Originally published in Germany 2012. I read the description- "frighteningly plausible drama" had me intrigued.

In a flash/second the world goes dark for more than 30 million people.
Doors can still open- manually, paper money can still be exchanged, all conveniences are now requiring work.
Cows cannot be milked by hand; same with chicks, hens, and crops.
Elsberg does terrific work describing the horrifics of this blackout apocalypse.

A very thought provoking mystery- something that I believe could really happen. While it has a cast of many characters and at time moves slowly- I could not put this one down. I only pray the food guys have read this and taken appropriate action to prevent this from becoming a reality- we all love our electric power---

This book is described as “terrifyingly plausible” and I agree. Unless you’re a prepper, we are only 4 meals away from total anarchy. Knowing that the electrical grids in Europe are all tied together, it would probably be very easy to destroy them and cause chaos. It’s very clear that the author carefully researched the subject and if you want to learn about how electricity is conducted safely to all homes in Europe, this is the book for you. That said, I was expecting a thriller and in the end I struggled to finish reading. There is too much technical detail for my taste. I liked the parts where normal citizens deal with the issue and it was horrifying to think how dependent we are on technology, but the chapters describing politics, government organizations and financial issues, honestly bored me. If there is a recipe for thrillers it would probably be “show, don’t tell” and this book has way too much exposition and repetition to develop a fast rhythm.

What is happening when the electric grid goes out in one place and then seems to keep going all over Europe. When they don't come back on soon Piero Manazo is an Italian who figures out what he thinks has happened. He was a hacker and not sure if anyone wants to hear what he has to say. As time goes by it seems to be getting more dire for people. There is no power, it is cold. The food is spoiling, most do not have a supply to eat without cooking and then there is sanitation. The hospitals are trying to help people but no elevators to take the sick down to evacuate. Just so many things we never think about. Who is doing this and why? Will anyone listen to Piero?

I received an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley.

The electricity goes out across Europe, and the chase is on as a former hacker tries to figure out the cause. Over the course of the story, the author explores all the consequences of the loss of electrical power, and I expect after reading this, some folks will go out and stock up on emergency survival supplies.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, though bouncing back and forth between the multiple viewpoints confused me at times. It took me a while to figure out who all the major players were. But that could be just my own level of confusion in play. Regardless, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book for those who love techno-thrillers.

This was a really thought provoking novel, and while terrifying to contemplate, was a a well written and enjoyable read. A more in depth review is at amazon.com.

A decent thriller, basically the message is society is as strong and will last as long as the power does. You may buy some candles after finishing this one.

"RESET: bringing the system back to zero...taking away the foundation of our civilization."

Desperation, chaos and anarchy ensue when the power grids start failing and people all over Europe are plunged into darkness. Without the basic amenities provided through the use of electricity, without communication, and without transportation -- collapse of society is quick. In a race against more devastation, exhacker Piero Manzano collaborates with authorities to find out who and what caused this devasting act of cyberterrorism. Manzano ends up a fugitive on the run with an American reporter, Laura Shannon, and they are in a race against time as there are hints of further attacks on the horizon.

I enjoyed this fast-paced action thriller as I like disaster stories. The author obviously meticulously researched both the IT and scientific scenarios described in this book. I enjoyed the multinational cast of characters (there are a lot of them) and the way the narrative changed perspective depending on the locations where the events unfold. Scary? Yes, as we live in a society that is very dependent on electricity for our very survival. I'd never want to go back to primitive times -- and the thought that some lunatic fringe could take it all away totally blows any sense of security that any of us have. We as a society don't need a new "start", but we can defnitely try for more harmonious order.

Fascinating look at how modern society can be brought to it's knees with the use of our own technology. It's a scenario that is scarily feasible and is well written by debut author Marc Elsberg

Sobering. Can’t count how many times I have heard a news cast spouting how vulnerable our electric grid is to cyber-attack, and our water supply, and our agricultural sources, and our transportation system. Here is a scenario describing the likely effects of such an attack. Much more than the inconvenience of no response when you flip a light switch. More impact than loss of air conditioning or loss of heat. And while many back-up generators stand ready to spring into action eventually the systems break down, for lack of fuel, and as more go off line there is no power to pump more fuel, so trucks to deliver fuel cannot be driven. The cycle turns vicious as people on medical machine support perish. Foods in stores spoil, farmers are unable to produce more. The author does a great job of portraying how the catastrophe plays out. While reading this let your imagination run wild and think to yourself, what if? How are you going to care for yourself and your loved ones? Do you own a gun? If you do not and he does who do you think will win the fight as others take what you have. Desperation is one hell of a motivator for normally law abiding peaceful people. A most provocative read in this world of terrorists and cyber-attacks.

This book started slowly because it was jumping around to so many different locations and people. However, once it got going, the story held my attention. Someone has crashed the entire electrical system in most of western Europe. They hunt is fevered and complex. Piero is a known hacker who has attacked multiple companies showing them their vulnerabilities. He starts to figure out what has happened and wants to help. Not all the authorities are interested in his help.

This is reasonably well written and eventually becomes a good read. Just persevere.

I was given an early copy to review of the latest edition of Marc Elsberg's Blackout. Scary in it's implications. In the scenario Elsberg describes it wouldn't take long for our lives to change for years. Blackout is difficult to follow at times. A lot of back and forth between locations and characters.

A fun, fast paced, provocative thriller. I enjoyed the read quite a lot. As a retired IT exec having had responsibility for securing systems, I frequently found myself muttering "been there, done that" or "that would never happen ... but then again...".. We operate a lot on faith that our systems and processes will protect us, that those nagging issues we know exist and maybe fought battles to address but lost the cost vs benefit arguments on will never actually occur, and if they do occur, we hope we are good enough to react fast enough to mitigate the issues or could not have realistically done anything to prevent them anyway and just have to take the hit. It can get ugly. Yeah, like I said, this one is provocative. I am glad I am now retired and no longer lose sleep over it. Read this book, and you may experience a bit of the sleeplessness that we IT pros experience frequently.

The .pdf provided was such a mess of jumbled formatting with inconsistent paragraphing and incoherent line breaks that it was just too difficult to read it and I gave up after about a hundred pages. Why would a publisher release something this screwed up and expect anyone to provide a sensible review? Didn't anyone at the publisher even look at it before they released it? Really annoying. Is this what publishing has come to?

I enjoyed reading this book but felt there were too many characters... it got a bit difficult to remember who was who. Good concept.

A NetGalley e-book in exchange for an honest review.

A modern reality on the end of the world. Blackout is about… a blackout. All of Europe is plunged into the dark. The electric grids collapse and surges in power and technical failures keep everyone in the dark. In our modern world everything relies on electricity, and I do mean EVERYTHING. Take a moment and just go through your morning routine.

*alarm goes off, typically these days that is your phone, the one that you plugged in to charge while you slept *head to the bathroom to get ready. Can your toilet flush more than once? Can your taps turn on? Do you have enough windows to let in natural light to see what you are doing? *breakfast. Can your food last without electricity? Where do you even get your food? Where do they get their food? *jump in the car to head to work. Electric cars, electric trains and other public transports, do those affect your commute? *at work, do you use a computer? Electric equipment? *Gas, how is that pumped to the surface to fill up your gas tank? * and just keep going from there.

What caused the blackout though? How did an entire nation’s grid collapse?

A former hacker starts investigating the situation when he notices some anomalies. Of course he becomes prime suspect in the disaster and the following chaos as millions of people are left without power, food, water and basic sanitation needs.

I wanted to love this book. This is quickly becoming a huge subgenre in the thriller/post-apocalyptic world. The loss of power would not kill people, the symptoms of lost power would though. By the thousands people will die.
I just couldn’t fall into the story. It was hard to fall into the characters and felt a little disjointed. It was good to see the effects on different groups of people but I felt this part was dragged out and not executed in the best way. I liked the technical and dry side of explaining how the electric grids were connected and what that would mean for the people that are so heavily reliant on them. It definitely makes you take a pause and review your own life. What would happen if you were in a blackout that lasted longer than a few hours?

Wow. It has taken me several days to write a review on Blackout as I have been digesting it slowly since I finished reading. You know a book has gripped you when days later you are wondering what happened next and thinking about the ways in which the characters would have changed or adapted to their situations.

The subject of this book is terrifying, a total electrical failure across Europe and the US, lasting for nearly 2 weeks. In which time, the fabric of society breaks down and citizens revert to a pre-industrial state, fighting for food, stealing, becoming sick and dying due to lack of medicines.

Blackout really made me think about the impact of such a scenario. That we wouldn't simply lose a fridge or a computer or heating, but that goods wouldn't be transported, medicines couldn't be produced, fuel couldn't be pumped, communications would be impossible.

I really enjoyed the pace of Blackout and kept sneaking times into my day when I could sit down with my Kindle and keep reading.

I have given 4 stars rather than 5 as I thought that some of the characters could have been developed a bit more and some of the bit part characters reduced. I would also like to know what happened to Annette and whether she did indeed have Radiation sickness.

I highly recommend Blackout. It is possible that I found it even more compelling due to current world events and the threats the west is facing from Terrorism. Read this book, it is both terrifying and thought provoking.

Imagine a huge power failure extending from Europe to Britain and beyond. Manzano is Italian and discovers smart meters are the key and he sets out to convince authorities. The implications for such an event are far reaching when power systems are compromised by hackers intent on their view of a better future even if thousands have to perish during the process. Authorities are skeptical of Manzano’s claims considering he was a hacker in his youth and it is a struggle for him to convince them there is truth in his claims.
It was very interesting to read how government bodies, private interests and ordinary citizens responded. I think something like this would bring out the best and worst of human nature e.g. those who try to profit no matter what.
Originally published in Germany in 2012 this story still has great merit. I have to confess I had never given any thought to something like this happening. I know it was only a novel but it has made me really think about the repercussions and the likely effect on society. It all seems so plausible, chilling, compelling and captivating.
Everyone should read this book!
Thank you for the digital copy of this book obtained from the publisher via Netgalley and I am happy to say the review is solely mine.
Reviews will be posted on Amazon Au and Goodreads closer to the publication date.

Fantastic book! Even though it was originally published a few years ago, it is still pertinent. Very suspenseful pageturner; gives you lots to think about and to discuss. Highly recommended.

I didn't finish this; it just didn't hold my attention. The writing style was too pedantic.