Imagine a world were terrorists take down electricity...terrifying! Mananzos hacker skills come in handy when teying to put the world to right again Good book, although sometimes a little hard to keep up with so much going on. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Good story and decent read. I had to stop trying to remember all the characters (many) and just focus on the story before I started enjoying the book. Once that was done I enjoyed the book.

As a novel Blackout has problems (moves from one city to another with minor characters who may or may not appear more than once), *but* as a prediction of what might happen if the electric grid failed across most of Western Europe--as a detailed conjecture of the domino effect on the infrastructure--Marc Elsberg has created a frightening scenario of how society might fall apart if the lights go out.

I've read other books about the immediate and long-term effects that would result with the loss of the electric grid; our current concept of life could so easily be completely altered by an EMP, an intense solar super storm, or a cyber attack on the electric grid. Everything from communication, to transportation, to the food supply, to sanitation, to medical services--depend directly or indirectly on electricity.

Blackout begins with an auto accident in Italy when a blackout cuts all traffic lights. The main character Pietro Manzano is injured, but in comparison to at least one other victim of the accident, Pietro injuries are minor. At the time, everyone believes the blackout is temporary, a huge inconvenience, but temporary--at worst, a day or so.

Before long, however, disturbing news begins to flow in (while communication is still possible)--Italy is not the only country to experience the loss of electricity, all of Western Europe is under attack. The source and purpose of the attack may not be clear, but unless something can be done to halt the damage, the end result can be hypothesized. Countries from Norway to Spain scramble to get their grids back online before it is too late.

Hospitals are almost immediately overrun with accident victims, surgeries and treatments are suspended or carried out under primitive conditions as generators fail from lack of fuel; food supplies that need to be kept cooled spoil rapidly; large dairy farms that depend on automatic milking systems see animals die in pain from infections in their udders; pumps don't work at gas stations--problems and connections multiply and expand.

Perhaps most frightening is the inability to keep nuclear fuel rods cooled. One failure of a nuclear plant is dreadful, but how many nuclear plants are there in Europe where the novel takes place?

Yikes! Glad this was a novel!

Source 2011-- nuclear power plants in Europe


In 2015, I read Ted Koppel's nonfiction Lights Out which looks at some of the consequences of a failure in the electric grid in the U.S. It was a fascinating, informative book, but pretty discouraging. The world's dependence on electricity is so thoroughly embedded that a large scale failure of the grid would be devastating.

Meandering on--why do so many of us love post-apocalyptic (from a named or unnamed event) and dystopian novels? Even zombie novels reflect our fear of a catastrophe that wipes out most of civilization and of man's determination to destroy himself one way or another--through war or environmental damage or political/religious fundamentalism.

Back on point. Blackout was published in Germany in 2012 and the translation is now making the rounds in the U.S. While I thought the novel could have been better, Elberg's vision of the chain reactions that would result in the event of an electric grid failure of even short duration will make you realize how fragile our civilization is. And I think that was his point.

Read in April. Review scheduled for May.

NetGalley/Sourcebooks

Techno-thriller. June 6, 2017. Print length: 450 pages.

"To borrow a phrase from Britain’s MI5: ‘We’re four meals away from anarchy.’"

This look at a very possible future disaster was first published in Germany in 2012. Translated by Marshall Yarbrough, it will soon be available in English, at least in the U.S.

Many long years in the planning, terrorists hack into the vast electrical supply system, starting in Europe, and the electrical supply grids across Europe fail, leaving millions of people without electricity. And without electricity, you don't have lights, heat (oh, and this is in the freezing temperatures of winter), water, food supplies, fuel, medicine, hospitals, the means to cool down nuclear reactors. Basically, the affected populations are thrown back centuries - without even the survival skills our ancestors had to live.

One man, Italian Piero Manzano, who is a former activist/hacker, works with Lauren Shannon, a CNN camera woman who has been working out of their Paris, France office, on trying to find answers to turn this mega disaster around.

Meanwhile, the attack is pervasive and soon hits areas outside of Europe. And multi government law enforcement, military and political agencies work together on crisis management and to stop the terrorists.

The story is told in short entries, skipping from city to city and country to country across Europe. I didn't mind this method of storytelling but I did feel the book was a bit repetitive and could have been quite a bit tightened up.

It is scary and it feels like it could actually happen. The author is able to impart to his readers the sense of urgency in fixing this catastrophe and the long-lasting effects, even when fixed.

I received this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.

Great read from start to finish. Having been in Computers for many years I found the section where the author explained a few inconsistencies especially gratifying. Thanks

>pdf will not transfer to Kindle hence I was not able to read or review this title

Originally published in Germany 2012. I read the description- "frighteningly plausible drama" had me intrigued.

In a flash/second the world goes dark for more than 30 million people.
Doors can still open- manually, paper money can still be exchanged, all conveniences are now requiring work.
Cows cannot be milked by hand; same with chicks, hens, and crops.
Elsberg does terrific work describing the horrifics of this blackout apocalypse.

A very thought provoking mystery- something that I believe could really happen. While it has a cast of many characters and at time moves slowly- I could not put this one down. I only pray the food guys have read this and taken appropriate action to prevent this from becoming a reality- we all love our electric power---

This book is described as “terrifyingly plausible” and I agree. Unless you’re a prepper, we are only 4 meals away from total anarchy. Knowing that the electrical grids in Europe are all tied together, it would probably be very easy to destroy them and cause chaos. It’s very clear that the author carefully researched the subject and if you want to learn about how electricity is conducted safely to all homes in Europe, this is the book for you. That said, I was expecting a thriller and in the end I struggled to finish reading. There is too much technical detail for my taste. I liked the parts where normal citizens deal with the issue and it was horrifying to think how dependent we are on technology, but the chapters describing politics, government organizations and financial issues, honestly bored me. If there is a recipe for thrillers it would probably be “show, don’t tell” and this book has way too much exposition and repetition to develop a fast rhythm.

What is happening when the electric grid goes out in one place and then seems to keep going all over Europe. When they don't come back on soon Piero Manazo is an Italian who figures out what he thinks has happened. He was a hacker and not sure if anyone wants to hear what he has to say. As time goes by it seems to be getting more dire for people. There is no power, it is cold. The food is spoiling, most do not have a supply to eat without cooking and then there is sanitation. The hospitals are trying to help people but no elevators to take the sick down to evacuate. Just so many things we never think about. Who is doing this and why? Will anyone listen to Piero?

I received an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley.

The electricity goes out across Europe, and the chase is on as a former hacker tries to figure out the cause. Over the course of the story, the author explores all the consequences of the loss of electrical power, and I expect after reading this, some folks will go out and stock up on emergency survival supplies.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, though bouncing back and forth between the multiple viewpoints confused me at times. It took me a while to figure out who all the major players were. But that could be just my own level of confusion in play. Regardless, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who love techno-thrillers.

This was a really thought provoking novel, and while terrifying to contemplate, was a a well written and enjoyable read. A more in depth review is at amazon.com.

A decent thriller, basically the message is society is as strong and will last as long as the power does. You may buy some candles after finishing this one.

"RESET: bringing the system back to zero...taking away the foundation of our civilization."

Desperation, chaos and anarchy ensue when the power grids start failing and people all over Europe are plunged into darkness. Without the basic amenities provided through the use of electricity, without communication, and without transportation -- collapse of society is quick. In a race against more devastation, exhacker Piero Manzano collaborates with authorities to find out who and what caused this devasting act of cyberterrorism. Manzano ends up a fugitive on the run with an American reporter, Laura Shannon, and they are in a race against time as there are hints of further attacks on the horizon.

I enjoyed this fast-paced action thriller as I like disaster stories. The author obviously meticulously researched both the IT and scientific scenarios described in this book. I enjoyed the multinational cast of characters (there are a lot of them) and the way the narrative changed perspective depending on the locations where the events unfold. Scary? Yes, as we live in a society that is very dependent on electricity for our very survival. I'd never want to go back to primitive times -- and the thought that some lunatic fringe could take it all away totally blows any sense of security that any of us have. We as a society don't need a new "start", but we can defnitely try for more harmonious order.

Fascinating look at how modern society can be brought to it's knees with the use of our own technology. It's a scenario that is scarily feasible and is well written by debut author Marc Elsberg

Sobering. Can’t count how many times I have heard a news cast spouting how vulnerable our electric grid is to cyber-attack, and our water supply, and our agricultural sources, and our transportation system. Here is a scenario describing the likely effects of such an attack. Much more than the inconvenience of no response when you flip a light switch. More impact than loss of air conditioning or loss of heat. And while many back-up generators stand ready to spring into action eventually the systems break down, for lack of fuel, and as more go off line there is no power to pump more fuel, so trucks to deliver fuel cannot be driven. The cycle turns vicious as people on medical machine support perish. Foods in stores spoil, farmers are unable to produce more. The author does a great job of portraying how the catastrophe plays out. While reading this let your imagination run wild and think to yourself, what if? How are you going to care for yourself and your loved ones? Do you own a gun? If you do not and he does who do you think will win the fight as others take what you have. Desperation is one hell of a motivator for normally law abiding peaceful people. A most provocative read in this world of terrorists and cyber-attacks.

This book started slowly because it was jumping around to so many different locations and people. However, once it got going, the story held my attention. Someone has crashed the entire electrical system in most of western Europe. They hunt is fevered and complex. Piero is a known hacker who has attacked multiple companies showing them their vulnerabilities. He starts to figure out what has happened and wants to help. Not all the authorities are interested in his help.

This is reasonably well written and eventually becomes a good read. Just persevere.

I was given an early copy to review of the latest edition of Marc Elsberg's Blackout. Scary in it's implications. In the scenario Elsberg describes it wouldn't take long for our lives to change for years. Blackout is difficult to follow at times. A lot of back and forth between locations and characters.

A fun, fast paced, provocative thriller. I enjoyed the read quite a lot. As a retired IT exec having had responsibility for securing systems, I frequently found myself muttering "been there, done that" or "that would never happen ... but then again...".. We operate a lot on faith that our systems and processes will protect us, that those nagging issues we know exist and maybe fought battles to address but lost the cost vs benefit arguments on will never actually occur, and if they do occur, we hope we are good enough to react fast enough to mitigate the issues or could not have realistically done anything to prevent them anyway and just have to take the hit. It can get ugly. Yeah, like I said, this one is provocative. I am glad I am now retired and no longer lose sleep over it. Read this book, and you may experience a bit of the sleeplessness that we IT pros experience frequently.

The .pdf provided was such a mess of jumbled formatting with inconsistent paragraphing and incoherent line breaks that it was just too difficult to read it and I gave up after about a hundred pages. Why would a publisher release something this screwed up and expect anyone to provide a sensible review? Didn't anyone at the publisher even look at it before they released it? Really annoying. Is this what publishing has come to?