The Borrowed World: A Novel of Post-Apocalyptic Collapse

Quite good, the author has a gift for drawing scenes and life-filled characters. Truly believable story with many unfortunate violent incidents. Yes, I will be gathering supplies now, we know any day could be the day the shtf.I will be reading the next book!

The story is just starting and is really good. I enjoyed the interactions with various characters and think some scenes were absolutely perfectly written. The majority of the people want structure and security without knowing how to get it on their own. The storytelling here is top notch. A definite recommend!

Didn't know how I'd like this one but it was a great read. Spoiler alert for those who don't want to know what's in the book.This one starts with Imran ul-Haq. He's from Syria and he lives in the US where he has an extremely lucrative business as a plastic surgeon. Haq is watching the History Channel. A program about the failing infrastructure of America.Haq buys six DVD of the program and sends them to his brother who's a jihadist in Syria. The DVD's that give his jihadist brother and idea that takes six months to bring to fruition.Haq gets a coded message from his brother, pulls up stakes and heads back to Syria. Haq just brought about the ruination of America with the help of the History Channel and jihadist cells that have been in America for decades.Jim Powell and his co-workers are at a meeting in Richmond, Va. Its a drive he's made many times in his twenty year career with his Govt job.Powell wakes up in the morning to find the power is out in his hotel. Doesn't take long to figure out something has happened. After looking out his window he sees that traffic lights aren't working. In fact it looks like nothing electrical is working at all.Powell checks his iPod to find that America is under attack. Seems fuel refineries, a dam and electrical transformers have been attacked and blown up all over America. The infrastructure is down all across America.Powell tries to call his wife at home but the call won't go through. He texted her and gets an answer that they still have power but she doesn't know whats going on. Powell sends her instruction on what to do.Powell is a prepper and he has his go bag with him. A go bag that's designed to save his life and he decides he needs to go home now.The others in his group agree after a shootout at the Hotel where one of his co-workers is killed after a round his her in the head. He and the others make it to one of their vehicles and head for home. Home which is 500 miles away. Powell has to shoot a guy with a lug wrench who tries to get into the car with them.His coworkers, Gary, Alice, Rebecca and Randi are appalled at what Powell did. Powell could care less. If he needs to kill to get home then that's exactly what he will do.On the Powell home front, Ellen, Powell's wife, gets out the red folder and reads Jim's instructions. She and her two kids Pete and Alia do exactly what the instructions in the folder say.The Powell home is almost a fortress with loads of food, a generator and loads of ways to beef up security. Security they will need when other try to take what they have.So begins a damned fine read.This one has Jim, Ellen, Pete who grows up in one big hurry, Alia, Gary, Randi, an Alice and Rebecca who decide to wait for the FEMA bus to take them to a camp, Jims mother and Father, a group of losers in a trailer park who want what others have, and Ellen who has no problem killing to protect her home and kids, a hike on the Appalacian Trail after the vehicle runs out of gas, gas that's impossible to beg, borrow or steal, a meeting with hikers who have no idea what's happened, two hikers Katie and her boyfriend who decide to accompany Jim and his group, to men on ATV' s who have robbed and killed other hikers, two men who try the same with Jim and his group, two men who have no idea that Jim, Gary and Randi are armed, the family out for revenge, death, murder, a Town called Crawfish and Jim Powell doing his best to stay alive get home.Five Stars

This is one of the easiest reading and well constructed book I have read in a long time. Excellent work that will keep you guessing and you will try to actually following the paths of the characters. Lots of "gotcha" moments you were expecting and keeps you intrigued throughout. Blew through it in one day.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was great. It separated itself from others in the ''lights out'' disaster genre by way of its characters. I was especially happy not to see ''escaped prisoner'' and ''motorcycle gang'' scenarios, which are way overdone in this genre. Hope it holds for book 2. The main character comes off as a bit dour and unhumorous sometimes, and his co-workers can be a bit too naive to believe at times. Overall, I liked it, especially the use of the Appalachian Trail. Things I didn't like were the paternalistic tone. There are always two kids and the older is always to boy. I don't know if it's a failure of ego or imagination to imagine an older sister being able to protect and take care of her family the same way a 12 year old boy can. The mom even seems to be a bit clueless at times, relying on the boy to tell her what to do. Not my experience with moms at all. The other thing that bothered me was the whole ''undeserving poor'' getting ''government handouts'' because they are too lazy to work. I started reading this book days after hearing testimony of how Elon Musk would beg President Trump for ''handouts'' for his business. Musk, being CEO of 3 companies, yet has time to tweet all day, every day. It always pisses me off when people call taxpayers money being used for taxpayers benefits as ''government handouts.'' You have it all wrong. The government gets handouts from people's paychecks every week, not the other way around. But, overall, I would recommend it and plan to read the second volume.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Unlike many post-apocalyptic writings, it avoids the following tropes- "good prepper who is infallible"; "Mexican or black people moving into rural areas and causing issues"; "all women need rescuing"; and "all villains are cartoonish caricatures." It also largely avoids the prepper fiction mistake of getting deep into brand names for types of items- the "He took his Cold Steel Razor Tek 5" blade knife and cracked open a freeze-dried case of Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee, pouring the mixture into his Solo Stove mug he'd picked up at Sportman's Guide."The main character is flawed human being who both helps others and drives folks away through his actions. It's relatable for anyone who's ever dealt with a stressful situation while trying to process grief. The major characters are all likable enough that you want to see them do well and succeed, but they aren't meant to be stand-ins for your own actions or biases, and they definitely make mistakes that real people would.The world-building is strong, and the remainder of the series continues it. Highly Recommended- easy to read and get lost in the stories and world Franklin has built.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very well developed and you could feel for them every time something happened and they were in danger. There was a lot of action and it kept me reading to find out what happens.

Quite a different view point to this novel. It follows just a civilian who. Is a prepped when disaster strikes when he is away from home. You follow his story and his family he is trying to get back to. Most others I have read along this line the characters all have had military experience he doesn’t.

Outstanding book, well written and totally absorbing storyline. I became so engrossed in the story that I didn't notice if there were any typo's. I do hope there is a sequel to the book as I would like to know if the characters make it back to their homes and if Jim's family remain safe.I won't detail the storyline as other reviewers already have, safe to say if you want to read a PA story that is very thought provoking and outlines what would happen immediately after a collapse of society this is a book for you.

Absolutely phenomenal book almost addicting I couldn’t put it down he definitely won’t be sorry if you buy it

I have read upto book 6 and I thoroughly enjoy the series, strongly recommend to anyone who enjoys the genre.