Fail State

End of Days #2

by John Birmingham

On Zero Day of the first and last cyberwar in human history the internet went dark, transport and power grids collapsed and cities began to starve. Ten days later millions have died from thirst and starvation, from violence and from the simple failure of the world’s machines to keep them alive.
This second installment of John Birmingham’s End of Days trilogy finds James O’Donnell and his friends Rick, Michelle and Melissa hunkered down in the wilderness, where they know a horde of starving, desperate exiles from the graveyard of the US East Coast is heading their way.
On the far side of the continent, in the Pacific Northwest, Jonas Murdoch helps lead the good folk of Silverton in defending themselves from waves of starving and desperate refugees pouring out of Seattle.
And slowly, cautiously navigating the inland waterways of California, Jodi Sarjanan and Ellie Jabbarah negotiate an apocalyptic landscape of burning skyscrapers and marauding gangs.
All of them are seeking sanctuary. A safe place where the madness hasn’t penetrated. But does such a place exist?
And what if they need to sacrifice their very humanity in the struggle to reach it?
©2019 John Birmingham (P)2019 Audible Australia Pty Ltd.

Genres: Fiction, Audiobook, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Thriller, Apocalyptic, Post Apocalyptic

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2019

About the author

John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.

While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.

Birmingham has a degree in international relations.

Reviews

[Ian Tweeddale · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cracker. After the very well researched set up in the first book, this moves along at an excellent pace, we see the characters continue their experiences..although some of the characterisations tended to drop off, others continued in particular Jonas, what JB with that character is fantastic, an anti hero that you think you could if not like certainly admire but then at particular moments JB stays true to the character he has created. I ripped thru this in a day. The Interludes between chapters give us scenes across the globe with well painted characters and scenes. Despite reading this during an actual pandemic, I found this entertaining. This is a superb dystopian, apocalyptic series. I'm looking forward to the next one.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fail State is the second part of the End of Days post-apocalyptic thriller trilogy by author John Birmingham, who is Australian, but the action is all set in the USA. At the point of writing this and the next one are only available as audiobooks, although I note that the first instalment, Zero Day Code, is now also out as an ebook. Don’t even think about starting this if you haven’t read that one, as there is minimal recap and nothing will make sense. I got the whole trilogy for free from Audible. I reckon I actually enjoyed this one more than the first as it focussed on fewer characters and there was more action.

Continuing on from the events of Zero Day Code, where a devastating Chinese cyber attack has destroyed the food distribution network of the whole country, and with it all forms of government, we catch up with Rick, Mel, Michelle and James, and faithful Nomi, who have escaped Washington and are heading for Montana, but are camping out in the wilderness to stay out of trouble. Jodi, Ellie, Max, Jono & Carl are travelling towards Sacramento by boat but encounter various obstacles as they try to head North. Tammy & Roxanne are doing their best to keep their children safe but are poorly equipped to deal with their new reality, and racist sexist narcissistic bigot Jonas, having landed on his feet in the small town of Silverton, has to decide whether he will defend the town or cut and run when a new menace threatens his new home.

As with the first audiobook, this is narrated by a single actor, who does a reasonably good job with the male American voices, but completely mangles the female and foreign characters’ accents - especially Mel the Londoner (trust me, I grew up there, no one sounds like that.)

It’s all told in omniscient third person past, but the voice changes depending on who’s “on stage” - Jonas’ chapters all take on his hateful Trumpian world view and pepper his internal monologues with vulgarities and profanities. He’s an interesting character - absolutely focused on his own selfish objectives, often doing the right thing for the wrong reason, and a natural survivor who knows exactly how to manipulate anyone to achieve his own amoral ends. He’s not evil, as such, he doesn’t generally plan to hurt anyone, but he’ll lie, cheat, steal and, ultimately, kill, to get what he wants.

As before, there are “Interludes” where we find out what’s happened to other parts of the world - in particular to China, where a deadly flu variant released by the CIA is spreading. Some of these were more interesting than others. What is not explained is why Europe, or at least Britain, for example, have not come to the aid of the USA. It’s implied that Australia has also been attacked, not sure what happens to Lil’ Ol’ New Zealand. The whole premise of this book is actually much scarier than the usual zombie or killer-virus PA scenario, partly because it seems more plausible and partly because the bad hungry humans are way worse than the undead!

We listened to this in the car and have gone straight on to the final part, American Kill Switch, because this doesn’t have a proper ending, so we needed to find out what happens next. Recommended if you are able to ignore the constant references to testicles and bowels in all three books!

[Tobey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This trilogy may not be for everyone right now as it touches on many thing happening in the world today or could happen. But the stories of Ellie, Rick, Jodi, Jonas, James, etc are totally in my wheelhouse! I love this concept (not wanting to experience it, mind you) but I've always been fascinated with these kinds of storylines whether in novels, movies, etc.

I think the author is really giving the readers a good taste of what can happen all over the world. I recommend this on audio too, the narrator is very good, especially doing Damo's character.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The action in this books picks up right where it ended in Zero Day Code. I feel I should tell you that this is not a stand alone book you really needed to have read Zero Day Code before reading this book.

Most of the characters from book one are back and we follow them in their struggle to stay safe in a world gone mad. The new characters introduced in this novel fit in really well and only add to the story.

The fall of society in this book feels really realistic to me and I can only hope that it never happens.

The book ends really abruptly but this is because there is a third book so don't let that throw you off.

[Sharondblk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 is more of the same, in the best possible way. Things keep going on their downward trajectory. Lots of bad things happen, but nothing really happens - everyone is travelling along or ground to a halt.

I know better than to start a series that hasn't been finished, and I did it anyway. I really, really want the next book. I need to find out how this ends.

[Catarina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost as good, but a bad editing job meant I couldn’t give it the same rating. The repetition of the word “medieval” is just an example.

[Bryn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devoured this after tearing my way through Zero Day Code. Once again it's amazing how much is crammed into a story that only takes place over a few days. Stronghold cities, weaponised bird flu, marauding biker gangs, hungry hillbilly campers, refugee camps and a short stretch with the International Space Station.

JB doesn't pull you along so much as strap you into one of those g-force centrifuges they use to train astronauts. He then kicks it the second it looks like its slowing down. Every scene ends on a note that makes me want to read more and we're really getting to know the characters.

While the POV switches still occur at dizzying speeds, the characters are joining up, allowing you to see them from other people's eyes and get more time to figure out what the hell is going on in the rest of the world, of which only small hints are ever given. This is not like After America, which covers the geopolitics in serious detail. This is everyday people trying to get by and I'm enjoying every second. Looking forward to seeing Jonas and the folk of Silverton, the Lasseter Reef gang and Rick, James, Mel, Michelle, Tammy and Roxy again in American Kill Switch.

[Renée Gendron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid second book to the series.

The scenarios and character actions throughout this second book are plausible. The author doesn't go into gory detail in the ramifications of people, but he presents them in a believable style that allows the reader to fill in the blanks.

I enjoyed this book, and rightly or wrongly, consider this author to be a Tom Clancy-esque author, without bogging the reader down in overly technical details.

[Caia_In_Wonderland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only a couple of weeks have elapsed since the end of book 1, things are clearly escalating, the pandemonium of the e first days has dimmed, a lot of people have died, retaliation from US is brutal.
Seems the chances of survival for all the characters are diminishing, but there’s still hope even for those who might not deserve surviving.
I felt this was bit rushed, and I hated Jonas even more in this book. When on the first one I kind of saw the point of an antagonist like him, well I still do, it’s just that he is such a fascist SOB.
On another note we still keep getting to see in the interludes how other parts of the world are faring and the level of chaos zero day brought. You can definitely tell, as with the first book, that there was a lot of research to write this realistically.
Definitely, not as good as the first one, but I’m still curious for the finale on the next book.

[Stephen Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitate to use the word "cracking" but this is!

As a disclaimer, I'm a committed JB fan, so I was always going to listen to this.

In this second part of JB's non-zombie apocalypse, he exposes more well-researched future gazing as the US vanishes up it's own libertarian butthole. Listening to this in the age of COVID and as a keen consumer of apocalyptic books and games, it's a tad uncanny how close (though a few steps more apocalyptic) he is to the reality.

In performance terms, Rupert Degas once more delivers, giving us keenly realised voice work, even with JBs occasionally hyperbolic (in a good way) characters.

[Zoë Routh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great dialogue and gritty brutality. But why the insertion of random character scenes that don’t seem to link up or contribute to the main narrative? Beautifully written, but distracting. I wanted them woven in somehow. Also, can’t read this book as a stand alone, definitely Act 2 in three book series. As such, pace seemed a little slower than the first book.

Wonderfully narrated audiobook! Amazing variety of voices and accents. Rupee Degas is the bomb!

[Jeffrey Schmieder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like other Birmingham novels, this is more a set of stories set in a post apocalyptic world, but he creates interesting characters as different groups try to flee the chaos of EMP destroyed cities and small towns try to hold off Mutant Zombie Bikers. I will continue to read more in the series. In his scenario, cars are still running.

[MonsRuiz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like an adaptation of the walking dead without the zombies. But overall I enjoyed it.

[Billy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well I won’t be reading the third one

[Nat]

This one falls into a lot of the doomsday fantasy prepper literature tropes. It's a compelling enough story (or at least easy enough to follow), but you can pretty much predict what's going to happen to each group. Either because of a failed attempt at foreshadowing, or it was ripped off of familiar stories. I don't know if the author was trying to pay homage to better known works, or if it he just didn't have enough original ideas.
Many of the characters are not likeable, and this book focuses on them the most. The first book was better simply because it had the unfolding of a complex scenario that impacted the world, and that was pretty interesting. At this point, though, it could have been any disaster and this could be any stereotypical prepper fiction, with all their bad decisions. Read it if you want. It's a continuation of the stories from the previous book and introduces a few new characters. I'll even read the next book just to see what happens. This one does not back down on the crudeness, and it is really unnecessary and doesn't add to the story, so that might impact your decision to read this one.




(Okay, are we supposed to be rooting for Jonas? He's clearly a narcissistic psychopath, right? Or am I crazy? Is the author going to address that? So far, that's what gives me the most suspense; when will he get his comeuppance? Hopefully in the next book. On the one hand, there's a good subtlety to it, that Jonas doesn't perceive anything he does to be wrong...but I also don't know if the author perceives it to be wrong, either, which is where it becomes weird. Is he a bad guy that is just getting away with everything, making us wonder when his luck will run out? It's a little unclear to me, so I don't know if it's a well-written character or just a weird one. Unfortunately, it seems like he's a pet character of the author, like he puts way too much care and attention into Jonas and his thought-process, which makes it seem like an expression of the author, the way the Fortschen, author of "One Second After" had his pet character get the girl, be the big shot in town, but also *reluctantly* execute the bad guy, which made it seem like a way to play out his own dark fantasies by creating an unrealistic scenario in which he was the only one the people could put that incredible burden on, so he had to do his duty...yadda yadda. It's just weird. You can show that Jonas is a bad guy without going into too many details, and you can also show that Jonas thinks he's the good guy without making us think the author think Jonas is a good guy. I guess we'll see what happens in the next book. End rant.)

[Steve Frederick]

Mostly engaging apocalyptic story telling. The Jonas story line was very off putting and insulting in the way the character engaged with women. The author was attempting to describe Jonas as a chauvinist; he must have readers who are desensitised as the character’s attitudes were too full on for me - I skipped through sections.

# couple chapters into the third instalment I pulled up stumps. Writing just seemed to have dropped a few levels in quality.

[Curt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version of this book with the voice talents of Rupert Degas as the reader. Regardless of what I might have thought of the book, Rupert did an excellent job bringing the book to life.

I was quite enthralled with the first book in the series and I was looking forward to book number 2. I did find Fail State a disappointment. There were numerous groups of characters that Birmingham was tracking in the story. Unlike some books in which you are following the main character or a couple of groups, this book had at least had several groups of characters. Typically, a chapter was dedicated to a group and we were left with a mini cliffhanger before going to another group in the next chapter. This method is intended to keep you turning pages. But too often, by the time the book cycled through the other groups, much of the tension was lost.

In book one, the world was in trouble and there was a sense of urgency in trying to find out what was happening. In book 2, I found that sense of urgency missing. Sure there were sections with some action, but overall it felt like I was just cycling through each group as they try to muddle through.

At the end of book 1, the US distributes a virus in China as a cliffhanger. While the virus is mentioned in book 2 with few people getting sick I suspect the real fallout will take place in book 3.

By the end of the book, even with a great narrator, I felt I was constantly wondering "is it over yet"?Even though the various storylines are nowhere close to being finished or resolved, I do not have any real desire to go to book 3.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this one was much better! Now that we have specific main characters it was a lot easier to appreciate the single chapters of random people who ended up dying. It added more of a worldly perspective in comparison to the first book where it just felt chaotic and confusing. Now you could see how the American financial problems would effect people in the middle east and how the American computer and internet issues would effect the astronauts in space.

I enjoyed seeing the development of the core characters and how they needed to evolve their moral compass in order to survive. There was also an introduction to a few more bad characters, now that a lot of America had killed each other off for food, shelter or weapons. It still felt completely realistic how biker gangs may join together in a show of force and solidarity during the end times. It also felt unfortunately realistic how people who had sinister urges before the chaos (like rape or murder) would be easily able to act on those urges once law inforcement were preoccupied with bigger issues.

Basically, I appreciated how clear the destruction of civilisation could be if technology was no longer at our fingertips. I thought it was interesting how each country was targeted differently depending on what would work most effectively (nuclear bombs, technology wipe out, disease, etc). All in all I thought this story was much better and less cluttered than the last one. I look forward to reading the final instalment.

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This second volume of the series is not nearly as exciting as the opening volume. The story now focuses on the several groups of people dealing with the chaos thrust upon them. There are occasional bouts of violence and firefights sprinkled throughout, mainly by evacuees from the cities encountering roadblocks or marauders eager to take what was not theirs. More than any other location, the town of Silverton garnered the most attention. Societal breakdown happens within a matter of days once the enormity of the crisis is made known. Unfortunately, this reaction is not merely an author’s imagination, this madness will take place. Will each of us be prepared for such a situation? Back to the story. China does not come away unscathed in this engagement. Retribution was delivered to their doorstep to divert their attention. It was intimated that Russia also would suffer some payback. Speaking of Russia, since their cyber-attack on our banking system, they seem to be concentrating their efforts in Europe. All-in-all, this volume chronicled a lot about the people caught up in the apocalypse but little of the attackers. Leave that to the next volume I guess.

[Jane Balke Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first one in the series better. This was a fast and furious plot with a lot happening, but nothing major plot wise, but the characters mostly travelling and the the USA getting worse, collapsing around them.

For me there was way too much about Jonas. We seem to spend a huge amount of time on him and his thoughts. He is a revolting human being, definitely a narcissist and possibly pathological with it. He is sexist and racist and opportunistic and I believe that’s a way for the author to show how some people will react in a apocalypse, in the same way he shows how some of the empathetic and kinder characters react. Nevertheless, he is so abhorrent it is difficult for me to read. Jonas will do whatever Jonas wants to make life good for Jonas…and that means anything without guilt or shame.

This book is more about action and violence than the first and does not require much thought into the nuances of the situation.

Recommended if you want a cracking fast paced read without much thinking and characters like Jonas don’t upset you.

[Olivia Saman · Rating 5 out of 5]

FAIL STATE
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written by John Bermingham
Narrated by Rupert Degas
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Book 2 of 3
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Freebie on Audible 🥰
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This is the continuance of Zero Day code. I love how it just starts, get straight into the story, kinda where it lifted off. This was the blood bath of the end of days and how society tries to get through survival.
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A lot of swearing in this book, a lot more than the first book, not for sensitive ears.
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It ended abruptly and knowing now there is another book I quickly started the next one American Kill Switch to know the next bit.
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The Narration alone is once again worth the listen to this book. Rupert does an amazing job performing this story. I can still tell which each character was by his change in tone or accent and he did it flawlessly. Amazing. Best Narration great performance
Such a good book.
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For my Liv review it gets
4.5 out of 5 🌱🌱🌱🌱 for storyline
And
5 out of 5 🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨 for Narration
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#failstate #book2outof3 #Zerodaycode #audible #listening #livreview #livnessentially

[Todd Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sensational. John Birmingham never fails to deliver. I’ve loved all of his books, and this series is right up there as one of my favourites. I kept thinking to myself, this is something that could really happen. So many hours of wonderful entertainment.
Jonas Murdoch would have to consider himself one of the luckiest men alive, after finding himself sanctuary in the little town of Silverton. If he hadn’t stepped in to save a local man from a beating, he could have found himself outside the fence with no food or water. However, life isn’t going to be so easy when the hordes of people from Seattle turn up on their doorstep wanting to get in. All around the country people are starting to realise that the technology has gone and there doesn’t seem to be any food trucks rocking up anytime soon. It has now become the survival of the fittest and strongest. I’m really looking forward to book three. Hands down this is one hell of a good read. 5/5 Star Rating.

[Ralph Wark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just another post-apocalyptic tale

John Birmingham was one of the first authors I read on Kindle, years ago with the Axis of Time trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed. In this he takes on a post-apocalyptic world.

But no zombies, something more believable and frightening, a cyber attack by China that cripples the US infrastructure and distribution systems, so no rail, no ships, no supplies.

Just panic and chaos. Birmingham has several stories and perspectives going, a group trying to make it to a government site, 2 women and their kids fleeing their town, Jona, a rotter thought to be a hero by a small fortress town ultimately besieged by a biker gang. If there is any criticism of the tale it's that there are too many story lines to keep up, but Birmingham has a nice writing style, and this is the first book of a series so it sets up the rest. Which I intend to read very soon. A plus: available on Kindle unlimited.

[One Flew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great second novel in the End of Days series. A riveting thriller looking at the collapse of society, how people survive when civilization collapses and those who take advantage of the chaos.

Birmingham has created a great cast of characters in his series and I've become attached to many of them over the two books. My one gripe is the Stephen King like tendency to constantly foreshadow what is going to happen. When done well, clever foreshadowing can add tension to a story and make you more eager to find out what happens next. When done too often or improperly, foreshadowing becomes nothing more than a spoiler written into the narrative that diminishes the tension. Not a big thing but there was a few instances of pointless foreshadowing throughout the story.

All said though, a very well plotted, well paced and interesting story. Highly recommended.

[Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual, Birmingham has cranked out another fun, Clancy-adjacent popcorn thriller. The core premise, with a cyberwar having unintended and utterly devastating second order effects that incrementally upend American life over a series of days, remains compelling. Birmingham still writes in a reader-friendly style, with solid action sequences.

However, I did find there were diminishing returns to some degree. The worldbuilding slacked off a bit (in part to impose a fog of war on our protagonists), which was a little disappointing since I quite liked the sandbox he had built, and I just don't find myself interested in spending time with a lot of these characters. Lastly, while it was less noticeable than in the previous book, there were a few odd misspellings or misstatements (it's a truck, no it's an SUV, SUV...no, it's a truck again) that made it feel a bit rushed.

[Jim KABLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mutual Destruction Intended?

Birmingham crafts a tale of the end of days - apocalyptic - digital disaster answered by bio-weaponry - pockets of survival - each one different in setting and human components. Morality breaks down or alters its parameters - and all in a most chillingly believable way - characters and places - it’s a mix - the horrors of Stephen King meet with contemporary human dilemmas. Is this truly the kind of world political ideologies have constructed. Read the book before the movie - and rest assured - Fail State is only the start! Come along for the ride… and you know - I think there is a tiny hint of Harry Flashman in one of the key characters. I wonder what you might think?

[Julie Capell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good example of its genre: a post-apocalyptic thriller. Lots of viewpoint characters, all in peril on and off (mostly on) throughout the book. I find the characters well developed, and the situations are, if not original, at least interesting. I was disappointed that in this installment we lost the point of view of what was happening in China and the rest of the world. This becomes a completely US-focused story which is too bad because the global nature of the catastrophe was one of the things that made the first book more unique. Still, good enough that I feel compelled to listen to the next installment to see what happens to the characters.

[I listened to this as an audio book performed extremely well by Rupert Degas. Excellent at giving each character a different sound!]

[Josie ❃The Bubbly Book Reviewer❃ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid second book in a trilogy, and I really enjoyed it.

We follow our main characters on their travels, meet some new ones and one of our storylines wraps up. Birmingham’s writing keeps us absorbed in both the plot and the characters.

Be warned there is a little swearing, personally the “c” bomb is not for me, but overall I gave the swearing a free pass because there are very few who wouldn’t be swearing by this time at the end of the world.

Again, I would applaud the narrator Rupert Degas, well done! And thank you to John Birmingham for 9.5hours of entertainment. I am heading straight into Book 3 - American Kill Switch.

[Balthazar Lawson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's hard to get into this book, a continuation of the break down of American society following an cyber attack by China. The stop start style of writing is so off putting because just as you get into some action you jump off to another story line and it can be a long long time before you return. The story started out with six separate story lines but they are now down to three as three have now joined up into one group. Jumping between these story lines is like driving around with the hand brake on.

This is all a story of struggling to survive in a deteriorating world and there is nothing you can do.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fail State continues the stories of the characters in the first novel in the series, a few days after the cyberattack by China on America. Like Zero day Code, this is an entertaining enough read as we follow a handful of people caught up in the calamity, and their struggles to survive as everything goes to pieces around them. It didn't surprise me that once the foody supply chain was interrupted and communication broke down, society followed quickly. What was surprising was how quickly the army retreated into its bases and how soon individual towns became strongholds as gangs roamed the land. Not something I've ever experienced or wish to find out, however. Another 7/10 for me.