Apocalypse Law 2

Apocalypse Law 2 by John Grit is the second book in the series following the Ex-Army Ranger, Nate, as he struggles to keep his family safe in a post-apocalyptic world. This is a very fast paced and enjoyable read. Nate is a humble, reluctant hero that in many ways is the post-apocalyptic version of John Rambo. With Apocalypse Law, John Grit brings me back to the action movies of my younger years that I remember so fondly. Being vastly outnumbered and overpowered by an unrelenting, extremely violent group of ex-military raiders, Nate is forced to pull out all of the stops and resorts to using some “unconventional” weapons in defense of his farm. Nate and his female fighting companion, Deni, are truly stretched beyond their limits as they take on this gang of marauders. While you might be tempted to see this story line as cliché, Apocalypse Law 2 is full of surprises and will hold your interest until the end. If there is a post-apocalyptic action sub-genre (which there may very well be, excuse my ignorance), the Apocalypse Law series would certainly rate at the top of the list!

The Old Man and the Wasteland

The Old Man and the Wasteland

The Old Man and the Wasteland, written by Nick Cole, follows a man as he searches the wreckage of the post apocalyptic world for “salvage”.

The story is set 40 years after a nuclear attack which has destroyed modern civilization. References to the attack indicate that it was carried out by terrorists and that most of the cities in the US have been destroyed. The characters have minimal information about what happened to the rest of the world, however, the lack of foreign intervention implies that the rest of the world has suffered a similar fate.

The story is told through the Old Man, whose most treasured possession is Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea which is frequently referenced throughout his inner dialogue. In a quest to restore his injured pride, The Old Man travels far outside of the known territory near his village and enters “The Wasteland”. While I can’t comment much on the references to Hemingway’s book, which I haven’t read, The Old Man and the Wasteland is an interesting story with a number of original, or at least renewed ideas. For example, the Old Man stumbles upon messages or hieroglyphs, that survivors have welded into underground steel culverts, as a guide for future civilizations.  My favorite part of the story involves a modern tank versus a “Horde” of primitive, bloodthirsty cannibals which, in itself, makes this book is well worth reading.