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Iran and China plot a strike that will make a statement to their enemy, the United States. Their attack on the US will be from within and cripple a critical part of the country's infrastructure. Various power stations will be targeted by suicide bombers. The destruction of the plants will trigger a domino effect, leading to the failure of the California energy grid. The economic impact will be devastating to the United States as a whole and will weaken the country in the global community. Once the right personnel are recruited and the weaponry is secured, the plan will go forward.
The surreal experience begins at 2:35 am, when the lights begin to go out across California. The state has experienced power outages from heat waves, wildfires, and the occasional temblor. However, this is different. The outage hits the entire state almost simultaneously. Restaurant patrons respond to the blackout by using their cell phones to light their meals. In a more serious situation, local airports have to find alternative locations for planes to land or risk an emergency reaching deadly proportions.
Barbara arrives at the grocery store early in the morning and knows her day will not be normal. Panicked customers are waiting impatiently outside, and store employees are helpless as the power outage prevents normal transactions. Once a few of the more aggressive shoppers break a window, Barbara attempts to maintain a semblance of order even as the patrons surrender to their selfish and survivalist instincts. The breakdown of order in a supermarket is a microcosm of the broader failure of society, as criminals seize the opportunity to loot or engage in other illegal activities while the police are either occupied or altogether absent.
The recently elected governor of California wants answers and solutions to the current emergency and won't tolerate defeatism in his employees. Those familiar with the state's energy infrastructure know there is no short-term fix for the grid's destruction and that generators are merely stopgap measures. The greatest concern is humanitarian, as machines needed to help people breathe will stop, refrigerated and frozen foods will spoil, and gasoline can't be pumped. The state of California will need a miracle to stave off its destruction.
Great narrative fiction often comes from pondering the unthinkable scenario. A man-made calamity that results in a cataclysmic power failure affecting millions of people possesses the taut drama of a disaster movie (i.e., The Towering Inferno) and takes it to another level. The beauty of this particular narrative lies in how organically the chaos unfolds, as what initially appears to be a routine inconvenience turns out to be an existential threat to every inhabitant of California. One of the chilling aspects of Lynch's novel is the vulnerability of California and its population should a similar scenario unfold in real life. The author brilliantly illustrates this through a range of researched footnotes. The assortment of characters introduced in the story propels the action forward as the disaster hits each person differently. Lynch has written a gripping book that highlights how a crisis can elicit both the worst and the best from humanity.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
A 2026 Eric Hoffer Book Award Montaigne Medal Finalist.