The Visitors: 299 Days, Book 5

This is a really good book series about what a partial collapse of the US might look like and how regular people might respond to the crisis. The premise of the book is entirely plausible, given the current state of affairs our nation is in. Glen Tate does a nice job of getting us to care about the characters. The book series gives a lot of great advice on how to get ready for a disaster, be it a natural disaster or the impending mess we have allowed our politicians to create, although it is, first and foremost, a nice piece of fiction. Leftists and statists will not likely appreciate how they are portrayed, and the welfare state supporters will object to some parts as well, but it might be eye opening for them at the same time since we have an entirely unsustainable system in our nation. Keep an open mind. It might make you think... It is an easy read and one that is hard to put down. I purchased the series on Kindle. The only "downside", if there is one, is the cost. If you buy the first book, I guarantee you will buy the rest. So, you are probably better off buying the entire series up front since it will save you some money. As a final thought, this review is really for the entire series, not just book 5. There are 10 books in the series. Blessings!

I enjoyed book 5 just as much as I enjoyed the first four and I'm looking forward to the next one. I think one reason for the popularity of this series is that it is not only believable but that the situation already exists in our contemporary society. The ingredients have already been mixed and we are just waiting for the spark. The one real complaint I have about the 299-series is that it is taking too long to publish the series. By the time part Five became available, I had already forgotten much of what happened in the first four books. My advice? Get on with it, Mr. Tate. Some reviewers have made comments about the raid and the trial of the druggies. I have no problem with it and tend to think that justice was served. Other reviewers expressed fears about how the visitors might change Grant. Sure they are going to change him and I see this as a positive. Just as in real life, the country as portrayed in this fictional series has become dysfunctional and no longer serves the majority of its citizens. Mr. Tate describes the dissolution of the country. I think our country is indeed hopelessly divided and has become hopelessly corrupt. It is time for us to clean up the mess that the left has created. I am impatient to see how Mr. Tate solves the problem. I think we all know what is going to have to happen and it isn't going to be pretty. And do you know something? I am not going to be sympathetic to those who created the problem.

If you are into "prepping" and believe the U.S. is heading for economic collapse, this incredibly detailed series is a great guide to the steps you should take to get ready and what to anticipate when it actually happens. I would give this series 5 stars just for that aspect. I think it is a well researched and well thought-out prediction of the future of this country. Some reviewers felt this installment was a "filler" book but I actually found it to be one of the more interesting books so far. I loved all the nuances of what makes a community and the details you need to think about when getting a group of acquaintances and strangers to come together and work together for the common good. The series loses stars for the actual writing. I know Glen Tate is not a trained author so I expected some rookie writing mistakes. I found that he can be repetitive at times - that may be because I read books 1-5 all in a weekend - he was probably trying to refresh people's memories who read the books as they were released. But the rookie mistake I found most distracting was his changing the point of view characters in mid-stream. Most of the time the story was told from the point of view (p.o.v.)of the main character Grant Matson. Changing p.o.v. characters in different chapters worked for me - the author wanted us to see how the collapse was affecting people who were in were different locations from the main character, but changing p.o.v. in the middle of a scene was jarring. There were times when we were seeing things through Grant's eyes and then it would veer suddenly into his wife's mind or into a friend's mind (just for a sentence or two) and then we were whipped right back into Grant's mind again. That criticism aside, I enjoyed my weekend with Glen Tate and Grant Matson. I eagerly look forward to book 6!

I love these books, they kept me captivated and interested the whole way through. First, lets get this out of the way: Glenn is not an author by trade, and it shows. The writing was clunky early on, however, he got MUCH better as the series went on. The books are also too short in my opinion, and I'd rather have them all in one large book if I had the choice. Both of these things do not warrant a lower rating in my opinion though. Great content though. Really excellent. Gives the reader a lot to think about. How would you handle a situation like this? Lots of good, detailed, realistic info in these books. It'll definitely get you thinking about your emergency plans and survival skills. I hope Glenn writes more books likes this with new stories. This Series would also make an excellent movie!

This, like the previous books in the series, is hard to put down once you get started. The story continues to follow a logical path of the development of Grant Madson as he struggles to lead his community through the collapse, using the Constitution as the frame work for their new "government" The characters struggles and development are easy to identify with. The author has great ability to identify develop individual characters in a realistic way. Of course there is a bit of a twist at the very end that leaves the reader hungry for the next book in the series. As a reader I am having to force myself to exhibit restraint and not simple purchase the rest of series all at once and take a few days of "vacation" to power through them. That simply would not be the "prepper way".

Love this series. Could have read them forever. I couldn’t wait to have a moment to sit down and continue the adventure.

My husband loved the series.