Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The End and The Long Road

The End: A Postapocalyptic Novel by G. Michael Hopf
Penguin Group; 1/7/2014
Trade Paperback, 384 pages

ISBN-13: 9780142181492
The New World Series #1

www.gmichaelhopf.com

What would you do to survive?
Young Gordon Van Zandt valued duty and loyalty to country above all, so after 9/11, he dropped out of college and joined the Marine Corps. This idealism vanished one fateful day in a war-torn city in Iraq. Ten years later, he is still struggling with the ghosts of his past when a new reality is thrust upon him and his family: North America, Europe and the Far East have all suffered a devastating Super-EMP attack, which causes catastrophic damage to the nation’s power grid and essential infrastructures. Everything from cell phones to cars to computers cease to function, putting society at a standstill.
With civilization in chaos, Gordon must fight for the limited and fast dwindling resources. He knows survival requires action and cooperation with his neighbors, but as the days wear on, so does all sense of civility within his community—and so he must make some of the most difficult decisions of his life in order to ensure his family’s safety. 

The Long Road: A Postapocalyptic Novel by G. Michael Hopf
Penguin Group; 1/7/2014

Trade Paperback, 320 pages
ISBN-13: 9780142181508
The New World Series #2

The End was just the beginning of the new world…
Only six weeks have passed since a super-EMP attack devastated the United States, but already, life has changed dramatically. Most of America has become  a wasteland filled with starving bands of people, mobs and gangs. Millions are dead and millions more are suffering, with no end in sight.
For Gordon, Samantha, Sebastian, Cruz and Barone, the turmoil and chaos they dealt with in the early weeks after the attack will seem trivial in comparison to the collapse of society that plays out before their eyes. Uncertainty abounds as they all travel different paths in search of a safe place to call home. The only thing that is definite is that The Long Road will take its toll on all of them.
My Thoughts:

Recommended - if you are looking for sheer, mindless escapism of the postapocalyptic variety - sans zombies.  
So-so if you require good writing and character development along with a shoot-em-all-up plot.

The End and The Long Road are both postapocalyptic novels by G. Michael Hopf. The novels have several storylines in the narrative, but begin by mainly follow former marine Gordon Van Zandt and his family after a super EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attack against the USA. Gordon immediately realizes what is happening and takes measures to secure supplies for his family. As he knew would happen, society immediately begins to break down. Unless a group of people can somehow manage to work together to protect their members without infighting, it is every man/family for themselves.

Originally self-published novels they are now being released by Plume/The Penguin Group in anticipation of the pending third installment of the story to be published soon.


Pros: The plot is interesting and will keep you engrossed in the story development and action. The movement of the scenarios in both of these books progress swiftly along. Whether you find the actions of characters believable or not at least the various storylines keep up a quick pace. It's always interesting to speculate what would happen to society and people under these kind of circumstances. Hopf includes all sorts of crazy groups and leaders. The Long Road is better than The End.

Cons: Someone got out their binos. If you read my reviews, you will know what this means. I may have to make a New Year's resolution or enact a rule that I will not read books where binos are produced.
Lots of violence and not all of it seems to be entirely necessary for forward movement of the plot.
The writing isn't the best.  I would have set the first book aside well before the 50 page mark if I hadn't agreed to read it for a review. The second paragraph in The End would have been enough, but the following passage would certainly have ended my reading: "Hayley was small for her age, very girly with long, blond curly hair and very fine features. She was definitely all-girl and loved everything princess." (The End, pg. 16) especially when Gordon loved the same things about his wife: "He loved everything about her from her small frame and long, wavy blond hair to her light green eyes and full lips."(pg. 19) I sure would have liked to know something else about her, like maybe some character traits, besides her looks.
There are many other examples before the 50 page mark, so be forewarned: not good writing.


I might be tempted to say it would be a good airplane book - mindless escapism to keep you busy - but with the EMP hitting and sending planes falling from the sky...

TLC Book Tour


Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes. 





1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I do enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction without zombies so I can see myself enjoying this series.

Thanks for being on the tour!