Voyage After the Collapse Released this Week

Voyage After the Collapse, (Book III of The Pulse Series) was released this week in both the Kindle Edition and in paperback. The Pulse Series will continue with a forth book early in 2016, after the release of the third book in The Darkness After Series.

Here are the links to both editions of Voyage on Amazon:

Kindle Edition

Paperback Edition

Kindle Daily Deal for The Darkness After

Just a heads up to let you know about a special deal good today only on one of my older novels from 2013.

The Darkness After (Book I of The Darkness After Series) has been chosen by Amazon to be featured among today's Kindle Daily Deals. This means that the book will be discounted from the publisher's list price of $6.99 to the low price of $1.99 for the entire day (September 23, 2015) until approximately midnight PDT.

If you've read my nonfiction survival books or my novels in The Pulse Series but have missed this parallel series set in the same scenario, today is a great time to pick up Book I cheap. The Darkness After and Book II of this series, Into the River Lands have gotten great reviews and many of my readers are asking for the third book. There will be a third and maybe more in this series. I'm working on Book III along with Book III of the The Pulse Series and hope to have it available by the end of year as well.

Don't miss today's Kindle Daily Deal on The Darkness After for $1.99!

Voyage After the Collapse (Book III of The Pulse Series)

This is a quick note to let all my readers of Bug Out Survival know that the third installment of the ongoing series that began with The Pulse is my next book coming down the pipeline. Voyage After the Collapse is available for preorder on Amazon now (Kindle Edition only, at this point). There will be a paperback edition as well, of course, and it will probably be available sometime in November or early December when the ebook is actually released.

BOOK III OF THE PULSE SERIES—A STORY OF SURVIVAL IN THE AFTERMATH OF MASSIVE SOLAR FLARES THAT DESTROY THE POWER, COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORTATION GRIDS, BRINGING ABOUT A DESCENT INTO LAWLESS CHAOS AND UNBRIDLED SAVAGERY.

The crew of the sailing vessel, Casey Nicole has endured a harrowing ordeal on the dark waterways of the coastal swamps near New Orleans, but Artie Drager has escaped with what he came for—his only daughter, Casey.

They are free of the mainland but still too close for comfort. Now the crew of six aboard the big catamaran must plot a course and set sail into the unknown, hoping to find a place where the impact of the electromagnetic pulse was not so severe. Where that will be, they have no way of knowing. Did the solar flares impact the whole planet, or just the parts of the Western Hemisphere they have seen?

Voyage After the Collapse is a passage of hope into an uncertain future, leaving the terror of the U.S. mainland astern in the wake.

You can reserve your Kindle copy by preordering at the Amazon link below, where it is listed for $3.99 from now until release. You won't be charged until the release date when the book is delivered to your reading device. (Good know in case a real pulse hits first, rendering your ereaders useless!)

Preorder Voyage After the Collapse (Book III of The Pulse Series)

As I've mentioned before, you can get these book updates faster and before anyone else if you sign up for my newsletter by simply entering your email address here:

http://scottbwilliams.com/blog/newslettersignup/

Ghost Knives Banshee D2

I've recently been carrying a super compact and lightweight fixed blade knife called the Banshee D2, by Ghost Knives. The knife is so small and light that at times I've forgotten I had it on me. If you're looking for a handy, small fixed-blade for everyday carry or to keep in a bug-out bag or daypack, the 6.11-inch over-all length and 1.8oz of the Banshee D2 won't be a burden and will make a fine addition or backup to whatever larger blades you may already carry. 

Ghost Knives Banshee D2

While the 2.38-inch blade won't do everything you might need a knife for, having a small, but sharp, high-quality fixed-blade available at all times is certainly not a bad idea. With it's secure Kydex sheath that can be attached to a belt, pack strap or carried in a pocket with a paracord tether to a belt or belt loop for one-handed draw, the Banshee D2 is quick to bring into action when a folder might be too slow or awkward to deploy.  

The unwrapped Banshee D2, showing the skeletonized handle.

The D2 steel blade is flat ground and comes to a drop point. The sample I received from Ghost Knives was shaving sharp right out of the box. The entire blade and skeletonized handle are coated with corrosion-resistent Cerakote. While you can use the Banshee D2 as is if you prefer the feel of of the skeletonized handle, Ghost Knives includes a length of black paracord for handle-wrapping, which gives a secure, more comfortable grip. The paracord wrap is actually fire cord, with a flammable strand inside that along with the included micro-flint, can aid in fire-starting in an emergency. 

In the Kydex sheath, the Banshee D2 is easy to grab and because the sheath is identical on both sides, lacking clips,  it can be worn on either side and in whatever position you prefer.

My use of the Banshee D2 has so far been mostly limited to slicing open UPS boxes and such, but as small and light as it is, it will be going with me on some upcoming fall camping trips and will likely see plenty of use in the field. I can see carrying it whether hiking, kayaking or canoeing, or riding my motorcycle or bicycle, as there is no reason to leave it at home, really. 

The Banshee D2 is 100% made in the U.S.A. and is reasonably priced at an MSRP of $79.99.  You can save a few dollars off list and get it for $74.99 from Amazon.

If you're not sure what to do with the included handle-wrap cord, here is a video tutorial featuring this very knife with simple instructions on how to wrap a skeleton knife handle with 550 paracord.

 

EDC Lights and Knife from James Williams and CRKT

I received some fantastic products in the mail today from James Williams, of System of Strategy. Those of you who are familiar with CRKT Knives have probably seen some of the designs of James Williams, a master of the Japanese samurai fighting arts and the president of Bugei Trading Company. James Williams has extensive experience teaching close-quarters combat to police and military and his tool and weapon designs are based on the needs of those whose lives depend on them.  Finding this site, he thought my readers would be particularly interested in these personal defense and tactical flashlights designed for EDC, as well as his new Shizuka Noh Ken folder. I absolutely agree, and I will be posting a full review of them after spending some time with them.

Pictured below, from top to bottom, the James Williams-designed CRKT Personal Defense Light, the Tactical Applications Light, and the Shizuoka Noh Ken folder. Note the clips for deep pocket carry on each:

Compact high-intensity flashlights have come a long way since I reviewed some early models here on  Bug Out Survival in this 2010 post: http://www.bugoutsurvival.com/2010/01/gear-review-compact-hi-intensity.html

I'll have all the details and specs of these new CRKT lights in the upcoming review, but I can tell you already that one or both of these will going wherever I go from now on.

I was especially excited to get my hands on Williams' new Shizuka Noh Ken folder, as I was looking to replace yet another Cold Steel Voyager with a broken pocket clip. As a master of bladed weapons, Williams designs his knives for self-defense and combat, so this is not a do-it-all utility or bushcraft knife. It is designed to neutralize an attacker as quickly and efficiently as possible; one look at the blade will tell you that. Carry something else to open packages and whittle with and save this for when and if you need it. The Shizuka Noh Ken (Japanese for "Hidden Blade") is a smaller version of his Otanashi Noh Ken (Sword of Silence) of the same design and it is so light and slim in your pocket you'll barely remember you have it. It's rare to find a blade design that both stabs and slices equally well, but that's exactly what this and Williams' larger Japanese tanto designs excel at. When I post a review I'll show the difference between these traditional tanto blades and the more commonly seen American tanto designs that are much less capable when it comes to stabs and thrusts. For now, note that despite the long curve of the belly of the blade that makes it great for slicing, the needle-like tip is straight in line with the handle, making it effectivly a dagger when it comes to thrusting.

As already mentioned, James Williams not only designs edged weapons, but is a master of using them and teaching others to do so. In addition to the tactical lights and knife, he included two of his instructional DVDs for my review (The Edged Weapon and Continuing Solutions to Edged Weapons). There are a lot of concepts and ideas in the nearly four hours of instruction here that I have never seen  anywhere else, although we worked with knives quite a bit when I studied Ed Parker's system of Kenpo. I'm looking forward to working more with these principles and hope to attend one of James Williams' seminars to see his methods first hand.

The timing for these items to arrive could not have been better, because I have been planning to begin writing more here about self-defense, both unarmed and with weapons, as well as the importance of physical fitness for survival. I feel these are critical skills and attributes that are far too often overlooked or neglected in the prepping and survival community. Stay tuned for more to come soon.

Into the River Lands: Darkness After Series Book II

Many readers of the The Darkness After have asked if there was going to be sequel, and it has been my intention all along to continue this story as an ongoing series parallel to The Pulse Series, which of course, involves a different set of characters in the same grid-down scenario.

Although originally aimed at the young adult market by my publisher, The Darkness After has been well-received by adult readers as well. The only real difference as far as young adult vs. a general adult audience is the age of the characters anyway. In this case, the main protagonists, Mitch Henley and April Gibbs, are both under twenty, but are in a world where survival is up to them and them alone. Readers of the first book will know that Mitch has superb skills as a hunter, despite his age. Those who enjoy survival stories that involve hunting, stalking and tracking will enjoy this one. Unlike The Pulse series, this story is all about living off the land in the woods, and the title, Into the River Lands refers to the deep river bottom swamp lands of Mississippi that Mitch knows so well.

Into the River Lands will be my next book release for 2015 and it is scheduled for publication on June 11.  I'm shooting for bumping that up a bit to sometime in May, but either way, it's not far out and you can preorder your Kindle copy for just $2.99 on Amazon, or by clicking on the cover image at the top of the sidebar to the left. There will be a paperback version available as well when the ebook is released.

Sailing the Apocalypse on Destiny Survival Radio

I had another interesting conversation with John Wesley Smith recently, this time discussing my latest novel, Sailing the Apocalypse: A Misadventure at Sea. John has posted his thoughts about the book in a review on his website: Destiny Survival.

I was pleased to hear that John liked the story a lot, and found it entertaining. My main purpose in writing it was to entertain, but if you take something more from it, that's good too. Here's an excerpt from John's review:

"I believe Scott has hit upon something much bigger than telling an entertaining tale. It has to do with our attitude toward the world as it is and how we will prepare to face what’s coming. Will we see an instantaneous collapse? Or will it be a slow burn? And, most importantly, how should we respond?"

You can read the full review here: http://destinysurvival.com/2015/02/19/sailing-the-apocalypse-a-different-kind-of-sea-story-for-preppers/ And you can listen to the interview here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/39273878/191_Williams_Sailing_the_Apocalypse_021915.mp3

Early Review of Sailing the Apocalypse

Dave Zeiger knows a thing or two about bug out boats. As a designer and liveaboard sailor who makes his home aboard his self-built vessel, Slacktide on the isolated waters of southeast Alaska, he lives a full-time lifestyle many preppers fantasize about. Dave has an interesting take on sailboat design. As his mission statement says on TriloBoats.com, his box-barge hull shapes are designed to help amateur builders get on the water in the shortest period of time, with the most bang for the buck. His designs provide maximum accommodations for their size and are stable, seaworthy platforms for living on the water.

I have linked to one of Dave's articles published in Duckworks Magazine (an online resource for boatbuilders) before. It is an excellent look at the concepts and considerations of bug out boats. You can read it here if you missed that previous link: http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/12/columns/guest/zeiger/index.html

Dave is also a long-time fan of the catamaran designs of James Wharram, so when he saw that my latest novel featured a Wharram Tiki 46 as the bug out vessel chosen by the characters in the story, he said he had to read it. Below is his take on it, and his thoughts on why it may be of interest to preppers, even those who would not themselves choose to bug out by water:

Sailing the Apocalypse by Scott B. Williams -- Review by Dave Zeiger

SETTING: Waterways of SE USA in our present times of impending, but not yet catastrophic Collapse.

STORY: A newly formed family under the (mis?)guidance of Terry Bailey - Doomer / Prepper - builds APOCALYPSE, a 46ft Wharram Catamaran (great choice, sloppy execution), and bugs out while the buggin' is good. 

Events are told through the eyes of twelve year old Robbie. Along for the ride are his (mostly) 'whatever-he-says' Mother, and otherwise-occupied, teen half-sister. Along the way, they acquire a Mentor, of sorts, in the form of an easy going, aging Hippy.

STORY ARC (spoiler alert!): Downward spiral.

*****

Sailing the Apocalypse is a cautionary tale of what I think of as 'dysprepsia'... a syndrome to which we in the Choir are prone.

Terry Bailey believes much as we do (the Choir, that is... I'm assuming in this review that you're a fellow Doomer / Prepper, familiar with the general outlook and its vocabulary). 

He believes that S is about to HTF. That the time to bug out is before it does. He has made some solid, informed choices and acted upon them, investing himself fully. Each of these identify him (and his family) as increasingly rare birds.

But things do not go well, and the 'why' is the cautionary aspect.

Terry lacks humility. He is seething with contempt for others (rather than empathy), which expresses itself in rants, bullying and manipulation. He is the patriarch of his tribe, which alienates his family. This in turn impairs teamwork, and suppresses and disincentivizes their best efforts.

He can neither recognize nor admit to his mistakes, and therefore cannot learn from them.  Nor can he adapt, whether to new information or consequences of mis-information or mis-steps. One has the sense that he has skimmed from excellent resources, but not absorbed their content. He overrates his (presumed) experience, and undervalues training and the steep slope of the learning curve.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing...

*****

I found it to be somewhat queasy reading.

As a confirmed Doomer who bugged out on a sailboat, years ago, this shoe fits too well. I, too, am prone to rant with a tinge of smug and a supercilious view of 'the sheep'. To regard shoreside society as dismally stuck in ruts that will drag us all over the edge. To see complacency, venality and power plays conspiring to whittle away at whatever small freedoms are left.

I FEEL Terry's pain!

But none of us know how our 'best laid plans' will fare... whether they will protect us and ours for another round, or whether they will founder under the thrash of our toppled giant. We must all take our best shot from a position of limited personal and physical resources. I believe we must persuade as many as we can to prepare... if not for Collapse, at least for Trouble. At the very least to step aside and let us prepare ourselves.

Humility, Williams reminds us, is an adaptive trait.

*****

Scott B. Williams is one of the best of us.

He's an expert in the theory and practice of prepper / survival concepts and techniques, and has been walking the walk for decades. In other words, he wrote Terry Bailey from the competent position of knowing exactly where his weaknesses and errors lie. 

This contrasts with other works I've read, where the author unintentionally projects their own ignorance through a protagonist who, by all rights, could never have shouldered his bottomless BugOutBag, much less improvise his Ham Radio from that toaster.

Terry's bumbling is the conscious artifact of an author who knows much better... a moral tale from an educated pen. 

Sailing the Apocalypse is the opening  chapter of an ongoing series. From it's pages, one may learn a great deal - both from example and counter-example - from an author with authority.

I am hoping that we will see one or both of two main developments in the continuing adventure: 

A) Terry will come around... as extreme as he is, I'm rooting for him.

B) Robbie will mature, and through him we may watch his opinions firming, learn with him as his skills and knowledge and - most important - approaches expand. I want to ride along as he debriefs his experiences!

I'd also love to see - through either path - more of the whys and wherefores. How do these decisions link up into suites of skills? How does one start from here to there? This novel is already a good start, but I know that Williams has plenty to add. 

At present, Sailing the Apocalypse could be read as an argument against everything Terry believes.

Mr. Williams, will you save the baby from the bathwater in your next installments?

*****

I hate the critical part of a review, constructive though it be. But here goes... a quibble:

I felt character development could be improved. 

It's a challenge to funnel development through a single character - especially a 12 year old. But each character's reactions should reflect a consistant personality. At times, reactions seemed to reflect internal inconsistencies (which were neither presented nor explored as internal conflict). Vocabulary, voice and depth - especially in Robbie's narration - seemed at times uneven.

Terry Bailey: He's our guy, but so often lost in contemptuous rant, and so "I can't be told nuffin'" that it derails our natural empathy for him. So far, there's no backstory to explain him or soften his impact. He's a tragic character, at present - hoist by his own petard - but without earning much of the sympathy that would pull us into his plight. I want to see more of his human side, not just arrogance and anger. There are hints that he's not entirely who he seems... 

Robbie (Narrator): Lots of potential, here. Smart boy with a big dose of common sense. Alive to wonders en route. At present, though, he's a mostly blank slate. He often (rightly) wonders whether his step-dad's omniscience is as advertised, but often, his common sense aligns with the herd (if nobody else thinks this way, how bad can it be?). So far, the herd has the edge. Will we see him start to do his own thinking? Form an outlook that can stand up against both his step-father and popular opinion?

Linda (the Mother): Here's an important character who stays mostly in the background. She only gets to speak for herself a few times, and then it's (almost entirely) in reaction to Terry. We don't get to see much at all of her relationship with the others. Who is she? Why is she so passive (until a certain kind of push comes to a certain kind of shove)? Does she have any hopes or dreams of her own? What does she see in Terry (not to disparage, but why are they drawn to each other)?

Janie (Linda's daughter): Janie is mostly a facade of teenage boredom and dissatisfaction, as one might expect. But, if you've ever known or been a teenager, you know that there's a lot more going on below the surface. What? Is she as shallow as the Rant would have us believe? What's her vision of her own future, if any?

Dean (Hippy Mentor): No quibble here. Deftly portrayed in concise strokes. Hoping to read more of him!

*****

The beauty of a series is that there's more of it, and Williams has definitely set the hook.

I feel that more of the same would be too much. I've gotten the picture, now, and the dose is just right.

I hope - and have reason to expect - that this is an opening movement. That Williams is preparing us for what promises to be a moving exploration of the challenges facing we who sail our lonely - and often beleaguered course.

If he can pull it off, I'm hoping for our genre's version of Theroux's Mosquito Coast. Or even Captain Ron.

I'm on-board to find out!

________________________________________________________________________

Sailing the Apocalypse is available now (paperback edition) on Amazon. The Kindle edition will be released on Saturday, January 17. If you preordered the ebook previously you should receive your copy then.