article 2 of 2 today, book review

book review, article 2 of 2 today

Book Review

“GRID DOWN The New Reality 2” http://amzn.to/2CYlwN7

By Bruce Buckshot Hemming http://www.snare-trap-survive.com/

And by some other gal, but since each book has a different co-author ( dude!  Are you that much of a stud you keep getting different girlfriends in retirement AND get them to help you write the book?  I’m a bit insanely jealous! ), I don’t bother with them.  This is the last book in the grid down series.  It wraps everything up in a nice bow.  If you remember seven years ago or so, the first book in the series was a big ass door stopper.  Heck, I’ll read Atlas Shrugged again even though I don’t agree with a lot of her ideas anymore, just because it is a nice hefty 1200 pages.

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I didn’t like Stephen Kings “Under The Dome” all that much and I’ll read it again just because it was a thousand pages.  I like staying immersed in a fictional world as long as I can.  Anyway, the original was so long even I had a hard time finishing it.  Which is a compliment, by the way.  I think Bruce reconfigured it so it is now three books instead of one.  I’ve always had trouble following the chronological order in the titles.  The first book might even been longer than seven years ago, as far as the original publication.  It sure seems longer than seven years, more like nine.  But what do I know?  I can’t remember what dinner was two nights ago.

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Also, you’ll perhaps remember, this series was one of the first serious self published doomer stories.  He started way back prior to Kindle and before all the quick buck artists started giving authors a bad name ( the current crop is certainly pulp fiction.  But that insults a lot of pulp fiction artists.  They were dedicated professionals, even if poorly paid ones.  Today, 99% of the publishers out there are poorly paid amateurs that are not worth the name.  The worst 90’s ‘zine had better talent.  At least they were passionate rather than lazy, greedy and delusional ).

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Was the series the best writing out there?  Of course not.  But style isn’t what is important.  There is a lot of very well written perfectly plotted stories from college graduates out there I cannot get past the first page on.  Plot and style are not the important parts of a good story.  You need to be drawn in and live in the world.  That makes a story worth reading.  Which is what this series does.  You escape and enjoy.  And that is what 99% of the other doomer pulp fiction lacks.  It is ONLY an instruction manual with no damn story. 

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So, what I am desperately trying to convey to you here is that this story was PRE-Kindle, pre-amateur hour, pre-hack saturated market.  It started when books were books and sheep were nervous.  It is a shame it finished up when you could no longer find it from all the trash out there.  Yes, it is true that the series was for review and sent to me.  I make no secret of the fact this slightly colors my perception.  But I’ve refused books before and others I’ve read and done the publisher the favor of NOT reviewing it since it was trash.  If I’m reviewing a book, you’ll know the good and bad, regardless if I bought it or it was gifted.  Another bonus of not relying on advertisers to support me.

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Okay, having pimped the book ( do you NEED to read the book to finish the series?  No.  Should you?  If you enjoyed the books so far, yes.  I was just as enthralled this time as before, and that is after saying this is one of the weaker ones.  But like I also say, the worst Stephen King is better than the best James Patterson [ talk about helping to kill the traditional book industry, thanks Jim, you twat ].  And, hello, need I remind you, there is the usual survival hacks that make each book a treasure trove of unknown tricks and treats.  Just the fish glue one is worth the price of the book ), I want to have a little fun with it.

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From the back of the book.  “Is the world coming back together?  Or is the West still too wild to tame?”.  A big part of this story was rumors of the grid being partially restored, of a limited recovery.  One family decides to leave the double top secret Nevada valley to try to chase down these rumors.  They are all whiney, oh, we want the power to be back on.  We don’t want to deal with raiders.  How the hell did these jackasses live this far into the apocalypse?  Thankfully, they are dead soon enough.  Take that, hopium addicts!

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What I found funny was the main point of this book was the optimism of a recover, yet the optimistic ones went off and got themselves killed.  Okay, not simply a recovery.  ALL failed systems quickly transition to a restored order in all suitable locations.  Anarchy never prevails unless it is on the frontier.  Areas suitable for agriculture always see restored ORDER.  What they don’t see is restored standards of living.  But the standards are what everyone here is hoping for.  Especially the reader.

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This is why you want to finish up the series, isn’t it?  You want to live vicariously through a recovery.  A recovery of your standard of living.  You can’t handle a solar powered economy.  You want Oil Age living.  You are addicted to luxury.  And yet, those foolishly chasing luxury are quickly dead.  Yet you still root for the recovery!  Foolish rabbits!  Anyway, sorry, I thought that was quite funny.  I am easily amused. 

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