On the Bookshelf: Without Warning by John Birmingham (Spoilers!)

Without Warning

by John Birmingham

Do you want to know what happens when a science fiction writer overhears some idiots during a student riot at the University of Queensland loudly proclaiming how much of an awesomely better place the world would be if the United States of America were to suddenly disappear?

Without Warning is what happens.

 The Setting:

The eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The MacGuffin:

An unexplained/unexplainable teardrop shaped  energy phenomenon that mysteriously appeared over most of North America known as “The Wave”. All higher primates (including zoo monkeys) disappear in a rapture-like instant, leaving behind piles of clothing and organic goo. All that is left of the United States is Hawaii, Alaska, and a small corner of northwestern Washington State including Seattle. The Wave doesn’t register on any scientific instrument and “disappears” anyone who attempts to cross its boundary.

The Aftermath:

The United States civilian government is literally gone. There is no line of succession to follow. The military command structure, however, is still fairly strong but most of its surviving power is deployed on the other side of the globe in the midst of a hostile environment that, of course, sees The Wave as a divine retribution. After a moment of jaw-dropping shock the world realizes that the heart of the world’s economy has stopped beating and its guarantor of global security is no-longer walking the beat. Tom Barnett would be banging his head repeatedly against his desk (except he was probably disappeared), and Nassim Taleb would be clapping with glee at the scope of the Black Swan that just crapped all over the planet (except Israel, back against the wall, pre-emptively nukes all of its neighbors including Lebanon).

I really liked this book. Unlike many ‘end-of-the-world’ genre books, this one didn’t make me want to stockpile cans of food and firearms. Instead, I started to anticipate the next catastrophe, some I got right, some I didn’t see coming, and that made the book a fun and exciting read.

The second book of the trilogy, After America, is just out with a third book yet to come. I’ve finished it and will write a review in the near future.