While I wait (impatiently) for book #6 of the Sanders Saga, someone suggested I read this stand-alone novel. I'm glad they did.

This one came close to five stars, which I rarely give. Great unusual characters, skillfully developed and a well thought out plot. Once I started reading this, I gave up on all my chores & just binge read the entire book. An excellent mix of prepper and post-apocalyptic story

Editing: some errors, rarely so glaring that it stops the flow of the book
Sex: Implied, not graphic
Violence: There is fighting, skirmishes, death. Only a couple scenes would I put into the possible gory category
Page Turning Factor: Extremely High
Other notes: I don't remember the cursing being a huge factor in the book - sure there was some, but not constant. Religion - yeah, Christianity/Bible was in there, but not so much that it will turn folks who don't like that theme against the book. More just a couple of paragraphs here and there, easy to skim/skip. ( )

Male fantasy. The main character is strong, respected, a great shot, gets the girl quickly and easily, thinks of all the best ideas. The female characters are subservient and fall easily into the roles of cooking, cleaning,sewing and raising kids. ( )

I enjoyed this book (though in places it is a bit gory) and would have rated it higher except for the high number of errors that permeated it. It is also a long book. I liked that Billy is not the perfect protagonist hero but that despite his disabilities, he is able to be an effective leader. I wish I could say that if something like this happened in real life, that most groups would be more like Billy's and less like the groups in Franklin or at the Wal-Mart, but I suspect that the groups that prey on the weak would proliferate in such an environment and outnumber those that tried to help each other. ( )