Part of Emberverse, book 1
First published 2005
Mike Havel watches helplessly as his chartered flight's engines die over Idaho. Below him, every car has stopped dead on the highways. The white flash that erupted from an electrical storm over Nantucket has killed more than electronics. Gasoline won't burn. Gunpowder won't ignite. Steam engines won't work. In minutes, the modern world has ended. Cities become death traps as millions face starvation without power, transportation, or communication. Havel must lead his small group of survivors through a landscape where civilization crumbles by the hour. Meanwhile, other groups struggle to build new communities from the ashes. Some turn to cooperation and democracy. Others embrace tyranny and violence. As winter approaches, the survivors face a brutal choice between their humanity and their survival in a world where the old rules no longer apply.
Genres: adventure, action, alternate-history, apocalyptic
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Idaho, Nantucket
Period: Modern
573 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Ace