Who else has read "Out Of The Ashes" by the late William Johnstone?

[bean fidhleir]

I'm a fan of post-apocalypse novels because they usually have politics in them. Not ever having read anything by Johnstone, I picked up a copy of OOTA years ago. It didn't take me long to diagnose him as a potboiler writer - no outline, almost no plot, just sit at the typewriter and hack away. Finish a book in a month or six weeks, get maybe $5K for it in advance and royalties, start the next one. A kind of "Regency Romance" but with sex instead of romance, plus heaps and gobs of violence, all tied together with moralizing. Apparently it was a big hit with his usual readership, since he went on to write more than 20 more in the series before dying at age 65.(The second one was even worse, because he openly cut-and-pasted large chunks from the first one. The man had no shame at all)

I found it an annoying book not only because it was poorly crafted and preachy, but also because of the *incessant* drumbeat of "conservative good, liberal bad". I frequently thought of dropping it in the trash (something I've done with a book only 3 times in my life)...and I'm not even a liberal! But eventually I staggered through to the end, and put the book into the group that's going to be sold on Amazon when I get time.

Recently I decided to try reading it again, since sometimes I like a book better the second time. But no, this one's faults are still on front-and-center display, still annoying as hell.

I did notice, though, something that I was too irritated to fully take in the first time: the underlying politics he pushed in the book. They were a real surprize, not at all what I expected to see. That's why I'm wondering how many other people here have read it, because I think it could be worth an analytic discussion.

[Old Codger]

1. Guilty

I have read a fair amount of his works,"Out of the Ashes" "Fire in the Ashes" he also wrote westerns based on superhero types in the old west beginning with the mountain man series of "preacher" on and on, His basic precept seems to be that people should be self sufficient, make their own way depending on no one else and willing at all times to put their lives on the line to do what is "right". Pretty violent for sure but pointing out some of the values that we have lost along the way in that we no longer seem to have any real feel for "honor" (not really the word I am looking for) or basic values as a society, seemingly an attitude of ME ME ME first and maybe some for you if you meet my standards.

[bean fidhleir]

2. I was hoping there'd be more than just the two of us who'd own up

to reading it :evilgrin: I'm not sure we can carry the whole thing ourselves. Let's let it sit til tomorrow to see if anyone else will join in. Even if not, maybe we'll give other people an opening by what we say.