I finished the book last night. I don't want to give too much away, but I am disappointed overall. Rawles' writing style generally is haphazard, and his approach to characters is capricious. As the protagonists work their way through the story, they come into contact with other people, who become key players in the main characters' progress. Then they just drop out of the story. No follow up, no happy or sad ending. Similarly, small characters are introduced briefly and never mentioned again. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be a lesson, or a warning, or what. They add nothing to the story. He also retells parts of the story. I noticed that two chapters begin with Sheila(?) Randall at the seed shop in KY; they are almost identical pages, with some changes, but saying the same thing. Apparently trading seeds for bullets is important enough that you should be reminded.
Yet: as usual, Rawles spends an inordinate amount of time talking about how everybody is packing a Wiggly's sleeping bag, or has a Big Berkee water filter, or some knife, or ACU camos, or some other product that advertises on his blog. I know I'm repeating myself, but it's pervasive.
If you want this book as a thinly veiled instruction manual on how to implement your preps, set up your coms, develop your cipher, etc, then you may well like it.
The moral of the story is that the UN is evil, you'll never get our guns, and that born-again Christians and Messianic Jews are the only ones who can save us.
