Customer Reviews

The Unit

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

 

 

The Unit is a very enjoyable book which combines what are becoming two popular genres; Lights Out and Post Disaster. It goes further than the typical Post Apocalyptic story, or should I say, it pulls up short of a full-on Post Apocalyptic story. It contains elements of a Survivalist tale, without the how-to details that sometimes bog down what are otherwise good story-lines.

The story revolves around a family of four who find themselves stuck along the freeway in Northern California following a limited nuclear exchange. The reader knows no more about the details of this exchange than the characters.

Through flashbacks and remembrances the reader is brought up to speed as to what happened to the family immediately following the event. These flashbacks occur amidst the desperate struggle for survival that the family currently finds itself in.

Character development is strong, in that the first person perspective switches amongst the leads as the story progresses. This perspective also switches to other non-lead characters along the way.

The main antagonists are a group of escaped inmates from a juvenile detention center who are raiding the countryside and ambushing inept groups of weary travelers attempting to survive in an environment growing more hostile as supplies dry up.

There is plenty of gun play and narrow escapes, but there are also tense moments where the reader is unsure of who will ultimately survive, if anyone. At one point I was certain that none of the lead characters would make it through, and in fact, not all of them do. The pace is good and the situations are realistically portrayed.

For fans of this mixed genre, I would compare the book to Patriots, American Apocalypse III and Lights Out.

Satisfying Read! DeHart writes a fast paced story in an interesting way. One of the most intriguing aspects of the story is that each of the characters tells their part of it in 1st person, an unusual approach that De Hart makes work. The setting of a post-apocalyptic world actually lends itself well to this type of storytelling allowing the reader to go deep inside each characters thoughts and feelings mourning the lost past way of life, uncertainty of present predicaments and hope for the future. The plot doesn't suffer from using this device, in fact it propels the story along at an even quick pace. One thing I didn't care for was the title. Other than that it is an entertaining quick read.

This book is really great! I loved it. I read it from front to back in one sitting, I just couldnt put it down. The author takes you into peril right along side the Sharpe family. From the first page you truly feel as though your in this struggle with them. Your Heart races so fast, that you think its going to beat right out of your chest when Jerry (dad) struggles to keep his family together. You find yourself really hating the antagonist, wishing them the worse outcome possible, then realizing that your reading a book and its not really the end of the world. I loved this book, and Im more of a zombie enthusiast. But, I cant wait to read it again and again. Great buy, Great book!

Full disclosure: I am a member of an online writers' forum and have met Terry De Hart. However, I would NOT post a favorable Amazon review of a book I did not truly like.

I truly liked this book. In fact, I couldn't put it down.

De Hart has produced more than a skillful, convincing page-turner, though he has certainly done that; he has also created a thought-provoking gallery of characters with world views that make us consider our own. Although each character has a distinct history that bears upon his or her response to the aftermath of nuclear war, De Hart doesn't bog down the plot with a lot of cumbersome back story. The details he does choose are apt and revelatory, and he is especially good at depicting the thought processes behind his characters' actions.

Though well-developed, the characters can also be seen as mildly allegorical, representing different (at times opposing) ways of being in the world. Still, each character is an elegantly drawn individual who develops through the course of the book. The multi-p.o.v. narrative works well to give the story both forward momentum and psychological layering.

My favorite character was the daughter Melanie because I share her idealism--which can easily be reduced to a hippie-peacenik-vegetarian-granola view of the world, and thus dismissed. But De Hart treats Melanie with respect, giving her strength and grace and a complex, touching relationship with her father. Though it is clear DeHart doesn't think Melanie's approach will work to save the world, his sympathy toward her --indeed, toward all his characters, even the worst villains--reveals DeHart to be the best kind of writer, a deeply thoughtful seeker of truth.

I generally don't read genre because, quite honestly, the quality of the writing doesn't sustain me. However, this book has both an interesting, hair raising plot, and quality writing. The author has obviously honed his skills in the literary world. I won't bother to give an account of the story because it is already well documented by other reviewers.

I found myself riveted by the accounts from the four family members. Each voice was realistic and authentic. Part of this was due to the author's command of dialogue and scenic construction. Add these elements to a suspenful plot and you have a page turner for everyone.

My wife and I have always loved the post-holocaust scenarios, and this newest and latest approach is pretty good.

The Unit is about a small, untypical family that finds their lives suddenly thrust into a savage struggle for survival when the bombs drop. This new author does the unexpected and writes in different POV's of his family characters. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But mostly is is truly compelling.

Terry DeHart does an outstanding job of showcasing the effects of a world turned on its ear, and how a small family unit adjusts to it. DeHart goes from brutality to religious themes that permeate throughout the novel. Sometimes the religious themes works terrifically, but after about halfway through the book, we felt sometimes if was being forced down our throats.

But DeHart creates believable characters, both in Good and Evil...and sometimes in between, even. We also liked that DeHart created a very believable family unit, fraught with their issues towards one another in various ways. This is not your happy go lucky Brady family! (And we were thankful for that.) It makes for more compelling, believable reading.

The novel starts right off with the father's POV, telling how his world was seemingly destroyed by bombs, being shown by strange-colored clouds and EMP's knocking the world back into the Dark Ages. Although the story starts out with the explanation that only 2 week ago the bombs were dropped, the family acts like its been months, due to their knowledge of eking out a savage struggle with knowing how to creep through the bombed out countryside, staying out of potential enemy's sights. The way the family acted like a military unit would take more than 2 weeks, but then the story evolves into what seems like months of living like this, as one character or another of the family tells its early story of just what happened exactly right as the bombs dropped.

Terry DeHart does a pretty solid job of showcasing the struggle of the planet's weather system, and its effects on the survivors. The nuclear winter and the noxious clouds were portrayed well, and after having read tons of books about this type of scenario, we felt that DeHart did a splendid job of describing this. It really lent a dark hand to this novel.

This is a seemingly 1st to a series, and the author leaves you with tidbits of just where this series is going. This is an exciting and thought-provoking 1st novel, and we look forward to the next novel in this exciting new series. Kind've a mix of the Left Behind series with Alas Babylon, but better.

When my son had this book I thought it must be difficult to read it considering that it changes characters often and tells the story from that point of view. I found it to be easy, fun and quick to read. If you like end time or American collapse type literature then this is a must have.

A good book that blends many different elements into a story that is exciting and easy to follow. The different perspective story telling really allows this to show all the dividing lines that many people take in everyday situations and of all the characters you will find one that you can more closely relate to than the others in the way they feel, act, and think. At times it can be somewhat distracting when it switches from person to person but most of the time it just gives more detail to the situation and moves the story along instead of feeling like the author is speaking to you, the character is speaking to you. I only gave it 4 out of 5 stars for the reason that there are many technical references in the book in terms of weapons and military lingo that if your are not familiar with my have you confused or distracted.

Book Review - The Unit by Terry DeHart

The Unit

Terry DeHart

Apocalyptic Fiction / Science Fiction

Trade Paperback

307 pages

Publisher: Orbit - Hachette Book Group

Publication Date: July 14, 2010

ISBN-13: 978-0316077408

Told through the eyes of five main characters in short, alternating but impactful chapters Terry DeHart's debut novel, The Unit, is post-apocalyptic fiction at its finest. Where Cormac McCarthy's The Road centers around two dark, lonely, and desperate characters trudging through the scarred and desolate countryside searching for a home DeHart's narrative concentrates on the perspectives of a family of four caught in the after-effects of a recent nuclear holocaust. Every chapter is written in a distinctive, sometimes complimentary but often conflicting, voice and is told from the point of view of each member of the Sharpe family (Jerry, Susan, Melanie, and Scott.) DeHart occasionally interrupts the family's journey by inserting chapters narrated by a gang of barbaric juvenile delinquents who have forgotten what it means to be civilized. When the two groups accidentally meet we see just how savage, loving, brutal, caring, indifferent, and angry humans can be towards each other.

The Unit is much more than a post-apocalyptic romp through the barren hills of charred central California, however. What makes this book special are the profound and complicated yet controversial themes explored through the experiences of each of the five central characters. The conflict of trust during war is common and each character gets caught up at least once with the issue of who is trustworthy and who should be shot on sight. While The Unit certainly covers the subject of survival in difficult times it also manages to explore the deeper realms of faith, morality, family, loyalty, and the psychological impact of survival after a catastrophic breakdown of civilization. The concept of instinctual human survival and the idea of maintaining civilized behavior in the face of horrendous brutality and cruelty is thrown into the face of the audience and we are forced to examine our own principles. What might we do in the same situation? How far would we go to protect our families? Would we throw decency out the window in favor of survival?

Not only does DeHart tell a good story but he also manages to speak with profound wisdom regarding the specific flaws and strengths of our society. Do we retain our sense of morality during societal collapse? Or do we become brute savages? Or, are we something entirely between the two? Are we, under pressure, who we hope we are inside? Good or bad he explores the deepest of human emotions and chronicles the reactions and feelings of very different individuals in one of the most stressful environments ever imagined. And he gets it totally right! Conflicts of trust, thoughts of spirituality and death, human cruelty and violence, love of family, abject hunger, protective instincts, absence of amenities, wariness of strangers, pain and suffering, and post-traumatic stress all fall into this vision of life after the collapse of civilization.

Terry DeHart demonstrates the rare ability to keep the action flowing without it interfering with the plot and he's not afraid to explore the dark side of survival and the atrocities of conflict and disaster following the breakdown of law and order. In fact, he does an admirable job of describing the heart-rending and complicated range of emotions that might be felt in horrible, even macabre, situations by letting us see them through the diverse perspectives of a handful of characters. There are many disturbing scenes here, and I won't give away too much for fear of spoiling the story, but the sad reality is that during a society-wide catastrophe some people will revert to barbarism, others will struggle against all odds to survive, and some will surrender to the eventuality of despair. That DeHart gives us concise and emotion-filled depictions of all three is a credit to his skill.

Recommended for fans of post-apocalyptic nuclear war, dystopia, guerilla warfare, fast-paced action, and survival. Read The Unit if you liked The Road; Oryx and Crake; Alas, Babylon ; Burn Down the Sky; Soft Apocalypse; Falling Skies; The Walking Dead; Desolation Road; or Feed .

4 ½ out of 5 stars

The Alternative

Southeast Wisconsin

The Unit Series by Terry DeHart

1. The Unit (2010)

2. The Sharpe's Story (TBD)

It is no consolation that when the nuclear bombs hit New York City, Philadelphia and Washington DC, the United States retaliated by nuking the nations that enabled the terrorist to strike. More bombs hit big cities with China and Russia joining American and Europe in attacking Al Qaeda and those countries hosting the terrorist group. An EMP Pulse knocked out all electricity so that the scattered survivors have little idea of what is going on beyond their narrow sphere.

The Sharpe family consists of patriarch Jerry, his wife Susan and their two teenage children Melanie and Scott. They travel in search of a safe place to live. On the road the Sharpe family scavenges for food, machinery and clothing that they take from the dead left behind by a feral gang of teens led by the vicious amoral Billy Jr.. His horde escaped Juvie Hall when the lights went out and the guards left. Now the world is there for their taking. Bill wants to kill the Sharpe parents and son, and take Melanie. However, his adversaries have found a defensible position shooting the ambushers. The juvies kidnap Melanie and pass her around so everyone can enjoy raping her. Jerry searches for her with rage in his heart while his spouse and son continue their journey although now the radiation sickness is coming with the contaminated snow.

Once the country's centrifuge collapses after the bombs fall, people fail to bond; instead they kill without remorse. Each member of the Sharpe family and Billy tell their tale in the first person in alternating chapters so that the readers comprehend what each is thinking and what motivates their actions.

Putting aside whether the abduction should have occurred, Terry DeHart's post-apocalyptic chilling version of On the Beach in which an apparent entire nation and perhaps world has gone crazy with kill or be killed as the only rule of law.

Harriet Klausner