Patriots, a Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse follows a group of survivalists after an economic, societal, and governmental meltdown in the United States of America. This book left me conflicted. How do you like a book that isn’t very good? I still don’t know, but I do. As a novel it stinks, but as an interesting resource jam packed full of knowledge it was engrossing. Imagine if your chemistry text book in high school had instead been written as a novel, where the characters wander through a convenient story which provide them multiple opportunities to teach. Sign me up for that class! From tactical strategy to blood type compatibility to homemade explosives this book has it all.

While the scenario, characters and events all unfold in a natural sequence, it still seemed manufactured. I was left with no sense of the character’s motivations. At some points there are twelve people living in one house with no mention as to their personal relationships with one another. They are only ever just a group, doing x y z.

Patriots falls quite heavily on the guns n ammo side of the survival equation, and the lengthy, detailed, never ending descriptions of EVERY firearm in the ENTIRE BOOK will wear out your patience. (Unless gun descriptions get you hot, in that case this book is tripple X.) I also recommend preparing in advance for the awkward and cliched dialog so your brain doesn’t get hurt stumbling through it. One of the best reviews I’ve ever read suggested you know you are reading a fantasy book when there is a map at the front. Well, you know you are reading a survival book when there is a six page glossary of military acronyms at the back. I did enjoy the quotes at the beginning of each chapter; I loved seeing Gene Roddenberry in there with Shakespeare and Thomas Jefferson. For your daily survival fix I highly recommend checking out the author’s fantastic blog, survivalblog.com. If you can’t survive after reading this book you just aren’t trying.