This was an interesting book. I have never read the author before. He was a very succinct writing style. I love end of the world books so I eagerly picked it up.
The sun is dying. On it's way out, it's going to deliver the EMP of all EMP's. There is a government installation where some lucky people get access.
Alex Tate, the asst director of NASA is one of those people. While in the woods with his kids looking at the sun, he gets an idea. Maybe we can restart it. 2 military men, Han Jupp and Dirk Karsten go to the surface to get Mick Moore so they can all take a journey to Minot to restart the sun.
What I really liked about the book that on their journey it was just a journey. So many authors would have drug this out for 100 pages but not this one. I liked that.
There is one part of the book, a history of one of the characters that I didn't think added anything to the story, it could have been left out.
I liked the book, nice quick read.

Actual Rating 1.5

An unexpected solar event occurs, throwing life into disarray. Sun spots begin to coalesce, dimming the sun, and a massive solar flare wipes out almost all electronics on earth. It becomes a race against time trying to get the President of the U.S. to a secure location, gather solar experts who are still alive, and try to survive while they come up with a solution to save the planet.

The concept of this one was interesting. The story begins just before disaster strikes, so we got to see the initial events and how things escalated quickly, which I enjoyed. There were good scientific details incorporated throughout, which added to the strength of the premise.

Unfortunately, there were several things that didn't work for me about this one. The author chose to use many POVs but didn't spend any time adding meaningful depth/development to them. It felt like he was much more interested in getting military details right than writing good characters.

There were a lot of terms and ways of thinking that the author incorporated that felt outdated. It can be difficult to separate what an author thinks from what the characters think at times, but the negative aspects were present constantly and from many different characters' POVs. This included negative/antiquated ways of thinking about women (e.g., "most women wouldn't notice something like that," discussion of women as sex objects rather than people, women's corpses in "bras and panties," using words like "transvestites"). Granted, a few of the characters that made these comments were typical military bros, but still - it didn't add anything meaningful to the plot or characters, so why include it? Then there were also random things like mentioning a character was Black for the first time in the last pages of the book. To what end?

If you're looking for a dystopian read with some interesting science that focuses on a more tactical/military plot than anything else, then you may enjoy this one. My thanks to NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Absolutely riveting story of earths near apocalypse due to the freezing of the sun,
When a solar flare erupts from the sun, sending an impenetrable EMP around the world, frying every
electronic device in existence, Alex Tate, the high4est ranking surviving NASA astrophysicist is the only one
who understands what has happened and who may be able to come up with a solution before the earth and all its inhabitants freeze to death. Secret Service come to his office and take him and his family to Raven Rock Mtn Complex: the underground facility built for the
President and any government officials designated as necessary for the survival of the US government.
There, protected from the EMP by the mountain it lies under, Alex has devices available to work on a possible solution.
This was the very best apocalyptical novel I have ever read, and I do not use accolades often.
Superb writing with a story, presentation, that while incredulous to accept as something that could actually occur, makes it all
sound possible.
And that is one scary thought.
Great writing/Great characters/Great Read.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Eight Minutes. I live novels with an apocalyptic plot. This one fills the bill. One day the sun will no longer shine and humanity will be put to the test.
Thats what the government has determined and only those individuals with political influence and a few choice people will be able to be secluded in an underground bunker in Pennsylvania to face the end of the world.
A doctor and his family are brought here to help save the world if possible.
This is where the story begins. Also told are stories of other civilians living in the United States who are also facing this calamity of world ending climate crisis.
This is a good book that told the story of how this rag tag group will face the devastation of the human race.
I liked the idea and the plot. There was a lot of scientific stuff that was over my head but it does help the reader understand what exactly it means to have the right words for what is going on.
It’s a good read and I did like it. 3.5 stars

DNF @ 23%

The synopsis of this book is what initially drew me in because I love apocalyptic thrillers that focus around space and weather. Unfortunately, the writing just didn’t draw me in at all and I kept reading hoping that things would get better.

The start of the book is very rough to get through. The amount of brand names that were dropped in every other sentence made me feel like I was just reading a continuous undisclosed advertisement.

I did enjoy the bounce between different locations and characters, but not a single character has any substance except for Agent Jupp and even then, the only interesting thing about him is that he is just completely devoid of any emotion.

The author seems to focus so heavily upon the scientific aspects of the plot, that the rest of the story suffers. I kept trying to continue reading, but the lack of any fleshed out characters & character development made me feel like I might as well have been reading a textbook instead.