Total War [Hardcover]

Jerry Ahern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1984

This is NUMBER ONE in the Survivalist series featuring the hero, John Thomas Rourke: The story of the ultimate war, the final nuclear holocaust and the unrelenting quest of John Thomas Rourke as he begins his search across war-ravaged America, following every haunting clue, however fragmentary, to locate his missing family.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Firecrest Pub.; New edition edition (June 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0859975428
• ISBN-13: 978-0859975421
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,153,990 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Along with his wife, Sharon, Jerry Ahern is the author of over eighty internationally published novels, under the name Jerry Ahern, as well as the pseudonyms "Axel Kilgore" and "Red Mitchell." Jerry has written over a thousand magazine articles, columns, features and interviews. His latest non-fiction books are SURVIVE! THE DISASTER, CRISIS AND EMERGENCY HANDBOOK, THE GUN DIGEST GUIDE TO CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUNS and ARMED FOR PERSONAL DEFENSE. Jerry has regular columns in the monthly magazines GUN WORLD, DILLON BLUE PRESS and KNIVES ILLUSTRATED, this latter column dealing with swords and their history. The latest Ahern novel is from Baen Books (www.baen.com), entitled WRITTEN IN TIME, which the Aherns describe as "...a semi-autobiographical time travel science fiction steam punk western."

You can visit Jerry on the internet at www.jerryahern.com. On Facebook, you can follow what Jerry's doing on the Official Jerry Ahern fan page; and, if you're a fan of THE SURVIVALIST, as so many people around the world seem to be, you'll be happy to know there's a growing Facebook Group dedicated to the series. Graphic Audio (www.graphicaudio.net) has produced fully sound scaped versions of THE SURVIVALIST, with sound effects, music and an entire cast of voice actors. Meanwhile, Speaking Volumes (www.speakingvolumes.us) is re-releasing over sixty Ahern novels in print, all the popular electronic formats and as audio books. New releases appear each month.

Jerry Ahern recently announced that THE SURVIVALIST will be returning, by popular demand, picking up where the 29th book (#27, since two books were not numbered) ended. The book is in its early stages and should be finished sometime in 2012, its working title THE INHERITORS OF EARTH. When Ahern isn't writing, he takes on the novels and memoirs of selected clients for editing and book doctoring. He has been editing other people's work since 1973.

Jerry and Sharon, high school sweethearts, have been married since 1968 and have two grown children and five grand children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Started it all for me, August 23, 2007

By 

john gomer (Overland, Mo United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Total War (Survivalist #1) (Mass Market Paperback)

this book was the book that started me thinking more into survival 20 yrs ago..not the best written book but it is enjoyable and i still own the entire set..read them and enjoy them as what they are mens adventure books, but also keep in mind what they stand for.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A look back at the survivalist movement..., September 29, 2009

By 

Patriot Reader (Idaho) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Total War (Survivalist #1) (Mass Market Paperback)

These novels are campy, the heros wear white hats and it's all about action and shooting.
Written during the height of the survivalist movement, just read this novel for what it is, a weird, fun romp that shows you a window into the survivalist movement of the bygone days.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Predictable post apocalyptic mayhem, January 8, 2007

By 

dissimulo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Total War (Survivalist #1) (Mass Market Paperback)

Title: The Survivalist #1: Total War

Author: Jerry Ahern

The Plot: Sometime in an alternate 1980s, the Soviet Union invades Pakistan in order to try to secure the western border, ostensibly to firm up their hold on Afghanistan. This sets off a chain of events that lead to escalating global war, culminating in a Soviet first strike on the USA and Europe.

In this environment, John Rourke, a CIA agent, medical doctor, weapons expert, and all-around survivalist-type, finds himself stuck in Canada, thousands of miles away from his family in Georgia. He has a survival retreat set up, but his family does not know how to get there, so he is desperate to reach them before the aftermath of World War III takes its toll.

This is the first of a series, so the plot is not resolved. In this volume, Rourke begins his journey home, but only makes it as far as New Mexico.

The Writing: The writing is competent, but nothing special. Background details are frequently injected into dialogue for the benefit of the reader, but the resulting dialogue is unwieldy and distracting. The text is not demanding - perhaps an eighth grade level.

Details on the Volume Reviewed: Published by Zebra Books/Kensington Publishing Corp. 1981, 9th printing. Paperback. 218 pages in a medium font.

Opinions on the Plot: This is a post-apocalyptic adventure, so my expectations for quality were appropriately low. The plot is dated. Excessive details about weaponry are repeated, when they could have been included just once to avoid distraction. The hero is an expert in so many things, it is a bit over the top. Numerous unrealistic things happen (such as the hero riding a motorcycle into the middle of a biker gang, kicking off a gun-fight, and emerging relatively unscathed. The writer didn't spent much attention to detail, so some events verge on insulting the reader's intelligence. This is a quick read, with some cheap thrills, and might appeal to devoted readers of apocalyptic fiction. Anyone else should skip it.