Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse

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Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse

3.22 of 5 stars 3.22 · rating details · 589 ratings · 130 reviews

The America we are accustomed to is no more. Practically overnight the stock market has plummeted, hyperinflation has crippled commerce, and the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure have fallen. The power grids are down. Brutal rioting and looting grip every major city. The volatile era known as ?the Crunch? has begun, and this new period in our hist...more

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Published October 4th 2011 by Brilliance Audio

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Nov 10, 2012 Nanette rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If I could give negative stars, I think I would. I read the whole book in two days mainly because I started skimming towards the end. Normally, I love post-apocalyptic tales and, since I'd found this author's previous non-fiction book to be fascinating, I thought I would likely enjoy this book, too. I didn't. I fully expected the writing to be mediocre, and I was okay with that as long as I got an interesting and informative story. Unfortunately, the story was filled with unbelievable characters...more

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Dan This book was very literal in time and place setting, to the point that it even gives the timeframe in each chapter, so following it shouldn't be a pr...more
Nov 21, 2012 10:51am

Nanette Hi, Dan. Thanks for your feedback. I'm still sticking with my first opinion, though. As a lifelong reader (plus a college degree in English and writin...more
Nov 21, 2012 01:15pm

Jan 13, 2013 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Doomsday Preppers

Recommended to Michael by: Nobody

(I wrote this review when I was only halfway through, and I stand by it). Though I respect the point the author is trying to make with this novel, there are moments where this book is painfully dull and repetitive.

To the people saying how it's not the kind of Post-Apocalyptic story they were expecting... I urge you to start being more intelligent, and actually read the description of the book, and a few pages of it, before purchasing and diving in just because you liked the cover.

I digress, on...more (I wrote this review when I was only halfway through, and I stand by it). Though I respect the point the author is trying to make with this novel, there are moments where this book is painfully dull and repetitive.

To the people saying how it's not the kind of Post-Apocalyptic story they were expecting... I urge you to start being more intelligent, and actually read the description of the book, and a few pages of it, before purchasing and diving in just because you liked the cover.

I digress, on to the actual review. I will go with a "Pros" and "Cons" style.

Pros:

Informative - This book does have some great ideas and tactics for surviving a world that is going through an economic crisis. In this regard, the authors life experience shines through brilliantly.

Makes You Think - This story is not too far off of reality. What happened is this book is entirely possible in reality, and makes you want to become as prepared as possible for such events.

Cons:

A Very Slow Read - This book is riddled with trivial information and excessively long menial conversations between characters.

Attack of the Clones - There is very little diversity between characters in this novel. Almost all of the characters seem to have the exact same personality. All of them seem to have been people who expected "The Crunch" to occur, and all but perhaps one maybe two characters seem to be incredibly devout Christians. Though there is nothing wrong with giving characters a belief system, it is entirely unrealistic to make it seem that nearly everyone on the planet is christian.

Come Again? - The author seems to feel the need to repeat information over and over again to the point where it goes beyond broken record, and starts feeling like you are being brainwashed. There is an entire chapter presenting a conversation between Lars Laine, and L. Roy Martin... in which they basically repeat many of the past events already mentioned earlier in the book in excruciating detail. Even beyond the chapter, it seems like the author is continuously beating me in the face with a bat chiseled with the words "ECONOMIC FALLOUT IS BAD"

I give this book, a 2 out of 5.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Jessica Bronder rated it 2 of 5 stars

This story takes place just as the United States’ economy crashes. The first thing that happens is the dollar becomes increasingly useless. Silver, gold, or barter is the way many people end up getting goods. But others try to rob, loot, or kill to make their own way. This story follows several people as they struggle to survive in the crunch.

Andy Laine is in Afghanistan and sees how everything is working toward a crash. He gets himself some off base supplies and makes a plan to get back home to...more This story takes place just as the United States’ economy crashes. The first thing that happens is the dollar becomes increasingly useless. Silver, gold, or barter is the way many people end up getting goods. But others try to rob, loot, or kill to make their own way. This story follows several people as they struggle to survive in the crunch.

Andy Laine is in Afghanistan and sees how everything is working toward a crash. He gets himself some off base supplies and makes a plan to get back home to his family.

Lars Laine is Andy’s brother. He is living on the family farm trying to keep everyone safe and the farm running. He is a veteran that was injured during his service.

Ian and Blanco Doyle are ex-military that first try to get their daughter then provide security for a group of homeowners for a place to stay.

Ignacio Garcia is the leader of a gang that start looting to feed all in the group.

Matthew, Reuben, and Shadrack Phelps are orphans that are sent out on their own. They find Lars Laine and help out on the farm.

Sheila Randall has her son and mother and starts a general store to help out others in the little town she moves to.

The story is full of truth. The way events happen in the book, I can easily see the same thing happening in the country today. The value of the dollar crashing, only silver, gold, or barter used for transactions, and how people rob, steal, or kill for things they need. I really liked the different quotes at the beginning of each new section. They really make you thing about human nature.

Sadly there is just way too much happening in this story. You follow way too many people and not always in the same time frame. There will be a not at the top of each section that tells who is being followed in that section and when. The problem comes when you read about Andy in November then Lars in January or Ian twenty years prior.

Also, there was way too much information. There is exact figures for how the dollar rate goes down every day, all the acronyms for the military things, exact short hand for the radio, and even a three page list of who all the characters are. I couldn’t keep up with most of it and ended up skimming through a lot of the book.

I couldn’t finish this book. It just bounced everywhere, had way too much information, and too many characters to follow. It has good potential for a end of the country book, but I couldn’t stick with it.

I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab in exchange for an honest opinion.
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Oct 26, 2011 David Ketelsen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm half finished and much to my surprise I'm enjoying it. As you might expect in a book leaning this far to the right, there's a lot of praying and guns but the writing is a lot better than other reviews had led me to expect.

Finished Survivors a couple of days ago. I definitely don't agree with the politics but the book is enjoyable to read. I recommend it to anyone but especially people with right leaning politics particularly if they think social collapse is in the works. The situations in th...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Jeff rated it 2 of 5 stars

Leaves the reader hanging--what's going to happen to the ruthless gang La Fuerza, whose leader has threatened to kill everyone in the community which ambushed them and destroyed their vehicles?

And what's going to happen to the ProvGov, which is more like a dictatorship?

Doesn't get interesting towards the end of the book, then leaves you hanging. Not a must read. Only interesting in a few parts.

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Apr 11, 2013 Katie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I liked most about this book was its combination of informative and entertaining material. If I'm going to read about ways to prepare for the impending economic collapse, I'd rather it be in the form of fiction. Rawles's military background definitely comes through, so I would recommend this to those with a better weapon and GI vocabulary than myself (too bad I didn't see the glossary until the end -- way to go, English teacher). As a long-time pacifist, it definitely challenged me to think...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Ross rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am a Conservative and a Christian. I believe the world could very well be headed toward a collapse very similar to the one Rawles describes. I agree with many of his characters' viewpoints and choices. BUT, that being said, his characters are not only one dimensional, shallow and overly stereotypical, but they're from the mind of an obviously one-dimensional thinker. The author obviously believes a collapse is inevitable and we are all hurtling toward it without hope of surviving, unless we he...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Q rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: No sane person; Right-wing Neo-conservatives

This, quite simply, is the single worst "book" I have ever read. It is an extreme right-wing conservative's wet dream...Hey, Mr. Author-dude, thanks for your thinly veiled christian views and nut-bang anti-government rantings proliferated throughout 400 pages of THE WORST characters ever put to pen and paper. GOOD GOD, the writing is TERRIBLE. Positively brutal, and worse than just being boringly repetitive, the holier-than-thou slant the protagonists have just grinds on the senses after about 1...more This, quite simply, is the single worst "book" I have ever read. It is an extreme right-wing conservative's wet dream...Hey, Mr. Author-dude, thanks for your thinly veiled christian views and nut-bang anti-government rantings proliferated throughout 400 pages of THE WORST characters ever put to pen and paper. GOOD GOD, the writing is TERRIBLE. Positively brutal, and worse than just being boringly repetitive, the holier-than-thou slant the protagonists have just grinds on the senses after about 10 pages.

I have never read a book with a solid premise like this one portends and then watch as the author so completely butchers said premise that I often times wanted to punch a wall. This trash reads much closer to some psycho's pseudo-manifesto than a dooms-day novel. If you ever have an opportunity to burn this book, please do so with extreme prejudice.

GOD DAMN, this dickweed is so conservative that even through some truly traumatic events in his characters lives that they not only DO NOT SWEAR, but immediately drop to their knees and begin devoutly praying. "Golly gee willikers, Tommy, I hath runneth a foul-mouth varmint of a Mexican drug lord through with a shiv...let us pray." Ok, not an exact quote from the book, but this next one is, and I shit you not...

(Andy, writing an email to his fiancee): "My darling Kaylee, I cannot wait to hold you in my arms. Please remain prayerful, and do not worry. All that worrying doesn't accomplish anything. Read Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalm 46 and write them on your heart..."

Write them with some farts, more correctly. This book sucks in ways that would make a porn-star blush. If I'm being really honest it's not his views I found irksome, although completely insane, it's just how damn pathetic his writing style is that kills me. Good guys, villains, and all other characters both major and minor are so colorless and bland that they are nearly impossible to tell apart from one another.

So to summarize, do not read this book as it's not good.

That is all.(less)

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Sep 30, 2012 Alain Burrese rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've enjoyed James Wesley, Rawles' survivalblog and I liked "How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It." While I hadn't read "Patriots," I wanted to give "Survivors" a try. It looked like a good read, and I do enjoy reading about surviving. So, now that I finished the book this morning, I have mixed feelings. I really liked parts of this book, but there were other holes in the story that really needed filling, and I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It leaves you hanging, wondering...more I've enjoyed James Wesley, Rawles' survivalblog and I liked "How To Survive The End Of The World As We Know It." While I hadn't read "Patriots," I wanted to give "Survivors" a try. It looked like a good read, and I do enjoy reading about surviving. So, now that I finished the book this morning, I have mixed feelings. I really liked parts of this book, but there were other holes in the story that really needed filling, and I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It leaves you hanging, wondering what happened to the characters you've been reading about.

Maybe Rawles will pick up where he left off in the next book he writes. I don't know. If so, I wish there was some indication of this. If not, I feel the story was not completed. Being prior military, I didn't mind the military jargon, but I imagine those without a military background might not follow as easily in parts, even with the glossary that is included in the back. I also found it a bit different to have the "Dramatis Personae" at the beginning of the book. However, with the jumping around between many "stories" within the novel, I almost found myself wanting to look back to this list.

The yarn is pretty simple actually. It is the story of a few survivors of an economic collapse, or as it is called in the book, "the Crunch." These survivors are not together, but rather the book jumps around between these stories. Some are related, some not. And as I stated earlier, the stories are not wrapped up. You are left hanging and wondering just what happened, or will happen.

I started thinking, maybe Rawles did this on purpose. Maybe he intentionally left it open because that's how life is. How many people enter our lives, even those we get to know, and then disappear, without us ever knowing what happened, where they are, etc. Sometimes we even wonder where old friends have gone. Maybe this was what Rawles was getting at, I don't know. The problem is, when we read novels, we are escaping from real life and want some closure to our fictional stories. Clifffhangers only work when you know things will be concluded in the next installment.

While the book is not classified as "Christian Fiction" it could be. Rawles' main characters are strong Christians and there are many prayers and religious references throughout the book. If you like, or dislike, this in your novels, know that it is here. The survival stuff, and as I read I thought of what I was doing to prepare, etc. was good. Yes, there were parts that were far fetched, but it is fiction after all. I still liked reading about people surviving a total financial and governmental collapse. So overall, I enjoyed a lot of it while I was reading, but felt disappointed at the end.
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Jul 16, 2012 Mary rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopia

This is why editors make the big bucks, people!

Man, as a prepper I wanted so badly to like this book. JWR's is so smart and his website is truly fantastic, a treasure trove of prepper knowledge and techniques. But the man is not a novelist. Sorry, JWR...I still respect you, but your book just about killed me. I forced myself to finish it, but it was excruciatingly boring and disconnected. The characters are not very well fleshed out; mostly just a conglomerate of their laboriously listed actions...more This is why editors make the big bucks, people!

Man, as a prepper I wanted so badly to like this book. JWR's is so smart and his website is truly fantastic, a treasure trove of prepper knowledge and techniques. But the man is not a novelist. Sorry, JWR...I still respect you, but your book just about killed me. I forced myself to finish it, but it was excruciatingly boring and disconnected. The characters are not very well fleshed out; mostly just a conglomerate of their laboriously listed actions.

And holy cow, I have nothing against guns but the author wants to marry them and bear their children. Pages of long descriptions of the individual guns overwhelmed and bored me. I AM interested in owning guns for self-defense. I AM interested in learning to fire them accurately. I AM interested in owning enough ammo to defend my family for as long as possible. I AM interested in knowing which gun is best for which purpose. However, I am NOT interested in what every scratch and curve means, what their histories are, irrelevant details about their look and feel, what their bullets are made of, etc. You might as well try to get me interested in the history of lamp pull cords because I'd like to create my own source of electricity production. Yes, they are related, but one is irrelevant.

Also, very few people are going to stop reading halfway through the book and take two days just to memorize the radio code lingo in order to understand everything that is communicated from that point on. I'll be honest, I skipped it rather than have to go back and forth over and over again. That's a very slow way to get to the end, especially when you find out how irrelevant the conversation was to the actual point of the book.

I would like to have seen better connections between the preppers' actions and how those preparations helped them. The best example was the soldier getting across the borders to the US. But most of the other preparation stories were not carried out to their fruition. I understand letting us wonder what happened in order to put ourselves in their shoes, but a little fleshing out of results to give us more ideas would be nice.

And last, but not least--JWR, you claim to be a God-fearing man, right? You creeped me out a little there at some places. At one point in the story, the author makes sure that we know the character is a moral man by pointing out that he could have stared lustily at the woman's luscious behind, but it didn't even cross his mind. So, who's mind did it cross enough to tell me about it then? Ew, the author's!! Heebie-jeebie central!

Yes, I'm going to read his other book "Patriots", but I need a break for a bit first.(less)

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Jun 02, 2012 Roger R. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel is MUCH better than his previous work, Patriots. There were far less over used meaningless details that no one would care about. The storyline is MUCH easier to follow this time, less jumping around between time frames. I appreciate the fact that the author spent more time of character development and the flow of the story this time. There still were a few times when he wanted to revert back to the ridiculous overkill on details, I had to skim those lines!

If the author had spent MUCH...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Jon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading this book cheered me up quite a bit. Why? Because if an author of his caliber can have a book like this printed in large quantities by a major publisher, as well as having an ebook and audio book made of his novel, than I too have a good future hope in the publisher world, once I write a book based on questions I asked on a forum.

Hey, I want a write a book about how America is going to fall apart because of the national debt, what should I include in it?

"All countries except America will...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Topher rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: post-apocalypse

This is the 2nd book in the not-quite series. It will make a little more sense if you've read 'Patriots' (whose edition that I read shows up under the author 'James Rawles' rather than 'James Wesley Rawles' in goodreads, despite his middle name appearing on that cover), but it is technically a stand-alone novel.

And, I'm willing to call it a novel. Someone agreed with me and got him a good editor. He still jumps around a lot more than perhaps he ought to, but, he is significantly more readable. T...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Harry Roger Williams III rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I emailed the following fan letter to the author:
Hello, James, Thank you for taking time to read this. A quick review of SurvivalBlog shows how busy you are. Just finished Survivors and loved it. The ending makes me think there may be a sequel. Call me an emotional pushover (for a 64 year old straight and married guy) – I shed a tear when ["Spoiler" edited out]. Call me Pollyanna – my wife and I live near Boston and I continue to work as administrator of an urban library. Call me a poor prognost...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Vincent Diamond rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Okay, I admit I totally fell for the Walking Dead-esque cover image with the lone horseback rider and the guns and the whole rest-of-the-world has gone to shit look. And it is a solid premise for a story: survivors are inherently an interesting bunch.

Well, except these survivors.

Survivors and characters who *overcome* problems are interesting. Survivors who do Everything Right and who Never Have Problems are, well, boring. Plus, this does not seem to be an author for whom writing an iota of emo...more

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Dec 16, 2011 Roslyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Survivors
By James Wesley Rawles

I enjoyed this novel very much. It comes at a time when the European financial markets are experiencing the implosive results of their of their shallow thinking and poor insights on monetary management. Although it’s a work of fiction, it rings true to some of the catastrophes we in America could experience in a global collapse of monetary systems.

The author takes many poetic licenses in dealing with realistic economic situations but weaves a wonderful tale of huma...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: christian-action-adventure, christian-fiction, christian-science-fiction, christian-suspense-fiction, contemporary-fiction, supense-thriller-fiction

We've all heard of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series if not read most of the books, so I was super excited when I was asked to review, Survivors, A Novel of The Coming Collapse by James Wesley, Rawles.

America is in the grip of a full-scale socioeconomic breakdown. The stock market plummets, hyperinflation destroys the value of the dollar, and the populations, unprepared for hardship, panics. Practically overnight, the high technology infrastructure and chains of supply collapse and wholesale rioti...more We've all heard of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind series if not read most of the books, so I was super excited when I was asked to review, Survivors, A Novel of The Coming Collapse by James Wesley, Rawles.

America is in the grip of a full-scale socioeconomic breakdown. The stock market plummets, hyperinflation destroys the value of the dollar, and the populations, unprepared for hardship, panics. Practically overnight, the high technology infrastructure and chains of supply collapse and wholesale rioting and looting grip every city. Law enforcement, transportation, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies are all in the past now, as the country staggers beneath its own weight. Lawless bands of killers roam the countryside, leaving devastation in their wake and now that the government is gone, the Constitution is at stake. Who will carry on? In this chaotic and dangerous environment, a few families and individuals, bound together by their faith, skills, and foresight, must struggle not only to survive day by day, but also defend themselves against a new and vicious predator - their fellow man.

I must say the book does outline some very interesting possibilities considering where we are at in present day in regards to our own economy and the instability regarding our own government, so it does have a haunting post apocalyptic feel to it. At times the number of characters and the changing storyline gets confusing but the author does provide an overview at the beginning of the cast of characters you will come across in the book.

The hardest thing to accept is just how the cities fall apart when the power grids shut down, the banking system goes belly up and the costs of goods and services sky rocket, a Whopper combo meal and a beer go for $96 and they say the price will go up tomorrow to at least $200 for the same meal. It's hard to imagine it could come to that but it is interesting how some people in the story survive, from ex-US Army veterans to a southern grandmother who begins hoarding seeds when she sees the signs on the horizon. My favorite part is learning how a Captain who has just completed his service for his country finds a way home when all air travel is grounded everywhere, very creative and one I hadn't considered.

About the Author:

James Wesley, Rawles has been an enthusiastic survivalist since his teenage years, and is now a survivalist lecturer and consultant and the bestselling author of the thrillers, Patriots and Survivors, and the nonfiction book, How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It, which are all based on authentic survival techniques. He's is also the editor of the www.survivalblog.com, his wildly popular survivalist blog that receives more than 260,000 unique visits per week. He is a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer who held a Top Secret security clearance (with Special Background Investigation) and access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).

I received this book compliments of Simon and Schuster for my honest review and LOVED it. Have to rate this book a pure 5 out of 5 stars because even though the story is based on a fictional situation that could very well happen, the reader is provided with very real tips for how to survive if this does indeed come true, from fortifying your home to knowing which things are worth fighting for.(less)

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Jun 19, 2012 Patricia Scholes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although I haven't read Patriots by the same author, I imagine what he writes is similar. He obviously loves guns. He knows just about every make and model and the history of each one. The people in his book are all familiar with weapons, or at least become so.

But the book would have been more believable had he been more familiar with gardening, sewing, mending, cooking, making candles, basket weaving, and a host of other homemaking skills. He, being a survivalist, considers the up-front confro...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Kyle Pratt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Preppers and fans of TEOTWAWKI genre

Shelves: teotwawki, fiction

Survivors is a prequel to Patriots, also by James Wesley Rawles. The premise of both novels is that an economic depression spirals out of control. The economy of the United States completely collapses, money becomes worthless, the power grid and phone system shuts down and the government at all levels disappears. Much, if not all of the rest of the world, is also in a deep depression. This period is understatedly called The Crunch.

A veteran Army officer, Rawles is today a New York Times best-sel...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Andrew rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dystopian

This was rated a two because it deals with a very interesting subject based upon today's times, however it just fails to deliver a good story. The book starts off strong giving us a potential glimpse as to what may happen in reality in the near future if the economy was to get worse and deals with an interesting concept of the world once again "becoming small". However after a while you begin to realise that he is trying to write a non-fiction book in a literary category. He gives way too much d...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: apocalyptic-fiction

I'll start by saying that I really liked the book. Rawles does "instructive fiction" better than anyone else. The book kept me entertained throughout, but it wasn't as instructive or entertaining as Patriots.

There were several errors about Belize and Mexico (both areas where I've spent a lot of time) that disappointed me. They could have been easily corrected by traveling there or talking to someone who has.

The biggest annoyance to me is the constant referencing of religious themes. I recognize...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Stacie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: horror-apocalyptic

I am a fan of apocalyptic literature and I thought the subject matter of this novel was thought provoking in its simplicity. There is no one major event that leads to society's collapse, but rather a series of governmental missteps, many that are scarily familiar to us living through this economic period, that result in a gradual breakdown of the United States and Europe. While there were times I felt that the author's message of reliance on faith and the constitution became heavy-handed, the tr...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: family-relationships, free-book-for-honest-review, read-in-2011, reviewed, thriller

Fans of survivalist novels differ widely in their reactions to John Wesley, Rawles novel "Survivors."

The author's premise is to ask who will be ready when the stock market has a total crash, inflation skyrockets and dollars and paper money become useless.

We follow the story as once super inflation takes hold, there is rioting and looting in many of the large cities and only those who prepared in advance have the ability to survive.

The infrastructure of society dissolves, gas stations run out of...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Sheehan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A prequel of sorts to Rawles' other collapse novel "Patriots" this novelized "how-to" book follows the lives of several people who were attuned to the warning signs of fiscal apocalypse and failure of the modern infrastructure in advance of the collapse. This makes for a good perspective on what preparations are worthwhile, which are seemingly smart, but ultimately invalidated, and the sheer amount of capital one would have to expend to be truly prepared for self-sufficiency when all hell breaks...more

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Nov 26, 2012 Lianne Burwell rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disaster, library

I can't believe I finished this book. It was like watching a train crash. I'd give it no stars, but that might look like I just didn't click to give a rating.

The cover caught my attention first, with its mirroring of the Walking Dead season 1 promo image of the man on a horse riding down a deserted road. Then I read the book flap, and the idea sounded like one that appealed to me. So I reserved it up from the library.

At least I didn't buy it. That was a blessing.

This was agenda fiction of the wo...more

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Sep 21, 2012 Joe rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author James Wesley Rawles is apparently an authentic survivalist who has authored how-to books about living through the coming apocalypse.
In this novel, he imagines the breakdown of an America (and the world) following a financial crash similar to the one we suffered in '08.
Crazy Weimar Republic like inflation causes people to walk of their jobs, the army disintegrates, the power goes out, the economy is reduced to a cash and carry bartering system. Tons of people die, (northern Mexico goes can...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the 2nd book I e read the past couple of days that deals with " how ppl survive" after a event or catastrophe and both books managed to tick me off, it's like the authors were happily typing away then got tired of typing and just sent the book off to be published. There was zero closure. This particular book had way too many characters, some were only mentioned once and never again and I couldn't figure out what their purpose was.
The book jumped ahead and backwards in years, the longest...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Richard added it

Liked it.
not a sequel, but a parallel -
don't think this wrapped up much in th four corners.

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Oct 23, 2011 Nina Wagner marked it as to-read

Thinking about reading this, but it comes with a scorecard in front, so I'm not sure.

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Oct 30, 2012 Sean C rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Couldn't finish it.

It's not even a story - it's a bunch of scenes dreamt up by the author of brilliant preppers that have these amazing flashes of insight that allow them to make incredible planning decisons. And some of them are complete BS: one guy convinces a neighbour to trade him a working airplane for single gun and some ammo. What? Are you freaking kidding me? And the kicker is the guy already owns two other guns! On what planet would this ever happen?

See this is the problem with Rawles:...more

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title link	preview: Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
avg rating	preview: Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse Goodreads rating: 3.22 (589 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12405182-survivors?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348626831l/12405182.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12405182-survivors?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse by James Wesley Rawles[/url]

Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse

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