One of my goals for 2022 was to start reading more. I've been reading mostly political stuff lately, trying to wrap my head around the world we are living in and why it is the way it is. By chance I came across this series and thought it would be nice for some late night, light reading. So not to give out any or many spoilers I'll talk a little about each book in the series and my thoughts about some of the events and if they were believable or not.
This is a 4 book series and surprisingly I found it in the Kindle Unlimited free titles. For the most part I really enjoyed this series. After reading the series you can't help but ask the question of how you think you would faire in similar situations. If you're being honest with yourself, the thought will probably be horrifying.
When do you cross the line?
How far would you go to protect your family, food, car, home?
There's a fine line between the good guys and the bad guys.
From the very start of the series in book 1 you can't help but question the ethical and moral dilemmas that would arise in a situation like this.
Book 1 - Days of Panic
I promise there won't be many spoilers here. The series starts with Days Of Panic.
The main protagonist is a homeless war vet suffering from PTSD living in the New York City subway tunnels. He left his family back in Lake Placid trying to protect them from himself. It's New Year's Eve and he gets arrested digging cans out of a garbage can near Times Square. He's tossed into a "paddy wagon" with several protestors and other people who got swept up in a melee between protestors and police. An EMP (electro magnetic pulse) goes off, a plane crashes into the crowd in Times Square, the "paddy wagon" is blown over from the impact and the group of people it held escape.
This brings together a miss matched group of people who given any other circumstances probably wouldn't have given each other the time of day. Our cast of characters include an ex-con returning home from prison, a female customer service rep who is trying to get away from her abusive boyfriend, a bike messenger and our homeless vet.
Elliot the homeless vet must get home to his family. He understands an EMP has gone off, the power grid is completely down and the first thing he wants to do is get out of the city while he still can. As society quickly begins to unravel our group of mismatched comrades decide to help each other and also help get Elliot home to his family. Besides being a war vet Elliot is also a bit of a prepper and knows exactly what to do in this scenario. He's prepared and with the help of his new friends he plans on getting back home to Lake Placid to make sure his family is OK.
I enjoyed the first book a lot. The way the characters come together, works in this series. Once you get past all the stereotypes the characters quickly grow on you. They all help each other and make some questionable decisions on the way to Elliot's home in Lake Placid.
The power grid is completely down. They have no communications. Most all modern cars are useless due to computer chips. The pulse has wiped out everything. We've pretty much instantly returned to the 1800s or the days before electricity. As people realize what's happened they quickly take on a fend for yourself mentality.
I really couldn't put the first book down. As I read each page I couldn't help but wonder what I would do in similar situations.
Book 2 Days Of Chaos
I like the way the series breaks things down into chunks of time. Book 1 covers our "hero's" quest home. Hero's might be questionable though. I suppose in these situations, are there any hero's? For the most part though they're a decent group of human beings and their hearts are in the right place.
Now in Lake Placid, it has been two weeks without power. People are beginning to see how grave the situation is. Looting has begun. Social structure is starting to break down. Law enforcement is hanging on by a loose thread. Things are beginning to fall apart.
How do you enforce laws? How do you stop people from looting that are just trying to feed their families. Suddenly everyone starts showing their true colors. Decent people start acting like criminals. Trust begins to fade in both civil servants and our neighbors.
I really questioned if things would fall apart this quickly but I also think that it would depend completely on the narrative or what people thought was happening. When people begin to realize the government is coming to help them and they need to fend for themselves they can become very unpredictable. Control issues also begin to arise.
Book 3 - Days Of Danger
This is now 6 months since the EMP went off. Power grid is still down. The only power people have is from solar panels or old gas generators that have finally been repaired. Most of the social order has fallen apart. No police. Government is pretty much non-existent. Supply chain issues are at a complete halt.
At this point things are becoming like the old west. Small towns are keeping to themselves and protecting their own. That's in the places that haven't been taken over by gangs and street thugs. Food is starting to become scarce. News is circulating that it was a foreign attack on US soil but still nobody is 100% sure. People also begin to start showing their true colors.
Book 4 - Days of Terror
By book 4 things have gotten bad. Our small group of protagonists have suffered the loses of loved ones and people close to them. The food supply is running low. Law and order has completely ceased to exist. It's time to find someplace safer. Where to go? Find a FEMA camp?
Small spoiler here....
The group discovers a survivalist / militia colony in Texas on a ham radio and decide to make the trek from Lake Placid NY to Texas. They make the long trek to Texas and overcome several obstacles only to discover things weren't exactly what they thought they'd be.
By this time I was beginning to get tired of the subject matter but wanted to see how the story ended. As you can imagine, things were getting pretty rough for our characters.
Final Thoughts
This is the first time reading this type of subject matter. I thought it was a really good read. I read the series in a little over a week. I will admit by the time I got to the fourth book I was getting a little tired. However, I couldn't stop reading between 1 to 3.
The books make you ask some really tough questions.
What would you do in this situation?
How far would you go to protect yourself and those you love?
The line between villain and hero gets pretty thin and becomes almost a matter of perspective.
Even if you're the best person in the world, what happens when those around you bring out their worst?
This was the type of story that really uses your own mind against you. We never really stop to think about these types of scenarios. We each enjoy a relatively safe and ordered life. What happens when that order breaks down.
I found a lot of the characters sort of stereotypical. I had to get past that. I think in these types of situations the people you think are monsters might turn out to be hero's and the ones that you trust turn out to be the ones you have to watch out for. Then again, I try to see the best in humanity and most people and it always bites me in the ass 🤣 I'd probably get killed in the first couple weeks SMH.
Seriously though, just thinking about that is pretty uncomfortable. For the most part, the series did a decent job of painting the picture of that world. The world where you have to count on your friends and neighbors and hope they bring their best. It also shows how quickly people can change.
I really don't know where else to go with this. I found it to be some thought provoking subject matter. At times, more than a bit uncomfortable with my own thoughts and conclusions. Good read, but not for the faint of heart.