Zero Hour: The Blackout Series, Book 2

JUST BECAUSE IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT, DOESN'T MEAN IT IS THE END OF THE WORLD.
Akart hits the ground running, with the action. Akart can write and he writes good action scenes. I gave book one four stars for story and five overall thanks to Kevin Pierce's great performance. Pierce continues to give a great performance in this book.

Robert Heinlein
It is my understanding that Robert Heinlein wrote STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND to make people think. To make people more open minded. Part of me wonders if Akart is trying to make conservatives see themselves in a different way. You have to be blind to not see the numerous hypocrisies in this story. It seems as if they were put there on purpose. I kept waiting for their to be a epiphany moment in which the main character sees what he is doing is wrong. Instead in the last hour it got even worse. when the main character shows himself to be a total racist. It was not necessary, except the author seemed to want to make a political statement against BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Hypocrisies
They are numerous, but let me go with what I remember. This guy is member of a Neighbor Association. He hates it and the liberal bankers, IRA agents and psychiatrists that run it. Anyone who wears a suit is considered an idiot. I have never been rich enough to live in this type of neighborhood, but it is a free country and I am pretty sure he could have lived somewhere that did not have an association. He and his daughter loot the neighborhood and that is okay, but others who also loot are viewed as bad guys. At one point they almost get caught looting by another group of looters. He tells his family we must loot the dead, cause if we don't another family will and than their family will be stronger than ours. His teenager daughter who we are told more than once has nice legs, uses her femininity to steal guns from a neighbor. We are told it is okay, cause the teenage boy gives her the guns, but we all know those guns are not his to give away. She claims she does not like the kid, but even gets in close to his personal space to make him nervous with her female closeness, in order to steal his daddies guns. The daughter kills a man, but lets the man's son take the blame. In book one his wife gets beat up at an atm. In this book the neighbors notice the bruises on her face and they are worried the husband may have beat her. We are told they are just being nosey. Abusive fathers and husbands are all too prevalent in our society and I stronger don't believe we should ignore it and let it continue to happen. It often leads to death. While he claims they are not that concerned or they would have checked on her earlier, he claims he is worried about his elderly neighbor, but waits too long to check on her and by the time he does she is dead. Then he steals from her. I am used to political statements in these books, but this makes anyone with an open mind, especially a Christian to question. Religion is not pushed heavy in this, but we are made to believe in a couple of statements that this is a religious family. They obviously did not read, what are preacher read to us today in church, that Jesus told Peter to take care of his sheep. This family is all about themselves.

COBRA
In the last hour I am expecting some explanation for all this when, the real bad guys make an appearance. A group of blacks are going house to house and beating everyone to death and than stealing from them. This is a large group and their reasoning is to get us back for slavery. Black Lives Matter is not mentioned, but it is worded in away that we know what he is talking about. The main white character than gives a speech on how we can all live together. First of all their was no reason the author had to make this group of monsters, all be black unless he wanted to make a statement about blacks. Second, racism does still happen to today, I have witnessed it. A black man has to worry about his life and has less rights and opportunities than whites and if you don't see that your lying to your self. It was terrible what Cobra was doing as written in this book. I had a problem with a white man who knows nothing about being black, making speeches on how we can all get along. The author went out of his way to make this most improbable situation an issue.

I won't buy another Akart book.

What I really like about this and as a second book is that it's so so real. It may be fiction, but the true facts behind this are scarily real... and it puts you in the heart of a worst case scenario with devastating consequences.

Bobby Akart brings us characters here that survived the first couple of days, reunited with his family and now is trying to do right by them and the community around them.

When the world collapses and people become desperate, these events would be more likely to happen in your street. The characters here, really make you want to help them, to route for them and of course for their survival.

It is again a shorter piece, but the story moves so fast I think it was gone in a blink of an eye and I so wanted more, to see where the Rymans end up, do they even make it out the street So much is going on around them, so many scared and terrified and dying people.

What I really like about this series and the narrator who does a very excellent job of the story is that as I'm from the UK and essentially not a 'prepper' I have picked up several tips and things that I would need, that would be likely just as important over here as in the US.

All in all an excellent second book and I'm going on to pick up the next as I thought I saw it floating out there.... :)

I like the characters, it's usually what draws me in, so far so good on to book 3

This starts right from the ending of book 1, so we are thrown into it from the start!! It's Zero hour and the Solar storm has hit. The Ryman family were lucky enough to heed the warnings and prepare some bit. Colton got home in time to see that his wife and daughter had managed to get an impressive amount of things in a short space of time. Now that it's Zero Hour, can the community come together to help each other, or is it a case of every man for himself?

Having loved book 1, I couldn't wait to dive into this and am so happy to say that it's even better than the first. 36 Hours sees them having to scramble to prepare but this one sees the fallout and what they have to do now. This time the family have to try to protect themselves and their home from not only raiders, but neighbours.

I loved that this also gave us POVs from all the Rymans. We get to see how and what each of them do in any given situation and it really adds to the overall feel of the story. The tension and worry is palpable and makes for such an exciting read. You literally can't put the book down because you need to see what will happen next.

In all, a brilliant second book and one that will leave you wanting the next one ASAP. It's fast paced, gripping and entertaining. It really makes you think of "what if?" and how quickly things could escalate if something like this did happen!! It's scary. Well written and researched, it's a must read for everyone, whether you like these types of books or not :)

Kevin Pierce has narrated a lot of Post Apocalyptic books and I do think he does it well. He has a clear, crisp voice and knows how to read the story perfectly. He doesn't change his voice much for a female but more often than not that works better than if he tried to do a falsetto voice! He is easy to listen to and makes the story pop.

I was voluntarily provided this free copy by the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

this was a good story I only wish there were a few more skirmishes and more marauders those are exciting parts for me

I liked it and have just bought the 3rd audiobook.

There are always little things to pick apart but the story makes up for any of that.

There is a ring of truth in this book. The new shooters are not always effective. People agonize over shooting bad guys. This is some of the stuff that people involved in real shootings experience.

Good stuff.

The author has a good story going here. In my review of Book 1, my main complaint was that it was a little heavy on the politics. Parts of it read like a Tea Party guy complaining about the Democrats. This book backs off the politics to a great extent and is better for it. I plan to follow this series.

Greatness as always by the Master Narrator, Kevin Pierce

Book two chronicles the Ryman family; Colton, Madison and Alex as they struggle to remain a close-knit family and survive the generated EMP from the huge solar flare. As is usually the case in this genre, your neighbors and other survivors present the biggest danger to you. As Colton’s grandfather said to him, “Never underestimate the depravity of man!” In these disasters people’s reliance on the government for help or assistance is almost always fruitless. The dreaded FEMA camps are more dangerous and filthy than the streets the refugees come from. As Mr. Akart opined, “Their government left them bloodied and mentally broken.” Obviously penned with a right wing bend the story is still good and relays a lot of good information. I look forward to book three when it becomes available.

I wish we didn't have to think about this stuff but in the modern age this sounds more and more like what I envision things will be like.

The Blackout series continues with Zero Hour — the EMP from the sun has hit, causing everyone and everything to be thrown into the dark ages. No electronics work, and very few of the amenities that people are used to are working anymore. The Ryman family prepared as best they could, but were they prepared for what comes next?

Kevin Pierce narrates Zero Hour and obviously knocks it out of the park. Pierce just has that perfect voice for this type of story, no matter who is telling it inside of the book. Pierce is the go-to guy for Post-Apocalyptic fiction and I haven’t heard another narrator that can compete. Just look at Pierce’s backlog and you’ll see what I mean. Or check out the vast amount of books I’ve reviewed of his and you’ll see.

Zero Hour picks right up where 36 Hours left off. The book jumps right into the action as the Solar flare turned EMP turns everything off. It’s supposed to be the great equalizer, but it only takes those back who are not prepared. The Ryman family was prepared and this story follows them as they continue to prep and defend their homes.

The story itself was really well thought out, from the anticipation of it hitting in 36 hours to it actually being here and the “now what” feeling that most people would have. Akart really knows how to write fiction that keeps readers interested.

Zero Hour was no different. Each Ryman had their own way of dealing with things and each one of them were on display in this book. I found myself liking them more and more and rooting for their every move. The book goes through a lot of “what if” scenarios, even if you lived in a suburban area like the Ryman’s do.

Overall, Zero Hour took all of the anticipation of 36 Hours and brought it down on everyone. It was a fast-paced book full of twists and turns. And it was easily one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in this genre in a while.

I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.