Survive the Chaos

Small Town EMP, Book 1

By: Grace Hamilton

Narrated by: Maxwell Zener

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

Action packed

I listened to the audiobook version of this story and it was pretty entertaining. The story had the perfect amounts of action and excitement, emotional and frustrating at times. The book follows multiple people who's stories interconnect at some point keeping it interesting. The narration by Maxwell Zener was pretty good. It kept me engaged throughout the story with his character voices, tone and inflections.

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

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.

I’m genuinely torn on how I feel about this book.

There were definitely parts I enjoyed, but overall, the story felt incomplete—and I’m not just talking about the cliffhanger ending. While I appreciated the strong mystery/thriller vibe, the author left out so much information that instead of piecing together the mystery, I was just trying to make sense of the story itself.

My biggest gripe with the audiobook was the lack of clear transitions between storylines. Since the chapters jumped between different characters, it was frustrating to constantly have to use context clues to figure out who you were following at the start of each chapter. That said, the narrators themselves were excellent and kept me engaged despite the confusion.

I need book 2, and 3 etc!!

Please Audible, get those books recorded ASAP! I can’t take the suspense! Great writer and great narrator.

Looking forward to the next books!

I really did enjoy reading this book. It did have a few slow points. And I think, storyline-wise, there could have been a few minor improvements. But it was hard for me to put my finger on precisely what it was. But still, it was an enjoyable book. It kind of gave me a PG version vibes of The Walking Dead, minus the cool zombies and those Christian Left Behind series that were written a few years/decades ago. I was prob like 11 or 12 when I read the first few books. (but still not a crazy Christian book if that's what you worried about, just a few important elements). I think a little more of the walking dead elements would have helped make it a little bit more exciting, yet it was still exciting (without the zombies lol). It is very hard to explain. But I already started book 2. And I'm looking forward to finishing. And moving right one the number 3. I love when books have a 3 in 1 when it comes to series books like these. Oh, if you hate cliffhangers, make sure to get the 3 books. Or it will drive you nuts.
Overall, these books are pretty damn good so far. I also listened to the audio version. The narrator did a pretty good job. I didn't LOVE him at first. But he did a good job. He kind of grew on me I guess. But I'll give a small update when #2 is over. I do definitely recommend it. Oh, and I hope Wendie, Wendy? I hope his ass gets killed soon. So annoying!

I was given this book for free (Thanks so much). This in no way influences any of my reviews. If anyone reads this, Thanks for reading!

Great Survival Story

Great Survival EMP story!! looking forward to the other books in the series. I didn't want to stop the listening.