Aftermath 1 (Nuclear War #1)

Nuclear war would be the war to end all wars.
This is how the world ends. But …
The real battle for survival was just beginning.
No one is immune from the horror of a war of extinction.

The living will envy the dead.

Aftermath Book 1 in the Nuclear War series delves into a chilling look where the pinnacle of human innovation turns into mankind’s greatest nightmare.

President John F. Kennedy once said, “Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” As political leaders repeat the oft-cited statement, they still prepare for a wide-scale nuclear war scenario. Today, a new element has been introduced into the preparations—artificial intelligence. The United States, in its quest to rapidly and effectively defend the nation from a nuclear attack, has incorporated AI into its operation plan of response.

But what if the artificial intelligence relied upon by the nation’s decision-makers is wrong? What if AI takes the controls of America’s nuclear response? Might it trigger nuclear war without justification? As leaders around the world have stated often, “There’s no such thing as a small nuclear war.”

When a series of unforeseen events triggers a cascade of errors in the AI algorithms, the delicate balance between geopolitical foes is shattered. In less than an hour, nuclear warheads begin to detonate across the Northern Hemisphere from the Far East to Russia to Europe to the United States. With no functioning government, nations and societies collapse. Murder and mayhem rule the day. The aftermath yields the expected result. The gates of hell have been thrust open and ordinary citizens pay the price as they discover nuclear war may kill millions but the aftermath, nuclear winter, will kill billions.

The Bartlett family is the fourth generation of lobstermen living on Swan’s Island in Maine. Billy and his sons operate a lobster fishing vessel while his wife, Tammy, runs the island’s fisherman’s co-operative. Their youngest daughter, Abbie, just graduated from Boston University. She’s preparing for her wedding to Coast Guardsman, Daniel Murphy. Good times and bright futures are being celebrated by the family as well as the other 350 residents of Swan's Island. Then, nuclear Armageddon struck them down with its mighty sword.