Posted: 3/11/2023 9:28:33 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Romano316][Edited]
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Survival forum, Hopefully this isn’t a dupe. Forstchen is set to release the fourth book in his ‘after’ series, release date is August 22nd, 2023. Attached File Did you read his first three books? What did you think about them? Will you buy and read this? I read the first three a few years ago and enjoyed them. I think some survival fiction intentionally tries to be too gritty and comes off as unrealistic, but I think he got this series right. I will definitely buy and read this one, probably on kindle, because that is the format I have the other three on. |
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Liberty is meaningless where the right to utter one's thoughts and opinions has ceased to exist. That, of all rights, is the dread of tyrants. It is the right which they first of all strike down. They know its power. F. Douglass
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TBH, the first book was a great "IT ALL FAILS!"/worst-case scenario grid down book. The repeated lessons that it's less about what you have horded and what firepower you have, and much more about the community you are (or are not...) a part of, that determines your survival chances, were all well-laid out. After the first book....it gets farther and farther away from "how do we live?" and more into a generic freedom fighting/conspiracy story. I'd have preferred him to have deleted the Click To View Spoiler, and just done more story about the town/region/continent putting itself back together (or failing to do so). |
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Originally Posted By Fulcrum-5: TBH, the first book was a great "IT ALL FAILS!"/worst-case scenario grid down book. The repeated lessons that it's less about what you have horded and what firepower you have, and much more about the community you are (or are not...) a part of, that determines your survival chances, were all well-laid out. After the first book....it gets farther and farther away from "how do we live?" and more into a generic freedom fighting/conspiracy story. I'd have preferred him to have deleted the Click To View Spoiler, and just done more story about the town/region/continent putting itself back together (or failing to do so). I think you are correct on all counts. While life on their mountain was great (ETA: before the collapse) it was terrible for survival (growing things) and a bunch of people starved. |
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I read one second after in one sitting. I was a brand new dad and the deal with his daughter hit hard. I don't know that I read the second book (did they fight a biker gang in it?) I'm certain that I didn't read the third. |
"Freedom is a messy business." - LaRue_Tactical
I am a sack of blood, held together by un-tanned leather. . .
I am a sack of blood, held together by un-tanned leather. . .
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Originally Posted By DFARM: I read one second after in one sitting. I was a brand new dad and the deal with his daughter hit hard. I don't know that I read the second book (did they fight a biker gang in it?) I'm certain that I didn't read the third. The biker gang was book 1. |
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Originally Posted By WoodHeat: I think he overplayed the EMP impacts, but the books were fun. Yeah, there's a few close-range EMP devices that can disable vehicles....but a high-altitude burst would leave most of the small-engine/vehicular stuff still operational*. The primary risk is to the grid and other such large "antennas". Still pretty much TEOTWAKI stuff. We'd be a decade recovering (if we managed to stave off a total collapse). *-until the ready-to-hand fuel supply goes dry. |
 CIA Spy Explains The Likelihood of An EMP Attack in the United States |
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weak spoiler, kinda not really but... Click To View Spoiler |
"They want you dead but will settle for your submission" - Malice
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Did Forstchen forget that John has an adult daughter? EDIT......Finished the last book: Nothing happens. What a disappointment. 90% of the characters (still alive) from the previous books (including John's surviving daughter from his first marriage) are MIA in this one. Not even mentioned. |
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Originally Posted By Fulcrum-5: Did Forstchen forget that John has an adult daughter? EDIT......Finished the last book: Nothing happens. What a disappointment. 90% of the characters (still alive) from the previous books (including John's surviving daughter from his first marriage) are MIA in this one. Not even mentioned. Yea. Not the best of the series. |
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Originally Posted By Fulcrum-5: Did Forstchen forget that John has an adult daughter? EDIT......Finished the last book: Nothing happens. What a disappointment. 90% of the characters (still alive) from the previous books (including John's surviving daughter from his first marriage) are MIA in this one. Not even mentioned. Well, w/ that spoiler I'm not sure I need to finish reading it. 
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Originally Posted By Cacinok: Well, w/ that spoiler I'm not sure I need to finish reading it. I tried not to spoil anything specific. It's just not a "real" story. Forstchen is obviously bored with the series and wrote this to tie it all up, or because he wanted a paycheck (hey, I don't blame him for that, he's written me enough entertainment, over the years, that I'll give him a pass on this). Literally nothing* happens, and Forstchen couldn't bother going back over his own notes (which is why most of the characters are MIA). First book is still among the best of the genre. *-That's not code for "it's boring". I mean that literally nothing happens and the big issues of the storyline (all of which are introduced in this book) are dealt with "offscreen". |
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I would call it global scale/ strategic decisions/ consequences with minimal action, where the other three had substantial action near their climax. Think of it as like a military progression: books 1-3 John is the battlefield commander, in book 4 he is making the decisions in the situation room. ETA: surprised this thread has gone a year now. ETA: added possible spoilers to thread title. Originally Posted By Fulcrum-5: I tried not to spoil anything specific. It's just not a "real" story. Forstchen is obviously bored with the series and wrote this to tie it all up, or because he wanted a paycheck (hey, I don't blame him for that, he's written me enough entertainment, over the years, that I'll give him a pass on this). Literally nothing* happens, and Forstchen couldn't bother going back over his own notes (which is why most of the characters are MIA). First book is still among the best of the genre. *-That's not code for "it's boring". I mean that literally nothing happens and the big issues of the storyline (all of which are introduced in this book) are dealt with "offscreen". |
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Boom: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/famke-janssen-one-second-after-mpi-1236516618/ Famke Janssen will star in the upcoming MPI Original feature film, “One Second After.” Based on William R. Forstchen’s novel of the same name, “One Second After” takes place during the aftermath of an electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States. The film explores the collapse of society, the struggle of individuals and communities to survive without modern technology and infrastructure and the resilience of humans in the face of a harsh new reality. Janssen will play Mayor Kate Lindsey, a political figure who takes over during the crisis. She is joined by Josh Holloway (“Duster,” “Lost” and “Yellowstone”) and Hannah John-Kamen (“Thunderbolts*” “Ant-Man and the Wasp”). Sounds like it'll have little or nothing to do with the novel's story. |