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Zero Day Code: the complete trilogy: Includes Fail State & American Kill Switch
A modern city can feed itself for nine days. No more. And when the panic starts…
In the pulse-pounding thriller Zero Day Code by best-selling author John Birmingham, civilization unravels at a keystroke. Chinese cyber strikes pierce the heart of the free world—no food, no water, no power. America starves, and darkness descends, igniting a global cataclysm.
From the chaos, a small band of survivors emerges. James O'Donnell, a shrewd farm boy turned market analyst, unearths the truth behind the digital Pearl Harbor. Michele Nguyen, enigmatic agent of the Deep State, carves a path out of a crippled capital. And Jodie Sarjanen, a fierce single mother, navigates the ruins of San Francisco.
As society reaches breaking point, unlikely heroes brave a treacherous world of newfound friends and ruthless enemies like Jonas Murdoch, a charismatic firebrand who leads the dangerous Legion of Freedom.
Not since Stephen King's monumental epic 'The Stand' has a novelist worked on such a grand scale, where the end of days is just the beginning—when every choice could be your last, and the battle for tomorrow is waged today.Praise for John Birmingham's books."Brilliant... a tour de force... John Birmingham's ability to seamlessly merge the gritty realism of Tom Clancy with the raw speculation of Michael Crichton is like nothing else I've ever read." James Rollins, author of The Doomsday Key.
"Bucketloads of action." Sunday Mail.
"Frenetic action viewed in a black fun-house mirror." Kirkus Reviews.
"Insanely clever." Wired.
In the pulse-pounding thriller Zero Day Code by best-selling author John Birmingham, civilization unravels at a keystroke. Chinese cyber strikes pierce the heart of the free world—no food, no water, no power. America starves, and darkness descends, igniting a global cataclysm.
From the chaos, a small band of survivors emerges. James O'Donnell, a shrewd farm boy turned market analyst, unearths the truth behind the digital Pearl Harbor. Michele Nguyen, enigmatic agent of the Deep State, carves a path out of a crippled capital. And Jodie Sarjanen, a fierce single mother, navigates the ruins of San Francisco.
As society reaches breaking point, unlikely heroes brave a treacherous world of newfound friends and ruthless enemies like Jonas Murdoch, a charismatic firebrand who leads the dangerous Legion of Freedom.
Not since Stephen King's monumental epic 'The Stand' has a novelist worked on such a grand scale, where the end of days is just the beginning—when every choice could be your last, and the battle for tomorrow is waged today.Praise for John Birmingham's books."Brilliant... a tour de force... John Birmingham's ability to seamlessly merge the gritty realism of Tom Clancy with the raw speculation of Michael Crichton is like nothing else I've ever read." James Rollins, author of The Doomsday Key.
"Bucketloads of action." Sunday Mail.
"Frenetic action viewed in a black fun-house mirror." Kirkus Reviews.
"Insanely clever." Wired.
1300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2023
80 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
John Birmingham
74 books1,143 followersJohn Birmingham grew up in Ipswich, Queensland and was educated at St Edmunds Christian Brother's College in Ipswich and the University of Queensland in Brisbane. His only stint of full time employment was as a researcher at the Defence Department. After this he returned to Queensland to study law but he did not complete his legal studies, choosing instead to pursue a career as a writer. He currently lives in Brisbane.
While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.
Birmingham has a degree in international relations.
While a law student he was one of the last people arrested under the state's Anti Street March legislation. Birmingham was convicted of displaying a sheet of paper with the words 'Free Speech' written on it in very small type. The local newspaper carried a photograph of him being frogmarched off to a waiting police paddy wagon.
Birmingham has a degree in international relations.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 22, 2023
Great
Read the trilogy nonstop. Good stuff. Vastly underrated author! 100 would recommend. Read his other stuff too. Thanks for reading
Read the trilogy nonstop. Good stuff. Vastly underrated author! 100 would recommend. Read his other stuff too. Thanks for reading
February 18, 2024
3 books in one. I enjoyed the first part best. World building was great. Lots of POV and many characters introduced just to set the scene. I did start to wonder at one point when the actual story was going to move and then it did. I really enjoyed the character building. Repeated use of the same device to describe the fear felt by numerous male characters seemed a little overdone by book 3 . Lots of action in this trilogy I really enjoyed it. A lot more believable than most other Apocalypse tales.
May 20, 2024
the end of the world
I had read the first two books in the series but the third pulled out all together. When the world falls apart many stories could be told, this is one set of them. In adversity some people stick to their moral code and defend the rights of all. Others take advantage of the chaos and use violence and force to take what they want. What path would you tread?
I had read the first two books in the series but the third pulled out all together. When the world falls apart many stories could be told, this is one set of them. In adversity some people stick to their moral code and defend the rights of all. Others take advantage of the chaos and use violence and force to take what they want. What path would you tread?
June 9, 2025
Brilliant
I loved the whole story, all three books. I was totally immersed in every major character and I really enjoy how JB writes. I love how he can take life as we know it and rip it away so easily and then have the aftermath evolve into chaos. Found myself laughing at certain turns of phrase too. Simply brilliant.
I loved the whole story, all three books. I was totally immersed in every major character and I really enjoy how JB writes. I love how he can take life as we know it and rip it away so easily and then have the aftermath evolve into chaos. Found myself laughing at certain turns of phrase too. Simply brilliant.
October 15, 2024
Gripping, all too believable how it plays out. A typo. where someone "peddles" a bike rather than "pedals" it annoyed me far more than it should. Not convinced that the three books can be read standalone, perhaps the first one, but I don't think number two and three will stand alone
June 11, 2024
Great storyteller even if Woke
Fun read, thoughtful in many ways. Unfortunate Woke politics of the author make parts of the story rather predictable (such as who the good people are and are not).
Fun read, thoughtful in many ways. Unfortunate Woke politics of the author make parts of the story rather predictable (such as who the good people are and are not).
January 24, 2024
Great story told at a cracking pace with plenty of Australianisms throughout. Loved it
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews