From Newsgroup: rec.arts.sf.written

"Holding Their Own XII: Copperheads (Holding Their Own)" by Joe Nobody
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1717543820

The twelfth book in a series of nineteen alternate history books about
the economic collapse of the USA in 2015 and onward. I read the well
printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self
published by the author in 2016 that I bought new on Amazon in 2025. I
own the first thirteen books in the series and will purchase more soon.

Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom
was really getting cranked up. The book has crude oil at $350/barrel
and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015. Not gonna happen due to oil well
fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA
is invalid for the book. That said, the book is a good story about the collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA. The book is centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a
Texas resident.

The $6 gasoline was just the start. The unemployment rises to 40% over
a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in
Chicago that kills 50,000 people. The current President of the USA
nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack.
And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down
the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about. That shuts
down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across
the nation.

The accumulations of these serious problems cause widespread panics and shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities.
The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at
the plants. Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity.

"A massacre along the Rio Grande draws Bishop and his SAINT team to the
border with Mexico. Their investigation soon reveals a local conflict
that challenges the TexanrCOs moral compass while testing the AlliancerCOs commitment to individual freedoms. Butter finds himself at the center of
the dilemma, torn between a woman who desperately needs his help and the loyalty he feels toward Bishop and the team. Lured by a girl who has
captured his heart, Butter becomes a pawn in a high stakes political
game in which he is accused of murder and sentenced to death. Bishop and
Terri must find a way to save their friend without pulling the Alliance
into a conflict it cannot win."

The author has a website at:
https://www.joenobodybooks.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (383 reviews)

Lynn
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