THE ROURKE CHRONICLES #1 EVERYMAN BY JERRY AHERN SHARON AHERN BOB ANDERSON

Copyright 2014.

Throughout John Rourke’s adventures since the Night of the War he has had one man he could count on. Paul Rubenstein a nerdy assistant publisher from New York was on the airliner that Rourke was on when the war started. He was the only one that stuck with him when he went for help for the survivors on the plane. Rubenstein knew that to survive he would have to stick with John Rourke. He had a willingness to learn and learned how to shoot and ride a motorcycle. Eventually a strong bond of friendship formed were the two were like brothers. Eventually he became a son-in-law by marrying his daughter and cemented his place in the Rourke family. This book is the story told in Paul’s own words of the events chronicles in the first five books.

The first spin off series of the Survivalist. I really wanted to like this book. I thought it would chronicle the untold story of Paul Rubenstein. Instead all it did was rehash the first five books. Nothing new to read and seemed a pointless endeavor. I hope that if there is a second book in this series it has something more original.

THE SURVIVALIST#33 DEEP STAR BY JERRY AHERN SHARON AHERN BOB ANDERSON

Copyright 2015.

John Rourke has been captured by the grey aliens. Now his son desperately searches for his whereabouts. Of course he has a lot of threats to deal with. A pair of psychotic serial killers have kidnapped the Rourke children. Neo-Nazi terrorists have launched a successful attack on the main government building in New Germany. They succeeded in killing all the top government officials including the President Wolfgang Mann. Michael Rourke comes to the conclusion be can not meet his obligations as both President of the U.S. and to his family so decides to resign. All clues point that John Rourke is being held at a secret Russian undersea base called Deep Star.

So this is the final book so far in the Survivalist series. There is another one in the works called Lodestar so the story is not over yet. Interesting the main character the Survivalist himself is only in three chapters. Still a lot happens in this book. Michael Rourke decides to resign. His stepfather is killed in a terrorist attack. At the end John Rourke’s newborn baby dies from the virus that the aliens unleashed. I wonder how Jerry would have written these books if he was still alive. Still I love that this series is still kicking and apparently thriving. A new one is in the works and there are two spin off series which we will get into later.

If anyone is interested you can check out official website. It has bios on all involved with the resurrection of this series. You can buy books. There’s items like baseball caps, mugs a Zippo lighter that John Rourke uses. Also an A.G Russell Sting IA knife that the character has used through the series and a custom made Bowie Knife. Great for using against your enemies.

THE SURVIVALIST #32 THE QUISLING COVENENT BY JERRY AHERN SHARON AHERN BOB ANDERSON

Copyright 2014

The aliens are still working at destabilizing human society. They have allied with Neo-Nazis to cause terrorist attacks and destabilized governments. A cabal of the super wealth are also manipulating the currency for their own nefarious ends. A mutant strain of bugs carrying the hantavirus are released. And a faction of Russians are at world domination again. They have allied themselves with the Ki the other alien faction that wants to take back the Earth for themselves. John Rourke finds out that before the Night of the War the President transferred secret documents on the U.S. governments dealings with extraterrestrials. The documents are stored inside Mount Rushmore. The national landmark is under a sheet of ice from a glacial and under cover as an archeology project Rourke recovers the documents. At the end he is attacked by the aliens and a traitor manages to make sure that John Rourke is captured.

The third book in the revived series is a great improvement. A lot of interesting stuff is happening. It does represent the times we live in. Secret cabals of superwealthy manipulating the economy. Terrorism and mutant strains of bugs carrying deadly diseases. Mysterious alien races. And of course the old reliable enemies in the Survivalist series Nazis and Russians. An interesting continuation of the series.

THE SURVIVALIST #31 EARTH SHINE BY JERRY AHERN SHARON AHERN BOB ANDERSON

Copyright 2013

Aliens have attacked the inauguration of Michael Rourke as president of the United States. Over 1,200 dead and large parts of Honolulu are destroyed. Later Michael Rourke’s car is attacked in the countryside and he must survive and evade the alien clones. John Rourke leads the fight against the alien threat in searching for his son and attacking their secret base in Hawaii. They also have to contend with traitors in the government working with the aliens to further their own power.

The second new book in the revived Survivalist series was somewhat of a let down. I didn’t think that the story was focused and tended to just meander along. They also had a tendency to over describe stuff like the tunnel system in Hawaii or the philosophy of the alien Ki. Still the series does get better. Sharon and Bob do a good job of staying true to the characters that Jerry established. The basic storyline is sound and there are plenty of interesting enemies to keep the Rourke family occupied.

THE SURVIVALIST #30 THE INHERITORS OF EARTH BY JERRY AHERN SHARON AHERN AND BOB ANDERSON

Copyright 2012

It has been about sixteen years since Dietrich Zimmer and the Neo-Nazis of New Eden were defeated. John Rourke has now settled down with his new wife Emma and his two teenage children. Paul Rubenstein and Annie also have kids as do Michael and Natalia. Wolfgang Mann and Sarah are now married and Mann is president of New Germany. Still there are occasions for conflict. Rourke has to rescue his wife who is kidnapped by Neo-Nazis terrorists. His son Michael is running for President of the United States.

A routine underwater archeological find in the Mediterranean sees the arrival of a new enemy. Men in advanced suits with energy weapons attack the expedition. When its over one of the attackers is revealed to be a clone of Captain Dodd the commander of the Eden project. Dodd died a century ago but someone has cloned him. The evident points to an alien race that intercepted the shuttles and took DNA samples. Other Dodd clones continue to mount attacks. Another alien race show up. The Ki were the Atlanteans of old and have come back after abandoning the Earth due to the grey aliens. The book ends with Michael winning the presidency and the grey aliens attacking the inauguration.

So back in 1993 the series ended. It had a clear and happy ending so I thought that would be the end of John Rourke’s adventures. But Jerry Ahern still have some ideas and was working on getting back the rights to the series. Sadly on July 25th, 2012 he passed away from cancer. He had the rights and had the story plotted out. His widow and best friend took up the reigns and continued the story. I think its a great tribute to his work and glad to see that the series is successfully continuing.

So now its two alien races that are a threat to the human race. Add in some human traitors working with the aliens and you have a great continuation of this series.

THE SURVIVALIST #27 DEATH WATCH BY JERRY AHERN

Copyright 1993.

Rourke has been saved with the transplanted heart of a clone and was able to destroy Zimmer’s base in the Himalayas. Now with his empire and plans for world conquest coming apart Zimmer is set to implement his plan B. Option Omega involves releasing a virulent form of AIDS virus that mutates constantly and is airborne. Inoculating himself and his adopted son Martin he will kill off all other people. Then when the virus burns itself out he will emerge with the genetic material of the Rourke family and create a new master race. A race he can download whatever he wants them to think. Also he will create a slave race that will serve this master race. This with his ability to download his brain pattern into a clone of himself will make him a virtual god.

But he first needs the ‘inferior’ mongrelized races to prevent the volcanic rift that threatens to destroy the world. Rourke knows of his plan and that he must act quickly. A plan is formed to assault his base and steal the vaccine. So will he succeed in time and will the Earth be saved from imminent destruction.

So this is the final book in the original series. Back in the ’90s after the Soviet collapse the various post-apocalypse series went with it. Many just sort of ended abruptly. This series lasted a while longer and actually ended with its eminent demise in mind. Rourke does stop Zimmer’s mad plan and the nuclear explosion seals the volcanic rift. He manages to marry his love Emma and the others also settle down with those they love. It ends with Rourke having children. His son and daughter also having kids and the world is at peace. There was closure to the series and I found it satisfactory.

But the Rourke family isn’t one to just sit around peacefully. So we will look into that with the recently revived series that continues the saga of John Rourke and his adventures in the far future.

THE SURVIVALIST #26 COUNTDOWN BY JERRY AHERN

Copyright 1993.

The world is facing total destruction. The volcanic crack started in Hawaii is heading toward the North American plate. When it connects it will cause the largest volcanic explosion in history literally destroying the Earth. Rourke has other troubles also. He has rescued his estranged wife but Dietrich Zimmer implanted false memories in her that it was Rourke who shot her in the head. A Nazi fifth columnist manages to almost succeed in killing Rourke. His heart is damaged and only a transplant will save his life. Zimmer has clones of all the Rourke family including John. Locked in his impregnable fortress in the Himalayas. Thus the Rourke family comes up with a desperate plan to infiltrate and steal a clone.

The old series is coming to a close and sets up a fascinating scenario. The world faces doom. They need a clone but also they debate the ethics in killing a human being for that is what the clone is. An interesting dilemma and one that gets you to thinking. Well everything works out in the end and will come to a conclusion in the next book.