Welcome to Mono's Book Corner.
Quick explanation: An objective look at the lessons taught, not necessarily learned, in books worth checking out. This topic will focus on the seven book Survivalist series.
Let's get this out of the way, no major spoilers. No discussion of in-depth details of events of what takes place with different characters in the books. Very minor spoilers, at worst. We're only going to be concentrating on the lessons the author tries to teach the readers, through the story.
Now I can't take credit for this idea. It actually belongs to a YouTuber named StartUpSurvival who tried to do the same thing but with films. Now to be clear, this isn't an endorsement of him, nor the Survivalist book series. StartUpSurvival came up with an excellent idea... and failed miserably in the execution because he allowed his prejudices to completely ruin any objective look at the films he discussed. I will be covering lessons taught. Some that I don't personally agree with. I'll still present them for discussion.
If anyone else is currently reading or has already read these books, please feel free to let me know if I may have omitted a lesson. If I did, it was by accident and not done intentionally.
As for the book series itself. I'll say this... Book One suffers from too much product placement. I don't believe this was done intentionally as it is the first book, before the series became popular. While all of us love to talk about our favorite gear, the author takes it too far. Be aware also that it's written from a First Person perspective. For all of my fellow hard-core book worms, you already know the major issue with that in anything longer than a typical Short Story. (No worries. Later on the author cheats by becoming not just the main character but the Narrator as well.)
These issues are minor compared to books later in the series. In which the author literally can't keep characters' names straight. Forgets how many there are. Gets confused about the condition of items. (For example: How a suspiciously highly detailed map becomes one that is horribly crude, literally a couple of pages later.) Gets confused about the gear certain characters have. (Loved how one character's multi-tool magically morphed from being a Gerber for quite a bit of the book, into a Leatherman all of a sudden.) And the publishing house clearly didn't bother having anyone proof-read the books for typos and other errors before printing them!
All that aside, you do get a solid and exciting read in this series. I will be covering all seven books, just not all at once.
Book One: "Going Home."
1 - Don't use a military pack (or one that looks like one) for you GHB or BOB.
2 - Have your carry-pistol concealed on your person and ready.
3 - Get night vision goggles you can wear strapped to your head. Only travel at night. Keeping off of main roads and trails. (To not get ambushed by others.)
4 - Don't over pack your bag.
5 - Be very careful when cooking outdoors as the smell of food can easily attract hungry strangers who are less prepared than you are. (Especially in a long-term Grid Down scenario.)
6 - Don't trust ANYONE! (Not even a married couple with small children.)
7 - Never give a loaded gun to someone you've never seen shoot before. Even a new friend whom (for some bizarre reason) you trust.
8 - As time passes and things get worse... Don't stop to help others. Just brings you serious grief.
9 - Don't make campfires. Even if you're not cooking over one, the light could attract 2-legged predators right to where you are.
10- If you even suspect someone is tracking you, maintain strict radio silence.
11- Scavenging the bodies of the recently deceased will help you to survive.
12- Invest in solar energy for your house.
That's it for Book One. Some have less lessons. But these are all I could find in the first book of the series. Highlighting things that characters did right... as well as how they screwed up and got it wrong. Feel free to discuss all or some of the lessons taught. I think this could be a really thought-provoking topic.
Quick explanation: An objective look at the lessons taught, not necessarily learned, in books worth checking out. This topic will focus on the seven book Survivalist series.
Let's get this out of the way, no major spoilers. No discussion of in-depth details of events of what takes place with different characters in the books. Very minor spoilers, at worst. We're only going to be concentrating on the lessons the author tries to teach the readers, through the story.
Now I can't take credit for this idea. It actually belongs to a YouTuber named StartUpSurvival who tried to do the same thing but with films. Now to be clear, this isn't an endorsement of him, nor the Survivalist book series. StartUpSurvival came up with an excellent idea... and failed miserably in the execution because he allowed his prejudices to completely ruin any objective look at the films he discussed. I will be covering lessons taught. Some that I don't personally agree with. I'll still present them for discussion.
If anyone else is currently reading or has already read these books, please feel free to let me know if I may have omitted a lesson. If I did, it was by accident and not done intentionally.
As for the book series itself. I'll say this... Book One suffers from too much product placement. I don't believe this was done intentionally as it is the first book, before the series became popular. While all of us love to talk about our favorite gear, the author takes it too far. Be aware also that it's written from a First Person perspective. For all of my fellow hard-core book worms, you already know the major issue with that in anything longer than a typical Short Story. (No worries. Later on the author cheats by becoming not just the main character but the Narrator as well.)
These issues are minor compared to books later in the series. In which the author literally can't keep characters' names straight. Forgets how many there are. Gets confused about the condition of items. (For example: How a suspiciously highly detailed map becomes one that is horribly crude, literally a couple of pages later.) Gets confused about the gear certain characters have. (Loved how one character's multi-tool magically morphed from being a Gerber for quite a bit of the book, into a Leatherman all of a sudden.) And the publishing house clearly didn't bother having anyone proof-read the books for typos and other errors before printing them!
All that aside, you do get a solid and exciting read in this series. I will be covering all seven books, just not all at once.
Book One: "Going Home."
1 - Don't use a military pack (or one that looks like one) for you GHB or BOB.
2 - Have your carry-pistol concealed on your person and ready.
3 - Get night vision goggles you can wear strapped to your head. Only travel at night. Keeping off of main roads and trails. (To not get ambushed by others.)
4 - Don't over pack your bag.
5 - Be very careful when cooking outdoors as the smell of food can easily attract hungry strangers who are less prepared than you are. (Especially in a long-term Grid Down scenario.)
6 - Don't trust ANYONE! (Not even a married couple with small children.)
7 - Never give a loaded gun to someone you've never seen shoot before. Even a new friend whom (for some bizarre reason) you trust.
8 - As time passes and things get worse... Don't stop to help others. Just brings you serious grief.
9 - Don't make campfires. Even if you're not cooking over one, the light could attract 2-legged predators right to where you are.
10- If you even suspect someone is tracking you, maintain strict radio silence.
11- Scavenging the bodies of the recently deceased will help you to survive.
12- Invest in solar energy for your house.
That's it for Book One. Some have less lessons. But these are all I could find in the first book of the series. Highlighting things that characters did right... as well as how they screwed up and got it wrong. Feel free to discuss all or some of the lessons taught. I think this could be a really thought-provoking topic.
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