The Perseid Collapse by Steven Konkoly

The Perseid Collapse is a post-apocalyptic/dystopian EMP thriller and the first book in the series of the same title written by Steven Konkoly.

Six years after the H16N1 virus ravages the world, Alex Fletcher, his wife Kate , daughter Emily and nephew Ethan are onboard the Katelynn Ann in Maine in their traditional family bonding. First comes a flash bright enough to turn night into day, followed by a gust of wind strong enough to knock out windows, then a tsunami. Though the catastrophe is publicly attributed to an asteroid hitting Earth, all evidence indicates detonation of thermonuclear device causing a massive EMP event.

With his son Ryan far away in Boston, Alex has to find a way to get him and take the whole family to a safe place until the situation calms down. Doing that, however, is not as easy as it sounds, and it would only get worse.

The book started out as a very suspenseful read. Not only was it exciting, it was also informative. How Alex weighed his options on which was safer, easier and more beneficial to the group gave an insight on how to act on such conditions. Moreover, the book gave sound advice on what and how to prepare for calamitous events. I loved how the author made the characters work together for a common goal, to save their children and go to a safe place.

The book depicted what desperate people could do: how far they were willing to go and what they were willing to do to save themselves and their loved ones. This was a portrayal of the world in chaos, where the armed were the law and the unsuspecting and the gullible perished.

Though I enjoyed the book for the most part, I found the later chapters, with all the military talks, too technical for me and I found myself starting to lose interest in the story. The ending was also not as satisfactory as I hope it would be. Still, it was one great read.    

Congratulations to Steven Konkoly (@stevenkonkoly) on such a great book! Click HERE for more books by Steven Konkoly.