Customer Reviews

Oil Dusk

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy anything that has to do with peak oil. I have studied PO at length for many years now. This book starts out with all the correct problems coming to light. Economic collapse, depression, joblessness, homelessness, struggle for daily necessities. All the elements for a great PO story are there. At the start the authors ran with it, but then cracks appear. The book went downhill quickly when they got to their farm retreat. What could have been a harrowing adventure from Nebraska to Arkansas, was quite mundane. Then the hard scrabble farming life began, and it just got more mundane. The protagonists never met any antagonists once they left Omaha. The local people just accepted the family with open arms, although they had never met. In reality, when I moved to small farming community four years ago, It took years for the people to even partially accept us. They still look on us with suspicion and we are not in the midst of an economic collapse, YET!
Then troubles with the women in the retreat family creep up;tensions reach levels that almost put you to sleep. There is almost no word from the outside world and no Antagonists. Just fun digging toilets, going to swap meets, buying wood stoves, making dresses and Halloween costumes. The missing brother arrives and does bring at least some news, then he breaks his arm, they have to put the farm in foreclosure to get his arm set. But wait, before any more action, we have to go through a long portion of reading that entails the magic of Christmas, ad nauseum.
Then to finish everything off, one of the sons finds a girlfriend and goes to the girlfriends house to discover that the American Dream is still alive. Cable TV, computers, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, SUV's, and plastic McMansions. After all their hard work converting from city folks to farmers, the family must strive once again for depth-less materialism. And as luck would have it, dear old Dad not only purchased their retreat, but also stashed mineral rights to various properties in the local bank, which is somehow still in business. The family is now rich, free of the farming existence, free to pursue plastic junk from China.
Note to the authors- next time spend a little time researching firearm calibers it sounds stupid when you wield a .356 magnum.

The first half is pretty good, but the second half is a bit of a slog. It's neither an action thriller nor a survivalist tale. A lot of missed opportunities in this book. Time and again the author sets up what promises to be an action sequence, then pulls back and nothing much happens. There's a former US Marine, combat veteran, staying at your survivalist retreat in the middle of a post-peak oil America and he might as well be a piece of furniture. Not even the hot Latina chick left on your doorstep motivates this guy.

It's almost as if the author let his real-world bias against guns and the military inhibit what would otherwise have been an exciting story. The book was also inhibited by the self-absorption of the lead character.

How about this; the hot Latina lands on the doorstep. The former Marine, burned out from two tours in Afghanistan, becomes motivated to win her affection and starts to pull his own weight at the retreat. Soon after, while the family goes to the barter market, our Marine stays at the ranch to keep an eye on things. Hell's Angels show up and he out maneuvers them with his trusty carbine and M9. He's wounded and bleeding, but he saves the precious few provisions they have left, and adds a heroic element to the plot.

But we don't get that scene. What we get is a trip to the barter market.

It started out with a great story. The first half of the book is very believable, very scary. Then I think they changed authors . It becomes unbelievable and thier luck was unreal.I kept waiting for something to happen but not much did except a bunch of touchy feely crap.
Then suddenly everything was wonderful for them ,but what about everyone else ?

I really enjoyed this book, it puts a little bit of a scare in you realizing that this all could happen someday and it could have be prevented. I have read many post-apocalyptic and peak oil books and thought that this puts into perspective how vulnerable our way of living is and what will happen if we do not change course. It also shows how hard life will be without all our modern conveniences we take for luxury in the present.

Oil Dusk is a strong reminder that we need to address our country's dependence on oil before it's too late. We didn't learn from our warning in the 70s, and I'm fearful that we haven't learned from our recent warning.

How do you survive when everything you've known and loved seems to go up in smoke? "Oil Dusk: A Peak Oil Story" tells the story of how a Suburban family deals with this catastrophic situation where oil supplies begin to dry up and the United States falls into chaos. An intriguing tale of family in a world where you fight to survive, "Oil Dusk" is an entertaining and possibly prophetic read of a world that could possibly be.