One Second After

William R. Forstchen

Apr 2011 · A John Matherson Novel Book 1 · Sold by Forge Books

About this eBook

A post-apocalyptic thriller of the after effects in the United States after a terrifying terrorist attack using electromagnetic pulse weapons.

New York Times best selling author William R. Forstchen now brings us a story which can be all too terrifyingly real...a story in which one man struggles to save his family and his small North Carolina town after America loses a war, in one second, a war that will send America back to the Dark Ages...A war based upon a weapon, an Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP). A weapon that may already be in the hands of our enemies.

Months before publication, One Second After has already been cited on the floor of Congress as a book all Americans should read, a book already being discussed in the corridors of the Pentagon as a truly realistic look at a weapon and its awesome power to destroy the entire United States, literally within one second. It is a weapon that the Wall Street Journal warns could shatter America. In the tradition of On the Beach, Fail Safe and Testament, this book, set in a typical American town, is a dire warning of what might be our future...and our end.

The John Matherson Series
#1 One Second After
#2 One Year After
#3 The Final Day

Other Books
Pillar to the Sky
48 Hours

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

Early days, but so far so good. 📯 apocalypse intrigues me. We are so dependant on modern technology, I couldn't cope. I am not 🚫 a survivalist 😭😔. To see our helplessness in such a setting is sad, I'm rooting for this small 🦐 community!! will pay for the subscription sure enough in time

This is a book that tries to convince you that anyone in the world today has the EMP technology to hit all of the continental U.S., and that we are too incompetent to do anything. Take away all this so-called "realism", and you are left with nothing more than a mediocre action story, the likes of which we've seen time and time again in recent years. In conclusion, it's an action book that tries to be smart and meaningful, but just comes off pretentious and bland.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was moving and terrifying in its plausibility. The only thing that I had a hard time choking down was the author's depiction of the US as a "hero nation" with a history of altruistically coming to the rescue of other nations. The lead character wonders, on more than one occasion, if nations aided by the US in the past will help them in their time of need. There is very little altruism in foreign aid or relief aid. Sadly, like everything else, it is a business.

About the author

William R. Forstchen is the author of We Look Like Men of War, among numerous other books in diverse subjects ranging from history to science fiction. He has co-authored several books with Newt Gingrich, including Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Pearl Harbor, Days of Infamy, To Try Men's Souls and Valley Forge. Forstchen holds a Ph.D. in History from Purdue University, with specializations in military history and the history of technology. He is currently a Faculty Fellow and Professor of History at Montreat College, near Asheville North Carolina. He is a pilot and flies an original WWII recon "warbird." He resides near Asheville with his daughter Meghan.