What happens when government fiscal mismanagement, resource wars, peak oil, overpopulation, high unemployment and an unexpected shocking and sudden wave of bank failures converge and descend at the same time? It just could mean unimaginable chaos. This riveting apocalyptic novel tells the exciting story of a young Asian American woman starting another routine, early-morning shift at a downtown Portland, Oregon, Starbucks and finds, as the warm summer morning progresses, that the nation’s economy has completely and utterly collapsed and there is absolutely nothing the government or anyone can do about it. The chaos, fear, and horrifying depravation that immediately follow start in the first chapter and move like lightning throughout the entire fast-paced book.It portrays her journey to seek safety, first for herself, then later for her family as they all flee for their very survival across the Sandy River and into the close-knit, rural farmlands of Corbett, Oregon, where they must work long hours and fight hard as they strive to establish a harsh, new life."Buck," is the first sequel to "Shut Down." "Buck" is the story of Corbett, Oregon, as it struggles to survive two years after the economic collapse portrayed in "Shut down."This new novel introduces a severely wounded outsider, Michael "Buck" Baccellieri. Buck arrives in Corbett just as the community is threatened by a desperate band of killers."First Journey," is a story of a winter exploration and the third novel in this series and "Stone Warriors" is the fourth, where we find the youth are steering the community into the future. As you read this exciting new apocalyptic work, keep telling yourself this kind of a disaster can't possibly happen. Not in America! No way! --Northwest Connection, Troutdale, Oregon Here’s the simple, yet fiendish, plot that gave me nightmares for a week: On Monday morning the FDIC closes more than 600 insolvent banks nationwide. But under pressure from a deficit-hawkish, Tea Party Congress, the agency forgoes its customary caution and closes more banks at the same time than prudence would suggest. This shocks the financial system enough to shut down both debit cards and Food Stamp cards, sending the US public into panic when they can’t get cash and sending hungry people first into the streets, and then into grocery stores for looting. Electronic panic spreads throughout the world’s interconnected financial system. From there, with payments stopped, oil supplies are disrupted, depriving law enforcement of fuel for patrol cars. That leaves the streets to urban street gangs who start a massive LA Riot in every major city in the US, soon followed by civil unrest around the world. Focused around the author’s hometown in and around Portland, Flynn seems unimpressed by the world-leading sustainability efforts and peak oil prep that the city has done over the last few years. Instead, just like any other doomed urban area, by Wednesday in Portland, survivors who can have cleared out of the city and are now evacuating the suburbs. Not far behind are the inner-city gangs who have quickly formed themselves into vandal armies to pillage the suburbs and the countryside. You too might get nightmares after reading Shut Down. But, if they inspire you to start prepping your family for an emergency of any kind or to start working with your neighbors to start making your community resilient enough to deal with a more uncertain future along the lines of the Transition Movement, or both, then the bad dreams will be for a very good cause. --Erik Curren, Transition Voice I found that I literally could not put this one down. It was like, wow, this is what we had been talking about all these years, condensed into one book, summarized into a single, action-packed, terrifying narrative ... get the book, read it, and be prepared to be blown away. --Inflation, Investing, and Everything, Book Review by Low, Ee, Singapore We have all, Flynn included, read a doomsayer novel or two. We have seen New York disintegrate in film and on the printed page. But Flynn launches his novel in Portland, toppling civilized society eastward through Troutdale - Gresham is in distant flames but you can't find out much because cell phones don't work - ending with a standoff in Corbett. The tale is no picnic, though a lot off people flee carrying food. Flynn chose Corbett for a stand-off because its residents are more likely to have and use weapons, along with the land and ability to grow food and dynamite enough to topple the bridges over the Sandy River when hungry hordes advance. Further, it has a gravity-fed water system that will run without the necessity of pumps. Corbett's survivors are remarkably cohesive - hard to believe if you've ever been to a school board meeting. The tale is so bloody that you will never see the scenery in the same way again driving Gordon Creek Road. --Portland Tribune The idea behind this novel began to develop in 2010 as the Fed was emba