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From: Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
Subject: "Holding Their Own IX: The Salt War" by Joe Nobody
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2025 19:07:16 -0500
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"Holding Their Own IX: The Salt War" by Joe Nobody
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1717543812/

The ninth book in a series of nineteen alternate history books about the 
economic collapse of the USA in 2015 and onward.  I reread the well 
printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self 
published by the author in 2014 that I bought new on Amazon in 2014.  I 
own the first twelve books in the series and am rereading the first ten 
before my first read of the eleventh book.

Um, this series was published in 2011 just as the shale oil and gas boom 
was really getting cranked up.  The book has crude oil at $350/barrel 
and gasoline at $6/gallon in 2015.  Not gonna happen due to oil well 
fracking in the USA so the major driver of economic collapse in the USA 
is invalid for the book.  That said, the book is a good story about the 
collapse and failure of the federal government in the USA.  The book is 
centered in Texas which makes it very interesting to me since I am a 
Texas resident.

The $6 gasoline was just the start.  The unemployment rises to 40% over 
a couple of years and then there is a terrorist chemical attack in 
Chicago that kills 50,000 people.  The current President of the USA 
nukes Iran with EMP airbursts as the sponsor of the terrorist attack. 
And the President of the USA also declares martial law and shuts down 
the interstates to stop the terrorists from moving about.  That shuts 
down food and fuel movement causing starvation and lack of energy across 
the nation.

The accumulations of these serious problems cause widespread panics and 
shutdowns of basic services like electricity and water for large cities. 
  The electricity grids fail due to employees not showing up to work at 
the plants.  Then the refineries shutdown due to the lack of electricity.

The story is an sad example of what can happen when resources are short 
in an area and there is no over-riding legal authority.  Tempers fray 
and people die.  Very quick page turner.

The author has a website at:
    https://www.joenobodybooks.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (553 reviews)

Lynn