. Sorry, this just missed it for me. I gave it 2 stars for research and the plot until just after the major natural disasters.
I thought this would be an exciting adventure, and that I would learn a bit about the New Madrid fault, too. I used to live in Arkansas, and there was a time in the 80s or 90s that everyone thought they'd need earthquake insurance. But this book was full of painful, elementary descriptions of everything, with a few exceptions. The narrator, especially in the beginning, would explain something a character had just explained, or vice versa. Characters were lightweight stereotypes. For example, there's the ne'er-do-well brother in law, but he's just made a killing investment and never cheated on his wife. There's perfect super dad/husband, a mom who thinks her 12 year old has a "potty mouth" because she said "hell," and the stereotypical black, overweight Mississippi cop and his wife. The ending is too neat and tidy. And I could have done without some of the political opinions in the beginning. They seemed forced. Sorry, this just missed it for me. I gave it 2 stars for research and the plot until just after the major natural disasters.
February 22, 2021
What a rush
I selected this book one night (after midnight) when I was having trouble falling asleep. Living in the southwest corner of Missouri I found the topic to be interesting. This book details with great accuracy the feelings etc that one experiences in an earthquake. I experienced several during the 50 years I lived in California and felt the quakes from San Andreas fault-line. The devastation from an M5 is more than enough for me and I believe that the extreme destruction from an M7 or more would literally split the USA on the Mississippi River and flood the majority of the state's connected to that river. This author gives a detailed account of what could and likely would happen if events in this book DID occur. If one is looking for a book they can relate to and the emotional aftermath within a family after a natural disaster I highly recommend they read this book.
I selected this book one night (after midnight) when I was having trouble falling asleep. Living in the southwest corner of Missouri I found the topic to be interesting. This book details with great accuracy the feelings etc that one experiences in an earthquake. I experienced several during the 50 years I lived in California and felt the quakes from San Andreas fault-line. The devastation from an M5 is more than enough for me and I believe that the extreme destruction from an M7 or more would literally split the USA on the Mississippi River and flood the majority of the state's connected to that river. This author gives a detailed account of what could and likely would happen if events in this book DID occur. If one is looking for a book they can relate to and the emotional aftermath within a family after a natural disaster I highly recommend they read this book.
January 19, 2023
Excellent read novel based on facts
I taught catastrophic earthquake preparedness for Red Cross and I was impressed with the incorporation of accurate facts and scenarios, I moved from California to Cape Girardeau MO and traded the San Andreas for the New Madrid. Great characters rising above catastrophic events
I taught catastrophic earthquake preparedness for Red Cross and I was impressed with the incorporation of accurate facts and scenarios, I moved from California to Cape Girardeau MO and traded the San Andreas for the New Madrid. Great characters rising above catastrophic events
January 27, 2021
Good story but holy hell the dialogue was a hot mess. I just couldn't stay with it, almost gave up reading it on multiple occasion because the dialogue between the characters was so ridiculous in some spots.
March 8, 2023
New Madrid Earthquake by Bobby Akart. Compelling book about a massive earthquake along the New Madrid Fault along the Mississippi River.
May 29, 2022
I love me a good natural disaster. Plot was good, I overlooked a lot of awkward dialouge. Pretty much your standard B disaster movie :)
December 1, 2020
The book is well researched and well imagined. Unfortunately it appears this was written with a view to being converted into a movie screenplay. The writing itself, as a literary device, is very weak. The first 100 pages could be easily edited down to 20. The dialog is very inauthentic - people don't use clauses in colloquial language the way the author has penned them. Perhaps it was more of an editing failure than a writing failure, but it made it difficult to read and not a very good experience.
January 26, 2023
Exciting
Akart has delivered another edge-of-your-seat story! Living in Arkansas I found this story particularly interesting. The potential for this fictional story becoming reality is highly likely. The characters are well developed, as in all Akart's novels. They are likable, resilient and resourceful. The pace is great. Akart's stories are never slow and keep you reading quickly to the end. Just can't put them down.
Akart has delivered another edge-of-your-seat story! Living in Arkansas I found this story particularly interesting. The potential for this fictional story becoming reality is highly likely. The characters are well developed, as in all Akart's novels. They are likable, resilient and resourceful. The pace is great. Akart's stories are never slow and keep you reading quickly to the end. Just can't put them down.
January 3, 2023
Probably The Best Book I Have Ever Read!
This book grabs you from the beginning, and you’re awe struck, wowed with the non-stop heart stopping action, drama. I loved the characters struggles and triumphs, along with some heroic failures. Please read this book! I’ve been read,2 or 3 books a week for years and this one is one of the Very BEST!
This book grabs you from the beginning, and you’re awe struck, wowed with the non-stop heart stopping action, drama. I loved the characters struggles and triumphs, along with some heroic failures. Please read this book! I’ve been read,2 or 3 books a week for years and this one is one of the Very BEST!
January 20, 2023
Another Thrilling Novel!
Once again, Bobby Akart has taken liberty with an incredible scenario and mastered a “what if” that provokes the reader’s mind and expands the imagination. I finished in record time and closed the book with a sense of awe at the perception of the author. Loved it! Highly recommend for anyone who wants a thrill ride.
Once again, Bobby Akart has taken liberty with an incredible scenario and mastered a “what if” that provokes the reader’s mind and expands the imagination. I finished in record time and closed the book with a sense of awe at the perception of the author. Loved it! Highly recommend for anyone who wants a thrill ride.
January 6, 2023
Good read
This is a short read that makes you aware of mother natures wrath.
I enjoyed the characters. Learned some survival tips.
This is a short read that makes you aware of mother natures wrath.
I enjoyed the characters. Learned some survival tips.
September 23, 2021
New Madrid, or New Madrid Earthquake was a mostly fun and decent disaster thriller, but with issues. The good was that it was easy to read and made a good case for describing what might happen if the big one ever hit this much under-publicized fault zone that rips right through the center of our continent.
The bad is that while the writing was solid third-person, past-tense, and the chapters and scenes were short, making the pace fast, the omniscient point of view was irritating with all the head-hopping. Add to that the Hallmark touchy feely everything-is-perfect-and-clean-and-wholesome kind of patina over the characters, and whatever tension might have been in the intense scenes were kind of fettered away with sap.
The editing was great in that there were no typos, yet the story needed some serious line-editing for grammatical issues in a few places. It was jarring which went right along with the head-hopping.
I’m all for happy endings, but this one was just too cozy. Oh, let’s not forget that the black guy dies. Go figure.
The other big issue for me is the big plot left hanging, which was the most enjoyable character, the USGS head in Colorado. While she only had minimal page time, relatively compared to the family, I always looked forward to her scenes the most. Then the last time she makes an appearance when she talks to El Presidente, she implies that things are going to get much worse, geologically speaking. Guess what? It doesn’t. Maybe I missed something, or the author is setting up book number two. It was a real letdown because I was expecting something spectacular, yet the book ended with about fifty pages to go. The rest of it was background info and historical stuff which I have to admit, was a real treat. Then again, where was the rest of the story?
It all left me kind of flat.
While I was looking forward to a real intense disaster thriller, I was left with a sort of okay educational story with a few tense moments and a lot of Hallmark touchy feely bland stuff. I’m sure a lot of people loved this, and I’ll admit I enjoyed it somewhat, but to tell the truth, I almost cringed every time the family scenes came up and wished for more with the geologist.
The bad is that while the writing was solid third-person, past-tense, and the chapters and scenes were short, making the pace fast, the omniscient point of view was irritating with all the head-hopping. Add to that the Hallmark touchy feely everything-is-perfect-and-clean-and-wholesome kind of patina over the characters, and whatever tension might have been in the intense scenes were kind of fettered away with sap.
The editing was great in that there were no typos, yet the story needed some serious line-editing for grammatical issues in a few places. It was jarring which went right along with the head-hopping.
I’m all for happy endings, but this one was just too cozy. Oh, let’s not forget that the black guy dies. Go figure.
The other big issue for me is the big plot left hanging, which was the most enjoyable character, the USGS head in Colorado. While she only had minimal page time, relatively compared to the family, I always looked forward to her scenes the most. Then the last time she makes an appearance when she talks to El Presidente, she implies that things are going to get much worse, geologically speaking. Guess what? It doesn’t. Maybe I missed something, or the author is setting up book number two. It was a real letdown because I was expecting something spectacular, yet the book ended with about fifty pages to go. The rest of it was background info and historical stuff which I have to admit, was a real treat. Then again, where was the rest of the story?
It all left me kind of flat.
While I was looking forward to a real intense disaster thriller, I was left with a sort of okay educational story with a few tense moments and a lot of Hallmark touchy feely bland stuff. I’m sure a lot of people loved this, and I’ll admit I enjoyed it somewhat, but to tell the truth, I almost cringed every time the family scenes came up and wished for more with the geologist.
November 21, 2020
My worst fears brought to life! The New Madrid fault complex raises its voice - loudly.
Other than when I was in the service, I've lived my entire life on the northern edge of an earthquake fault zone and didn't know it until of morning in 1968. I was working night stock at a local grocery and had just crawled into bed that morning. I heard a roar and a loud bang. That irritated more than concerned me because we live near an Air Reserve base and we were constantly assaulted by sonic booms from jets practicing overhead. A couple cracked windows were already victims to supersonic war games. That morning was a bit different though. The roaring became a rumbling and something threw me out of bed into the middle of the room. The room was wobbling like a bad night out. Mom was screaming downstairs but I couldn't get my feet under me to get up. It only lasted a couple minutes, but it was the longest, most terrifying couple of minutes I ever experienced before or since. That was my introduction to the New Madrid fault zone and I learned it was only magnitude 5.5! Part of the foundation of the house was cracked, and a large crack ran through the hearth and chimney of the fireplace.
All that terror, the feeling of helplessness, total loss of control, was built up and boils from the pages, from the lives of the characters that experienced the days in the near future when the New Madrid Seismic Zone cleared an accumulation of pent up pressures in a mighty shaking and shuffling. The Atwood family - Jack, Jill and their two kids: Tate, 15 and Emily, 12 and the Chandlers - Tony and Beth, 3 year old Anthony and one on the way, are the main characters. Beth and Jill are sisters. Jack and Tony are business partners. Beth and Jill are preparing for the Holiday festivities in their Memphis homes. Tony and Jack are holding seminars for their business in their St. Louis office. Their world is going to be shaken - roughly.
The characters are brilliant! They convey the emotions and responses that could be expected in apocalyptic events such as your whole world shaken, stirred and fried! This is one terrific read!
Other than when I was in the service, I've lived my entire life on the northern edge of an earthquake fault zone and didn't know it until of morning in 1968. I was working night stock at a local grocery and had just crawled into bed that morning. I heard a roar and a loud bang. That irritated more than concerned me because we live near an Air Reserve base and we were constantly assaulted by sonic booms from jets practicing overhead. A couple cracked windows were already victims to supersonic war games. That morning was a bit different though. The roaring became a rumbling and something threw me out of bed into the middle of the room. The room was wobbling like a bad night out. Mom was screaming downstairs but I couldn't get my feet under me to get up. It only lasted a couple minutes, but it was the longest, most terrifying couple of minutes I ever experienced before or since. That was my introduction to the New Madrid fault zone and I learned it was only magnitude 5.5! Part of the foundation of the house was cracked, and a large crack ran through the hearth and chimney of the fireplace.
All that terror, the feeling of helplessness, total loss of control, was built up and boils from the pages, from the lives of the characters that experienced the days in the near future when the New Madrid Seismic Zone cleared an accumulation of pent up pressures in a mighty shaking and shuffling. The Atwood family - Jack, Jill and their two kids: Tate, 15 and Emily, 12 and the Chandlers - Tony and Beth, 3 year old Anthony and one on the way, are the main characters. Beth and Jill are sisters. Jack and Tony are business partners. Beth and Jill are preparing for the Holiday festivities in their Memphis homes. Tony and Jack are holding seminars for their business in their St. Louis office. Their world is going to be shaken - roughly.
The characters are brilliant! They convey the emotions and responses that could be expected in apocalyptic events such as your whole world shaken, stirred and fried! This is one terrific read!
February 15, 2021
Most apocalyptic stories on earthquakes here are based on quakes in California or quakes resulting from an eruption of Yellowstone. This is one of the few that deal with quakes on the New Madrid fault which is, basically, roughly in the center of the U.S., acts up rarely and which doesn't make the scary could-be type of news.
This fiction book shows the results of what would happen if a the New Madrid fault went ahead and had a major earthquake, something which is quite possible. In this case the quake is around level 9. As with most books of this type you have one to a few groups of people whose stories are told about where they were when it hit and what they did to try to survive.
Fortunately for some in the story they are preppers, a group of four guys that had considered a variety of things that could happen in the U.S. They had a bunker, supplies, weapons and so on.
The story covers what happened at the start of the quake and how various people reacted. The major difference in this story from others I that a massive crevasse opens up due to the quake and it destroys almost all of St Lewis and other cities.
As usual the story covers how the quake effects everyone that survived it and that are anywhere around where it happened including loss of electricity, loss of supplies, looting and the extreme violence that will result as the criminal element takes over.
The characters in the book are well done (as are characters in his other books), the situation is unfortunately quite realistic, the way the characters have prepared and how they react to the quake and its results is also well done and the story is as well told as are those in his other books.
High recommended.
This fiction book shows the results of what would happen if a the New Madrid fault went ahead and had a major earthquake, something which is quite possible. In this case the quake is around level 9. As with most books of this type you have one to a few groups of people whose stories are told about where they were when it hit and what they did to try to survive.
Fortunately for some in the story they are preppers, a group of four guys that had considered a variety of things that could happen in the U.S. They had a bunker, supplies, weapons and so on.
The story covers what happened at the start of the quake and how various people reacted. The major difference in this story from others I that a massive crevasse opens up due to the quake and it destroys almost all of St Lewis and other cities.
As usual the story covers how the quake effects everyone that survived it and that are anywhere around where it happened including loss of electricity, loss of supplies, looting and the extreme violence that will result as the criminal element takes over.
The characters in the book are well done (as are characters in his other books), the situation is unfortunately quite realistic, the way the characters have prepared and how they react to the quake and its results is also well done and the story is as well told as are those in his other books.
High recommended.
November 15, 2020
It is Christmas time and people all over the world are preparing for the big day. Finishing up last minute work, getting food prepped, traveling and most of all, excitement building for meeting the jolly ol’ elf himself! For the Mid-West and the Atwood and Chandler families, Christmas celebrations would be the furthest thing from their minds as Mother Earth released her wrath!
To live is one of the strongest emotions felt when the New Madrid fault line began to move, and the Earth began to shake. Buildings began to crumble, streets cracked leaving wide crevices, people…died. For those in our story, survival of their family members and themselves was the most important thought now. Could they do it? Could they be among the lucky ones to make it through this destruction alive? Only by reading this remarkable story of true to life scenario will you find out the answer!
Bobby Akart has written a stand alone story that is filled with calamity, fear, destruction, tears shed(by me), many “hold your breath moments” and a lot of under my breath swearing. Only he can bring to life in that Akart way characters that you care so much about, that you find yourself cheering for each and little step of progress they make and pray that when you turn that last page, they are all still breathing!
To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I LOVED it! From Start to finish, I was totally engrossed and learned so much that after I was finished with the story, I found myself looking up further information on this remarkably interesting subject. As always Bobby, Thank You for another entertaining story and I look forward to many more of your books.
To live is one of the strongest emotions felt when the New Madrid fault line began to move, and the Earth began to shake. Buildings began to crumble, streets cracked leaving wide crevices, people…died. For those in our story, survival of their family members and themselves was the most important thought now. Could they do it? Could they be among the lucky ones to make it through this destruction alive? Only by reading this remarkable story of true to life scenario will you find out the answer!
Bobby Akart has written a stand alone story that is filled with calamity, fear, destruction, tears shed(by me), many “hold your breath moments” and a lot of under my breath swearing. Only he can bring to life in that Akart way characters that you care so much about, that you find yourself cheering for each and little step of progress they make and pray that when you turn that last page, they are all still breathing!
To say I enjoyed this book is an understatement. I LOVED it! From Start to finish, I was totally engrossed and learned so much that after I was finished with the story, I found myself looking up further information on this remarkably interesting subject. As always Bobby, Thank You for another entertaining story and I look forward to many more of your books.
September 16, 2021
It could happen again
Be wary about this book if you are triggered by natural disasters. I have lived through a 6.9 magnitude in an area generally used to quakes, and a 5.4 occurring on an unknown fault in a state where no one thinks about earthquakes. Both were terrifying in the moment. Now living on the edge of what's considered the New Madrid zone, I have thought often about the Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri shared borders along the Mississippi River. I have no doubt there will be more quakes in that region. The realism in this book regarding families living their daily lives an hour or so away from each other happens on a daily basis and for many, no thought is given as to how you'd get home if there was a natural disaster. We are warned about potential blizzard conditions and severe thunderstorm conditions. Generally you can wait those out for a few days. We've now had a global pandemic where staying inside, planning meals, extra time and precautions to get food and refill medications became somewhat of a burden but was still accomplished with relative ease. We still received mail. We had electricity and Internet. What if pharmacies and hospitals ran out of insulin? What if your home didn't have a fireplace or wood stove? What of there was no way to receive local or national news? It's overwhelming to think about, but I think this book gives some good ideas to consider in terms of disaster preparedness.
Be wary about this book if you are triggered by natural disasters. I have lived through a 6.9 magnitude in an area generally used to quakes, and a 5.4 occurring on an unknown fault in a state where no one thinks about earthquakes. Both were terrifying in the moment. Now living on the edge of what's considered the New Madrid zone, I have thought often about the Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri shared borders along the Mississippi River. I have no doubt there will be more quakes in that region. The realism in this book regarding families living their daily lives an hour or so away from each other happens on a daily basis and for many, no thought is given as to how you'd get home if there was a natural disaster. We are warned about potential blizzard conditions and severe thunderstorm conditions. Generally you can wait those out for a few days. We've now had a global pandemic where staying inside, planning meals, extra time and precautions to get food and refill medications became somewhat of a burden but was still accomplished with relative ease. We still received mail. We had electricity and Internet. What if pharmacies and hospitals ran out of insulin? What if your home didn't have a fireplace or wood stove? What of there was no way to receive local or national news? It's overwhelming to think about, but I think this book gives some good ideas to consider in terms of disaster preparedness.
May 5, 2021
A good disaster thriller
A very well researched disaster novel. As a Tennessean I've long been interested in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, especially since my father, a futurist, became quite concerned about it on my behalf years ago. Dad was a banker and was convinced I needed earthquake insurance on my house despite my living in East Tennessee many hours from Memphis. I dismissed dad's concerns back then but after reading this book I realize dad was probably right. After reading the epilogue which contains technical data it would appear if New Madrid ever unleashes it's full force then foundation and wall damage just might be a problem all across Tennessee. That aside, it was nice to read an apocalypse novel where the characters were normal people and not super soldiers or survivalists.
I'm giving it four stars because I felt the one British character and the lone African American were stereotyped a little too much. Overall pretty good though and after reading this book you will never feel the same when you hear a rumble outside your home!
A very well researched disaster novel. As a Tennessean I've long been interested in the New Madrid Seismic Zone, especially since my father, a futurist, became quite concerned about it on my behalf years ago. Dad was a banker and was convinced I needed earthquake insurance on my house despite my living in East Tennessee many hours from Memphis. I dismissed dad's concerns back then but after reading this book I realize dad was probably right. After reading the epilogue which contains technical data it would appear if New Madrid ever unleashes it's full force then foundation and wall damage just might be a problem all across Tennessee. That aside, it was nice to read an apocalypse novel where the characters were normal people and not super soldiers or survivalists.
I'm giving it four stars because I felt the one British character and the lone African American were stereotyped a little too much. Overall pretty good though and after reading this book you will never feel the same when you hear a rumble outside your home!
August 7, 2023
This book terrified me. I live in West Tennessee and worked for a large hospital system before my retirement in 1999. We had a disaster planning committee to research the probability of an earthquake on the New Madrid Fault, and draw conclusions of how our hospital would react. Our conclusions were so close to what the author described in the book that I was glad that today we have some emergency food supplies on hand. The latest information I could find states that scientists and investigators have suggested that a major event could occur between 2009 and 2059. I'm not an alarmist, but this story brought memories of that work experience and the implications of what a strong earthquake would mean to the population along the fault and even further out. The author knows Memphis well -- I pulled up a map and followed his characters through the nearly obliterated city. It may be fiction, but there is a lot of educational value in the book as well. I gave it five stars, because I could not put it down!
May 25, 2021
4/5. In this very realistic novel, the New Madrid Seismic Zone experiences a modern-day series of devastating earthquakes which tear the United States in half from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border.
This thriller follows the geographically widespread members of a family during the quakes and through their efforts afterwards to reunite. We are observers of the near-total destruction of the cities of St. Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN. The suspense and action make this a real page-turner.
A minor complaint is that too much time is taken-up in establishing the main characters’ overly-detailed back-stories. Also, while the author has done some phenomenal research on earthquakes, in general, and, specifically, on the science and history of the very real, very worrisome New Madrid Fault. He provides a little more information, however, than the typical reader needed.
This thriller follows the geographically widespread members of a family during the quakes and through their efforts afterwards to reunite. We are observers of the near-total destruction of the cities of St. Louis, MO, and Memphis, TN. The suspense and action make this a real page-turner.
A minor complaint is that too much time is taken-up in establishing the main characters’ overly-detailed back-stories. Also, while the author has done some phenomenal research on earthquakes, in general, and, specifically, on the science and history of the very real, very worrisome New Madrid Fault. He provides a little more information, however, than the typical reader needed.
November 16, 2020
New Madrid is Author Bobby Akart’s new stand-alone disaster novel. It follows the aftermath of a earthquake on the New Madrid fault line which is on the Mississippi River near St Louis, Missouri. The story is set near Christmas, and follows an extended family as they try to return home during and after the quake. As usual, the story is based on real life facts, and impeccably researched by the author. New Madrid is a real place and a series of quakes occurred there in the early 1800’s. The area is still considered active, and there is some disagreement as to weather these shocks are aftershocks or pre-shocks. The story reminds the reader that you never know when the day before is the day before.
November 19, 2020
You can't tame the Mississippi
Fun, fast paced read. Once out of the gate, you took off. Non-stop. As always there is a lesson to be learned. A great lesson. Don't live around the Mississippi River. It is covering up a fault, the New Madrid. I knew it was there, but to hear what the 1811 earthquake impacted throughout North America was interesting... Especially how they had to obtain the facts through correspondence.
If this book comes to fruition as so many of his books do.... I am taking away his means of writing books.....especially if his next book brings locusts. The author doesn't do many stand-alone books.... I am glad he did. I hate waiting.
Definitely recommend this book.
Fun, fast paced read. Once out of the gate, you took off. Non-stop. As always there is a lesson to be learned. A great lesson. Don't live around the Mississippi River. It is covering up a fault, the New Madrid. I knew it was there, but to hear what the 1811 earthquake impacted throughout North America was interesting... Especially how they had to obtain the facts through correspondence.
If this book comes to fruition as so many of his books do.... I am taking away his means of writing books.....especially if his next book brings locusts. The author doesn't do many stand-alone books.... I am glad he did. I hate waiting.
Definitely recommend this book.
October 28, 2021
It wasn't in California quake!
Most people think only of the West Coast when the subject of earthquakes comes up. Very few have any idea about the New Madrid faults. Being from W. Illinois (and of a somewhat advanced age), I remember feeling the quake in 1968, even though I was in junior high and 40 miles from the river. The disaster described in this book I pray never happens because it would be much like Mr Smart wrote...it would split the country in two. Again, most people don't know what a break in access like this would cripple the country--all of the highways and traffic and trucks, all of the railroad bridges destroyed. Talk about supply chain issues? I've liked this writer for some time. Gonna search for more of his work!
Most people think only of the West Coast when the subject of earthquakes comes up. Very few have any idea about the New Madrid faults. Being from W. Illinois (and of a somewhat advanced age), I remember feeling the quake in 1968, even though I was in junior high and 40 miles from the river. The disaster described in this book I pray never happens because it would be much like Mr Smart wrote...it would split the country in two. Again, most people don't know what a break in access like this would cripple the country--all of the highways and traffic and trucks, all of the railroad bridges destroyed. Talk about supply chain issues? I've liked this writer for some time. Gonna search for more of his work!
November 27, 2020
Fact and Fiction
I love the way Mr. Akart researches and mixes fact with fiction. His books don't prophesize that these things, like earthquakes, are going to happen, but could happen. And the fictional characters represent what we might have to go through. It's especially exciting when you put yourself in the place of one of his characters and think what you would feel in their place. What I especially liked about this book is that it ran from beginning to end in one book. His books usually are in a series and you have to wait months to find out what happens next! But I love his stories, even if they're spread out like that.
I love the way Mr. Akart researches and mixes fact with fiction. His books don't prophesize that these things, like earthquakes, are going to happen, but could happen. And the fictional characters represent what we might have to go through. It's especially exciting when you put yourself in the place of one of his characters and think what you would feel in their place. What I especially liked about this book is that it ran from beginning to end in one book. His books usually are in a series and you have to wait months to find out what happens next! But I love his stories, even if they're spread out like that.
October 23, 2022
A massive earthquake along the Mississippi river leaves members of two families scattered and separated and trying to get home. One sister is in the city with her two children, another sister, pregnant is travelling across state with her toddler. The husband's are also in the city for a business meeting, all try to get home thru chaos and distruction. Well researched and based around the new madrid earthquake zone which was active in 1811 no highly populated and likely to erupt again at some stage Action packed a few unexpected twists. The main characters just felt a bit too nice and wholesome.
January 24, 2024
Another great read from Bobby Akart
I happened across ARk Storm, first. It was terrific and right up my alley. New Madrid was mention in Fracture, and having lived in the St Louis area, it was familiar to me. So, this was my third Akart tale. I was not disappointed.
The author has obviously done his research in support of the scientific aspects and likely consequences of a recurrence of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. The storyline is well plotted and characters are believable. Lots of action and intense situations. All in all, it's A fun read for disaster readers.
I happened across ARk Storm, first. It was terrific and right up my alley. New Madrid was mention in Fracture, and having lived in the St Louis area, it was familiar to me. So, this was my third Akart tale. I was not disappointed.
The author has obviously done his research in support of the scientific aspects and likely consequences of a recurrence of the 1811-1812 New Madrid earthquakes. The storyline is well plotted and characters are believable. Lots of action and intense situations. All in all, it's A fun read for disaster readers.
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