Ein großer Teil der USA verschwinden unter einer unerklärlichen Energiekuppel, innerhalb dieser transparenten Barriere scheint alles menschliche Leben verschwunden zu sein. Vor diesem Hintergrund entwirft der Autor ein Endzeitszenario, das die Stimmung des 11. September 2001 beschwört. Leider ist es ein überaus plumper Roman, der fast ausschließlich auf Gewaltdarstellungen setzt. Ärgerlich ist auch der allgegenwärtige naive US-amerikanische Patriotismus.

Wave that magic wand from Tea Party favorite Christine "I am not a witch" Odonnell, and presto a magic force kills 95% of the population of North America. The remaining Americans, dominated by overseas armed forces, show their pluck and fight the good fight to maintain a sense of American exceptionalism.

It's a fun read, with a quite singnificant suspension of disbelief, and you can appreciate (perhaps not agree) with the author's presentation of American conservative thought.

Recommended.

Entertaining fun.

Good fun thriller. Great plane reading.

What would the world look like without the USA? Pretty scary

Enjoyable book.

The book does drag a little at times as it follows a disparate bunch of characters who are totally unconnected and I kept thinking at some point they would coalesce but no that doesn't happen. The author tells a story of a potential other worldly event obliterating the mainland US but leaving the remainder of the world intact and then draws some potential conclusions as to the repercussions around the world, some of which are maybe plausible.
All in all an engrossing read.

When an energy wave wipes out most of the United States leaving only parts of Washington state, Alaska and Hawaii on the eve of the second Gulf War, the world is thrown into chaos as the global economy crashes and chaos reigns. John Birmingham describes this catastrophe with gritty realism.[return] The story is shown through the eyes of characters of many varied backgrounds including Military, Press and private citizens. All of which are superbly developed throughout the book. This book is very Clancy like in its concept but John Birmingham takes it beyond with a future looking eye. The book gives a glimpse of what a post-American world would be like and the ramifications on the world economy and power base. The story grips you from the start and never lets go. [return] The only down-side to this is that the book was written as part of a larger series and the end leaves a little to be desired. I feel that a tighter closing instead of a teaser for the second volume would have made my rating of this book 5 stars.

A real page turner. Looking forward to books two and three in the series.