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telemanusjellybeanco's review
No rating. DNF after reaching halfway point. The writing needs a lot of work.
vikingwolf's review
3.0
Gordon is former military and a prepper, now living with his family in San Diego. As terrorist attacks are on the increase across America, he considers moving his family out to the cabin in Idaho which would be less of a target. As they begin to pack, an EMP is detonated nearby and Gordon uses the initial confusion to get as many supplies into his home, working with a fellow member of his gated community Jimmy. The two men work together to try and get in what they can before the shops run out and then they must decide whether or not to help the rest of the community. We also follow Gordon's brother Seb who is serving in Afghanistan when America is attacked. His mission is cancelled and the troops are instantly recalled to America to go and protect the capital, but all Seb wants to do is get home, find Gordon and help protect his family from whatever else might be coming.
The third main character is the Speaker of the House Brad Conner who is in Oklahoma City with his wife Julia to be at the bedside of his son who is on life support after a car accident. They are here when the EMP hits and Brad and his aides need to get to the nearest military base for information and instruction. With the government falling apart, Brad finds himself being sworn in as President at a time of national crisis. Frankly I hated Brad from the start. His constant tantrums and rudeness to his Generals was pathetic. It is clear that the man has no clue how to deal with people or run a country and I got annoyed with him every time that he was on the page. Brad decides that the best thing to do is just nuke all the countries he doesn't like-Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, North Korea, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, saying one of them probably did it, to the horror of his staff. I also found his wife bizarre. She has just lost her son and the only thing on her mind is to have a replacement child in the middle of an EMP crisis.
My issues with this book centres mostly on the decision making of Gordon before and during the crisis. For a man who is a prepper, why would he not invest in an old model car that would run in the case of an EMP frying the computer components in his newer car? How did he expect to get his family from San Diego to Idaho without a working car? It makes little sense. He seemed to be relying on there being a disaster other than an EMP instead of being ready for anything. Instead he then has to rely on Jimmy to ferry him around in his car to gather up final supplies which he really should already have. Why did he not have the water tank already in his gear after telling Seb all about it? When it is clear that they are in danger, they spend too much time packing again which leads to disaster so why weren't they ready?
Gordon's family are also pains in the neck. His five year old is a whiny kid who of course has no understanding of an EMP, but I can't understand why Gordon promises to fix the TV for him when he knows fine that he can't. It's not exactly a smart thing to do. His wife doesn't seem to grasp the situation, questioning all of Gordon's decisions and doing a lot of whining about what she thinks they should do. I don't know how Gordon put up with her going on at him all the time about giving their supplies to the community. Jimmy's wife Simone was a similar character. In fact the female characters were all annoying and clueless. Don't even get me started on the HOA chairperson Mindy, local busybody and bitch who makes it her life's work to cause constant trouble for Gordon instead of working with him.
My frustrations with the characters and the decision making of the characters did have an effect on my enjoyment of the book, I admit it. I was also extremely frustrated by the ending of the book and what the author did with a few of the characters. What I did like was the overall plot, the well written tense action sequences and the way the community worked mostly for the common good. It did have a lot going for it in plot and writing and of course each book has a gorgeous cover. By the end though, I was left wondering if I could put aside the things that bugged me like the idiot female characters and Gordon's continued bad choices, to continue on with the series. In the end, I decided not to continue with the sequels.
The third main character is the Speaker of the House Brad Conner who is in Oklahoma City with his wife Julia to be at the bedside of his son who is on life support after a car accident. They are here when the EMP hits and Brad and his aides need to get to the nearest military base for information and instruction. With the government falling apart, Brad finds himself being sworn in as President at a time of national crisis. Frankly I hated Brad from the start. His constant tantrums and rudeness to his Generals was pathetic. It is clear that the man has no clue how to deal with people or run a country and I got annoyed with him every time that he was on the page. Brad decides that the best thing to do is just nuke all the countries he doesn't like-Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, North Korea, Yemen, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, saying one of them probably did it, to the horror of his staff. I also found his wife bizarre. She has just lost her son and the only thing on her mind is to have a replacement child in the middle of an EMP crisis.
My issues with this book centres mostly on the decision making of Gordon before and during the crisis. For a man who is a prepper, why would he not invest in an old model car that would run in the case of an EMP frying the computer components in his newer car? How did he expect to get his family from San Diego to Idaho without a working car? It makes little sense. He seemed to be relying on there being a disaster other than an EMP instead of being ready for anything. Instead he then has to rely on Jimmy to ferry him around in his car to gather up final supplies which he really should already have. Why did he not have the water tank already in his gear after telling Seb all about it? When it is clear that they are in danger, they spend too much time packing again which leads to disaster so why weren't they ready?
Gordon's family are also pains in the neck. His five year old is a whiny kid who of course has no understanding of an EMP, but I can't understand why Gordon promises to fix the TV for him when he knows fine that he can't. It's not exactly a smart thing to do. His wife doesn't seem to grasp the situation, questioning all of Gordon's decisions and doing a lot of whining about what she thinks they should do. I don't know how Gordon put up with her going on at him all the time about giving their supplies to the community. Jimmy's wife Simone was a similar character. In fact the female characters were all annoying and clueless. Don't even get me started on the HOA chairperson Mindy, local busybody and bitch who makes it her life's work to cause constant trouble for Gordon instead of working with him.
My frustrations with the characters and the decision making of the characters did have an effect on my enjoyment of the book, I admit it. I was also extremely frustrated by the ending of the book and what the author did with a few of the characters. What I did like was the overall plot, the well written tense action sequences and the way the community worked mostly for the common good. It did have a lot going for it in plot and writing and of course each book has a gorgeous cover. By the end though, I was left wondering if I could put aside the things that bugged me like the idiot female characters and Gordon's continued bad choices, to continue on with the series. In the end, I decided not to continue with the sequels.
booksabrewin's review
4.0
I originally signed up for this tour because I was approached about it and I had not read any dystopian books in a while. I need a break from the vampires, werewolves, and romance just to clear my head of all the love triangles and debauchery that often happens in stories of romance. I needed something exciting and that would keep me on the edge of my seat. This book and it's sequel definitely sounded like they fit the bill.
Gordon is a born soldier. He was the best of the best when it came to defending his country and fighting for his government. That was until he gunned down what appeared to be an unarmed Iraqi in the heat of war and was plastered all over the media for being a bloodthirsty tool of a ruthless government. Afterwards, Gordon lost his faith with his government and left the military. Ten years later, he lives a happy life with his wife, Samantha, and two children, Haley and Hunter. He had zero worries. Until the United States started suffering attacks from an unknown assailant which resulted in a Super-EMP being detonated over the country.
Gordon must now put all his long forgotten military training to use. The world with no electrical capability (including those that are used to produce food and drinkable water) has turned into an apocalypse only heard about in stories. Gordon rallies his neighbors and attempts to establish a harmonious community to get through the devastation. But eventually, lack of resources starts to plague even his small gated neighborhood.
Human morality and the customary code of conduct instilled in every living person is tested. It has become a world of kill or be killed. Starvation, gang violence, radiation sickness, and even small diseases and wounds left untreated threaten the lives of all. Gordon's main priority is to care for his family to the best of his ability. And he is set to kill anyone who risks the success of that mission.
I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I am not a fan of politics. I normally just feel they are a means to debate people about things that can't be changed anyway. But I actually found myself not only intrigued by the decline of civility in the United States populace, but also the scrambling to save and perserve the government after a catastrophe of such epic proportions. It is interesting to see politicians struggle with who to help in the new world and who to leave out to dry. Then you add in the desperation of one man to keep his family safe, the determination of Gordon's younger brother, Sebastian, to find his older brother, and the rebellion of a decorated colonel against his government... you have the makings of a truly astounding work of realistic and believable fiction. Hopf outdid himself in this first novel and I hope that his streak of good fortune continues in the sequel, The Long Road.
If you are looking for a post-apocalyptic read where safety and peace are unrecognizable terms, then The End is definitely for you.
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catladylover94's review
5.0
pretty good, once u get past the first part of the book, cant wait to reads the second book
munchin's review
3.0
Enjoyable enough for a while because of the hard-driving plot but this book is badly written with horribly unlikeable characters.
hannasbibliothek's review
3.0
2,5 ⭐
Militärisches Endzeitszenario, viel Kitsch. Hat eindeutig seine Längen. Insgesamt war es einfach nur okay. Viel sinnlose Gewalt. Ich muss mal schauen, ob ich die Reihe weiterlese, wahrscheinlich eher nicht.
Militärisches Endzeitszenario, viel Kitsch. Hat eindeutig seine Längen. Insgesamt war es einfach nur okay. Viel sinnlose Gewalt. Ich muss mal schauen, ob ich die Reihe weiterlese, wahrscheinlich eher nicht.
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