Review: Day of the Dogs and Howl
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 01 22, 2013
I'm writing this after reading both short novellas in this series.The first segment covers the week preceding a CME solar event that fries the grid, worldwide.  The second is a rambling narrative written from the first-person point of view of the protagonist who was introduced in the original novella.The first book is marginally entertaining.  It actually includes some limited dialogue and action narratives.  It is very much lacking in practical survival/prepper information.The second book is a philosophical wandering about why society collapsed into barbarism even prior to the solar event.  It is only a rehash of what was written in the first book, except for a few sparse mentions of a "Restored American Republic" which was established and structured following the CME.  It is based in the year 2033, 20 years after the apocalyptic events of the first book.  It is also based on the author/protagonist's political views.  You may or may not agree with them.  I do, for the most part.  And yet, I find no redeeming value in the way they are presented.To tell an entertaining fictional story, and charge money for it, you should at least capture the reader's interest.  Some folks might feel that this author has done that.  I don't.  The books are short, and would only represent good value if they were much more engrossing.  The second one is just a waste of digital space.  95% of what is written in it was already stated repeatedly in the first book.The author could redeem himself, at least in my opinion, if he pulled Howl from publication and added another 2 or 300 pages to the first novel.  The build-up to the collapse of society only works well if it is followed by a good story with sympathetic characters, describing their struggle to reclaim all that was once great about our nation.  Without that, even the first book is just a rather plodding narrative.