One Second After

Post-apocalyptic Terror Becomes Reality

One Second After
By William R. Forstchen

          Zombies, vampires and werewolves don’t scare me.  I can read about such things, have a good laugh and forget it.  These things are mere fantasy.  The terrors of this book are all too real.  One Second After is a hard science fiction novel, by William Forstchen, set in the United States after an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) destroys the electrical grid and most modern electrical devices.  If you don’t know what an electromagnetic pulse is or what it can do, click on the embedded video for some background.

          The focus of the novel is a small town in North Carolina, but the EMP affects the nation and much of the world.  At the moment of the pulse all modern transportation stops and telephones and radios go silent.  In the cities, society quickly breaks down.  Pillage and rape become common. In rural North Carolina, civilization teeters on the verge of collapse as hunger, then starvation and disease grip the region.  A barter economy emerges and bullets become a common means of exchange.  With barbarians at the gates and no possibility of help, good people are forced to make hard choices. 

          When you consider differing calamities in post-apocalyptic fiction different books come to mind.  Mention plague and readers often think of Earth Abides, say nuclear war and Alas Babylon comes to mind.  I am certain future readers will think of this novel when the topic turns to EMP.  Would an EMP destroy all electrical devises? Will civilization collapse in mere days? Could we recover and restore America?  The novel serves as a catalyst for our discussion, but the first question we should ask ourselves is, are we ready?

          Most reviews that are critical of the book fault the writing.  Indeed, I gave the novel only four stars not because of problems with premise or plot, but because of the writing. However, the EMP threat is so real and compelling I can forgive some bad editing (that will hopefully be corrected in latter printings) and the expository telling, instead of showing, through much of the story. I read the first 100 pages in one setting and finished the novel the next day.  Others, who see the novel as simply a science fiction story might be quicker to fault technique.

  The threat is real.  Read the book.  

Update on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 3:55PM by Kyle Pratt

YouTube removed the video I originally used in this review.  I've included another that explains the basics of an EMP attack.