Book Recommendation: One Second After
Sunday, 30. August 2009, 13:05:31
Those of you who may know me beyond the postings in this blog know that science fiction is my favorite non-theological genre. Recently I finished Robert Forstchen's One Second After, a magnificent read, and well worth it even if you don't care for science fiction all that much. Forstchen is just a plain good storyteller...
Quick synopsis: Enemies of the United States (the characters are never permitted to know just whodunnit) fire nuclear missiles into the upper atmosphere over the US and generate a massive EMP (Electro-magnetic Pulse) which disables the entire U.S. power grid. EMP is of such a nature that it not only knocks out the power, but it fries any technology which uses computer chips (permanently disabling it), which is about 90% of everything these days. The story is then about the survival of the community. If you remember classic scifi novels such as Pat Frank's Alas Babylon (which was about the aftermath of 1950's era nuclear war), you'll have an idea of what it's about. In fact, Forstchen acknowledges the influence of Frank and others on his current novel.
Now, the problem with this is, that just like nuclear war, it could really happen. The day I finished the novel, I happened to hear a serious discussion on it on the radio, which was rather chilling, actually. If you want to learn more, just google it, and you'll find plenty of info, such as http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/emp-terror.htm.
Quick synopsis: Enemies of the United States (the characters are never permitted to know just whodunnit) fire nuclear missiles into the upper atmosphere over the US and generate a massive EMP (Electro-magnetic Pulse) which disables the entire U.S. power grid. EMP is of such a nature that it not only knocks out the power, but it fries any technology which uses computer chips (permanently disabling it), which is about 90% of everything these days. The story is then about the survival of the community. If you remember classic scifi novels such as Pat Frank's Alas Babylon (which was about the aftermath of 1950's era nuclear war), you'll have an idea of what it's about. In fact, Forstchen acknowledges the influence of Frank and others on his current novel.
Now, the problem with this is, that just like nuclear war, it could really happen. The day I finished the novel, I happened to hear a serious discussion on it on the radio, which was rather chilling, actually. If you want to learn more, just google it, and you'll find plenty of info, such as http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/emp-terror.htm.
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