Without Warning (The Disappearance, #1)

Sep 26, 2011 S J Blake rated it 1 of 5 stars

Very disappointing book. What's worse is that it's not the first time I've been disappointed by a John Birmingham novel - I read the first book of his previous trilogy, Weapons of Choice, and found that almost unreadable. Even after persisting through to the end of that first book (as I did with this first book of the new trilogy too), I found the characters unlikable in the extreme, the American jingoism too much to take, and the overt racism, bigotry and sexist attitudes of the characters too...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Bryan added it

When 300 million people die on page 1, you know you're in for something different. In "Without Warning", John Birmingham begins with the somewhat contrived scenario of almost everyone in the continental USA suddenly turning into a puddle of green ooze, but then takes a brave stab at exploring what might happen next. The result is an entertaining alternate history, containing a strange mix of real people (Tony Blair, Bill Gates, Tommy Franks) and fictitious characters. The writing is a little clu...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Nick Brett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Author John Birmingham enjoys producing “what if?” novels with interesting themes. His first trilogy was about a modern battlefleet being caught in a time warp and dropped back in WW2. And the subsequent impact on WW2.

In this we have a mysterious energy wave that drops on the most of the US (and bits of Canada and Cuba) and wipes out all humans leaving an impenetrable barrier. That is the early set up and the book then gives us a perspective of a few set characters and a vision of what would hap...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How many times have you read a story or seen a film where all seems to be lost until the USA steps in to help? I’m thinking Tom Clancy’s novels, Armageddon, Independence Day, films about World War 2 perhaps even Team America: World Police and so on.

Much of this is because the books and films are written to please their target audience, of course. However, in this alternate history, the saving of the world is not an option for the Americans. You see, without warning (and hence the title) an energ...more How many times have you read a story or seen a film where all seems to be lost until the USA steps in to help? I’m thinking Tom Clancy’s novels, Armageddon, Independence Day, films about World War 2 perhaps even Team America: World Police and so on.

Much of this is because the books and films are written to please their target audience, of course. However, in this alternate history, the saving of the world is not an option for the Americans. You see, without warning (and hence the title) an energy wave has caused the majority of the USA to disappear, with no survivors.

Really does set up a new scenario, doesn’t it?

With such a global event, and as you might expect, there are a broad range of characters having to deal with the issue from a number of different viewpoints.

In Paris we have a covert agent, Caitlin Monroe, who is being hunted by followers of terrorist recruiter Al-Banna and has now been forced out of cover. In Kuwait we have Bret Melton, an American news reporter who finds himself with American troops who have to adjust to a new situation. In Guantanamo Bay, we have General Tusk Musso and the Marine Corps who with Jed Culver, a lawyer trying to bring order, as they find themselves the highest-ranking remnants of the American government. In Seattle, James ‘Kip’ Kipper is the chief engineer of Seattle City Council who, with his family, has to deal with the social panic created by the Wave. In Acapulco, we have Julianne (Jules) Balwyn, an English cabin crew-worker who finds herself dealing with pirates whilst trying to coordinate refugees passage to a safe haven. Clearly, there’s plots and subplots all over the place, which is what a reader of such novels expects.

It is, all the same, rather strange to be set in 2003 whilst reading it in 2012/13, with Tony Blair the Prime Minister in the UK, George W. Bush about to be involved in the Middle East and Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein still around, whilst here in 2013 we’re entering the second term of Barack Obama. But, of course, this is an alternate timeline and therefore OK.

This is a BIG, meaty, novel, and as you might expect, it has big ideas and a broad canvas from the Iraq War in 2003 to Paris in Europe to Acapulco and Seattle. With America gone as primary peace keeper, the world soon descends into chaos as the remaining nations rearrange themselves in to some sort of new world order whilst the Middle East sees the event as some kind of miraculous, if not divine, intervention.

John has mentioned that much of the novel is a ‘what-if’ thought experiment, and two thirds of the book is about that. Without Warning is mainly about the consequences of ‘the Wave event’, which are scarily logical. Europe has to deal with the issues of pollution and a blocking out of the sunlight as a consequence of most of North America being damaged. India and China are in the wings waiting to reposition themselves. In the long term, the loss of global trade with a major superpower and the reorganisation of resources leads to famine, riots and unrest in what remains of the world.

There’s a lot of comments around about this being a Tom Clancey-esque techno-thriller, and I can see why. There are lots of the trappings of the traditional Clancy thriller - a lot of characters in a variety of global locations, lots of technology and action. Admittedly there’s quite a few board meetings and strategic planning, and at times you need to know your Heckler and Koch from your Smith & Wesson. But to define this as such would perhaps mislead or at least do a disservice. Whilst there are many of the clichés you might expect, John manages to put a few twists in that keep the reader guessing.

In the end this was a surprise, and a pleasant one. It is very accessible and although it can be a little long in places, anyone looking for a big, bold blockbuster-type holiday read could do a lot worse than read this one. Might be time to try an alternative to the Clancy and try some John Birmingham instead.

The book ends on a cliff-hanger, which no doubt leads to the next novel. There are now two sequels, After America and Angels of Vengeance, that will appear later in 2013.(less)

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Sep 14, 2012 Alanis Garcia rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, I liked the idea, and I liked the story but there were a few things I wasn't sold on.
This will try to be spoiler free.
The book is about the world trying to cope with 99.9 percent of the land mass of continent of North America being decimated by an event. The event kills everyone it touches in those places and keeps anyone from re-entering.
It is part 1 of what looks to be three major books and some online books the author has published.

What I liked
The story, and I was really invested in the c...more So, I liked the idea, and I liked the story but there were a few things I wasn't sold on.
This will try to be spoiler free.
The book is about the world trying to cope with 99.9 percent of the land mass of continent of North America being decimated by an event. The event kills everyone it touches in those places and keeps anyone from re-entering.
It is part 1 of what looks to be three major books and some online books the author has published.

What I liked
The story, and I was really invested in the characters. Plot twists and characters dying that I didn't expect.

What I didn't like.
It seemed like the author had a little bit of trouble keeping all the times synced up. In one point of the book he writes about the people in one city being x amount of days from the event, but then he would jump to another group of character and it didn't seem like they had made it that long into the time line.
One example was a group of refugees leaving Aruba, they leave one man with his family behind. Later while this group of refugees is still sailing, the man left behind has somehow ended up in Seattle, and for the likes of me I couldn't reconcile the time difference needed for this to happen.

Another annoying issue was the jumps in time. The book goes up to one year after the event. The author goes from the day of the event, to a week after the event, to a few months then finally one year in the epilogue. Yet I do not feel like he left a good clean line of events for what happens between the time period.

For example if your paying attention to the book you know who will be president of what is left at the end of the book. We get to the last chapter before the epilogue and we can see what is starting to happen. The epilogue takes place months later and the president is in power and somewhat settled in the job. It felt a little like seeing a batter going up, ready for the pitch and then the game jumping to the batter now standing on third base. Well you know how he got there, but none of the details.

Still I liked the book and plan on reading the other two.
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Aug 09, 2012 Mike rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, favorites, post-apocalyptic, alternate-history

The book is a “What if” type of book. What if something happened and modern day USA (along with chunks of Canada, Mexico, Cuba) were removed from the planet. An energy wave that wiped out humanity in that zone, but for certain areas on the mainland (like Seattle).

The year is 2003, USA is set to invade Iraq. Bush is in the White House, and General Tommy Franks is in command of the invasion forces. “Something happens” and Bush, along with 200+ million people, are dead. Saddam struts and parties e...more The book is a “What if” type of book. What if something happened and modern day USA (along with chunks of Canada, Mexico, Cuba) were removed from the planet. An energy wave that wiped out humanity in that zone, but for certain areas on the mainland (like Seattle).

The year is 2003, USA is set to invade Iraq. Bush is in the White House, and General Tommy Franks is in command of the invasion forces. “Something happens” and Bush, along with 200+ million people, are dead. Saddam struts and parties erupt in the Arab world (and in Paris). The work of Allah, a sign from God? Most of the USA military is outside the energy zone, though. The inner military command structure is in place, but civilian command is gone. What will happen in this what if world, a world where the remaining superpower is gutted and a power vacuum opens?

The book starts out strong and was a quick page turner. Quite interesting. Unfortunately there were some problems along the way. First, there were a huge number of characters to keep track of, who would take over the point of view of the story for a chapter. Second, the author seemed to break in the middle of scenes and then not continue until much later. There is one chapter that ends with a window in the process of being smashed. Five chapters latter the book turns back to this character and the window completes the process of breaking. By this point I had actually forgotten that story line. Easy enough to recall once the book returned to that story, though.

The third problem area, or issue, would be the ending. There is a tacked on epilogue that adds a feel of an abrupt ending. The book itself moves from day one of the event, to a month later, as time advances. The epilogue moves from a week later from the last chapter, to a year later.

Despite these flaws, I would highly recommend the book. The book was published in 2009. A further book in the series to come out in 2010. It isn’t relevant to the enjoyment of this book here, but I add that I attempted to read the second book in this series. I got a tiny bit into it before I had to stop. Thereby ending, for me, my reading of a particular author who had been growing towards possible favorite status. So, be warned. Enjoy Without Warning as a stand-alone novel.
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Jul 24, 2012 Deval Lee rated it 3 of 5 stars

The premise of this book is that during the buildup to the Iraq War in 2003, without warning, over 90% of America is wiped out without a trace by some invisible bubble. But this isn't no sci-fi book, because the bubble is the only indication of any kind of sci-fi element. The rest of the story does its best to ground itself in reality as what's left of America tries to rebuild itself along with the forces engaged in Iraq. But more than that, the story delves into what would happen to the world i...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Christopher Black rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I found this book immensely, well, amazing. Opening the pages transports the reader to a hellish alternate reality in which over 90% of the US is wiped out by a mysterious energy field on the eve of the US invasion of the Middle East that roughly a decade ago from present. Readers are transported to a world in which pirates now rule the seas with the US Navy now in pieces and distracted in it's efforts to pick up those pieces, in which countries like France and China are ravaged by rebellions wh...more

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Oct 15, 2011 Joe Nowak rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics, thriller, military, alternate-history

In this alternate history, the year is 2003, nearly 2 years after 9/11. Then comes "The Disappearance." Suddenly 90% of the mainland United States is no longer viable. All that's left habitable is Alaska, Hawaii, and the northwest corner of Washington state.

How this event affects the Americans left in the country and out is covered quite well. Overseas military assets are stranded. While the U.S. land mass still exists it is uninhabitable to primates. When a fire starts in a city, there's no on...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Roger Eschbacher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Described as a work of "alternate fiction", John Birmingham's "Without Warning" falls just inside the realm of science fiction, barely meeting that category description because of a deadly and unknown phenomenon that has scientists baffled.

A techno/political/military thriller in the best tradition of authors like Michael Crichton and John Clancy, it's a grand "what if" mashup that asks, "What would happen if the United States and much of North America was essentially wiped clean by some sort of...more

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Jul 18, 2011 Annmarie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-history, apocalyptic, fiction

Take one part clumsier Tom Clancy, add one part S.M. Stirling, shake it up with an anti-Muslim bias, and you get this 2009 novel by an Aussie. Set just days prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it's an apocalyptic read, full of military exploits.

A strange inexplicable energy wave abruptly covers most of North America and all mammalian life disappears or is melted into a pile of goo. At least I think it's all mammalian life; only humans are of concern in this book. Only the Seattle area, Alaska,...more Take one part clumsier Tom Clancy, add one part S.M. Stirling, shake it up with an anti-Muslim bias, and you get this 2009 novel by an Aussie. Set just days prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it's an apocalyptic read, full of military exploits.

A strange inexplicable energy wave abruptly covers most of North America and all mammalian life disappears or is melted into a pile of goo. At least I think it's all mammalian life; only humans are of concern in this book. Only the Seattle area, Alaska, & Hawaii are left of the U.S. states. Also most of Canada's populated areas, most of Mexico, and most of Cuba. There are a lot of narratives to follow, a bit too many for my liking: an undercover assassin woman working for the U.S. & embedded in France, a general at Guantanamo Bay, the city engineer in Seattle, a couple of hot babe pirates, and a former ranger journalist in Qatar. I think that's all of them. Anyway the storylines jump around and take place just after the event, then 1 week after, then 1 month after. They depict what happens to the rest of the world after the U.S. is effectively gone (except for most of the military and a few million expats). Chaos, lots of fighting, lots of brains and heads getting splattered, France really goes to hell (oh those Muslims and their cheese eating surrender monkey sympathizers- if you don't like phrases like that, don't pick up this book), the Arab world is entirely unhelpful and basically has no sanity or restraint whatsoever (but Israel is still around so don't be happy for too long, Arab world), and the U.S. military must step in to save those city goverment buffoons in Seattle who can't run their freaked out city without them. Olympia, Washington's capitol, seems to have survived but the governor and Seattle's mayor were out of state and apparently the rest of the Olympia legislative and judicial folk aren't worth bringing into the story. Neither is Vancouver, BC. Why would the two surviving major population centers in N.A., 3 hours away from each other, chat with each other. They're busy, after all. Luckily a few military folk and the city engineer are still interested in the Constitution, despite the unruly liberal military-hating Seattle populace and the ineffectual city councillors. Scientists suck and are useless in this book, but that Bill Gates, he's all right.

Can you tell this book annoyed me a lot? Still, it's action filled and has a coherent storyline, so it'll have its fans. Especially if they love the military. There are further volumes.(less)

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Nov 18, 2009 Jamie rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fans of "apocalyptic fiction", Tom Clancy, and Vince Flynn

Recommended to Jamie by: Amazon.com

Shelves: fiction, military, political, terrorism

Not your ordinary "apocalyptic" book.

Most "end of the world" or "return to the dark ages" books involve some sort of disease (The Stand) or nuclear war or financial collapse. This one is unexplained (yet - there will be sequels), yet elegantly simple. The "what if" in this case is: what if (by an as-yet-unknown method) the bulk of the United States of America went away? What happens to the world order without Team America: World Police (explicit lyrics warning)?

Very much in the style of a Tom Cl...more Not your ordinary "apocalyptic" book.

Most "end of the world" or "return to the dark ages" books involve some sort of disease (The Stand) or nuclear war or financial collapse. This one is unexplained (yet - there will be sequels), yet elegantly simple. The "what if" in this case is: what if (by an as-yet-unknown method) the bulk of the United States of America went away? What happens to the world order without Team America: World Police (explicit lyrics warning)?

Very much in the style of a Tom Clancy book, this story shifts all over the world: from France to Gitmo; from Hawaii to Kuwait; even the middle of the Pacific. The difficulty with reading such globetrotting books is that there is a lot going on in a short span of time. Therefore, it can be easy to lose the sense of how concurrent some events are and how much time went by between events. The way this long book handles that problem? Omnia libra est divisa in partes tres: the first section is the first 24 hours after "the event"; the second part is one week after; and the last third is one month after.

One of the most glaring drawbacks of this book is that once you're between the halfway point and two-thirds through, you begin to realize there is no way all these plot lines are going to be neatly tied up. In fact, it becomes quite obvious that you're reading the first book of a new trilogy (unless the author decides he's going to throw a huge twist and resolve it all in the most depressing way possible!).

The only other criticism is that you know certain characters will end up in certain positions or coming together in some way - there is a little suspense regarding the process by which this will happen, but not enough to really surprise you.

That said, there are some fun surprises along the way (who dies, who was involved in other things unbeknownst to the main characters), as well as some interesting "cameos".

All in all, it's best to know going in that you are reading the 1st of 3 books, and not a standalone book. Still, this was an interesting read, especially for Ameriphiles.

A better book I'd recommend along the lines of "rebuilding America from the remains": Executive Orders by Tom Clancy.(less)

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May 08, 2009 Clay rated it 3 of 5 stars

John Birmingham’s latest, “Without Warning” (Del Rey, $26, 510 pages), was written before America let loose a lung-deep economic cough, and the world caught a recessionary cold – after all, its basic premise is how much everyone would really miss us if we were gone.

The setup is this: All of a sudden, most of North America is covered by an unknown shield, from the ground up to tens of thousands of feet into the air. All animals under that shield, including human beings, die an instant death. In a...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Otherwyrld rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-thriller, science-fiction

Without Warning is a high-concept end of the world thriller, one in which the USA inexplicably disappears behind the Wave, a sci-fi mcGuffin that is never explained. Most of the book explores what happens around the world in the vacuum left behind by the absence of the superpower, particularly to the few million Americans that were either out of the country or were in the few parts not covered by the Wave (basically Seattle, Hawaii and Alaska).

The story is set in 2003, just before the invasion o...more Without Warning is a high-concept end of the world thriller, one in which the USA inexplicably disappears behind the Wave, a sci-fi mcGuffin that is never explained. Most of the book explores what happens around the world in the vacuum left behind by the absence of the superpower, particularly to the few million Americans that were either out of the country or were in the few parts not covered by the Wave (basically Seattle, Hawaii and Alaska).

The story is set in 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq, which seems an odd time to set it given that it was written in 2013. I would have thought a near future setting would have worked just as well. It did serve to have a higher proportion of the US military be out of the country at the time though. What happens in the aftermath of the deaths of hundreds of millions of Americans (and Canadians and Mexicans, but they don't count in this story), is horrific to say the least. Basically the whole world tears itself apart, with nuclear holocaust in the Middle East only being one thing that happens. How much you believe that this would happens will depend on whether you believe that the USA is the saviour of the world, the only thing that keeps it from disintegrating like this. I personally don't, but the author has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about and researching the possible consequences of such an event. Horrific as it might be, I actually think that something like this might happens, maybe not in the details but in the broad strokes.

When you write this kind of story, the only way to approach it is by taking it from the point of view of one person, or a few people, as the author has done here. When trying to tell this kind of story however, it is important to tell it with a wide variety of points of view, otherwise the story becomes unbalanced. This particular book is mostly told from the point of view of military personnel scattered around the world, so that needed balance just isn't there. There are a few civilians, but even some of them are ex-military. This point of view is fine if you enjoy listening to the American military being right-wing, racist, sexist and obnoxiously disparaging of just about everyone and everything else. I can't say that I am one of those people, and some of the things that happen in this book left me pretty disgusted. Several times I came close to just giving up, but ...

Somewhere along the line, I started to become invested in the stories of these individuals and what happens to them. I just had to keep reading to find out how their stories end, and I shall probably read the other two books in this series for the same reason.

So, the concept would be 4 or 5 stars, but the way in which it is told dragged it down for me, leaving it 3 stars (though saying I "liked" it would be the wrong word).

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Dec 04, 2011 Mike Hedley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Overall a good read, but there's a little too much suspension of disbelief required. The energy wave takes out "primates", what happens to other animals? What about people underground (the ones who survive nuclear attacks)? In the book, birds disappear near the Wave. Some of the geopolitics is suspect- the US is removed from the scene, conveniently, China dissolves in civil war, and the North Koreans are quiescent. Russia does very little except introduce martial law (what else is new?) and mean...more

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May 21, 2011 Paula Weston rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: popular, thriller

A world without America...
It’s a provocative idea to tackle in a novel, and definitely one guaranteed to attract attention.

Australian writer John Birmingham, when he’s not writing more literary fare like He died with a felafal in his hand, pens fast-paced alternative history thrillers. His latest is Without Warning, in which the vast majority of the continental United States is inexplicable covered in a giant wave of energy from space.

The result is the instant disappearance of more than 350 mill...more

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Aug 13, 2012 Sargeatm rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Positiv zu vermerken:
- Eine unverbrauchte Grundidee (auch wenn ich dieses Jahr mit "Darwinia" schon über einen vergleichbaren "Effekt" gelesen habe
- Eine wohl durchdachte Entwicklung, die ich persönlich nicht allzu schwer vorstellbar fand
- Routinierte Erzählweise, was die parallelen Handlungsstränge betrifft, auch wenn die Unterbrechungen manchmal etwas unglücklich sind
- Flüssig und gut vorstellbar geschrieben, könnte sicher leicht in ein Drehbuch umgewandelt werden
- Ein fieser Cliffhanger - Tei...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Schnaucl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, library, read_2011, series, march, post-apocalyptic

It's not technically post apocalyptic but close enough.

The book takes place in the run up to the second Iraq War. It's just before the invasion when a wave of energy of indterminiate origin cuts off all of Mexico, parts of Cuba, Most of the US except for Western Washington, Alaska and Hawaii and parts of Canada. Every living thing (excluding plants) within the wave vanishes.

It's very strange to read about actual people as minor characters (mostly the generals). The Seattle City Council members...more

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Jul 30, 2011 Patrick Nichol rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow, what a kick-ass launch to a new series from the alternate-history mastermind of the Axis of Time books.

On the eve of the Iraq war, a strange energy wave wipes out the Continental U.S., most of Canada, all of Mexico and half of Cuba.

People inside the wave are either incinerated or tuirned to goo, and the rest of the world is instantly thrown into turmoil.

The U.S., however, still moves ahead on Iraq, France devolves to civil war, England shuts its borders, and a small group of smugglers hold...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Paul rated it 4 of 5 stars

In Kuwait, American forces are locked and loaded for the invasion of Iraq. In Paris, a covert agent is close to cracking a terrorist cell. And just north of the equator, a sailboat manned by a drug runner and a pirate is witness to the unspeakable. In one instant, all around the world, everything will change. A wave of inexplicable energy slams into the continental United States. America as we know it vanishes. From a Texas lawyer who happens to be in the right place at the right time to an engi...more In Kuwait, American forces are locked and loaded for the invasion of Iraq. In Paris, a covert agent is close to cracking a terrorist cell. And just north of the equator, a sailboat manned by a drug runner and a pirate is witness to the unspeakable. In one instant, all around the world, everything will change. A wave of inexplicable energy slams into the continental United States. America as we know it vanishes. From a Texas lawyer who happens to be in the right place at the right time to an engineer in Seattle who becomes his city’s only hope, from a combat journalist trapped in the Middle East to a drug runner off the Mexican coast, Without Warning tells a fast, furious story of survival, violence, and a new, soul-shattering reality.

Genre wise, Without Warning could probably best be described as a bit of a hybrid. It takes the best elements from a standard Clancy-esque thriller as well as a nice, inexplicable science-fiction macguffin and throws them together to create a page turning mash-up of the two. Events begin to unfold in an alternate 2003. Large portions of the US Military are poised to invade Iraq when in a single second, 95% of the American population vanishes. In their place, is a huge impenetrable energy wave that covers most of the US mainland.

Chronologically, things are split into a number of sections that follow the moments leading up to ‘the Disappearance’, as it comes to be known, and its immediate aftermath. There are also chapters set a week after, a month after and finally, a year after. I was a little concerned at the prospect of this, fearing that these jumps were going to miss big chunks out of the plot. I needn’t have worried however, nothing feels jarring and the split over multiple time periods actually allows more ground to be covered. This allows for some good insight into the longer-term effects of the situation.

I was reminded a little of the premise from Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer, certainly events have a similar tone. An unexplained event occurs that effects the entire planet, and the story that follows covers various different reactions and perspectives to that event. It also feels like there is an episodic nature to the different strands of narrative, almost like you’re getting half a dozen short stories for the price of one. It’s particularly good when the separate character arcs intersect with one another. The moments when characters you are already familiar with meet for the first time is always fun.

The story focuses on various different section of society. Everything from the military, civilian infrastructure, crime and espionage get a look in. The author has obviously spent time considering how all these different facets of life would be effected. This attention to detail really pays dividends. Birmingham’s tale doesn’t shy away from asking difficult questions. How far will one country go to defend itself from potential aggressors in the absence of protection? Will economies survive when one of the world’s largest countries isn’t there anymore? Who should be in charge when the majority of a government are gone?

I like this approach. When it comes to apocalyptic fiction I want to get a sense that something HUGE has occurred. If everyone is effected by what is going on, I want to get glimpses of that. I always like when an author ensures that their apocalyptic action is truly globe spanning. Without Warning moves around all over the world following various characters, in the American Northwest, the Middle East, Paris, Cuba, Hawaii and even across the world’s oceans.

The chapters dealing with the situation in Paris are especially strong. Though not at the epicentre of the Disappearance Parisian society suffers just as much as everywhere else. The deterioration and collapse of society in the French capital is ultimately quite harrowing, things eventually devolving into something akin to civil war. Most of this is seen through the eyes of an American agent called Caitlin Monroe. Her realistic attitude and brutally frank assessment of how things are playing out is a real eye opener. She experiences some very grim moments and nothing is sugar-coated for the reader’s benefit.

On a larger scale, one of the most interesting aspects of this novel is the various political power plays that begin to play out. The global status quo has shifted in a split second and many people/governments quickly come to realise that the rules have changed. Some try to stave off the breakdown of society, while others attempt to grab as much power as they can for themselves. Old resentments bubble back to the surface, and in some cases escalate into all out conflict. America has often been described as being the bully in the playground when it comes to world events, but what happens when the bully is suddenly no longer there? Who steps in and fills the vacuum left behind? The events that occur in the Middle East offer some of the novel’s most jaw dropping moments. You can quickly guess where things are going when you hear phrases like pre-emptive strike getting banded about.

This book is the first in a series and its final moments are suitably cliffhanger-y, but also offer just the smallest glimmer of hope. Birmingham has an eye for action, but also knows how to leave a reader guessing which way things are going to go. Over the course of the six hundred odd pages of book one, I’ve came to empathise with some of the characters, Rhino Ross and Jed Culver are particular favourites. It’s the mark of any writer’s skill when they can create a story that is so massive, but still retain a human face on events. This series has the potential to be an apocalyptic classic and I’m very keen to find out where things go next. I’ll even admit a burning curiosity regarding the origins of the enigmatic energy wave.

Without Warning is published by Titan Books and is available now. The second and third parts of this series, After America and Angels of Vengeance will be available on 22 February.(less)

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Feb 11, 2013 Chris O'neill rated it 2 of 5 stars

John Birimingham is a chameleon of a writer. Cheerfully leftwing on his blogs and newspaper articles - but he really goes for the jugular in this potboiler thriller series. By 'disappearing America', he destroys one of the pillars of the earth, leaving just enough left of it (a lot of its military, in preparation to invade Iraq) to cause mucho problemo for everyone else.

Interesting conjecture, with the US as as a stabilising/moderating influence. Would Israel nuke Iran/Iraq/Egypt if they saw no...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Alanis rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, I liked the idea, and I liked the story but there were a few things I wasn't sold on.
This will try to be spoiler free.
The book is about the world trying to cope with 99.9 percent of the land mass of continent of North America being decimated by an event. The event kills everyone it touches in those places and keeps anyone from re-entering.
It is part 1 of what looks to be three major books and some online books the author has published.

What I liked
The story, and I was really invested in the c...more So, I liked the idea, and I liked the story but there were a few things I wasn't sold on.
This will try to be spoiler free.
The book is about the world trying to cope with 99.9 percent of the land mass of continent of North America being decimated by an event. The event kills everyone it touches in those places and keeps anyone from re-entering.
It is part 1 of what looks to be three major books and some online books the author has published.

What I liked
The story, and I was really invested in the characters. Plot twists and characters dying that I didn't expect.

What I didn't like.
It seemed like the author had a little bit of trouble keeping all the times synced up. In one point of the book he writes about the people in one city being x amount of days from the event, but then he would jump to another group of character and it didn't seem like they had made it that long into the time line.
One example was a group of refugees leaving Aruba, they leave one man with his family behind. Later while this group of refugees is still sailing, the man left behind has somehow ended up in Seattle, and for the likes of me I couldn't reconcile the time difference needed for this to happen.

Another annoying issue was the jumps in time. The book goes up to one year after the event. The author goes from the day of the event, to a week after the event, to a few months then finally one year in the epilogue. Yet I do not feel like he left a good clean line of events for what happens between the time period.

For example if your paying attention to the book you know who will be president of what is left at the end of the book. We get to the last chapter before the epilogue and we can see what is starting to happen. The epilogue takes place months later and the president is in power and somewhat settled in the job. It felt a little like seeing a batter going up, ready for the pitch and then the game jumping to the batter now standing on third base. Well you know how he got there, but none of the details.

Still I liked the book and plan on reading the other two.
(less)

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Aug 03, 2010 Dirk rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: entertains

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Mar 27, 2012 Angus Mcfarlane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, thriller

This is a hypothetical construct written in journalistic style documenting the stories of a number of characters after the eradication of most of the North American population with a mysterious, primate-lethal wave. There some serious points made amongst what is otherwise inept ended to be a fast moving ride. The fragile stability of the middle east is illustrated in a graphic manner, whilst the formerly secure situation of the remaining US ciities is also exposed as fragile once the foundations...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Lee Henning rated it 5 of 5 stars

It has been quite a while since I read a book I had trouble putting down. I usually read a couple of fiction stories per week. I really liked this story. It reminded me of the early Tom Clancy novels - when he was still writing good stuff.

The premise is a little weird - sudden unexplained event makes the population of most of North America and much of Central America disappear. But once you accept this, the post-apocalyptic story is interesting and develops through tracking the lives of several...more

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Aug 19, 2009 Tripp rated it 4 of 5 stars

If you like completely gonzo over the top alternate history, then you probably have already read or heard about John Birmingham. In his Axis of Time trilogy a US-led naval task force from 2021 finds itself catapulted back to 1942 where it quickly disrupts the timeline by accidentally sinking a good piece of the US Navy. World war 2 changes quite a but as you might guess.

His latest is even crazier. Without Warning starts a few weeks before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. For reasons unrevealed in t...more If you like completely gonzo over the top alternate history, then you probably have already read or heard about John Birmingham. In his Axis of Time trilogy a US-led naval task force from 2021 finds itself catapulted back to 1942 where it quickly disrupts the timeline by accidentally sinking a good piece of the US Navy. World war 2 changes quite a but as you might guess.

His latest is even crazier. Without Warning starts a few weeks before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. For reasons unrevealed in this book (part one of a new trilogy), most of the population of North America disappear. The area around Seattle, Guantanamo and southern Mexico escape but that is about it. As you can imagine, the world is initially stunned, but then the chaos starts. The world economy is shattered and the conflicts really heat up the world over.

Perhaps this was the only way to go, but the way the conflicts fall out reads like the neocon scare list. Again, it is not to say that what he comes up with is unreasonable, but it may sound a bit like the Corner at National Review when you read it. I don't think, especially based on some other plot lines, that Birmingham is advocating a particular political line here, but you will certainly take note of the fate of certain nations and locales.

The characters are a mixed bag, serving to anchor stories in Seattle, Cuba, Mexico, France and the Middle East. The character in France has the most exciting story. She is ultra secret assassin type who finds herself on the run in an increasingly nasty Europe. I liked the Mexico story as well which involves some smugglers becoming Han Solo-esque good guys as they assist refugees escaping the collapsing Mexican state.

I like how Birmingham ratchets up the action and chaos as the book progresses. I suspect the action will get even crazier in subsequent volumes (the next of which is titled After America). The book suffers from a bit of bloat, but this one feels much sleeker than the recent efforts of Turtledove, the reigning king of the genre.(less)

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Mar 17, 2010 Jed Lamprey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Interesting look at what might happen if the US suddenly was wiped off the map. A "wave" (really a shield) covers much of North America and almost all of the continental US, reducing any animal caught in it or that wander too close to it to an organic residue. This being 2003, most of the military is posted overseas for Afghanistan and about to invade Iraq. Aside from this "Alien Space Bat" (look it up on Wikipedia) beginning premise, the rest of the book is mostly handled realistically, though...more

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May 21, 2009 Lianne Burwell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: alt-history, thriller, library

It's hard to know how to review this book, since it's the first book in a series.

Basically, in March 2003, during the buildup to the Iraq invasion, a mysterious force wipes out most of North America (a handy map shows the extent) Basically, all that is left is Canada west of Edmonton, Alaska, Hawaii and the northern part of Washington state. Northern Mexico is gone, as is pretty much all of Cuba except Gitmo.

The consequences are very realistic. And I'm not just talking about the fires caused by...more It's hard to know how to review this book, since it's the first book in a series.

Basically, in March 2003, during the buildup to the Iraq invasion, a mysterious force wipes out most of North America (a handy map shows the extent) Basically, all that is left is Canada west of Edmonton, Alaska, Hawaii and the northern part of Washington state. Northern Mexico is gone, as is pretty much all of Cuba except Gitmo.

The consequences are very realistic. And I'm not just talking about the fires caused by things like cars that crashed when the drivers incinerated (basically, all primates are reduced to ash), resulting in a toxic cloud that affects the norther hemisphere the way a bunch of volcanoes going off would. No, there's concerns about nuclear power-plants go critical. Also, the US provides a lot of the world's food, so between that and the toxins, food becomes very short. The US dollar is a basis of much of the world's economy, as well as the US as the world's biggest debtor, so economies crash. People are panicked, which leads to the rise of totalitarian systems. The Middle East goes nuts, resulting in Israel taking extreme measures. Other countries move to take advantage as well.

The book follows a number of plotlines. There's the outpost at Gitmo, Pacific Command in Hawaii, the chaos in Washington State as they deal with the panic of the event wave being just on the horizon, a reporter in the Middle East who ends up working for the BBC out of Paris after the UK closes its borders, an assassin/spy in Paris who ends up in a world of hurt, and a group of smugglers who take over golfer Norman's yacht after it clips the even and ends up empty.

The stories of the reporter and the spy never quite mesh in with the rest of the book, but with at least two more books coming, there space for development. Ditto the smugglers who decide to use the yacht to transport rich americans who can pay to safer havens in Australia or New Zealand, and end up having to fight off pirates every step of the way.

All in all, the book has a lot of promise. Hopefully it will do better than the author's first trilogy, about a near future naval task force that gets transported to World War II, and how they change history as a result. I loved the first book, enjoyed the second, and was mildly disappointed by the third. But I'll definitely give this series a go.(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Susan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ugh and ugh again. I so love a post-apocalyptic tale, but this was all action movie all the time, with violent or gruff characters always dodging some kind of danger. An extended action sequence from those testosterone-fueled movie sequences that I usually fast forward through. This one is for the boys. Finished it hoping to find out what the weird wave that appeared and killed all living things within it was, but it is never revealed! Hate that. Lazy writing. (amended - I just noticed that this...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Sfmurphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Without Warning (The Disappearance #1)

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