Blue Fire

Written by John Gilstrap, a New York Times bestselling author best known for the Jonathan Grave series, this suspense novel imagines America after collapse. Its atmosphere recalls The Stand and One Second After. The catastrophe is called Hell Day, a world war that ended in less than twenty-four hours. Weapons unleashed during the conflict erased more than a century of technology. Power grids are dead, communications and computers no longer function, and the remnants of the federal government cannot be relied upon. Survivors now live as their ancestors once did, at the mercy of the natural world.

Victoria Emerson, a single mother and former West Virginia congressperson, has become the leader of Ortho, a small town in her home state. She struggles to supply food and shelter to its residents while dealing with desperate refugees who arrive seeking help. Her rebuilding effort is tested on an autumn morning when her teenage son shouts "Blue Fire," the code phrase signaling imminent danger.

A group of National Guardsmen intends to seize Ortho and everything in it. They have enough soldiers and firepower to wipe out anyone who tries to stop them. Victoria has sworn an oath to defend her people and will not surrender. The story draws on traditional American virtues of courage, ingenuity, and determination as its characters decide to meet force with force.