I just finished reading Holding Their Own and Holding Their Own: The Independents and thought some NES-folk might like a book review. I'm going to try not to give much away, so I apologize for vagueness.
The books are written by Joe Nobody, and appear to be Print-on-Demand, given the quality of the books and the observation that the print date on my copies is the same as the Amazon ship date. The paper quality is decent, but the print is very small. Older eyes will need their reading glasses.
The overview of the story is that the United States, along with the rest of the world, suffers a major financial collapse similar to that described in Rawles' books and many prepper discussions. Just as people are beginning to get desperate and riots are breaking out, Iran launches coordinated terrorist strikes around the country. Volume 1 follows Bishop and Terri from Houston to their small refuge in West Texas and conveys the effects of the collapse as they make their way across several hundred miles through cities and desert. Volume II expands the plot significantly, centering on a split between factions of the Government that divides the military and presents the possibility of a civil war over control of the country, while continuing to focus on Bishop and Terri and what they must do to survive.
The main character in the story is Bishop, a man who served in the military in what seemed to be a mundane specialty, and who later went to work for a large oil and gas production company doing security work. The company's name is HBR, and it seems obvious that it is a reference to Halliburton. Bishop is presented as a somewhat regular guy with military experience, who is a bit of a prepper, and is married to Terri, who tolerates his quirks even if she doesn't (at first) go along. Their dialog can get campy from time to time, but it isn't unlike the banter you might hear from many married couples. The character development is pretty good. You are given a bit of a back-story and the motivation for any character germane to the story line.
The story moves pretty fast, and is pretty blunt, if not brutal, in some of the depictions of events. This is a world where bad guys and opportunists thrive and the good folks have to fight to survive. The book also has a fair bit of nuance to it. While many of the characters don't have an extensive back-story, the plots and sub-plots show that Joe Nobody has spent a fair amount of time thinking about not only what is going on, but why it is happening, and what the purpose is. For example, the attacks initiated by Iran are specifically targeted to physically isolate the country, to permanently disable infrastructure, and to trigger a response(martial law) by the Department of Homeland Security. They reason that the fastest way to bring the country to its knees is to trigger martial law. Predictably, and in short order, DHS orders all civilians to report to various camps, and not long after that, when the starving people begin to riot, begins shooting them.
It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did, I ripped through the first book, ordered the second, and tore through that in one day. The writing is good overall. I'd rate this closer to Lights Out or Alas, Babylon than I would the Rawles books. There is a fair bit to be learned as the book goes into some detail and explanation on the preparation and execution of some of the activities.
My biggest complaints with this book are three-fold. First, Bishop, who at first seems to be just another ex-military guy, over the course of the two books morphs into a sublime killing machine. Related to this, quite a few of the people in the book are one-shot, one-kill shooters at long distance, and Bishop takes out lots of bad guys. It makes for an extremely interesting read, but also gives you the impression that if you aren't an operator, you would not survive. Second, in some cases, it seems like the bad guys have unlimited resources, whereas the good guys don't. This doesn't matter, since they don't live very long, but it still bothered me a bit. Finally, while the end of each book provides some closure, it leads directly into the next volume, so you are left wondering what happens next. This, I suppose, is a testament to how engrossing the story is.
Bottom Line: If you like the Survival genre, I think you will enjoy these books.
The books are written by Joe Nobody, and appear to be Print-on-Demand, given the quality of the books and the observation that the print date on my copies is the same as the Amazon ship date. The paper quality is decent, but the print is very small. Older eyes will need their reading glasses.
The overview of the story is that the United States, along with the rest of the world, suffers a major financial collapse similar to that described in Rawles' books and many prepper discussions. Just as people are beginning to get desperate and riots are breaking out, Iran launches coordinated terrorist strikes around the country. Volume 1 follows Bishop and Terri from Houston to their small refuge in West Texas and conveys the effects of the collapse as they make their way across several hundred miles through cities and desert. Volume II expands the plot significantly, centering on a split between factions of the Government that divides the military and presents the possibility of a civil war over control of the country, while continuing to focus on Bishop and Terri and what they must do to survive.
The main character in the story is Bishop, a man who served in the military in what seemed to be a mundane specialty, and who later went to work for a large oil and gas production company doing security work. The company's name is HBR, and it seems obvious that it is a reference to Halliburton. Bishop is presented as a somewhat regular guy with military experience, who is a bit of a prepper, and is married to Terri, who tolerates his quirks even if she doesn't (at first) go along. Their dialog can get campy from time to time, but it isn't unlike the banter you might hear from many married couples. The character development is pretty good. You are given a bit of a back-story and the motivation for any character germane to the story line.
The story moves pretty fast, and is pretty blunt, if not brutal, in some of the depictions of events. This is a world where bad guys and opportunists thrive and the good folks have to fight to survive. The book also has a fair bit of nuance to it. While many of the characters don't have an extensive back-story, the plots and sub-plots show that Joe Nobody has spent a fair amount of time thinking about not only what is going on, but why it is happening, and what the purpose is. For example, the attacks initiated by Iran are specifically targeted to physically isolate the country, to permanently disable infrastructure, and to trigger a response(martial law) by the Department of Homeland Security. They reason that the fastest way to bring the country to its knees is to trigger martial law. Predictably, and in short order, DHS orders all civilians to report to various camps, and not long after that, when the starving people begin to riot, begins shooting them.
It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did, I ripped through the first book, ordered the second, and tore through that in one day. The writing is good overall. I'd rate this closer to Lights Out or Alas, Babylon than I would the Rawles books. There is a fair bit to be learned as the book goes into some detail and explanation on the preparation and execution of some of the activities.
My biggest complaints with this book are three-fold. First, Bishop, who at first seems to be just another ex-military guy, over the course of the two books morphs into a sublime killing machine. Related to this, quite a few of the people in the book are one-shot, one-kill shooters at long distance, and Bishop takes out lots of bad guys. It makes for an extremely interesting read, but also gives you the impression that if you aren't an operator, you would not survive. Second, in some cases, it seems like the bad guys have unlimited resources, whereas the good guys don't. This doesn't matter, since they don't live very long, but it still bothered me a bit. Finally, while the end of each book provides some closure, it leads directly into the next volume, so you are left wondering what happens next. This, I suppose, is a testament to how engrossing the story is.
Bottom Line: If you like the Survival genre, I think you will enjoy these books.
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