Blue Fire

Victoria Emerson, Book 2

By: John Gilstrap

Narrated by: Kate Forbes

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

John Gilstrap, the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of the Jonathan Grave novels, continues his acclaimed Victoria Emerson thriller series with Blue Fire.

In the wake of a global conflict that has devastated America, one woman must lead - and protect - a community of survivors determined to rebuild all they have lost....

They call it Hell Day - a world war that lasted less than 24 hours. Nations unleashed weapons that destroyed more than a century’s worth of technology. Electrical grids cannot generate power. Communications and computers cannot run. And the remnants of the US government cannot be depended upon. Those who survived must live as their ancestors did, off a land ruled by the whims of nature.

Onetime congressional representative Victoria Emerson has become the new leader of the small town of Ortho, West Virginia. She has been struggling to provide food and shelter for the town’s inhabitants, while coping with desperate refugees. An autumn morning’s calm is shattered when her teenage son sounds the alarm with the cry “Blue Fire” - the code phrase for imminent danger.

A band of National Guardsmen intends to take Ortho and its resources for themselves. They have enough soldiers and firepower to eliminate anyone who dares to stop them. But Victoria swore an oath to defend and protect her people, and she isn’t about to surrender. It’s time to tap into the traditional American values of courage, ingenuity, and determination - and fight fire with fire.

©2021 John Gilstrap (P)2021 Recorded Books

Great series

John Gilstrap has honed his craftsmanship. Great character development, riveting story line, solid action writing. Very enjoyable.

...very good follow-up to Crimson Phoenix.

Audiobook Review – I was thoroughly thrilled to listen to Author John Gilstrap’s “Blue Fire,” the second book in the Victoria Emerson thriller series. Blue Fire is a shocking, disturbing at times, suspenseful, and exhilarating ! It is a post-apocalyptic, political thriller with plenty of action and tons of intrigue. The story was riveting, fast-paced, action-oriented, and scary to think about. Somehow, Gilstrap has managed to make this post-apocalyptic scenario a very interesting series so far for these two books. “Crimson Phoenix,” the first book dealt with the political dealings of Congress that was whisked away to a top-secret bunker facility in West Virginia to continue running the government in the case of war. This second book deals much more with the trials outside the blast-safe government complex and about Ortho, West Virginia, and the surrounding communities, where Victoria Emerson, the former congresswoman, is trying to survive with two of her three sons, by establishing law and order in the rural town. The story also deals with her third and oldest son who is trying to survive with his girlfriend out in the wilderness and trying to meet up with the rest of the family. Blue Fire is exactly what one would expect from a well-written post-apocalyptic thriller with lots of concern over how to survive and how to protect one’s family, but it is also so much more than that. It raises a lot of questions about justice, cooperation, leadership, desperation, political infighting, and having to deal with the loss of all the electronics, electricity, basic sanitation, running water, food, and communications that we rely upon today. The characters are extremely well developed and as always Gilstrap’s storytelling is amazing. The book is very entertaining and impossible to stop listening to. The story is not finished though, and it is going to be very interesting to find out what is going to happen next in this fascinating series. I commend John Gilstrap for writing and telling a very thought provoking look at how fast society changes when total chaos and lawlessness enter the picture. I’m really looking forward to book three of this well-written and exciting series.

Intriguing and believable ! Enjoyed the series.

Loved the series and the different take om the political, social climate of today. Awesome!!

I want to return this book,

It is awful and I keep trying to rerun it but I can’t find the menu to do so