BOOK REVIEWS BY JOAN G. SMITH JGS 367

THE PULSE A Novel of Surviving the Collapse of the Grid BY: Scott B. Williams

This is an appropriate time to read The Pulse, when solar flares are actually able to bombard the earth and cause explosions on Earth while others are near misses. My son left this book behind at Christmas and I decided it was time to read it, after after the recent solar caused explosion in Russia.

Casey, a student at Tulane University in New Orleans, must try to save herself and her roommate Jessica when anarchy descends in New Orleans. Grant, a new friend at Tulane when the pulse strikes, is with her, and convinces the girls they must get out now, before the food disappears, the gangs form up and become murderers and everything is total chaos.

The power grid instantly is totally destroyed in North America – no cars unless they are very old, no lights, no power for phones, internet or anything in the modern electronic world. Grants family owns a cabin in the woods in Mississippi and it is always stocked with survival type equipment and food. Grant says if they could get there on their bicycles it is the best place to be until they can sort things out. Each day becomes more dangerous on their journey and it becomes a test of their survival skills in a fight for their lives.

Casey’s father, Artie, is a doctor who is on a sailing vacation when his younger brother, Larry, who has devoted his life to the sea and boats that sail and catamarans. They are in the Caribbean when the pulse hits and everything is gone that is on the grid. They have equipment and sails that work with nature and the wind and tides that Larry knows like the back of his hand. Artie had planned to take a flight to New Orleans and his daughter, Casey, and now no planes are flying anywhere! Larry follows the stars and knows how to live off the wild life and fish as they fight pirates and storms to get to Casey.

The author,Scott Williams, has been exploring wild places and seeking adventure on both land and sea for most of his life. At the age of 25, he embarked on an open-ended solo sea kayaking journey from his home in Mississippi to the islands of the Caribbean – a life changing journey. He knows what has to be done to survive if the Pulse arrived, and put an End to The Electronic Age !

Published: ULYSSES PRESS P. O. Box 3440 Berkley, CA 94703 Copyright: © 2012 By: Ulysses Press Reviewed: 02/28/13 – 367 Copyright: © 2013 by Joan G. Smith 367