Wednesday, 18 January 2012
AFTER72 - the new site for preppers
Just launched AFTER72 at www.AFTER72.com. The focus is to present information and reviews on prepper related subject from myself and other contributors. We are planning several information seminars in Calgary, starting with Basic Prep.
Friday, 16 December 2011
Shatter by Tom Sherry
In this sequel to Deep Winter the Drummonds and their friends are dealing with the aftermath of the Domino earthquake that has disrupted their lives dramatically. Just as they begin to adjust to the reality of their new situation, the US is attacked and responds creating more challenges to deal with.
With Sherry's writing style, the narrative flows. You feel like you are in the action, right next to Rick Drummond. The story forces you constantly to ask "what would I do?" if confronted with the same challenges. How do you begin organizing agriculture when you have no experience and limited resources? Who do you let into the community? How do you keep undesirables out? How do you deal with folks who want the local government to take care them and refuse to hear no for an answer? Great scenarios and they all flow together well.
You really can't go wrong wit any of Sherry's books. They are pricy if you want a hard copy, but the electronic versions from Lulu are very inexpensive. Great reads, I have learned a ton and have been adjusting my prepping accordingly.
With Sherry's writing style, the narrative flows. You feel like you are in the action, right next to Rick Drummond. The story forces you constantly to ask "what would I do?" if confronted with the same challenges. How do you begin organizing agriculture when you have no experience and limited resources? Who do you let into the community? How do you keep undesirables out? How do you deal with folks who want the local government to take care them and refuse to hear no for an answer? Great scenarios and they all flow together well.
You really can't go wrong wit any of Sherry's books. They are pricy if you want a hard copy, but the electronic versions from Lulu are very inexpensive. Great reads, I have learned a ton and have been adjusting my prepping accordingly.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
James Wesley Rawles - SURVIVORS
It took me a while to purchase Survivors by Jim Rawles - I was going to get it for my Kindle, but the hardcover ended up being less money (strange), so I bought it instead. I was excited to begin the book after a fair bit of hype. Rawles personal story is pretty interesting by itself. He has done well from his book sales in the last few years, starting with his book Patriots, published in the early 1990s, then rereleased as a modernised version in 2009. Patriots took off in an atmosphere of increased prepping and pessimism about the present and future state of the world economies. The book seemed to herald a doomsday scenario that most folks began to take notice of in 2008, but people like Rawles had predicted for years. Written more than a decade before, Patriots became an overnight success.
But if you are reading this, then you are likely familiar with Patriots and Rawles very successful Surival blog www.survivalblog.com . Patriots is very important to the sequel SURVIVORS (not really a sequel as it takes place during the same time period of Patriots) because it occupies the same time and space and is affected by the same political and economic circumstances. Unfortunately, this ties the story to some of the same reality of the global situation that seem more unlikely to occur and detracts from the realism of the story. My main concern is the idea of UN governed troops landing on American shores and quickly rolling west to occupy the nation at the behest of a new, unelected US government. I think it is pretty clear the Europeans will have their hands overly full with their own problems if and when there is a global collapse. My own instinct says the US will have a greater threat from Mexico, a truly failed Narco state. Just sayin'.
I found the flow of Survivors erratic. I especially did not appreciate one chapter that goes back 20 years, is quite long, and in my mind added nothing to the story. Story lines seem to materialise and are unresolved. The character development is somewhat stunted. All the male characters seem very similar, even the bad guys! They think alike, most have carbon copy spiritual beliefs (despite varying faiths), and seem to effortlessly adjust to trying circumstances, including the death of a close loved one with little or no emotion. I found myself not really caring what happened to the folks in the story, which makes it difficult to proceed.
The constant reminder of the characters hard-core Christian beliefs gets a little tiring. It certainly makes Rawles belief that only true believers would survive an end of the world event abundantly clear. Even the Jewish family that makes a brief and out of the blue appearance are believers in Christ. This constant hammering of the purity of the protagonists is brought into serious question when it turns out one of the main ones was quite happy to break the law for years when it came to producing illegal firearms and accessories. Yeah, I know, it's a story. But some folks take Rawles writing as a green light on what to do to prepare. Committing serious offences that could get you jailed and have your right to own guns suspended is a bad idea. There are many ways he could have gotten the information across or introduced the guns he wanted without this bizarre turn.
Dialogue is a little too pure, the only slang is military jargon, and once again the characters all sound the same, making it difficult to tell them apart. I began to get the side stories mixed up.
I either picked up or was reminded of some good operational, strategic and tactical ideas - Rawles knows his stuff. Of course the story focuses on getting out of the city or town, into rural areas and digging in to protect those areas. Can't say I disagree, but it is nothing new.
To say I am totally disappointed would be going too far. I have read other reviews of Survivors, so I suspect it wouldn't be fantastic. Are there better doom books? Yup. But as a fan of Rawles and his whole contribution to the genre, it is worth a look.
But if you are reading this, then you are likely familiar with Patriots and Rawles very successful Surival blog www.survivalblog.com . Patriots is very important to the sequel SURVIVORS (not really a sequel as it takes place during the same time period of Patriots) because it occupies the same time and space and is affected by the same political and economic circumstances. Unfortunately, this ties the story to some of the same reality of the global situation that seem more unlikely to occur and detracts from the realism of the story. My main concern is the idea of UN governed troops landing on American shores and quickly rolling west to occupy the nation at the behest of a new, unelected US government. I think it is pretty clear the Europeans will have their hands overly full with their own problems if and when there is a global collapse. My own instinct says the US will have a greater threat from Mexico, a truly failed Narco state. Just sayin'.
I found the flow of Survivors erratic. I especially did not appreciate one chapter that goes back 20 years, is quite long, and in my mind added nothing to the story. Story lines seem to materialise and are unresolved. The character development is somewhat stunted. All the male characters seem very similar, even the bad guys! They think alike, most have carbon copy spiritual beliefs (despite varying faiths), and seem to effortlessly adjust to trying circumstances, including the death of a close loved one with little or no emotion. I found myself not really caring what happened to the folks in the story, which makes it difficult to proceed.
The constant reminder of the characters hard-core Christian beliefs gets a little tiring. It certainly makes Rawles belief that only true believers would survive an end of the world event abundantly clear. Even the Jewish family that makes a brief and out of the blue appearance are believers in Christ. This constant hammering of the purity of the protagonists is brought into serious question when it turns out one of the main ones was quite happy to break the law for years when it came to producing illegal firearms and accessories. Yeah, I know, it's a story. But some folks take Rawles writing as a green light on what to do to prepare. Committing serious offences that could get you jailed and have your right to own guns suspended is a bad idea. There are many ways he could have gotten the information across or introduced the guns he wanted without this bizarre turn.
Dialogue is a little too pure, the only slang is military jargon, and once again the characters all sound the same, making it difficult to tell them apart. I began to get the side stories mixed up.
I either picked up or was reminded of some good operational, strategic and tactical ideas - Rawles knows his stuff. Of course the story focuses on getting out of the city or town, into rural areas and digging in to protect those areas. Can't say I disagree, but it is nothing new.
To say I am totally disappointed would be going too far. I have read other reviews of Survivors, so I suspect it wouldn't be fantastic. Are there better doom books? Yup. But as a fan of Rawles and his whole contribution to the genre, it is worth a look.
Friday, 9 December 2011
ARMAGEDDON ROAD - First 10 Chapters are up!
So I have posted the first ten chapters (there will be 45 in the book), but that is it for a while. Thanks for the really positive response - it can be a bit nerve wracking when you intoroduce a new piece of writing, but the response has been really great so far.
Someone asked me recently if Armageddon Road will continue after the first book, and I can confidently give a definite maybe as a reply. I sure hope it does. I have become very attached to the characters, and more than once been struck by how much emotion I feel when stuff happens to them. It's a little strange to say the least!
Someone asked me recently if Armageddon Road will continue after the first book, and I can confidently give a definite maybe as a reply. I sure hope it does. I have become very attached to the characters, and more than once been struck by how much emotion I feel when stuff happens to them. It's a little strange to say the least!
Thursday, 1 December 2011
ARMAGEDDON ROAD - Drawn from reality
In AR, the characters face a number of challenging scenarios stemming, ultimately, from the implosion of the US and worldwide economies. When I started writing over a year ago, I wondered where we would be by the time the story was complete. I am saddened and somewhat frightened that the scenario that takes place in AR is far closer to coming true than I would have believed last year. As Europe spirals toward ultimate collapse through crushing debt brought on by free spending socialist governments, we now see the North Americans joining the hands with them as they jump off the cliff. Guaranteeing "liquidity" through printing more dollars may hold off the inevitable for a while, but it ultimately leads to inflation and a dramatic lowering of the buying power of those dollars.
What else are we seeing? Overcrowding of prisons which means court ordered release of offenders. The cratering of financial institutions - banks being downgraded, companies like MF Global going up in smoke. People who have been unemployed for 2 or more years reaching the end of their benefits. Record numbers on food stamps and welfare. The "occupy" movement - what will it morph into? Record personal debt. Every municipality, state and province running deficits and adding to their debt? Sounds like we all may be taking a trip down Armageddon Road - are you prepared?
What else are we seeing? Overcrowding of prisons which means court ordered release of offenders. The cratering of financial institutions - banks being downgraded, companies like MF Global going up in smoke. People who have been unemployed for 2 or more years reaching the end of their benefits. Record numbers on food stamps and welfare. The "occupy" movement - what will it morph into? Record personal debt. Every municipality, state and province running deficits and adding to their debt? Sounds like we all may be taking a trip down Armageddon Road - are you prepared?
Monday, 28 November 2011
About ARMAGEDDON ROAD - the Setting
When I started writing AR, I decided I needed a setting I was familiar with, it need to be in the US (mostly), and I wanted it to be fairly rural. I chose Choteau, Montana for the little community of Armadillo Road because it was close to the Canadian border, the Blackfeet Indian Reserve and not far from Helena, the State Capitol. I have been through Choteau and all over that area while visiting Great Falls and Helena, and I love the country. It is very similar to where I live in Calgary. The scenery is magnificent - prairie, hills and mountains converge to make for some of the best ranchland and hunting terrain in North America. This part of America attracts some of the most independent and resourceful people I have ever met, and inspired a number of the characters in the story.
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