When the lights go out, anarchy reigns supreme.After Austin Merryman’s wife died, he and his fourteen-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 … 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 prepper 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.
This novel contains violence.
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he is asked to meet his friend in the middle of nowhere and he goes with his young daughter. He is given a job stick but before he can learn more gunshots ring out. why? Who wants them dead? an EMP boasts the world plugging it into darkness. Now he needs to find his daughter as well.as find a safe place. See if he can
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I was thoroughly immersed in this book and could not put it down. It has lots of action, a shadowy group of bad guys, hate filled survivors killing each other off, a very believable and intricate plot and interesting characters. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone that enjoys post-apocalyptic scenarios and a rich, powerful splinter governmental group trying to take over the world. I look forward to reading the next book in the series Survive The Aftermath.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Surviving the Chaos is book one in the Small Town EMP series and what a fantastic way to start a gripping and sometimes scary “it could really happen” scenarios. The storyline is original, the characters are believable and the writing is perfect. I love the way this series starts and I can’t wait to read the next one to find out what happens next.
Austin is a widowed journalist who takes to the road with his daughter in a really nice RV. Then he gets a message from an old friend who leaves him a memory stick (flash drive). Unfortunately that leads Austin into a whirlwind of mystery and danger. When he wakes from an accident he finds out that an EMP has left the world in chaos but his only concern is getting back to his daughter.
This book was a real page turner. I really felt for the characters and worried about what was going to happen to them. There was so much intrigue in the book it could also easily be classified as a mystery as well as post apocalyptic.
Although I received an advanced reader copy, my review is completely my own opinion. I don’t know the author or have any connection to the book except as a reader. I haven’t read much by this author but this book was just excellent. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
a good start to a new series. This is the first time I read a book from Grace Hamilton and so far I have enjoyed her writing. There is always something going on, and during any slow parts she gives you a summation rather than dragging out some of the slow details. I liked the character development and the wide range of characters the best, they really strike you as relatable in the struggle to overcome their obstacles. The end of the book leaves you at a bit of a crossroad waiting to find out what our characters are going to find on the drive that was at the start of the book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Simple Meeting. Family in Danger. Death in Pursuit. Gripping Drama. Not to be missed.
Strangers are brought together as the world falls apart. Danger follows Austin across a terrifying background of fear, panic and death as he tries to find his daughter. Rescued from certain death by Amanda, a country vet, the pair are pursued by a madman with an evil mission. They follow his daughter’s trail as civilization falls apart. Can they reach her in time? Will evil triumph?
Grace Hamilton weaves a frightening tale of survival as everything stops working. An EMP destroys the very things that make life so easy. The rich landscape and fabric of this adventure is contrasted with the darkness of humanity grasping at answers. Is anyone able to succeed? The truth may not be what you expect.
I really enjoyed this book. The heroes, the villains, the struggles and the reality of good versus evil in all of us. Great characters; great action. The ending only left me grasping for more. Can’t wait for the sequel
A great start to what will be a gripping series. Realistic scenarios and characters come to life as a powerful new group, the New World Order, seek total world domination following their setting off EMP’s and wreaking havoc amongst the terrified survivors of civilisation left in ruins. Only a small group of these survivors have discovered the truth, led by Austin Merryman, injured in the search for his daughter who is later kidnapped by one of the NWO’s assassins, wanting a USB, given to Austin by a friend who is killed minutes after. Together with Amanda, a vet, who saves his life, his brother, Ennis, a true survivalist and doomsday prepper, and boy genius, 18yo Nash, this group face death and hardship to rescue Savannah. A brilliant ending to lead into Book 2. Five pulsating stars for this fast-paced thriller.
I really like this author and think she does a brilliant job when writing dystopian books. This is the first book in a new series, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy dystopian/apocalyptic stories, then you need to read this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
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.
I have read other series and parts of series by this author so I admit I do look out for her new titles. When I saw this one and read the blurb I immediately knew I had to read it!
The book cover shows a rather desolate scenery with male and female figures on it. The colours used on the cover go with the post apocalyptic theme. Upon reading the book I personally think the male and female figures on the cover are Savannah and Malachi, it would be interesting to know who they author would say they are and what other people think when they have read the book also.
The book begins with 14 year old, Savannah telling her dad, Austin what she considers a white lie, that she is going to the creamery with the girl from the nearby farm whose land their RV is on. Austin is suspicious his daughter may be meeting a boy but gives her time she has to be home by and lets her go off as he has someone to meet too. An old friend, Callum, has contacted him telling him he has a big story for him. Austin used to be famous for his whistle blower articles, though his recent journalism has been much smaller articles about travelling. Since he is now single parent to Savannah since her mother and his wife, Karen died.
Both characters go off to their “meetings”. Savannah does have ice cream at the creamery with her friend Cassie but soon rushes off to meet Malachi, the boy she has a crush on. Malachi and his family also travel around the country preaching about their beliefs as they are revivalists. Savannah sits through the revivalist meeting trying to look interested as she likes Malachi a lot. It is shortly after the meeting that Malachi’s grandfather Eli collapses. Savannah frantically tries CPR as it seems she is the only one who knows how to. Others amongst the revivalists try to ring 911, but their phones are not working, then they suggest taking Eli to hospital in one of their vehicles but none of them seem to be working. It is then everyone notices that all their modern gadgets have suddenly ceased working.
Everyone is discovering that their gadgets and modern conveniences have stopped working, from mobile phones, to cars, vans and planes.
Another character, Amanda finds out she has no power and needs to crash land her plane into her newly renovated barn which causes it to burst into flames. It’s whilst Amanda is trying to rig up a way to dampen the ground surrounding the barn to avoid the fire spreading that she comes across Austin. Austin has met his friend Callum who has handed him something important. So important in fact that during the meeting Callum is shot dead, and Austin is shot at and ends up jumping off the bridge into the swollen fast running stream.
The rest of the book covers how Savannah has a tough decision to make, stay alone in the RV and wait for her dad to return to her or whether to leave her dad a note and travel with the revivalist group and go to her Uncle Ennis and wait for her dad there.
Austin has equally hard decisions to make, as he has a broken leg and concussion. Lucky for him the woman that helped him get out of the river is a vet so has some knowledge and supplies that are useful and helpful to humans too.
The book tells the stories of Austin and Savannah’s separate journeys along with some other characters they meet along the way. Both sets of travellers have to avoid those intent on killing and looting anyone that has more than themselves. An extra worry for everyone is the emergence of a group of individuals calling themselves the New Order. Austin is also unaware that the guy that killed his friend Callum and shot at him has reported back to his bosses and there is a new tougher operative on his trail who will use anyone and anything to get what he wants, he also doesn’t care who he has to kill to get what he wants.
Of course, I liked the characters of Austin and Savannah but I also really liked Amanda who has a practical and objective approach to every problem they face, though she can be a little naïve and much too honest and trusting for the world she is now living in. I think it would be great if Austin and Amanda got together in a relationship too.
I loved the character of Ennis, the totally unexperienced prepper who literally has a house protected by steel but doesn’t really have a clue what to do with some of his ‘end of the world’ gadgets. I instantly loved Nash, the young man who finds himself on the doorstep of a house of steel. Nash is a very savvy survivor despite perhaps looking a bit geeky. It could be his knowledge and expertise that secures the survival of whoever he is with.
Characters I enjoyed disliking? Maybe not the one you would choose but I felt irritated by Wendell. The college friend to Ennis who wants to ride out the looting and chaos with his best buddy. Wendell knows the kind of supplies and luxury that Ennis has secured for himself and anyone with him by purchasing all the prepper recommended gadgets.
The one that will instantly fit the ‘hate’ brief is Zander, who I can only describe as a mercenary or hit man. Zander is working for a much larger group of people who you really don’t want to meet up. This organisation is distributing leaflets along with ‘emergency aid” packs. Their intention seems to be to turn neighbour against neighbour, mentioning ‘True Patriots’ and Zander also comments about a group called ‘The New Order’
I have to admit I became quickly exasperated with were the revivalists, particularly Jim and Tonya Loveridge who are Malachi’s parents and who blindly believe they will get home by simply walking and relying on their faith in God to keep them fed and safe. They even take it in their stride so to speak when people turn on them and want to hurt them and kill them for their religious way of life.
This book is so well written, the pace is great, keeps you reading and you so hate having to put it down for silly things like, eating, sleeping and housework! The book is action packed especially in a certain scene towards the end of the book. Though the book deals with society at it’s worst there are some principled honest caring people left.
My immediate thought when finishing the book were, Oh wow! What a cliffhanger! Loved it from beginning to end, would read next book now if I could! Brilliant, engrossing, addictive reading.
Survive the Chaos by Grace Hamilton is an amazing story that I was able to read. This is book number one in this start to a n amazing brand new series that I am falling love with and just can not get enough of. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about Sci-Fi in their stories.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
An exciting new series in the EMP world of Grace Hamilton. It follows several different people as they navigate this frightening new world they find themselves in. Austin has been separated from is daughter Savannah by circumstances he never could have forseen, and faces an incredible battle to find her again. He along with Amanda, a new friend of sorts, encounter all sorts of people in their search for her, whilst Savannah herself fights for her continued survival with a group of religious revivalist that can’t stop preaching, even when to do so is perilous and a danger to them all. Several other people are introduced along the way, the one thing they all have in common is their will to survive, even if they might loose their humanity along the way. I am looking forward to the next installment and hope it’s just as exciting as the first one!
Ms. Hamilton does the best post-apocalyptic stories that I have read. I am glad to see this is the first in a series so that means there are more. Her books are always so realistic and so intriguing and offer so much to what may someday be our world.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A wonderful start to a conspiracy theory series! Reminiscent of the television shows Dark Angel and Revolution, our main characters have to survive chaotic times after an EMP wipes out all known technology. The characters are fully developed and believable. The plot was exciting with a new twist at every turn of the page. I really can’t wait to see what Ms. Hamilton comes up with next! I could barely put this down and often fell asleep well into the wee hours of the morning while still reading. I recommend it for fans of the aforementioned TV shows or for anyone who loves a good conspiracy theory of world domination.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.