Book Review: Patriot Rising: The Unbroken

This is the sequel of Patriot Dawn: The Resistance Rises by Max Alexander.  The first installment is a book that is on my shelf of ‘books that must go with me’ in the event I must flee my home, right next to my survival guides.  By that I mean wild edible plants, the Constitution, and other invaluable texts.  Not only is it inspirational, but it lays out basic and advanced military style guerrilla warfare for the freedom fighter in all of us.  When this next book showed up I had to stare it down for a couple of days before starting it, because I knew it would consume me and my limited spare time if it was half as good as the first one.

By Pineslayer, a contributing author to Survival Cache & SHTFBlog

For those of you unfamiliar with the author, check out his site.  I consider it one of the best out there for those interested in learning about SUT (Small Unit Tactics) and Max and crew are training Americans year round (training info).  Max is a ‘no-holds-barred’ patriot and when you learn more about him and his personal history, it will reinforce the idea of what it means to be an American.

Let’s Get Started

Reading the first book is kinda mandatory IMO, just to understand how the people in the book got to where they are now.  That being said, Max does an adequate job in setting you up to dive right in, a little background, just enough to set the stage.  The current situation is that America is in the midst of a Civil War for about a year now.  Even if you don’t accept the author’s version of who the outside players are who helped our corrupt politicians perpetrate this crime against us, you can easily insert your own boogeyman into the mix and come to the same conclusion of what the end game is.  Total subjugation of the remaining population.  One world rule, hell on Earth unless you are one of the elite and those who bow to them.

Here is the text from the back cover of Patriot Rising: The Unbroken to help set the stage.  “The flames of civil war rage across America. The totalitarian Regime remains in power, fighting against the forces of Resistance and the Southern Federation. With Russian and Chinese forces advancing, the storm of war is rising.  America is in its death throes, as the forces of tyranny stamp out liberty across the country.  Following the assault on Washington D.C. by the Southern Federation, Jack Berenger must escape the city with his Resistance forces.  Facing overwhelming odds, fighting both the Regime and invading Russian forces, they must fight for survival, and ultimately, for freedom.  The future of the Republic is bleak.  The Resistance is the light against the darkness.  They are the Unbroken.”     

I’m going to do this review differently than most other reviews.  Most people read the whole book and then write it up, fair enough, but I like to be different.  I will read a few chapters and then write my thoughts down.  By doing it this way, I hope to portray the book as it unfolds and reveal my own trepidation about this scenario.  I’m willing to bet most of you, when reading a fiction novel, not only expect things to go a certain way, but also wish it to follow your own vision of what should happen.  I enjoy being surprised or even sometimes getting pissed off at what is happening in a book, but human nature in all of us wishes to be in control.  In reality we can only control how we react to a situation that is forced upon us, it is then that we see what we are really made of.

Related: Patriot Dawn – The Resistance Rises

Chapters 1 – 4, damn.  The best analogy I can come up with is a ‘roller coaster’.  Max picks up right where he left off and throws a 800lb gorilla into the mix.  Where will the military leaders, who have been non-state side, lend their support?  As of now a corrupt government has been running amok, using standard bully tactics and disinformation to beat the masses down.  Military leaders are told what to do by civilian leaders, by design and The Constitution,  since the dawn of time.  At what point will they break free and start to think for themselves?  Will they make the right decisions given their limited knowledge of the current reality on the ground?  By the end of the 4th chapter, you will be doubting all you hold sacred as an American, except the faith you have in those you have watched your back for the last year.

Chapters 5-10, at this point you are put through the whole gamut of emotions.  As the team starts making its way back to regroup and patch up their wounded, the reader is met head on with all of our worst fears, a nuclear detonation.  Your head begins to spin as it ties to grasp who would to this. The choices are few, each with nauseating repercussions.   Regime forces not only have no remorse or morals, but they end up recruiting gang members to do their really dirty work.  True terrorism.  Sub-human scum accountable to no one.  The bright spots are just as notable, Jack Berenger and his company of patriots exact their revenge more than once.  At this point the the Resistance Forces are hit head on the idea that their families may have targeted also with additional strikes deep within Texas where their loved ones are.  Now imagine that you have to keep fighting with this knowledge hanging over your head.  The last couple of pages of chapter 10 will bring a tear to any parents eye.

Also Read: The Katrina Rifle

At this point I have to add this mental image/exercise.  It is a point of discussion in virtually all survivalist communities, that if we devolve into Civil War, with a government unwilling to stand by the Constitution and the people, and it turns on its citizens to extract its pound of flesh, who will the military stand by?  In the past decade many top military leaders have retired or maybe have been forced out, either by coercion or disgust.  It is valid concern and Max does a very thorough job in weaving all the possibilities into this story.

Chapters 11- 17, furious, that is best word I can think of to describe the story and my reading.  After a successful ambush of gangland terrorists, some involved locals make an ill advised statement by dumping some bodies for all to see.  This starts off a firefight that brings in foreign forces to ‘pacify’ the area.  One thing that really sticks out in this section of the book is the idea of ‘know your enemy’.  The details of enemy weaponry is at times text like.  You only need to keep reading to understand why it is so essential to the story.  Understanding your adversaries strengths and weaknesses is the only way to put together a game plan for victory.   The fight is full swing at this point and the detail that Max puts into giving you a visual image of how the battlefield is laid out, can only be described as total immersion.

Also Read: 10 Best Outcomes Of TEOTWAWKI

At this point I have confirmed in my mind that if Max Velocity Tactical puts as much thought into their classes as he puts into this book, the training really can’t get any better.  It is obvious that Max, and I’m sure the rest of his cadre, don’t sit back and think that they are doing just fine, ever.  They may be happy with things, things can always be done better, I’m guessing this might be their unsung motto.  I envision the author sitting in front of a large dry erase board sketching up the battlefield scenarios and then putting them to pen.  The detail of the war scenes are precise and there are enough drawings and pictures to help you visualize the terrain and how the battle develops.

Chapters 18 and on, I found myself getting distracted by my own thoughts.  That is not a bad thing.  There are so many elements and different possible outcomes occurring, that your/my mind starts to wonder what would I be doing at this point.  I found myself this past week waking up thinking about this book and what it means to be ready for the future.  I like to think that I am mentally prepared for just about anything, but you never know until you are there.  After you read this book your ‘to do’ list will get revamped for the better.

Revenge Is Best Served

So, the battle ends, the enemy retreats to lick its substantial wounds, and our fighters get some much needed rest, one whole week.  Our country is still partially occupied by foreign forces so the fight is far from over.  The last chapter of Patriot Rising: The Unbroken does give you a sense that those who bet on the wrong horse are getting what they deserve and those who haven’t been caught yet are burning their credentials and hoping to blend in somewhere.

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Revenge is a dish best served cold.  Great saying with a unknown original author, that debate is ongoing, but I like Khan’s rendition.  It is very cold in Siberia comrade.  I can’t wait for the next book.

All Photos By Max Velocity

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