Review: A decent read, but not very plausible
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 25, 2014
This was a decent read, but not very likely to inspire or educate.  I mean seriously!  Country folk headed TO the city to be SAFER?????  Are you kidding me?!  I place this into the "entertainment value only" category.  Too many things just fell into these people's laps.  Weapons (really good ones), supplies, a magnificent place to live that was a virtual Shangri La....all too convenient and predictable.  And of course the obligatory army of bad guys that come storming in with their bad plans, crappy marksmanship, and poor leadership.  At least there weren't any zombies or flu-mutated Neanderthals.  I have read about everything published in this genre, and I have found very, VERY few that actually meet what could be considered a plausible scenario.  I look for personal struggle, ingenuity in overcoming challenges and shortages, development of both short-term and long-term survival strategies, how to establish a defensible place to live WITHOUT having everything on a silver platter, examples of McGiverisms that illustrate a thinking person and not just a lucky SOB.  I'm afraid that the first book I read of this genre is still the best..."Alas Babylon", by Pat Frank.  THAT was an example of a regular people overcoming real challenges.  There are others that entertain as well as educate and inspire, but very few and this book is not one of them.  I guess my problem is (and I know how narcistic this is going to sound) that I have an encyclopedic knowledge over a very broad range of survival skills, and I am disappointed when I see even the basic essentials glossed over.  That's my take anyway.