Survive the Chaos

Small Town EMP, Book 1

By: Grace Hamilton

Narrated by: Maxwell Zener

Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

When the lights go out, anarchy reigns supreme.

After Austin Merryman’s wife died, he and his 14-year-old daughter left home to travel the country in an old RV. But the comfort and renewal they sought soon descends into chaos - even before the EMP hits.

When a message from an old college buddy leads Austin to a bridge in the middle of nowhere, he finds his friend - now an NSA agent - waiting to give him a USB drive. Before the contents can be explained, machine gun fire strafes the bridge, killing Austin’s friend and forcing Austin into the raging river.

Rescued downstream by a beautiful veterinarian, Austin learns that EMP attacks have thrust the world into eternal darkness and separated him from the only person he has left: his young, but resourceful, daughter. Now, he’ll move heaven and earth to locate her and make it to his brother’s hideaway in Utah.

But the post-apocalyptic world is no longer a friendly place. Resources are growing scarce. Factions break out and walls go up. Everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. And Austin’s daughter is caught right in the middle of this splintering society.

But an even-deadlier foe stalks them as they struggle across the landscape - someone who hasn’t forgotten about the USB drive Austin possesses. And they’ll do anything to get it back.

Please note: This novel contains violence.

©2019 Relay Publishing (P)2019 Relay Publishing

slow at first ends great

Alright it started slow but finished strong. I think the different people should have been mixed in sooner to break up the book a little. so the beginning was a little slow for me but ended very well

New take on TEOTWAWKI scenario.

Overall I really liked the story line and the characters. The book started out slow and I was hard pressed to keep the timelines straight. As the story progressed, I found that i was able to get into Grace's writing style and the progression of time. At first I thought the plot was going to head into another "invincible" protagonist that has uncanny luck story but she did a great job making the characters real and keeping that cover over the rest of the characters. There were characters I did not like but that is not a bad thing...they fit into the story and were developed well enough. The different approach she took on an EMP event allowed me to imagine a softer world in such chaos. Bad guys made just as many mistakes as the good guys and not everyone killed or was killed at the site of other people. I liked the idea that society wouldn't take a head dive straight into cannibalism/mass murder in the first few hours. SPOILER*** I enjoyed the wanna-be pepper brother with the compound and fortress that completely blitz on him and trapped him in his own house. I could read a whole book on just that scenario.
The narrator left me a little disappointed but I was able to get through and eventually it was ok. I will be purchasing the other books in the series and look forward to them. I received this title for free in exchange for an unbiased review.

So so

Basic story is good. Not action filled. Main character is a journalist given a usb that bad guys want right before an EMP. His daughter goes on cross country trek with a group of religious people to her uncle’s prepper place. Surviving the EMP isn’t the main focus of book.

Great book

Really liked this book. There was lots of action and great characters. The story was well thought out and executed perfectly. Great book for your library. The narrator did an amazing job bringing the characters to life and breathing life into the whole story.

narration cannot follow with his voice

find somebody else to narrate it it's a great book but his inflection on Words is always at the wrong time it's just not good very hard to follow because of his voice inflection at the wrong time in the wrong places

Could it happen?

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. If you follow my reviews, you may have noticed that I have been on a bit of an end of the world kick. Actually, I have been reading a lot of zombie apocalypse stories but I thought it was about time I mix things up a bit. This EMP story was a nice change and I really did enjoy myself.

Austin and his 14-year-old daughter, Savannah, live in an RV in a very rural area. Austin is a journalist who has a meeting with a contact while Savannah has plans to get some ice cream with her friends (at least, that's the story she gives her dad). When the EMP hits, things go south very quickly. Everything stops working and meeting back up with each other is beyond challenging. The world after the EMP is entirely different than it was before with people taking what they need from others without remorse.

This was a pretty exciting story. Austin and Savannah had separate journeys but they both had a lot of obstacles to overcome. I thought that getting to see things from two very different points of view helped me to really get a feel for what the world was like after the EMP hit. I was worried about these characters and hoped that they would make it to safety and find each other but I wasn't sure it was going to happen. It just seemed that the world was against them at times. This was a very well-paced story that was hard to set aside.

I liked the cast of characters in this book. Austin and his daughter are pretty down to earth characters that are easy to cheer on. There is a pretty large cast of supporting characters who I thought felt realistic. Some characters seemed very trustworthy while I wonder about the motivation of others. I liked the variety and I thought that the author did a good job of introducing them at a rate that allowed me to keep them straight in my mind.

This was my first experience listening to Maxwell Zener's narration. I have to admit that it took me a bit to get used to his reading, especially the parts from the female perspective. After I gave it some time, I found that I really liked his delivery of the story. I thought that he had a very pleasant voice which was easy to listen to for hours at a time. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to his work again in the future.

I would recommend this book to others. I found this to be a really exciting story that was very plausible. The characters were well developed and easy to like. This was the first time that I have read any of Grace Hamilton's work but I hope to read more in the future, including more of this series!

I received a review copy of this audiobook from the author/narrator via Audiobook Boom and have voluntarily left this review.

Great story and audio book

This story was very gripping. I couldn’t stop listening to it. The plot was amazing. EMP stories are one of my favorites! I loved the characters and the narrator did a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. I can’t wait to read or listen and see what happens next!

Chaos Always turns to Reality!

Grace did a good job at keeping my attention. Was a good mix of groups that were in the story. Like the way she mixed all kinds of scenarios in different ways throughout the book. It all leads to a very climatic ending and you sitting there with a big WHAT! It's over. Great job.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Great Audible and book!

Great Audible version along with the book itself. Grace Hamilton successfully weaves a new twist in EMP sagas when let Maxwell delivers a flawless performance of the book.

Book 1

I just finished the first two books in this series by grace Hamilton and overall I liked and enjoyed the story. The characters were easy to connect with, all except one that is Wendell or Wendy as he’s called in the story which actually I don’t think he comes in til book two is extremely obnoxious and can’t wait until he is killed off or moves on. There was few instances that were lil irritating like how Amanda who is supposed to be ex military seems a little incompetent yet it never crossed her mind in the beginning as to what was happening when the power on everything goes out including the plane she was flying until Austin points it out to her. And how she magically shows up every time to save Austin’s life. But that all aside i really did enjoy the book just be prepared to jump right into the next book in the series as each one leaves you with cliffhanger that you must read the next to find out what happens next. Lol it finishes up just enough of the story only to propel you into the next plot right as it ends. I was given this audiobook in exchange for honest and fair review and I look forward to finally finding out what’s on the damn usb drive in book 3 . Here’s hoping lol