Wednesday, December 13, 2023

Review: Survive the Chaos (Small Town EMP #1) by Grace Hamilton

Survive the Chaos

Small Town EMP #1

by Grace Hamilton

Published: July 11, 2019

Genre: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic


Blurb:


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 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.


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My Review:

Survive the Chaos is the first book in the Small Town EMP series by Grace Hamilton. Survive the Chaos is a great start to a new series. The moment I picked it up and started reading I was hooked. I couldn’t have laid it down then even if I had wanted to.

Survive the Chaos is not the first book by Grace Hamilton that I have read. No, I have read EMP stories by Grace and absolutely loved them all. I love reading post-apocalyptic books. I can’t seem to get enough of them. I can’t read them fast enough for me as I would love to read them all.

I love the survival of post-apocalyptic stories. I love how things change. I love to see how people change. If they are going to be good or bad. I like seeing how each individual deals with it all and how they handle the aftermath.

As I said Survive the Chaos had me from the beginning with the suspense of waiting to see what was going to happen and how it was going to happen. I was filled with so many questions throughout the story. In the end, some were answered and some were not. I can’t wait to dive into the next book Survive the Aftermath to see what lies ahead for each of the characters.

After his wife dies Austin and their daughter, Savannah hit the road. They are traveling around in an RV seeing the countryside and dealing with their loss. Savanna has plans to meet a boy, Malachi later but she tells her dad that she is going to get ice cream with the girl who lives on the nearby farm.

Of course, Dad doesn’t believe her. He is sure that she is going to meet a boy but he doesn’t have time to deal with it now as he has to meet an old friend. His friend has something very important to give him. Just how important Austin doesn't know but he soon finds out after he meets his friend and someone starts shooting heavy fire at them. His friend is killed and Austin falls into the river.

Austin washes up in the lake about a mile downstream. A woman, Amanda pulls him out of the water. Austin has broken his leg. Luckily Amanda is a vet. After everything stops working, cars, phones, computers and all electronic equipment all Austin wants to do is go home and check on Savannah. But he is stuck at Amanda’s until he heals enough to make the trip.

Savannah wants nothing more than to go home to her dad where everything stops working. She tries to make it home but a lot of people are running around shooting and taking whatever they want and killing.

Savannah decides to stay the night with Malachi and his family. Malachi’s family is very religious. The next morning Savannah heads home to find her father. Malachi and his family go with her. When they don’t find Savannah’s father they decide to stay with Savannah for a few days to wait for her father to come home. But when he doesn't make it back after a few days they all leave for Savannah’s uncle's pepper home. Savannah leaves a note for her dad explaining where she is going.

What Austin and especially Savannah don’t know is that there are some very bad men following them. They want what Austin’s friend gave him and they will do whatever it takes to get it.

Oh man, what a great start to a new series. Survive the Chaos kept me on the edge of my toes as I raced to the end to see if Savannah and Austin would ever see each other again. I couldn’t wait to see if they would make it to Savannah’s uncle’s place.

I loved reading Survive the Chaos so much that I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves reading dystopian or post-apocalyptic stories. Grab a copy of Survive the Chaos today!


Connect with Grace Hamilton

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