The Fallen Homestead

A Small Town Post Apocalypse EMP Thriller

Brianna Colfax returns to her small-town roots to run a restaurant, but a national crisis shatters her peace. With a sudden draft, curfew, power outages, and dwindling supplies, Brianna must protect her business and loved ones. As winter sets in and threats close in, she relies on her military skills to navigate the chaos. In a fight for survival, Brianna discovers that home and family are worth any battle.

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Less The Road, More As The World Turns

2/5 stars
I'm only two hours into this one, so take this review with that in mind — and I'll update it if things shift.
I came in hoping for something different from the standard post-apocalyptic formula — you know the books: lone protagonist, burning city on the cover, gunning down every gang between him and whoever he's trying to get home to. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The Fallen Homestead isn't quite that, but it swapped one familiar template for another. The interpersonal drama here runs thick — think less The Road and more daytime soap opera. Relationships, emotions, and conflict between characters dominate the early hours in a way that felt drawn out to me. That may appeal to readers who want more character depth woven into their apocalyptic fiction, and honestly, that's a legitimate creative choice for a debut author trying to find his lane.
The bones of an interesting story feel like they're in there. I'm hoping the pacing picks up and the survival story takes center stage as things develop. Colton Lively is clearly committed to his characters, and that's not nothing — a lot of writers in this genre skip that work entirely.
If you're patient with slow builds and don't mind high drama early, give it a shot. I'll check back in once I've gotten further.

EMP Fiction

This is less violent than other EMP books but still really good. I like it less violent personally. Many by this author are good.