Any additional comments?
We have here a vision of the collapse of civilization with conditions probably very close to the real thing (if you think an EMP pulse could lead to civil collapse and a power grab by elites). Unfortunately, what it is mostly filled with is boring, drudgery and people doing stupid things. Set in the back hills & mountains of the rural US a small pocket of pseudo survivalists and independent minded Americans hole up in their homes hoping to live free of the new dictatorial government and avoid roving bands of “Takers”. Mostly nothing happens though.

In the first (long awaited) action sequence a bad biker gang attacks and guns down a neighbor’s wife. Hearing shots the protagonist family rushes down to see what is happening. When they arrive the neighbor’s husband has already killed the bikers and is grieving over his wife who lies dead in their kitchen. The family gathers up – and takes for themselves – all the useful items the bikers had and leaves their neighbor to deal with his wife’s body by himself. Then they decide to inform the other neighbors about the attack and threat of the biker gang… at the next town meeting (nothing could possibly go wrong before then, right?).

Much later, their barricade has been breached by the same bikers and they expect the gang to show up any second in force as retribution for their killed comrades but the menfolk decide to mosey back home and discuss a plan. Fortunately, again, nothing happens.

Then, for no particular reason other than that there was nothing else going on a large band of Takers suddenly descend on them from no where and they have a shoot out. One would think with all the threats these folks would post a watch so that a large group of bad guys might not be able to walk right up to their houses. Fortunately these Takers are mostly idiots and die or run away pretty quickly. Even before the smoke clears the residents are wandering around chit chatting, nobody bothers to go see if the Takers are really gone or just regrouping.

A few more things happen but mostly they just stand around talking about how independent they are and how important it is to live free.

This book would have been much better with zombies.

Rudolph has talent as a writer and should continue practicing his craft. Pierce has a good voice for the book and does well with the narration.