Review
"As a writer in this same genre, I have to say I am VERY impressed with this effort. [emphasis added] ...it raises the bar for the genre in the sense that the characters are complex and conflicted, andthe descriptive passages are probably the best I've read in this sort of book. His descriptions of terrain and changing seasons are just breathtaking. This guy can really write and the writing is very controlled and not over the top."--Bobby Andrews, author of the STRYKER series
"This was the first book that David Nees has written. But the way he slowly builds his characters and the story are like a seasoned writer. I enjoyed After the Fall: Jason's Tale and look forward to the second one. I listen to a lot of audio books during my work day and during my commute. There are a lot of books that don't make the cut. But I added one this week After the Fall: Jason's Tale. --Marc, SurvivingPrepper.com
"David Nees has written a great debut novel. It's about the all-to-plausible scenario of an EMP attack on the U.S. The characters are fully formed and grab your interest and attention. The action scenes are well-crafted and realistic. This is a harrowing world and Nees brings it to life with characters you want to get to know better. I look forward to his sequel. Good stuff."--G. Michael Hopf, author
"After the Fall: Jason's Tale tells of an electromagnetic pulse attack on the U.S. that shuts down society and causes it to fall apart."What sets Jason's Tale apart from the others, however, is its focus on an individual who literally heads for the hills to avoid the inevitable anarchy, immerses himself in solitude, and then discovers a hidden mountain valley where Anne and her two daughters struggle to survive."Jason's Tale is hard to put down, and is a cut above most of its competitors. Perhaps...due to its attention to detail, which brings the sights, smells, and dilemmas of the times to life in a rare glimpse of family life and connections forged under extreme duress and gritty efforts to not just survive, but to love again."--D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"David Nees takes on a nightmare scenario in his novel "After the Fall: Jason's Tale" (350 pages, CreateSpace, $12.99), which focuses on the disintegration of society after an electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States.The main character heads to the Appalachian Mountains to try to avoid the chaos in this action tale that blends with a love story. Nees lives in Fairfax County." --Jay Strafford, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia Book Notes, July 23, 2016
I really, really enjoyed it.Excellent character development and you didn't need 100 pages to do it. Rich and fast moving plot line. I look forward to your next to see how Catherine and the lieutenant make out - no double entendres. Give us more David. Gerald; Amazon customer
Amazingly well written, believable characters, Heroes and demons, battles, victories and hope in world thrown back to the 1800's by an EMP....great book, can't wait for the next one....Amazon customer
WOW!!! I couldn't put the book(kindle on phone) down, I was so drawn into the story and enjoyed this read very much!!! ...Amazon customer
From the Author
An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack on the U.S. is not an unrealisticpossibility. I wanted to explore the effects of such an attack andtrace it via an individual's odyssey through a "fallen" civilization.Humans develop civilizations involving large cities of people puttogether in an intricate web of organized cooperative activity thatfeeds our economy. On the surface, we seem to have "evolved" beyond the primitive impulses we read about in our history. But take away thesupport, the structure that binds this close cooperation and our veneerof civilization begins to unravel.
Humans still contain withinthem the deep rooted, primitive impulses of violence and aggressionneeded to survive. We easily become "tribal" creatures, oriented to the closer structure of family with others being "outsiders" deserving ofsuspicion at best, aggression at worst. Take away the rule of law andwe devolve into more primitive forms of structure and organization. Add in hunger and starvation and we become predators or prey, with littlespace between the two extremes. From such extremes, humans must findways to learn to rebuild structure and organization; to broaden whatfamily or community includes.
A post-apocalyptic story allows the writer to examine these deeper impulses that reside in us, oftensuppressed by our laws and culture. I wanted to write something that in the end is redemptive, showing that, along with our dangerous impulses, there resides our better instincts of love, charity, honor, evenself-sacrifice; and these can re-emerge to help point us to our betterdestiny.
When I set out, I didn't know where the story would endbut the characters began to "direct" me as the plot developed. Often Iwould dream a scene while half asleep, try to remember it and then getit on paper the next day. It was a very visual process.
There is much room for continued development of the characters as I work on thesequel. The next book will involve more interaction with Hillsboro,which will generate the story conflict. It becomes more complicated,with more sub-plots and characters, but I'm enjoying bringing them tolife.
From the Back Cover
An electromagnetic pulse attack on the United States shuts down allpower, communications and transportation. Society begins to unravel.Violence, starvation and death reign. Marauding gangs roam thecountryside, stealing, killing or worse and cities retreat intothemselves,walling themselves off from the danger outside.
Associety breaks down, Jason heads to the Appalachian Mountains to avoidthe growing anarchy, hoping to wait out the chaos. The gangs threatenbut loneliness becomes his biggest enemy as the solitude envelopes him.In a secluded mountain valley he finds a woman,Anne, and her twodaughters struggling to survive. They are near starvation when Jasonshows.
Violence soon follows him. Survival will meanfighting...and killing. The power hasn't returned. The country is stillshattered and Jason and Anne must struggle for a new life in a dangerous world.
About the Author
After a full career as a retail entrepreneur, David turned to a first love, writing. In the business world he wrote many manuals,abstracts, guidelines andprocedures but since retiring, he has been able to reconnect to the joys of writing without the constraints of business prose. He is nowenjoying writing adventure fiction. He lives with his wife, the love of his life, and extended family in Virginia. A five year old keeps the house jumping. When not writing, David can be found racing his A Class catamaran sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. Since completing AFTER THE FALL: JASON'S TALE, David has finished a secondnovel(action/thriller genre) and is working on the sequel to JASON'STALE. Many more stories are percolating and in various stages ofplanning and writing, so he will be keeping busy for some time to come. His stories focus on the tension of the loner who fights bad guys,armed with his own strength and resolve, and his need for relationshipand community--to be connected.
