Publishers Weekly
08/28/2023
Forstchen’s dull fourth postapocalyptic thriller featuring army veteran John Matherson (after 2017’s The Final Day) doesn’t take long to run out of steam. Five years after a devastating electromagnetic pulse attack knocked out power in the U.S. and led to the country’s dissolution, the New Republic of America, headed by President Robert Scales, is trying to reunite the fragmented nation from its headquarters in Raven Rock, Pa. Dying of cancer, Scales calls on his friend John Matherson—the republic’s nominal VP, who’s been running a college in a nearby small town—for help. Matherson takes a meeting with Gen. Joshua Lawrence at the Raven Rock facility in Scales’s stead, only to learn that Lawrence is running a better-supplied operation to seize control of the country. Lawrence hands Matherson a letter for Scales, demanding the New Republic of America’s unconditional surrender to Lawrence’s forces within 48 hours. The prospect of a violent civil war isn’t the only peril Matherson has to grapple with: a short time later, he learns that a deadly virus, rumored to have originated in China, has reached local shores. Two-dimensional characters and a ridiculous denouement make Forstchen’s vision of the future difficult to swallow. Readers intrigued by the premise would be better served by Elliot Ackerman and Adm. James Stavradis’s 2034. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Five Years After
“The future has never seemed more chilling or more believable than in Five Years After, a riveting dystopian page-turner from one of the masters of the genre. As you descend into the world that William Fortschen creates, you absolutely know that this is how it could all turn out. But as you root for the characters who inhabit his world, your faith in the human spirit will be restored.”
—William Martin, award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Constitution and December '41
“Forstchen is a rare storyteller who not only entertains, but also conveys a vital message. He reminds us how much we’ve forgotten—how to subsist, how to fight, and how to live. Five Years After is a veritable guidebook for surviving the apocalypse—and better yet, how to avoid it.”
—Ward Larsen, winner of eight major awards and USA Today bestselling author of Deep Fake
“With One Second After, William Forstchen redefined and elevated the genre of apocalyptic fiction. Now, with the release of Five Years After he raises the bar once more. John Matherson faces his most diabolical antagonist yet, when he he's thrust into a deadly game of wits when a secret cabal of government survivors unleash global holocaust. To save the world, John must embrace the unthinkable, and live with the consequences forever. This is edge-of-the-seat fiction at its finest!”
—Kathleen O'Neal-Gear and W. Michael Gear, award-winning, New York Times bestselling authors of The People of the Earth series and Dissolution
Praise for the John Matherson series
“The only thing more terrifying than this masterfully crafted story is the possibility of it actually happening—and not a damn thing being done to protect us.”
—W.E.B. Griffin & William E. Butterworth IV, New York Times bestselling authors, on One Second After
“Forstchen is the prophet of a new Dark Age. The wise will listen.”
—Stephen Coonts, New York Times bestselling author, on One Year After
“A riveting cautionary tale.”
—Booklist, on One Second After
“An entertaining apocalyptic thriller.”
—Publishers Weekly, on One Second After
Praise for 48 Hours
“William R. Forstchen is the master of real-world apocalyptic fiction, and his latest 48 Hours is a story that should be read by all—not just as a riveting piece of fiction but also as a cautionary tale of humanity at the edge. Here is a book that should be on everyone’s shelf, a guidebook to the end of the world.”
—James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Demon Crown
“When you’re done with this one, you’re going to ask yourself: Is this possible? Can it really happen? Here’s the scary part. Not only can it happen, it already has, only this time it’s going to be far, far worse. A surreal treat.”
—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author
“When the sun blasts the earth with two life-extinguishing explosions of solar rays, humanity is suddenly brought to the brink of utter annihilation. What will we do? The reader will race through this stunning, electrifying novel all the way to its final, shocking conclusion and come back begging for more.”
—William S. Cohen, New York Times bestselling author and Former Secretary of Defense
