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Without Warning (The Disappearance #1)

by John Birmingham

3.66 · rating details · 450 ratings · 96 reviews

In Kuwait, American forces are stacked up, locked and loaded for the invasion of Iraq. In Paris, a covert agent, a woman who inhabits a twilight of lies and death, is close to cracking a terrorist cell. And just north of the equator, a forty-foot wood-hulled sailboat, manned by a drug runner, a pirate, and two gun-slinging beauties, is witness to the unspeakable. In one in...moreIn Kuwait, American forces are stacked up, locked and loaded for the invasion of Iraq. In Paris, a covert agent, a woman who inhabits a twilight of lies and death, is close to cracking a terrorist cell. And just north of the equator, a forty-foot wood-hulled sailboat, manned by a drug runner, a pirate, and two gun-slinging beauties, is witness to the unspeakable. In one instant, all around the world, for politicians and peasants, from Gaza to Geneva, things will never be the same. A wave of inexplicable energy has slammed into the continental United States.

America, as we know it, is gone. . . .

WITHOUT WARNING

Now U.S. soldiers are fighting a war without command or control. A correspondent records horrors for no one. Washington is gone and the line of succession is in tatters; the functioning remnants of government are in Pearl Harbor, Guantánamo Bay, and one desperate, isolated corner of the Northwest. For the jihadists, it’s Allah’s miracle. For Saddam, it’s a chance to attack. Iran declares war on an America that doesn’t exist–except in the hearts and souls of the men and women who want it to.

In this astounding work of alternate fiction, John Birmingham hurtles us into a scenario that is unimaginable but shatteringly real: a world of financial ruin where a cloud of noxious waste–from America’s burning cities–darkens Europe, while men and women in offices around the globe struggle to make decisions that cannot hold and opportunists unleash their secret demons.

From a slick Texas lawyer who happens to be in the right place at the right time to a hard-working city engineer in Seattle who becomes his terrified city’s only hope, from the cancer-stricken secret agent to a drug runner off the Mexican coast and a U.S. general in Cuba, Without Warning tells a fast, furious story of survival, violence, and a new, soul-shattering reality. The first in an epic trilogy that will leave readers breathless and astounded, Without Warning offers a world without its policeman, its Great Satan, or its savior–as an unknowable future struggles to be born.(less)

Hardcover, 496 pages

Published February 3rd 2009 by Del Rey (first published 2008)

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Sep 26, 2011

Ashok Banker rated it

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 ...more

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Oct 15, 2011

Joe Nowak rated it

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...more

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Sep 17, 2011

Garth rated it

· review of another edition

The majority of the inhabitants of the USA are lost to a mysterious (and unexplained) phenomenon, and most of the world falls apart as a result.

“Think about what happens when you take the lid off Pandora’s box and everything that we forgot about in history comes spilling out to bite you on the ass. Do you know how unusual it is in human history, for children to grow up in a place like this? (Paris) Never knowing the fear of someone riding over the horizon to steal their family’s crops...more

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Jul 29, 2011

Roger Eschbacher rated it

· 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...more

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Jul 18, 2011

Annmarie rated it

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...moreTake 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

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 (expli ...moreNot 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

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...more

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Dec 04, 2011

Mike Hedley rated it

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?...more

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May 21, 2011

Paula Weston rated it

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 disappeara...more

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Mar 17, 2011

Schnaucl rated it

· 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 Seatt...more

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Jul 30, 2011

Patrick Nichol rated it

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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Aug 03, 2010

Dirk rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: entertains

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

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Aug 19, 2009

Tripp rated it

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 unr...moreIf 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

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...more

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May 21, 2009

Lianne Burwell rated it

Shelves: alt-history, thriller

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 ab...moreIt'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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Jan 05, 2009

Sfmurphy rated it

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

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Oct 10, 2011

Gill rated it

I liked Birmingham's previous AH trilogy so I thought I'd try this one too. It's an interesting way to consider some of the questions of liberty vs. security that have occupied us since 9/11 as well as the role of the US in the world which is widely despised nowadays, at home and abroad.

As someone who thinks Madeleine Albright was right then and now in her characterization of the US as "the indispensable country", I find Birmingham's examination of a world without the US to ...more

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Aug 14, 2010

Mark rated it

American armed forces are massed in Kuwait in preparation for the invasion of Iraq when news reach field commanders that a force-field of unknown origin, in the form of a energy cloud has descended on the North American continent. Most of Canada, Mexico and all but the western city of Seattle and the states of Alaska and Hawaii are rendered immobile. Further inspection from close quarters, via drone flights show that all living creatures in the cloud are dead, the bodies evaporated as in a demon...moreAmerican armed forces are massed in Kuwait in preparation for the invasion of Iraq when news reach field commanders that a force-field of unknown origin, in the form of a energy cloud has descended on the North American continent. Most of Canada, Mexico and all but the western city of Seattle and the states of Alaska and Hawaii are rendered immobile. Further inspection from close quarters, via drone flights show that all living creatures in the cloud are dead, the bodies evaporated as in a demonic rapture.

Five million Americans are left rudderless around the world as the Arab countries dance in the streets now that the Great Satan is leaderless. As the word spreads about the loss of American leadership, the world is affected by its own struggles for power. South American dictatorships take control of the Panama Canal to control shipping of oil and supplies, engaging in war with combined U.S. and Cuban forces off of Guantanamo Bay, as Australia and New Zealand prepare to take in American refugees that can make it to their shores. Israel uses nuclear weapons to maintain control in the Middle East, France is in the midst of a civil war, with several terrorist factions roaming Paris, picking off all-comers and England becomes a prison camp in an effort to cleanse the country of the ethnic groups that have supported terrorism in the Middle East.

John Birmingham’s protagonist is America, everywhere it can be found. Starting from the journalist embedded with the armed forces in Kuwait to the city engineer trying to keep the lights on in Seattle. And continuing on with the covert agent in mid-mission in the streets of Paris, to the general cut off from reinforcements in Cuba and the gun-runner, off-shore in his yacht and to the Texas lawyer vacationing in Hawaii. As the story moves towards its thrilling, inevitable showdown, each member of the protagonist force has an influence on the outcome of tomorrow’s world.

The conflict and tension on every page escalate in such a powerful way that they provide the type of rising action that will keep you spellbound through to the final word. Sit back and ride the bumpy rollercoaster as thrill after spill brings fear, revulsion, outrage and relief to your shell-shocked system.(less)

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Jul 23, 2011

Jen rated it

Shelves: australian, futuristic

Love John Birmingham's vision of "what if". Much of the USA is gone, disappeared behind "the wave" and this power vacuum leaves the rest of the world to try to come to terms with who will be top dog. Features a huge cast of rogues, villains and some more normal people, including the head of the engineering dept. at Seattle, one of the few American cities still left outside the wave. His usual trashy, fun read that actually makes you think of alternatives for the world poli...more

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Sep 10, 2011

Ruby Tombstone rated it

I've pulled the plug on this one early, which is really disappointing. I have a lot of respect for John Birmingham as a writer and a person, but I'm just not enjoying this book.
I've read a lot of post-apocalyptic fiction, and what interests me about that is always the human mental and emotional responses to societal breakdown. As my partner pointed out, this book is much more focussed on the geo-political fallout, than the personal level human repercussions of a major world changing event. ...more

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Jun 07, 2011

Kim rated it

An excellent peek at what could happen in the world when America crashes and burns. The story line is about an odd occurance that devastates most of the US then spreads around the world. How the world reacts to the anomaly is the focus of this book. An entertaining read that keeps you wondering who or what caused such devastation. There is a sequel to this book and I will have to read to hopefully find answers to some of the piercing questions. A good read that always leaves you questioning thin...more

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Jan 18, 2012

Nathan rated it

· review of another edition

Unexplained McGuffin wipes out the population of North America in 2003, leaving the world without its superpower and economic powerhouse. Chaos and collapse ensue. Full of good ideas about how the world would cope (or not) in such a situation, but Birmingham is a fairly lazy writer who doesn't really push it very hard and who goes for an easy technothriller stle in a number of the subplots. Still, lots of fun. A sequel is to follow, apparently (which makes up for the book just sort of stopping m...more

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Nov 11, 2011

Amblingbooks.com marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: available-on-audio, fiction

"Birmingham's ability to seamlessly merge the gritty realism of Tom Clancy with the raw speculation of Michael Crichton is like no other author I've ever read. Brilliant, nail-biting, thoughtful, and excruciatingly pertinent to our times, his latest novel Without Warning is simply a tour-de-force, a true classic in the making. It should be read by the entire world."-James Rollins, best-selling author of The Last Oracle and Map of Bones

Listen to Without Warning on your smartphone.

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Feb 09, 2011

Bayneeta rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio, fiction, science-fiction

Listened to this for a science fiction genre study group. Premise of a "wave" of energy wiping out most of the population of the USA, Canada and Mexico leaving the rest of the world to cope without us was intriguing. My main complaint was there were too many storylines going on; I'd just get interested in the female undercover assassin out to kill an Arab terrorist, and the story would move on to a city engineer in Seattle, or a general in Guantanamo Bay, or a female smuggler in the ...more

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Mar 06, 2011

Kael rated it

Without Warning was written by John Birmingham who is similar, in my opnion, to S.M. Stirling. In Without Warning most of the mainland US is wipped out by "the Wave." Now the survivors have to try and keep the rest of the US running while in two wars and not having a funcitional federal government. In Without Warning the author changed characters at major points to build suspense, this book also had a lot of action to keep you reading, and finally Without Warning was a good Sci-Fi/...moreWithout Warning was written by John Birmingham who is similar, in my opnion, to S.M. Stirling. In Without Warning most of the mainland US is wipped out by "the Wave." Now the survivors have to try and keep the rest of the US running while in two wars and not having a funcitional federal government. In Without Warning the author changed characters at major points to build suspense, this book also had a lot of action to keep you reading, and finally Without Warning was a good Sci-Fi/Alternative History book.
In Without Warning there were a few main characters they were Caitlin, Jules, General Musso, Admiral Ritchie, Jed Culver, James Kipper, and Bret Melton. None of these characters were relatable to me because all of them were older and most of them had some type of military expiernce and the others had the weight of the world on their shoulders. One thing John Birmingham did to keep up the suspense was to change characters which was good but it did start getting annoying but it also kept me reading which is what he wanted.
This book has a lot of action in it. If you like action books then Without Warning would be a good book. Much of the action thought is very graphic so i wouldn't suggest reading this book if graphic scenes in a book unsettle you.
Without Warning is a Sci-Fi/Alternative History book that takes place right after Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003 Iraq War) starts. That part of the book dealing with how the US handles the war is the Alternative History part. The Sci-Fi part is the huge wave that is covering most of the US, Canada, and Mexico. If you like either Alternative History, Sci-Fi, or Action books I would suggest reading Without Warning.
In Without Warning, John Birmingham does a good job of keeping the suspense by changing characters even if it did get annoying after awhile. Without Warning has a lot of action in the book and is never slow. It also is more than just one type of genre which will get more people into the book. This was a great book and I am happy i read it.(less)

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Jul 25, 2011

Alfredo added it

This is a riveting book for fans of post-apocalyptic thrillers. Even though the premise is pure science fiction, the science portion of the novel is fairly downplayed and the focus is instead on the several and scattered characters. This book kept me up till late and as I was approaching the end, I got positively nervous that no resolution would be shown, but it does end in a surprise revelation (which I saw coming in the first 50 pages), and a fascinating cliffhanger. I cannot wait until the...more

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Sep 24, 2011

Seán Gardner rated it

I just went looking for After America , the sequel to Without Warning, in the Kobo e-book store because I want to know what happens next. There were a few times, tough to resist, where I was at work and feeling very tempted to hunch over my desk with the book to get through another scene of this gripping book.

I loved the Axis of Time trilogy, although Birmingham wasn't able to maintain the same level of inexorable momentum through all three books. As an aside, the chapter of Weapon...moreI just went looking for After America , the sequel to Without Warning, in the Kobo e-book store because I want to know what happens next. There were a few times, tough to resist, where I was at work and feeling very tempted to hunch over my desk with the book to get through another scene of this gripping book.

I loved the Axis of Time trilogy, although Birmingham wasn't able to maintain the same level of inexorable momentum through all three books. As an aside, the chapter of Weapons of Choice detailing the arrival of the multinational fleet to 1942, dropping right into the midst of Admiral Spruance's fleet bound for Midway, and the ensuing confused naval battle, is one of my favorite scenes in literature.

Without Warning manages to keep the same edge-of-your-seat and desperate-to-know-more tension that the early parts of Birmingham's first trilogy established. It starts immediately, just before the onset of the Desert Storm invasion of Iraq in 2003, with a wounded and disoriented woman in a hospital bed in France, her confusion becoming more profound as news reports come over a TV of an energy wave that has destroyed most of the population of North America. The US military, almost entirely overseas when this event occurs and the most powerful force in the world, is suddenly adrift without any civilian government direction.

Just like that, the world's one true superpower is gone, and the dominoes start to fall. Without the US there to balance the scales, nations go to war, economies crash, populations starve and factions fight for control of governments. One real-life character, General Tommy Franks, sums it up: the US "is out of the world policing business."

Even the events you can see coming with the relentless slide of international relationships manage to shock. The fear of a tragedy happening is one thing (such as hurricane Katrina relentlessly moving toward New Orleans) but the reality of that tragedy happening is quite a different feeling. It's DREAD versus HORROR, and Without Warning manages to make the reader feel both these things.

Some of the characters are difficult to empathize with, such as Jules the smuggler, or Caitlin the black ops assassin, but others truly shine. The POVs of Admiral Ritchie and Seattle city engineer James Kipper are the standouts of the book. Ritchie in particular may have the most sphincter-tightening exchange of dialogue in the book when he meets with an Israeli ambassador.

In the end, the new world order to which the reader and characters are becoming used to is suddenly turned on end, setting up a sequel that promises, if not the same sense of desperation, a similar level of tension and shock.

Great book.(less)

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Sep 12, 2009

Morris rated it

What would happen if 99 percent of the United States population is suddenly destroyed? How would the rest of the world react to such a catastrophe? The year is 2003 and the United States military is preparing to invade Baghdad. The world is preparing for war. Before that war can begin, a mysterious “wave” appears over most of the continental U.S. as well as Canada and Mexico. All living things under the “wave” are no more.

I’ll have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about another...more

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Nov 18, 2010

Anthony Eaton rated it

So I'd popped up a rating for this one, but no review.

I'm a big fan of John Birminham's work - in many ways he's a writer's writer; he seems to be able to turn his hand to just about anything from journalism to blogging to edgy postmodern humour to (as in this case) the giant techno-thriller blockbuster. And he manages to do them all with equal craftsmanship.

Without Warning is simple in concept, but huge in scope: What would happen to the world if the USA vanished.

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Science Fiction > Alternate History

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Apocalyptic > Post Apocalyptic

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Science Fiction > Apocalyptic

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About John Birmingham

John Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He curren...more

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Without Warning (The Disappearance #1)

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