[Blademaker]

The book is "Joshua" by John S Wilson

It deals with a SHTF economic collapse, and the downfall of society as we know it.
I rank it up there with One second after, as a lot of survival stories I've read tend to be dramatic and very un-realisitic.
(I mean.....a Walmart that still has anything 6 mos after the SHTF? Really? I don't think so.)
Tells the story of a man that was given charge of a young boy by his dying mother.
Sometimes, they go hungry; sometimes they get lucky, sometimes......not so much.
Preview it on your Kindle.

 

[inceptor]

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[D"artagnan]

look for
THE GRAY 90'S
very good prepper story

 

[jc-hunter]

Would you like to do a book trade for Joshua ? Here are some I have:
Patriots by Rawles
What So Proudly We Hailed by James Howard
Survivors by Rawles
Apocalypse Law by J. Grit
I have some others that are out on loan right now, but I will list them when I get them back. I know one is Lights Out, a very good book.

Let me know if you would like to do a trade, or just sell me your book. Thanks.

 

[ekim]

It was OK, but usual the guy was stupid to many times. It was bad times and he still wouldn't/couldn't do what needed to be done and it cost him big time.

 

[CourtSwagger]

I finished Lights Out last night. Awesome. I loved One Second After, but Lights Out is my favorite so far.

 

[Montana Rancher]

My only critique of most of the EMP/lights out books is they are not realistic.

People checking their watches, playing iPods, stumbling across houses with full working solar systems, night vision/holographic sights working and OMG generators!! get a clue.

If you want to write a EMP book then keep to the premise and make all electronics obsolete so the reader can believe it.

 

[Bloom]

I really liked Joshua, also. John Wilson's second book is out now, Traveler. I haven't read it, yet. If its anything as good as Joshua, I'll enjoy it.

 

[pastornator]

My only critique of most of the EMP/lights out books is they are not realistic.

People checking their watches, playing iPods, stumbling across houses with full working solar systems, night vision/holographic sights working and OMG generators!! get a clue.

If you want to write a EMP book then keep to the premise and make all electronics obsolete so the reader can believe it.

Actually, no one really knows that EVERY piece that uses electricity will fail after an EMP. It takes long wires to conduct enough current to overload the system and most of the things with short wires may survive. Of course, there may not be anything to plug them into, but that is another story. But, why would a generator that was sitting, un-running, in a garage not work post EMP? What would cause it to self destruct? Same goes for many small appliances, etc. I can see the stuff plugged in at the time. They would get a major overload before the circuits popped, but the stuff not plugged in would be fine. Same for vehicles. Yes, I can see some of the modern computer-controlled vehicles not operating any longer, but the older stuff would be fine, and at worst a blown coil, which could be replaced and they fire right back up. Diesels before computers would run, including most farm tractors.

I've found most of the EMP novels to be over-blown, not the other way around and we will not be thrust into a total blackout. In fact, most any community with wind, water, or solar should be able to go right back to electric production, albeit with some re-wiring to deal with blown transformers.

 

[Ripon]

Unless there are repeated EMP blasts if you hardened electronics you could get some juice back going. If an enemy is truly using EMP technology they'd be wise to strike 3-4x over 72/96 hrs so those with protected assets bring them out and they get fried in follow up blasts, but if that does not happen its quite possible to power up a sm home with solar after an EMP if you properly hardened your assets. My brother keeps a 3 panel system, inv, battery set up in a large faraday cage just for that, and he will probably add panels too it this year if he finds a deal on them.

My only critique of most of the EMP/lights out books is they are not realistic.

People checking their watches, playing iPods, stumbling across houses with full working solar systems, night vision/holographic sights working and OMG generators!! get a clue.

If you want to write a EMP book then keep to the premise and make all electronics obsolete so the reader can believe it.

 

[Inor]

I have read quite a bit of "prepper fiction": Lights Out, One Second After, all of the Rawles books, am presently in the middle of the 299 Days series by Glen Tate. I guess I view fictional books as just that: fiction, meant primarily for entertainment. When I am looking for hard, fast survival information I dig into technical manuals or other non-fiction books like The Encyclopedia of Country Living or Dare to Prepare.

I just seems to me that basing my preps on a work of fiction leaves an awful lot to chance in the real world - kind of like learning to sail a boat by reading a Dirk Pitt novel.

 

[pastornator]

I have been systematiclly reading through the prepper, survivalist, and homsteading books, fiction and non-fiction, for the past 3-4 years. I've read over 100 now. Many have similar themes, especially the fictional works. Everything goes to hell in a handbasket, the heros of the book mostly survive (and recent work sees the heros or some of their family dying early and horridly), and yet people make it to fight another day. Much of it is built on military strategy, but seemingly only the heroes know that strategy. Much of it is also built around the concept of stockpiles of preps, though certainly some deals with the more brutal fact that there will never be enough. Very few books deal with the reality that much of our world will still be standing and could be restored fairly quickly, at least to early 1900 levels -- and recall that much of America was built in that era! I'm not suggesting GOING BACK to that era would be simple -- granted, those folks were accustomed to their level of technology -- but I am suggesting that we might not be at the end of life. Further, I am of a mind that the secret to success is a return to small rural, sustainable villages where the community partners together to survive. We have what may be the BEST example of how that might work in the archives of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock.

As for the books, some of the best are already mentioned, but to that list I'll add:

Michael Bunker -- Surviving Off-Off-Grid -- a non-fictional look at getting out of the survive mode and into the live mode.

Surviving Off Off-Grid: Decolonizing the Industrial Mind: Michael Bunker: 9780615447902: Amazon.com: Books

Mike and Nancy Bubel -- Root Cellaring -- a non-fictional look at storing food without the grid
.
Amazon.com: Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables (0037038007039): Mike Bubel, Nancy Bubel: Books

Susan Gregorson -- Food Self-Sufficiency: Reality Check -- a non-fictional look at just how much it takes to actually feed a family for a year.

Food Self-Sufficiency: Reality Check: Susan Gregersen: Amazon.com: Books

T. J. Reader -- The Long Lonely Road (series) -- fictional series of books tracing the activity of several, a nice read though the author definitely writes his mind with no real regard to grammar.

A Long Lonely Road: Parts One through Three (Volume 1): TJ Reeder: 9781481186469: Amazon.com: Books

Ron Foster -- The Prepper Road Saga (series) -- fictional series of books, lots of emphasis on snaring, trapping, water collection, unique ideas, etc.

Amazon.com: The Prepper Road Compendium (9781466490123): Ron Foster: Books

I've also read a good number of FREE Kindle books (on my FREE Kindle app on my Android phone) that were written in the late 1800s to early 1900s. First, the writing is amazing. We have fallen so FAR in our English skills since then! Second, these are descriptions of life pre-grid and people just take for granted having to do certain things to stay alive.

 

[john10001]

For anyone interested in a real life factual account of what happened after an economic collapse and things got real bad, then I would highly recommend that you read the story of Esteban Morales and his book titled "Lessons from Argentina's economic collapse". You can find it online for free in html or Adobe if you search for it. Very valuable insight for us all especially here in the UK and definitely in the US the way national debt is spiralling out of control. It certainly woke me up and has helped understand what could happen here in a similar type of situation, and things you could do now that may help you.