Friday, February 15, 2013

Hitchcock and Gansky's 8 Minutes to Digital Winter ~ Reviewed

By Mark Hitchcock and Alton Gansky
Published by Harvest House
ISBN#978-0-7369-4912-5
342 Pages

Back Cover: 

Prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock and award-winning novelist Alton Gansky provide a suspenseful and fast-moving story of life after a massive cyber attack.

Twenty-two-year-old savant Donny Elton can't tie his shoes, but his computer skills are unsurpassed. Egged on by a shadowy figure only he can see and hear, Donny creates an evolving computer virus that knocks out satellites, power grids, and communication systems. The world is thrown back into a lifestyle it hasn't known for a hundred years. Surgeons find themselves operating without electricity. The military can't use its computers...


Review: 

Life without computers! It’s hard to imagine! I’m thankful for the review copy of a book that takes a look at this situation and so much more.

This suspenseful drama hinges on a “what if scenario” that could very well happen in the not so distant future. What if someone created a computer worm that wipes out power globally? Communication stops, and so does everything else.

It’s a sobering look at how quickly our society would plunge into chaos. Life for the most part runs smooth, not much thought is given to all that is required to keep our life as we know it moving forward, staying safe, healthy and our tummies full! These authors lift the veil on what it would look like and how people might act after the lights go out for good!

This book is broken down in four acts that take place starting January 20th 2014. Act one thrusts readers in the thick of things eight minutes after all energy sources on the planet fail. Act two takes a look at how things progress eight days after the collapse. Act three gives yet another look at eight weeks down the road and Act four is set eight months after the fall out. Could life ever return to normal?

This is an eye opening novel. I found it fascinating to read about procedures our government and our society has as a whole to address disasters of all kinds. They have these in place hoping we’ll never have to use them. I know the procedures mentioned are what if scenarios not gospel but it makes you think all the same. What would be the first thought our President might have if something like this were to happen? He and his staff would be in search of who and/or what caused this disaster and was it global? It was intriguing to read about how leaders around the world would communicate with each other to ensure no nuclear weapons would be used, which would make matters worse.

Military branches have their own code. They run a game plan according to circumstances. They run these plans by the President as to how they expect people to act. I had never given it much thought at how quickly our world would unravel after our energy sources dried up. I never gave a thought to what people would do first, how fast garbage would pile up- making things unclean, our water supply tainted and how quickly food would run out.

The authors said, “Our goal is to entertain in a way that prompts you to wonder and think. With a topic like this, entertainment is not the ultimate goal. We hope that this work will whet your appetite for the prophetic material of the bible. Much of God’s plan about the future is still hidden, and we have tried to respect that. What is presented here is a creative scenario of what could happen, not what will. Only God knows those details.”

Authors Mark Hitchcock and Alton Gansky achieve their goal hands down. I was spellbound and could not tear myself away from this believable story where life as we’ve knew it was falling apart hour by hour. The end is near that’s for sure. Thanks to these authors for a peek at one what if situation shown from several different peoples point of views. I liked that. I also liked the spiritual thread. They showed how faith played a big part in how people reacted to their circumstances. I highly recommend this as a book club pick. There is so much to discuss.
 Hitch
Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins

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