Customer Reviews

Total War (Survivalist)

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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.

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.

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.

This is the start of a journey of growth and learning about one persons's search for his family but also his reason for life. Mr Ahern uses real weapons with real limits to ammunition supply, reloading and weapons use. But the characters take on a life of their own, just by letting you see each of them as human. Fiction, yes but truthful, real situation resolution, yes also. LOve the whole series and all the others the author has written. All his characters are personable. That's the key.