Whew. Just finished reading Black Autumn, and just had to throw my two cents in. I found the story gripping—I literally had to force myself to put it down to get work done and go to sleep. I thought the authors did a fine job of developing the characters—well enough for me to care for, identify with, and sympathize with most of them. That’s a tricky job, but I thought it was well-executed. The dialogue between characters was pretty skillfully delivered. The editing was excellent—I found no errors or typos to distract me. Through most of the book I found myself getting very agitated by the nurse—the character was so strident and argumentative that I found my teeth gritting and my indignation rising (probably because I’m a retired nurse and actually did know people like her)—but she was eventually redeemed, much to my relief. I did not find the fact that the authors wrote themselves and some of their friends into the book distracting; in fact, I admired them for it. I suspect they are revealing much of themselves and their worldview to the masses, and in this day and age that takes guts. As for the story itself, I found it sobering and informative, well-woven, and with enough humor to give the reader some relief. I expect some may disagree, but I thought the authors did a pretty good job of giving most of the characters a balanced storyline (people are of course complex, but this is a stark scenario, and truth can be both unflattering and compelling). And the “battle” scenes—I actually found myself breathing shallow and rapid, my heart literally pounding. I strongly recommend this book to all those who have an inkling that “something” could happen in our society that will change the world as we know it. Not so you can live in fear, but rather so you can make a conscious, informed decision about what you might want to do with that information. If you choose to ignore the possibility of a SHTF scenario, and one does happen, I think you need to be prepared to take responsibility for and make peace with that decision. On a lighter note, I found the “plugs” amusing (Front Sight Nevada, ReadyMan, Black Rifle Coffee)—hey, why not? Looking forward to the next book.
John N.