One Year After by William R. Forstchen
Two years have passed after nuclear weapons exploded above the United States, bringing the country to its knees. The story starts one year after One Second After concludes. The survivors of Black Mountain, North Carolina, are starting to reclaim the modern conveniences they once took for granted, such as electricity, radio communications, and medicines, after months of suffering from malnutrition, battle, and untold numbers of deaths. They dare to dream that a new national administration is finally taking shape when a “federal administrator” shows up in a nearby city.
When town administrator John Matherson finds out that the majority of the local youth are going to be enlisted in the “Army of National Recovery” and transported to trouble zones thousands of miles away, that hope quickly fades. He and the residents of Black Mountain fiercely object. Yet, “the New Regime” is already oppressing one neighbourhood. Will Matherson’s neighbours and friends be the next?
One Year After by William R. Forstchen
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The follow-up, One Second After, focuses on how the total destruction of our electrical infrastructure would drastically alter our lives in the first year following an EMP attack. Many experts believe that at least 4 out of 5 Americans would die in the months following the devastation of our country caused by the explosion of just a few small nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, which then destroyed our electrical infrastructure. Literally a year after the conclusion of his first book, One Year After picks up the plot. The author investigates “what happens next,” a query that almost all of his first book’s readers had.
The fact that we made it through that first horrific year is one thing, but Forstchen now takes us to a whole new level… we made it through, but what the hell do we do? Do we let our country continue to deteriorate and eventually vanish? Do we leave a society in ruins for our offspring and grandkids, just as the Roman empire’s ancestors did while living in poverty and gazing around at the ruins? Or do we form a group and begin to try to rebuild?
Forstchen poses a great question: Exactly how do we rebuild?
Should we pull up our sleeves and get to work, or do we sit back and wait for FEMA to come and save us someday (it is evident that Forstchen must have been thinking about Katrina and Sandy while dealing with this question)? One non-spoiler narrative point I will reveal is that John Matherson, the main character, has an infected tooth as the story begins. This book should be read while having a toothache and considered by anyone who has the delusional nostalgia that life must have been easier and hence happier in the “good ole days”!
That alone prompts Forstchen, a history PhD with a focus on the history of technology, into an intriguing subplot in which she wonders whether there is enough local knowledge to produce anaesthesia, painkillers, and the antibiotics we take for granted.
It is just one of many things Forstchen asks us to consider, and it demonstrates once more how we take for granted the wonders of contemporary technology. The book also shifts away from the harsher topics of hard day-to-day survival that he talked about in book one and toward political problems of how to rebuild.
Following retired U.S. Army Colonel John Matherson’s journey to restore some semblance of civilisation in the wake of an EMP attack on the United States of America, “One Second After” is a thrilling, action-packed, and thought-provoking sequel to Mr Forstchen’s (well deservedly) bestselling, groundbreaking, dystopian EMP novel. Another reminder of the need for our country to begin EMP preparations right away.
The Nation is still in a state of chaos when the story is set two years later. In actuality, chaos reigns throughout the entire world. Being a former service member, John Matherson must use diplomacy while also using his military expertise. a plausible illustration of the consequences of EMP weapons. This sequel is suggested if you enjoyed One Second After.
