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• Edited to add: this very short impression of Dr. Forstchen's One Second After is based on the reading of it as a novel, and as I mention on the next page of the thread, I am a harsh critic when it comes to fiction. I read upwards of 90 novels each year, and typically find only three or four among them that I think are well written and finely crafted.
  
  One Second After should probably be classified as an important book. It's well-researched subject matter is chilling and eye-opening. On that basis I'm glad I read it. However....

Just finished One Second After by William R. Forstchen. A very thought-provoking and well-researched book.

But as a novel, it pretty much sucked eggs.

William R. Forstchen is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina.

The first-person protagonist of his novel is John--SURPRISE!--a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina.

John is a colonel in the U.S. Army, was a step away from earning his star, but Forstchen has no actual military experience. And it shows.

Forstchen also has no MFA degree. Obviously. To say this novel is stilted would be to ask Shaquile O'Neal to walk around on 10-foot-tall stalks of balsa wood. The dialogue is interchangeable: no distinguishable intonation or character: anyone could have spoken anyone else's lines. And am I the only one who was put-off by John's two-pack-a-day smoking habit? A U.S. Army Colonel in the 21st Century? Really?

Good premise; good research. Thought provoking.

Alas, written by a history teacher, obviously so, and written poorly. Not written by a novelist.

I won't be reading anything else by William R. Forstchen because life is far too short for mediocre writing. How he sold two follow-up books to this C-grade novel, I will never know.

One second after.................what?

What is the premise of the story?

Joe

I liked it. Great, thought provoking premise.

"Good premise; good research. Thought provoking."

And what is wrong with that? I read it years ago and passed it along to The Wife, who reads at least two books a week. Neither of us, for what it is, were inclined to trash talk it afterwards. Altho she hated the eventual disposition of the dog.

Edited to answer: "One second after.................what?" At least a couple of coordinated EMT attacks on a not-so-fine Friday afternoon.

Skiprr wrote:Just finished One Second After by William R. Forstchen. A very thought-provoking and well-researched book.

But as a novel, it pretty much sucked eggs.

William R. Forstchen is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina.

The first-person protagonist of his novel is John--SURPRISE!--a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina.

John is a colonel in the U.S. Army, was a step away from earning his star, but Forstchen has no actual military experience. And it shows.

Forstchen also has no MFA degree. Obviously. To say this novel is stilted would be to ask Shaquile O'Neal to walk around on 10-foot-tall stalks of balsa wood. The dialogue is interchangeable: no distinguishable intonation or character: anyone could have spoken anyone else's lines. And am I the only one who was put-off by John's two-pack-a-day smoking habit? A U.S. Army Colonel in the 21st Century? Really?

Good premise; good research. Thought provoking.

Alas, written by a history teacher, obviously so, and written poorly. Not written by a novelist.

I won't be reading anything else by William R. Forstchen because life is far too short for mediocre writing. How he sold two follow-up books to this C-grade novel, I will never know.

It is not a literary masterpiece - it is however a chilling warning about a real threat. Forstchen wrote the book to warn the people about the seriousness of this threat.

I find your assessment amusing that because the author lacks a Master of Fine Arts degree that he is unqualified to write a best seller.

JRG wrote:One second after.................what?

What is the premise of the story?

Joe

http://www.onesecondafter.com/

http://www.empcommission.org/index.php

I read "One Second After" and am now working on reading his sequel "One Year After"

Another book with a similar perspective is Christian author Blackstock's "Last Light"

chasfm11 wrote:I read "One Second After" and am now working on reading his sequel "One Year After"

Another book with a similar perspective is Christian author Blackstock's "Last Light"

There's a sequel to "One Year After" out already, and I've read all three. Good stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Final-Day-Novel- ... cond+after

Also recommend "Lights Out" (same premise - EMP), but Texas specific. https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David ... Lights+Out

The Annoyed Man wrote:Also recommend "Lights Out" (same premise - EMP), but Texas specific. https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-David ... Lights+Out

Thanks! I'll add this one to my reading list.
Finished "The Final Day" and currently reading this first novel by Ben Shapiro:
https://www.amazon.com/True-Allegiance- ... 8&qid=&sr=

Greybeard wrote:"One second after.................what?" At least a couple of coordinated EMT attacks on a not-so-fine Friday afternoon.

EMP.... I'm certain this was an autocorrect error... very funny though... Made me think of Zombie EMT's

I read that one...it seemed very similar to one I read about 15 years ago but the cause was solar flares. It was a Christian author with a not too vague Christian slant...need to remember the title of that one...

LOL...Solar Flare by Larry Burkett

Skiprr,

Thank you for your review.

I am a fan of good to great writers.

Mediocre, not if I can avoid.

I'll quit a book if the writing is second-rate.

My time on the mud ball is limited.

I don't care to spend it reading poor quality writing as I tend to edit such and that drives me to distraction...

I am also reading an interesting philosophical treatise about how we currently look at history, and how we ought to. It's called "The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell us About America's Rendezvous with Destiny".

I read it last year and thought it was pretty good. Definitely thought provoking and made me rethink allot about my health and (although I'm not a prepper) how I should prepare for an emergency.