Let us all pause in our tale of the survivors of that long ago terrorist attack that has left America without power and broken, while at the same time creating a paradise for the prepared, and focus, instead, on opening up a bar…you know, for purposes of gathering intel on the locals. Ahem. Yes, so let’s not dwell on what might or might not be going on in the rest of the country. There will be time enough in the next installment to deal with the overall state of the nation at large and who exactly is in charge. It’s probably some wealthy powermonger anyway. For now, let us just focus on the local situation and, more specifically, on introducing a few new characters, i.e., a starving vet who thinks Jim might be responsible for the death of one of his old pals (he is); a gaggle of hateful old-timers with bad attitudes and sticky fingers; a seemingly vulnerable blind woman and her faithful guide dog, both surviving thanks to the keen foresight of the woman’s dearly departed, prepper father; a shady family of local unsavory characters with bad faith and worse intentions; and last, but not least, a neighboring clan of hardworking salt-of-the-earth types with big muscles and even bigger horses. Don’t worry — even with the addition of these new characters, plenty of time remains for Jim to be pestered and mocked by Danny (all in good fun) and for a few of the regular cast to participate in the goings-on. All-in-all, the novel functions like a bit of a time out (at least in terms of major threats to Jim’s group), and all of this should be just fine for fans of the series, which, let’s face it, if you’re this deep into the series, like me, you are not likely to find anything here to make you stop reading, especially when you get to the cliffhanger ending, which promises major challenges to Jim’s way of life on the horizon.