Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse

The book has changed my life. Not in a spiritual way but in a simple way of attempting to have my family and home protected and ready to defend if society ever collapses. You think that could never happen, but then think about huricanne Katrina, or Riots or Wildfires. There will be a time in your life when 911 will not and cannot answer. Are you prepared for that day? ( )

All the reviews that I read before buying this book portrayed it as a collection of SOPs and valuable survival information made amenable through its novel form, not exactly what I think after reading it.

The valuable information and SOPs shouldn't enlighten anyone with, even the most basic, military/paramilitary/adventure training. And the fact that lots of paragraphs in the book are mere lists of equipment described to the point of listing the name of the company that produces the item and where it has its factories, besides being boring it amounts to little more than commercial catalog without pictures or prices, let alone the possibility of direct comparison between similar items or access to reviews from different users ... so internet would serve you better, and free, in this regard.

Even worse I found the novel side of the book rather annoying. I kept on thinking that it read like something cooked up by a teenager with not literature knowledge whatsoever, finding that the author works as a technical writer was not surprise.

None of the characters has any depth, and what's worse the oversimplified female characters border on insulting ... and this comes from someone with the right kind of piping not an old fashioned feminist.

To round it the book turns to every American redneck cliche in existence. The good guys are all christians that spend their days praying (***SPOILER something that apparently turns them into invincible holy warriors SPOILER END***) the bad guys are the Federal government, the UN, the communists, ze Germans ... at least the author could have included some evil Muslims to keep his hatred up to date. ( )

I listened to the first chapter of this book. The narration was fine. However, the book gave the impression that it was written by a right wing, bible-toting, militaristic kook, and so I lost interest. I looked the author up and found this to be the case. ( )

Basically a survivalist manifesto - what to do to survive an apocalyptic event - with a little bit of story wrapped around the details of which guns to purchase, how to gird your house with shutters and extra thick doors, etc. Mr Rawles seems to know his stuff, and has actually written a survival manual, which no doubt is great (I haven't read it). But as far as stories go, this one wasn't well written. The characters are caricatures, the detail is tedious, and the moral of the story seems to be that Americans should never lose the right to bear arms because guns will ensure their survival if society breaks down. ( )

Essentially a thin plotted survival manual the book had promise but would have benefited from a good editor. There way way too much detail in some parts and not nearly enough in others. There are also some parts of the book that seem oddly dated given the 2009 pub date. ( )