Very impressive story! I'd say this is a great man's read. I enjoyed it immensely because I like stories like this rich in detail. At 600 pages it is chock full of information about weapons (all sorts of guns, ammo and such), cars and what models and how to fix them to make them run, fighting tactics, and general survival techniques.This guy (who wrote it) REALLY did his homework on how to make things work after an EMP. There is a slight bit of romance...not an actual thread but woven in, but it's more of a character sketch of the main protagonist Mark. I'll tell you! Amid the murder and mayhem, the writer David Crawford made me laugh out loud more than once! Just the way he had Mark thinking and talking at times was laugh out loud funny. The snark really was perfect as a tension reliever.I gave it a 5-star because of the supreme amount of data and research contained in it...and the story was well done too! I would have liked a little more at the end, but I think that's just because after 600 pages I wasn't ready to let go of the characters. I let some of the cheesy dialogue get a pass because the rest of the book was so well done, and I wouldn't want someone to miss it because of that.Well done! LIGHTS OUT is one of my favorite what if books. Yes, it started off as an Internet narrative story that was put into book form. It does have a few rough edges as a result. I did not find these nearly as distracting as some readers did. I found this story to be gripping and immersive right from the start. This is the story of several people who end up banding together and creating a community as civilization falls apart in the aftermath of an Electro Magnetic Pulse attack on the United States. This is a very real threat and the consequences would be disastrous. Several people with various survival skills put together a fortified town and deal with the rise of gangs and of having to deal with the growing breakdown of civil order. People had to learn to grow food and defend themselves. The characters are well developed and I cared about their fate. I found the ending to be very satisfying.As is also true of the novel ONE SECOND AFTER, this story presents a very compelling portrait of what could happen and what the consequences would be. I have heard from reliable military sources that three well placed EMP bursts would knock out over 90% of the computers in this country. That would be a nightmare. Here's hoping this doesn't come to pass.I definitely recommend this book.
What do You think about Lights Out (2000)?
This is the kind of book you just hate to finish because its so good. Best in its class.
—Jkaunda
