Title: Prepper: Book 1
Author: Tom Abrahams
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Publisher: Piton Press, LLC
Format Read: Kindle e-book
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction
The premise of Prepper absolutely reeled me in. Jack Warrant was just an ordinary suburban father of three. He owned a construction business, had a loving marriage, and life was good. Then the unthinkable happened. The lights went out. Everywhere. The world as he knew it began to collapse, and he soon realized how dangerous desperation can make people, and that perhaps there is more to us, for better or worse, than we believe.
The plot is undoubtedly this novel’s greatest strength. I felt compelled to keep reading even after encountering some pretty glaring editing errors. The scenario feels frighteningly plausible, and it was unsettling to realize just how unprepared my own family would be if something similar happened. Abrahams’s writing is fast-paced, cinematic, and highly accessible. He blends practical survival details, natural dialogue, and steady tension into a story that’s easy to sink into and hard to put down.
Unfortunately, I do have a few quibbles. I found the structure somewhat clunky. The story begins in 2008, jumps ahead to ten days after the blackout, then rewinds to the day everything goes dark and remains there for the rest of the novel. I understand this is the first book in a series, but I expected the narrative to at least catch up to that opening timeline, so the structure felt awkward to me.
The characters’ motivations are realistic, and readers will generally root for them. However, because the novel is so plot-driven, I never connected with them as deeply as I would have liked. While they serve the story well, I found many of them a bit flat.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with Prepper, but I think it reinforced that I prefer character-driven fiction over plot-driven fiction. Readers who enjoy apocalyptic survival stories may find a lot to love here.
Nerd Rating: 🤓🤓🤓— Compelling, despite its flaws
Click here to find out more about Tom Abrahams and Prepper.
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