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Collision Course
Two men, DJ Frost and Gabe Horne, have their preparedness skills and their survival instinct tested as they help each other navigate the new world order after the Smasha global political and economic breakdown. Original. 50,000 first printing.
339 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 25, 2012
Evidentially I pre-ordered this since it showed up on my Kindle the other day. I loved Lights Out, which made me think I would love this one. My biggest complaint, 610 pages @ $7.99 for "Lights Out" versus 352 pages for $9.99 with "Collision Course". There went the first star.
Overall the book was good. Characters developed. Plot progressed. I kind of feel like several things were a bit over the top. It's hard to say what things without spoiling the plot or ending. I am sure I will never read this book again, which loses it a star, I immediately deleted it upon finishing. I had several times when I said out loud "Come on seriously?"
The more I think about it the more I want to make it 2 stars. Let's compromise with 2.5 and I can get in with my life.
December 21, 2018
I've been on a little apocalyptic reading kick lately. Books set during and just after an apocalypse have been showing up in my to be read pile. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the current political nonsense we are living in. I do not believe we are doomed, but the stories draw me in.
This one is fairly simple. We focus on two men, Gabe and DJ. Gabe left the city for the simpler life in the country with his wife and child. After losing them to an accident, Gabe became the town drunk. DJ lives in the city. He's a mall cop because he want to be in law enforcement. Law enforcement doesn't want him. He has been preparing for the collapse of civilization, and now that it has come, he travels to his prepared hideout. The fall of civilization has given Gabe a reason to live and be a better man, a leader even. The fall has given DJ the freedom to be his natural violent self.
DJ used to have a group of like minded people who were building the hideout with him, but there was a falling-out. DJ buried his supplies when the rest of the group decided to stop playing and sold the property. It just so happens that Gabe bought the property to be the dream home for his family, while he still had them. The men meet on the property, and it doesn't go well.
The story was written well, if a little simple. It could easily been fleshed out more, but I think it made it's point. The fall of civilization is a very bad thing.
This one is fairly simple. We focus on two men, Gabe and DJ. Gabe left the city for the simpler life in the country with his wife and child. After losing them to an accident, Gabe became the town drunk. DJ lives in the city. He's a mall cop because he want to be in law enforcement. Law enforcement doesn't want him. He has been preparing for the collapse of civilization, and now that it has come, he travels to his prepared hideout. The fall of civilization has given Gabe a reason to live and be a better man, a leader even. The fall has given DJ the freedom to be his natural violent self.
DJ used to have a group of like minded people who were building the hideout with him, but there was a falling-out. DJ buried his supplies when the rest of the group decided to stop playing and sold the property. It just so happens that Gabe bought the property to be the dream home for his family, while he still had them. The men meet on the property, and it doesn't go well.
The story was written well, if a little simple. It could easily been fleshed out more, but I think it made it's point. The fall of civilization is a very bad thing.
June 9, 2014
Hate Ending
I was totally engrossed in this novel, but despised the ending so much I screamed foul. I get the author's idea, but for me it was not satisfactory. I doubt I'll read more of his books.
I was totally engrossed in this novel, but despised the ending so much I screamed foul. I get the author's idea, but for me it was not satisfactory. I doubt I'll read more of his books.
February 12, 2014
badly written.. obvious (and sad) ending ..
August 16, 2013
***SPOILER ALERT***
This is a good catastrophe book, a few things left out in my opinion - for one, the economy and everything collapsed, but only in our country. I find many authors tend to leave other nations out - but if we are left weak and defenseless because our economy has caused the entire country to collapse, does anyone seriously believe other hostile countries are just going to be like "oh, poor them, let's leave them alone." But okay, enough of what I found to be a huge mistake.
You meet DJ first, a security expert (in his over-inflated mind) who has prepared for the collapse. He's got a place to go hide out, with supplies. His plan seems somewhat sound, but things begin to happen along the way, and we find that he's not necessarily an expert or a good person. I've known cops like this and I was wary of him at first, but as I read more, I really really did not like him.
Then you meet Gabe, a mean drunk with a painful past. His neighbors are good people and are trying to help. Things aren't always what they seem, for either of these characters.
This was a good book, I sped through it, always a good sign. I only gave it four because of the missing mention of other nations - I just felt like this was a huge hole. Read the book. :)
This is a good catastrophe book, a few things left out in my opinion - for one, the economy and everything collapsed, but only in our country. I find many authors tend to leave other nations out - but if we are left weak and defenseless because our economy has caused the entire country to collapse, does anyone seriously believe other hostile countries are just going to be like "oh, poor them, let's leave them alone." But okay, enough of what I found to be a huge mistake.
You meet DJ first, a security expert (in his over-inflated mind) who has prepared for the collapse. He's got a place to go hide out, with supplies. His plan seems somewhat sound, but things begin to happen along the way, and we find that he's not necessarily an expert or a good person. I've known cops like this and I was wary of him at first, but as I read more, I really really did not like him.
Then you meet Gabe, a mean drunk with a painful past. His neighbors are good people and are trying to help. Things aren't always what they seem, for either of these characters.
This was a good book, I sped through it, always a good sign. I only gave it four because of the missing mention of other nations - I just felt like this was a huge hole. Read the book. :)
January 1, 2024
This was not a particularly good book. The only reason I picked it up to read is that the author had written a previous book “Lights Out” that was a 5 star great book. It was sort of the same type of background story but the characters were immensely better.
The government has collapsed, the economy in ruins, the power grid is gone, no gasoline, and all of the big city Liberals are fleeing from the out of control crime plaguing the urban areas.
There are two main character in the book. One is a security guy and someone who plans for disasters. He loads up his 4-wheeler with supplies and guns and head out to the country where he has some land for hiding out. He starts out as a decent fellow but turns out to be a bad person.
The second character is a fellow living in a rural area with an alcohol problem. But a next door neighbor, a decent looking woman, reforms him and he leads his little town in a recovery effort. They block all the roads coming into town to keep trouble out. No soft on crime speeches are being made.
Eventually these two character meet at the end of the book but I cannot tell you what happened. It wasn’t good.
Maybe 2 Stars for this one.
The government has collapsed, the economy in ruins, the power grid is gone, no gasoline, and all of the big city Liberals are fleeing from the out of control crime plaguing the urban areas.
There are two main character in the book. One is a security guy and someone who plans for disasters. He loads up his 4-wheeler with supplies and guns and head out to the country where he has some land for hiding out. He starts out as a decent fellow but turns out to be a bad person.
The second character is a fellow living in a rural area with an alcohol problem. But a next door neighbor, a decent looking woman, reforms him and he leads his little town in a recovery effort. They block all the roads coming into town to keep trouble out. No soft on crime speeches are being made.
Eventually these two character meet at the end of the book but I cannot tell you what happened. It wasn’t good.
Maybe 2 Stars for this one.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2013
This book isn't bad and Crawford tells a pretty entertaining story. The novel starts out a little formulaic, with a survivalist-type protagonist (the dude on the cover) making preparations to get out of a major city when an apocalypse hits. His escape is pretty thrilling. On the other hand, a town drunk is on a bender, and doesn't even realize that the world has ended. His backstory is heart-breaking, and he has every intention of drinking himself to death. The events that follow the apocalypse, though, determine a very different destiny for him.
Unfortunately, both protagonists are not fleshed out well. They are 2.5 dimensional characters, and even though we are supposed to, it's hard to make an emotional attachment to either. This is especially true with the supporting characters.
In the end, this is a good book to read if, for example, you received it as a Christmas present.
Unfortunately, both protagonists are not fleshed out well. They are 2.5 dimensional characters, and even though we are supposed to, it's hard to make an emotional attachment to either. This is especially true with the supporting characters.
In the end, this is a good book to read if, for example, you received it as a Christmas present.
June 25, 2016
2 1/2 stars for this book, but I couldn't give it 3.
The writing was not the best I've read, with rather choppy sentences. The dual point of view was great, but I found it switching a bit too often, making it hard to settle in to either story.
If you really like end of the world type fiction, this is worth a read, otherwise just pass on it.+
The writing was not the best I've read, with rather choppy sentences. The dual point of view was great, but I found it switching a bit too often, making it hard to settle in to either story.
If you really like end of the world type fiction, this is worth a read, otherwise just pass on it.+
April 3, 2018
Giving it 1 star because of one half of the ending, did not sit well with me
June 14, 2025
You never know how things will turn out. I read this book in one sitting and felt the darkness creep in. I mean with most end of civilization works, the hero knows it all. But in real life, it does not work that way at all. Enjoyed the book, just not happy with the ending. Also, did not see it coming. Recommend.
February 27, 2021
Did not enjoy as much as previous book I read by author
Seemed to stop just as the characters were starting to come into their own, but not fully developed. The storyline left a lot to be desired as well.
Seemed to stop just as the characters were starting to come into their own, but not fully developed. The storyline left a lot to be desired as well.
May 14, 2024
Si lo cogéis pensado que es una novela de supervivencia, os equivocáis. Si hay un colapso, pero la trama del viaje, fluye entre dos personajes muy distintos y en direcciones morales distintas. Mas bien un thriller
September 12, 2014
I personally believe that this book had a wonderful plot, but it all fell apart. The writing wasn’t up to par with any of the current writers out there. Crawford uses a very limited vocabulary and it’s quite boring to sit through 300+ pages of that.
Having two main characters was a brilliant plan from the start. You had DJ and then you had Gabe.
Two characters on completely different ends of the spectrum, yet somehow... They collide.
I just feel as if the author didn’t try his best to make both stories and characters develop. He focused too much on Gabe, and left DJ to dry.
I despised the main character. DJ was not a good guy, nothing he did was really morally justified, and he was just a dick. Plain and simple.
Didn’t hate the book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Having two main characters was a brilliant plan from the start. You had DJ and then you had Gabe.
Two characters on completely different ends of the spectrum, yet somehow... They collide.
I just feel as if the author didn’t try his best to make both stories and characters develop. He focused too much on Gabe, and left DJ to dry.
I despised the main character. DJ was not a good guy, nothing he did was really morally justified, and he was just a dick. Plain and simple.
Didn’t hate the book, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
January 11, 2013
If you are an extreme right-wing survivalist suffering from paranoia and fears out of control government due to economic collapse and who doesn't mind piss-poor narrative then this novel is for you. Poorly developed characterization, contrived story line, and a downright depressing ending.... and a few hours I will never get back.
Do not read this book!!!
Do not read this book!!!
February 28, 2013
I really enjoyed this book, the characters had me rooting for them sometimes and disliking them other times. I liked the premise of the story which is very believable. I must say most books I read I usually figure out how they are going to end but this one was an unexpected surprise that provided an ending that was perfect for the book. I recommend this book as a must read!
February 4, 2017
Book was OK. Not what you would normally expect. Well written although publisher had quite a few typo's in my copy.
October 24, 2013
Nothing near as good as his first book, Lights Out.
November 24, 2012
Good book. Not quite the ending that I had imagined... but still, good. Wanted to give it 3.5 to 3.75 stars, so I rounded up to 4 stars.
May 16, 2013
Don't bother. If you liked Lights out you will be sorely disappointed with this book.
September 23, 2013
I hate when I finish a book I really like and I'm finishing thus one at 2am because I couldn't sleep until I finished it. Big fan of this author.
January 5, 2014
Great story, but the ending was not what I had expected and the author left to many open questions. I am not even sure if he left room to write another book.
January 7, 2016
3.5 stars. Characters were okay but things just did not ring as "realistic" as other end of the world/prepper books I've read- it was just too simplified. Ending was awful.
October 2, 2015
mild interest, bad writing.
October 25, 2015
Just goes to show that being the best prepared may not be the best plan.
August 9, 2016
I started out loving this book and by the end I hated the main character. I guess it was really well written because I got so invested in it but since it ended horribly, I hated it.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews