Several months ago, I read One Second After, by William R. Forstchen. My initial purpose of reading this novel wasn’t to review it on ArmsVault. In all honesty, when I selected the book, I didn’t know enough about it to even think it involved firearms. So, why have I decided to review it now, months after reading it? Simple! I can’t stop thinking about it.
I know that may seem a bit dramatic. But, hear me out on this one…
Pick a time during the middle or your work day. Let’s say, 1:00pm. Now, imagine that without any warning, everything that uses electricity stops working. If you are driving 70 mph down the interstate, your engine shuts off and your power steering ceases to work. If you are in an airplane, you plummet towards the earth. If you are in surgery… well, you get the point.
Now, as bad as this may seem, things are actually much worse (this doesn’t apply to those on the aforementioned airplane). You have no way of knowing this, but the United States has been attacked. Someone has detonated an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) weapon a couple hundred miles above the United States. Life as we know it, is over.
This scenario is exactly what the characters in One Second After are faced with. The doom and gloom starts off slow enough. But, with each passing day, the terrible reality of what has happened, and what will happen, begins to show itself.
I don’t really want to dwell on the details of the story. You will just have to trust me that the story is well written. What I do want to dwell on is the following:
- The possibility of an EMP strike is quite real!
The book’s Forward, by Newt Gingrich, and the Afterword, by Captain William Sanders, U.S. Navy, will give you some insight into this. To me, the most alarming part is that the technology required to pull off a devastating EMP strike is within the reach of many terrorists groups. - As bad as you think an EMP strike would be, it is actually much worse!
Ok… maybe I shouldn’t speak for you. But, I will tell you this… as I read One Second After, my eyes were opened to how devastating an EMP strike would be. When you stop to think about what would happen if all electronic-based equipment were rendered useless, the reality of it becomes mind-boggling! - Most of us are NOT even slightly prepared!
One Second After does a great job of showing just how unprepared we are. Of course it would be impossible to be totally prepared for such an event. But, there are a few things we could all do that would certainly help better prepare us. And I’ll give you a hint… Should anything like this occur, many of us will be grateful we live in a country that values the Second Amendment.
By now, you have undoubtedly gathered that I am a fan of this novel. I can honestly say that I have never read a book that inspired so many thoughts, and conversation, months after reading it. One Second After is entertaining, eye-opening, and absolutely terrifying.
One Second After, by William R. Forstchen is available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Get it now.