Brandon and Gregory looked away, embarrassed, and John was glad that through all of the horror, they’d managed to retain at least some of their youthful innocence.
For many others, the EMP and the war that followed had stripped them of the very faith that made innocence possible. Faith in the government, faith in our fellow man and, for some, faith in a higher power. John couldn’t help but feel that the country’s struggle for survival had offered a unique opportunity for a fresh start, an opportunity to move away from political games and showboating and back toward the founding principles which had once made this nation great.
Diane wrapped an arm around him. “A penny for your thoughts?”
John smiled and kissed her gently. “That one’s just for me.”
Some Final Thoughts
Given that this is the final book in the Last Stand series, I felt it only right that I say a few words. Part of my goal in telling the Mack family story was to showcase how easily the safe and predictable world we know can be plunged into chaos. Spin a globe and press your finger down and it’s likely to land on a country where danger, corruption and oppression are the norm. The savage realities of living in a city like Mogadishu, for example, might be foreign to many in the Western world, but I believe it’s precisely the type of existence we’d face in the event of a massive social collapse.
And yet the amazing thing is that through all of that chaos and killing, it’s still possible to find good, honest people who are willing to stick their necks out for others. In many of my email correspondences with readers this topic has often come up. It seems the prevailing prepper mentality nowadays is to shoot first and ask questions later when I think the opposite is what’s needed most. Just as they say it takes a community to raise a child, I think it takes a tightly knit community to ensure a sustainable future.
I also wanted to provide a brief insight into how I approached the prepper tips in the books. Some have commented that after book two, the story stopped being about survival and became a military series. While this is true in part, each of the stories was designed to impart different kinds of survival lessons. Book one focused on urban survival. In book two the emphasis shifted toward outdoor tips. Book three examined how to fortify and defend a small town against a military attack, while book four looked at some of the considerations when operating an insurgency. Our soldiers fought insurgents in countries like Iraq, but God forbid, one day we may be forced to become insurgents ourselves.
If I haven’t put you to sleep already, then I’ll end with a confession. Between books three and four, I decided to take a small break and work on an altogether different kind of prepper story. Frankly, I wasn’t sure fans of the Last Stand series would appreciate what I had written since it wasn’t laced with prepper tips and featured a cast of rather colorful characters (without the colorful language, that is). As a result, I made the difficult decision of publishing it under a pen name. I’m sure many of you will spot the similar writing styles. All that is to say, if you’re looking for something to pass the time as you wait for the next William Weber story, then this might be as good a place to start as any.
It’s called Long Road to Survivaclass="underline" The Prepper Series and if you give it a shot, I hope you enjoy it just as much as you’ve enjoyed my other work.
Thank you!
Thank you for reading Last Stand: Turning the Tide!
I’m always grateful for a review. Any thoughts, comments or feedback can be sent to my emaiclass="underline" williamhweberauthor@gmail.com
Long Road to Survival (Book 1)
Long Road to Survival (Book 2)
Last Stand: Surviving America’s Collapse (Book 1)
Last Stand: Patriots (Book 2)
Last Stand: Warlords (Book 3)
Last Stand: Turning the Tide (Book 4)
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Copyright
Copyright © 2015 William H. Weber
Cover design by Keri Knutson
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.