Absolutely could not put this book down, very intriguing plot that kept me up reading!

Piero Manzano used to be a hacker, but after a brush with the law, he became a consultant. When the power suddenly goes out all over Europe, he uses those skills to hack into his smart meter find out what the hell is going on. What he sees troubles him enough to talk to someone in charge of the inquiry.

He ends up traveling to some interesting places, and when the hackers find out he’s put Europol on to them, he needs taken off the board.

Lauren Shannon is an American reporter who’s gotten used to playing second fiddle, and she sees the Europe-wide power catastrophe as an opportunity. As long as she can stick with Manzano, she’ll be right in the middle of the action.

Blackout was an interesting techno-disaster thriller, and it reads kind of like a disaster movie. Elsberg jumps around showing the action from several different perspectives much in the same way a film of that type would. He’s gotten fairly detailed on how these systems actually work, and while some might find it a little over their head, I feel it adds to the understanding of what’s going on–and the plausibility of each successive catastrophe.

My only complaint is at the book’s end, we have a last minute gambit by the terrorists that gets foiled by the plucky protagonists, but unlike the rest of the book the details aren’t exposed. It sits a bit funny after the sheer volume of information given on every other move.

An entertaining diversion all around, it’s the right pacing to bring along on your summer vacation.

The book started off ok, but the book didn't keep my interest.

I could not put this book down! As soon as the lights started going out across Europe, I was hooked. Why are they going out? Who is behind the power outage? What do they hope to gain? How will these 'civilized' societies survive? We watch the events unfold from different viewpoints ... some people in power, some just everyday citizens ... all caught in this terrible situation. We watch as the story unfolds and must wonder, what would we do? Could we survive? Will they? A frightening situation and just a little bit too realistic (and possible) to be comfortable. Highly recommended!.

The good: The writing was top notch. I learned a lot about opium and laudanum addiction in the Regency era. Many writers touch on this subject in passing, but they don't bother to educate us at all. Evans appears to have done extensive research.

The bad: It focused a little TOO much on the addiction aspect, which prevented me from engaging more in the story. It almost took over the story. Did not like the name Hestia (how do you even pronounce that?), even though I realize names that sound weird by today's standards were once common.

Overall: Well written, good story, and I'll be looking for the next in the series.

I found this book fairly realistic in how it portrayed the breakdown of social order and chaos that results from the sabotage of basic infrastructure. I enjoyed reading the various perspectives, from the lead characters, to police enforcement, to the grid employees, and how every single person struggles with their bit to bring society back from the brink. I also enjoyed this book's European perspective and focus. I did find the way the situation was wrapped up with the primary villain a bit ridiculous, but overall this was a good read.

3.5 stars. Blackout is the first book by Marc Ellsberg that I have read so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was far more than I expected in a thriller. This is a standalone book. I enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down. There is violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all of that info here. The author did a great job of explaining the complexities of the European electrical grid as simply as possible so a complicated subject could make sense to the reader. This is a story of how vulnerable we are with everything we do being online and using technology. There are enough twists and turns to keep readers interested. It definitely kept me reading.

I look forward to reading more of his books. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and chose to leave a review for other readers.

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"OK, so we've only ourselves to blame, because back then, everyone wrote off the dangers as so much craziness from doomsday prophets. Naturally, it's also a question of cost. Security costs money."
"Well, events have now shown that it costs even more to ignore it."
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This was an excellent thriller - and cautionary tale... Europe suddenly finds itself in the throes of a massive - and inexplicable - blackout. No one can figure out what happened, or why it doesn't seem to be resolving itself, until an Italian hacker discovers the unbelievable - it was intentional. Incredible as that sounds, the tale as it unfolds from there is more incredible still - not in the sense of unbelievable, but of altogether too much so...

We live in a world that is increasingly susceptible to hacking because we are increasingly reliant on computers to run our lives - daily and on an ongoing basis; personally and globally. This was as timely a thriller as I've ever read - and one of the scariest as a result. It's been said (by a variety of sources, with minimal variations in exact wording) that we are all a handful of meals away from anarchy; the wide-reaching effects of a prolonged power cut (e.g., mechanized farming/animal husbandry, computerized banking, electronic locks and thermostats) render that statement as potent as ever in the modern world. Elsberg delivers the horror and panic of such losses through a well-paced and plotted story populated by all too human characters (on the sides of good and bad). The story is relatable, engaging, and rather horrifying in its implications. Here's hoping the story remains a story and doesn't become prophecy...

I do not feel I can give this book a fair review. It seems like it would so credible, and fascinating, but was outside my realm of understanding..

Started off with a great idea, but didn't hold my interest.

The plot of this novel was good - Suddenly the lights go out in France, and then Germany, and then most of Europe. There was a certain guilty, horrified pleasure in tracing the reasons and effects of this blackout through the course of the book. But the characters were, for the most part, not very memorable or distinguishable from one another.

Marc Elsberg's Blackout provides the reader with a fast and twisting story of what could happen if the electrical grids across Europe and America were shut down. The suspense builds quickly and keeps the reader wondering who did it, how it was done, if it can be stopped in time, and who will survive?

This book is well written with good character development. The text gives the reader a great deal to contemplate when done reading. In this day of interwoven technology and terrorism, this is a very real scenario which could easily come about.

The reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of five, is the way it jumped back and forth. I occasionally got lost in which characters were at which location and how they related to each other. However, that being said, this is still an excellent suspenseful and thought-provoking read.

I received an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley.

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise for the story is great, but the execution was just okay. Blackout spent too much time going into technical details for the power stations and grids, and had too many meetings with politicians/government officials that it became tedious. The story was told from so many points of view that it became a bit confusing.

Blackout- This book makes you think and almost starts to put a fear in you . I mean it had me starting to think oh my word what would happen if we lost power.

This one will make you think- and possible become a prepper. The doomsday aspects of a power outage seem so much worse because we're so dependent on our devices and electricity these days but realistically, things will eventually settle down. Piero is a terrific character- and he's lucky to have Lauren by his side. This was originally published in Germany; it's good to see it translated and published in the US. It's slower than you might want in parts but I kept reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Because I work in the tech industry I am usually hypercritical of tech centered novels. However, this one keeps your attention and doesn't feel like either a playbook/user guide or forced tech. Great premise, plot and believable characters.

When the lights.... go out... in the city.... and don't come back on.. and then Europe finds that threats in the United States are also occurring.... you know there's a real problem. Cities are being evacuated - there's proof that there are bombings happening and threats to nuclear power plants are imminent. Former hacker, Manzano, thinks he is being sought after to help with figuring out how these acts are happening, but soon finds, he's one of a few suspects. Running with American Journalist, Shannon, they race against time to try and stop a global catastrophe.

This book is written in various locations and through several POVs, and they all tie in together without getting overly complicated. The fascination behind this technological thriller is the plausibility. If this country (or any country really) went into permanent Blackout, it would take a LOT of adjusting to get the country working again. Elsberg does an insightful job of the unravelling of society and how we would react not only to being put in the dark but how dependent we are to power. It's scary, all too real and definitely makes you think.

I've come to find that anything political pretty much doesn't suit my taste. Manzano and Shannon were the only characters I found myself drawn to and the rest made my eyes cross. There is a lot put on the politicians in this story being ineffectual. It's all too real with what is going on these days in the world. If you like fast paced, political, technology and dystopia thrillers, you're going to LOVE this book. As a personal preference, it didn't quite hit home the way I hoped that it would.

This book is subtitled "A Novel" but it really isn't. It is a movie treatment in prose. I paged through it for a while before deciding that it would be easier to watch the film on an airplane sometime.

I received a review copy of "Blackout: A Novel" by Marc Elsberg (Sourcebooks Landmark) through NetGalley.com.

Although I rated this book as a three, it is really a 3-4. My main criticism is the multiple points of view. I finally got them mostly straight, but I had no idea who was who in the first few chapters. I’m not even sure if some of the characters were necessary to the plot. I’m still not sure that I didn’t mix characters up, but it didn’t matter in the end.

I had a hard time getting into the book. I thought it was slow to develop, but since it was for review I stuck with it. I’m glad I did. It turned out to be a really fascinating story and the societal breakdown due to an international power outage was not something I had ever considered. I do have a hard time believing that things got as bad as they did in only a couple of weeks of no electricity. Maybe because I live in an area where power outages happen on a regular basis. Nothing like what happens in the book because I can always go somewhere that power is available, but still. I kept thinking that these people were so unprepared. Apparently, no one had more than a day or so of food in the house.

Now, after sounding so smug, one thing I had not thought about was the need for cash. It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank if you can’t access it. I don’t ever keep more than a few dollars on me because I just use plastic. Well, if there is no power, that will not work.

And that’s why this book is almost a four. It made me think. We all know that we should be prepared for emergencies, but I am guilty of just knowing I should and not actually doing anything about it. This book has made me think about how dependent I am on the infrastructure and how I need to better protect myself.
So yes, I definitely recommend this book. After the slow start, I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next and who the bad guys were. There was a twist at the end that I did not see coming and it made the book even better. This is definitely a great book if you enjoy suspense and to a certain extent apocalyptic themes.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Originally published in 2012 in Germany this book is very chilling and realistic. A group of terrorist infect computers world wide that shuts down electrical grids. How the countries around the world respond and react varies but Europe is hit the hardest. Starts you thinking how you and your family would survive. Would make a thriller of a movie.