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The life of a book reviewer is a hard one. See, for us it's not always the right thing to do if we want to freak out on a new series or author we just discovered. I have a backlog of books that people have given me that they want reviewed, and if I take time out to read what I want to read, I sometimes feel like I'm letting those people down. But then I get a gift card from Amazon and I'm like...”Wow that sounds good.” Maybe it's a new author and a new series. And maybe I blow almost the whole twenty five bucks on a seven book series.
But if you're paying attention that means I got seven books for less than twenty-five dollars. They were worth it too.
And I have to admit that my discipline broke down twice here. Not only did I get a book that hadn't been give to me, but I found myself unable to review it immediately. Why? Because I couldn't manage to break away from the series long enough to write it. Seriously, pretty much all my free time for the last however long has been taken up by this one series of books.
I don't feel bad about. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of glad I did it. I'm also bummed that there are only seven books available, but whatever. I've only got like a dollar left on my gift card anyway. Oops. I blew the whole thing on one series. Ah well, I'd do it again.
So now, dear reader, I can see the look in your eyes. You're frustrated because that darn Jimbo guy won't tell you what books they are. You think I should just spill the beans already and tell you all what I'm so excited about. I find that entertaining, because the name of the series and its author are the title of this post! You should already have that information.
And seriously, how fun is it to be a blogger if you can't mess with your audience every once in a while?
Ready?
I'm talking about the Borrowed World Series by Franklin Horton. And yes, the story is about a right-wing gun nut named Jim, but it's not like that's it's only appeal. Okay, maybe that added a bit of enjoyment for a Second Amendment supporter named Jim but hey, no system is perfect, right? And his last name is Powell, so it's not like he's totally named after me.
At any rate...
The Borrowed World Series starts off with a novel named... The Borrowed World. (I bet you never saw that one coming, huh?) I don't really do spoilers, HOWEVER...
It starts off with a terrorist attack against the US and its infrastructure. The terrorists hurt us in a big way. They take down the majorityof the Grid that provides electricity to the US as well as a number of our largest oil refineries. In like an hour or so the entire country goes from thriving to screwed, althought it takes a bit for most people to realize how bad it's going to be.
Our hero, Jim, and his co-workers, Randi, Alice, Gary, Rebecca and Lois are caught in a hotel hundreds of miles from home when the Shit Hits the Fan and have to find a way home through the chaos. It's not easy. The story continues from there.
I loved this series, but it is not for the faint of heart. Horton seems to have researched his subject very well before beginning the series. It has a grittiness, a realisticness that a lot of other works lack. I can see things going exactly the way he describes them in the books. Everything from the choices Jim makes in what he puts in his bug-out bag to how he defends his home. But it's not just that. It's the reactions of common, everyday people as the whole country begins to fall apart.
A man will do what it takes to defend his family. Any parent will do what it takes to feed a child. But what if the supply of food is cut off because there is no fuel for trains or trucks? What if the power is out and the gas is off and there's no way to cook? What happens then? Horton's answer, in not so many words, is that it gets scary.
And I don't mean scary in an Eighties slasher flick kind of scary. I mean, I remember being scared out of my wits by Freddie Krueger as a kid. The Borrowed World, however, is totally different because it's so realistic. I always knew, deep down, that no badly burnt, glove wearing whackadoo was going to come to me in my dreams and kill me. Even if some psycho started chopping up kids at a campground, it would be over the FIRST TIME they killed him. It was all so easy to come down from after the show was over.
Reading the Borrowed World Series is not like that. There is absolutely nothing in the story that is impossible or even that unlikely given the circumstances. Jim and friends struggle with the bad guys and at times with each other. The bad guys really just want what the good guys want, only in most cases they weren't prepared for the inevitable collapse of society. Jim was. He's a prepper who has done an absolute buttload of work ahead of time so that when it all goes down he's got what he needs.
The Borrowed World is definitely dystopic, but it's not all bad. I'd actually refer to Horton's work as flat out superversive. Jim and friends don't have it easy, but they work together to overcome whatever is in front of them. If it seems like there's always something, that's life as a character in a book. I feel for them but I wouldn't want the story to get boring. The bottom line is that they never give up and never give in. And if there is a bit of Southern Justice along the way, then that's what's necessary. (I wonder what my odds of getting Franklin Horton and Jack July together for a drink would be?)
Oh, and don't get too fond of too many of these characters. Horton may not be George RR Martin's long lost little brother, but then again, he might be. Not everyone I wanted to still be here is still here. As a matter of fact, Horton killed off my two favorite characters. I'm not going to tell you who they were, but I think you'll like them too. I think you'll like the whole series come to that. And yes, it was worth the heartbreak.
Bottom line: 5.0 out of 5 Go Bags
The Borrowed World Series
Franklin The Borrowed World Series
Self Published, 2015-2019
The Borrowed World books are available for purchase at the following links. If you click the link and buy literally anything off of Amazon I get a small percentage at no additional cost to you.
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