Survival UK Forums

A trilogy….or maybe never-ending series?

By A. American

The story of Morgan a keen southern US ( Florida ) based prepper . A happily married man and father of three girls, our hero is 200+ miles from home when an EMP type event brings the modern world to a complete halt.

On his trek home he meets Thad, Jess, and a retired army guy called Sarge and his crew. The trilogy follows these characters in their various trials and tribulations…but after three book-worth’s the reader is still in the dark as to how the story will end.

First book Going Home: Story of Morgan’s200 mile trek home
Second book Surviving Home: Story of neighbourhood melt down after Morgan’s homecoming
Third book Escaping home: Story of the Morgan family’s decision to bug out.

There are some good parts with interesting characters, that although interesting are not totally convincing. The books are not the best written, but are entertaining. Way too many words spent describing everyday meals. Too much explanation, jargon and brand naming of firearms and other commercial survivalist kit. Fairly extensive use of radio communications ( I liked that of course), but miraculously those radios always made the contact required with never a hint of difficulty. Likewise pretty much every journey undertaken after getting home is made by motor vehicle, and even though fuel sourcing is touched upon, the volumes acquired do not match the kind of distances being clocked up. Roads are almost free of blockages of abandoned vehicles and the various characters’ rides appear impervious to damage or breakdown. Another dreamy delusion is that whatever tool or good is needed in the various plots, our hero has already got it stashed away in what must be a Walmart sized shed, or tardis at the end of his garden. I don't think I once read about having to improvise any tool whatsoever. The whole series reads like an action film script, very much in the Hollywood dream style. Each and every book ends abruptly, and the endings are poorly crafted. Sure they compel the reader to buy the next book, but do so in a very clumsy and I would say ham-fisted commercial way.

I am disappointed. After three books The story is still not concluding, and I have had enough of it. I will not be wasting time or money in following the adventure any further.

Verdict: Soft Paw Corn…..

I have it downloaded to kindle...not got round to it as yet but i guess it just got pushed a little further down the list.

Ever notice that the more you prep the less realistic the prep writers and professional doomsayers get?

I'd never thought about it Morty, but you are right.

Guess its the nature of prepping. As we think through scenarios in ever greater detail and in ever greater scope, it gives us greater critical view of what others are thinking and planning..

These specific books are for entertainment purposes only. Provided you can overlook the quality of writing, they are OK.

Absolutely right Mort, the deeper and more knowledgeable you become on a subject the more you realise that most people talk utter shit.

its just the difference between doing your research and really doing it....most people will read it and think thats good and i'm now much more prepared , only the preppers who have gone deeper into it can see the flaws....the guy is probably just an aspiring fiction writer who has jumped on the bandwagon and not a prepper on a mission to enlighten people.

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some of the guy's on our forum have a flair for writing and could probably put out better material than the usual pap...northen raider and scythe13 for a start.

Hi Midnight

being a sceptic, I'd rephrase your last line from

<<on a mission to enlighten people>>

to

<< on a mission to lighten people's wallets!>> :-)

I just finished a novel by a well known "survival expert" and found myself skipping page after page of extremely boring detailed explanation of global financial policy.

I bought the book to keep from being bored, not to bore myself into a coma.

He was almost as bad with breaking into the action sequences with detailed analysis of ballistics and the capabilities of various weapons and ammo combinations.

He was so opinionated and WRONG about most of the ballistics it made me wonder how much he really knew about economics!

It brings to mind the fact that most of the great historical writers are not historians, they are literature majors. A historian wants to talk about history, a writer wants to make history come to life.

I thought I was beginning to turn into a sceptical and miserable old grump, so have just read a Dan Brown for comparison.

I'm glad to say that I'm neither too sceptical nor too grumpy... A. American is a truly dire writer :-(

Are any of them decent stand alone books with good ideas? Or do you need to read them as a trilogy?