Aurora: A Novel

Good characters lots of surprises and plot twists and a lot of heart. Also some plausible science and some uplifting observations about human nature. Excellent, quiet thriller.

Implausible tail of TEOTWAWKI. Easy, quick read as long as you're no too critical about the likelihood of humans acting the way he describes.For a more realistic view of societal demise, read "One Second After" by William Forstchen. It's well grounded in human behavior. Hint: prepare and be armed.

Great book could not put down.

I bought "Aurora" becasue it was an Amazon book of the month (I loved "Lessons in Chemistry" so much that I give most of Amazon's picks a try) but was disappointed. The premise was great - a solar flare of sorts causes the planet to completely lose all power and while the science was down pat the story just sort of meandered after the electric grids shut down. There were great characters that I loved; Norman, a retired scientist, Aubrey, a single mom raising a stepson, Phil, the local pothead who proves to be more resilient than expected, and Rusty, Aubrey's ex-husband who has gambling and drug issues. My problem was that the more I read the less I cared about any of them and that only a few were fully fleshed out. I guess it just didn't "flow" for me and I thought the ending was rushed. Twenty or so pages to finish off the first 250? It didn't work and I was admittedly struggling to get through it once I finished half the book. Not an awful read by any means but not something I'd recommend.

Almost-apocalyptic story of a possible catastrophe to today’s electrical grid, similar to a pre-electric solar event. Follows a group of characters in learning to live without electricity for months before it could be destroyed. The science is real, the characterizations alive enough to care for the people. Variety of characters from upright and sage down to criminally evil - sort of like real life. Good character arcs in the mains. Well worth reading!

People don't realize that the earth only has the water it has. It only has the air that it has. There is no magic that comes from space to make more water or air. what is on this earth is all there is. That being said, this book give the reader a wake up call. If something happens to the power grid, we will be out of light, energy, power. No electricity, no fresh water because there is no power to clean the water, no aircondiditoning because there is no power to run it. No machines to keep patients alive, babies in icu alive, people dependent on power to run their wheelchairs, heart machines. It is a really wake up call.

Really wonderful read. Thorough enjoyed the story with all its little back stories. Kind of a scary subject though. We are so reliant on electricity. What would we do without electricity for a year? No cell phone or TV. How do you know what the government is doing? How did they do it in the days before electricity? Guess we would figure it out.

This was a character driven disaster novel with the emphasis being more on the characters than on the disaster, I felt. I enjoyed it but it was different than most post-apocalyptic tales out there.The tale revolves around Aubrey Wheeler and her brother Thom Banning.The world is hit with a cataclysmic Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun which knocks out almost all the power grids worldwide, which controls electricity, water flow, and so much more.Aubrey and her stepson live outside of Chicago in the suburb of Aurora, Illinois, trying to stay away from her abusive ex-husband.Thom is a billionaire who planned for a disaster by preparing an old missile silo and inviting a select few to go there with him and his family.This is a tale of family dramas, old and new, of deciding what's really important, and of surviving.If you're into hardcore post-apocalyptic fiction this might not be for you but if you're looking for a slow paced family drama that will make you think, I can recommend this book.

What a great little read, Keopp managed to take a very serious subject and make a story that is serious, heart warming and in parts humorous. Loved it.

I just received this book and when I opened it, the first 22 pages are printed upside down - very weird. Wondering if anyone else received a copy like this? Sorry, no review on the book just yet.

❤️✅•Various points of view•A character-driven story•The story revolves primarily around a brother, Thom, and his sister, Aubrey.•Outstanding writing•A mix of likeable and dislikeable characters.•Story development is intriguing.💔❌•It was marketed as a thriller, but it didn't feel like one to me.•In general, I would have liked to know more about the scope of the disaster and humanity's actions.•I'd also like to know how the rest of the population is dealing with and reacting to the blackout.Overall, this book did its job and kept me interested & entertained; I enjoyed reading it.3.5/5🌟

Honestly, i was hoping for more, especially after the gem that was Cold Storage. I didn' find it breathtaking.It's good writing of course, but it's more about the social interaction with a teenage son, that isn't even hers,her scumbag ex husband and her estranged very rich brother during what i would call a dystopian lite period. It's a little bit funny, when not everything goes has her partime Sheldon Cooper brother expects it to go. There is a little terror, a little humour. But that's the problem with the book. Unlike Stephen King, i was able to put it down. It's exceptional in a sense that it paints a nice doomsday scenario. I don't believe, when it happens, there will be that much goodwill around. It will be guns behindthe closed curtains, not baking cakes for each other. Don't get me wrong, i will buy every book from this man. I just hope the next one is as good as the first, not the second.

I liked it and hopefully the screenplay will be better. It felt like I was reading a coles notes version. I suppose I am used to more character development, more plot substance. This was like a B movie, not great, but not bad either… I did read it in a few hours. I read fast. It kept my interest -I just wanted more.