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Control
Book 2 in the Powerless Earth series.
With the world still crippled by an unprecedented power cut, Lisa, Simon, and Derek find refuge at Lisa’s family home in Donegal. With its own source of power, the self-sufficient farm seems the perfect place for them to ride out the chaos and heal from their recent traumas.
Lisa’s brother Ray has also made it safely home, but Derek’s relief at reuniting with his colleague and closest friend soon turns to suspicion when a shocking discovery on the farm threatens to unearth family secrets, and raise questions Ray would rather not answer.
With the local authorities faring no better than those in the cities, an ageing relic of Ireland’s troubled past sees it as a patriotic duty to step in and take control, by any means necessary.
Will a ruthless determination, fuelled by a legacy of mistrust and paranoia, threaten the idyllic peace of the Keenan farm, and put the family and their visitors in greater danger?
With the world still crippled by an unprecedented power cut, Lisa, Simon, and Derek find refuge at Lisa’s family home in Donegal. With its own source of power, the self-sufficient farm seems the perfect place for them to ride out the chaos and heal from their recent traumas.
Lisa’s brother Ray has also made it safely home, but Derek’s relief at reuniting with his colleague and closest friend soon turns to suspicion when a shocking discovery on the farm threatens to unearth family secrets, and raise questions Ray would rather not answer.
With the local authorities faring no better than those in the cities, an ageing relic of Ireland’s troubled past sees it as a patriotic duty to step in and take control, by any means necessary.
Will a ruthless determination, fuelled by a legacy of mistrust and paranoia, threaten the idyllic peace of the Keenan farm, and put the family and their visitors in greater danger?
337 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2020
About the author
Paul McMurrough
13 books29 followersAuthor of the Powerless Earth Series, Paul was born and raised in Belfast, Ireland. Until the age of 15 he could barely read. Then, when introduced to Computing at school, he was finally able to make sense of the letter spaghetti on the pages of the text books.
He went on to get a degree in Computer Science followed by a career in Software and later in IT & Business Consulting.
You may know him from Game of Thrones, where he played "Back of Head from 100 yards" or in The Fall with Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson where he played "Elbow at the bar" - His acting career ended soon after.
He went on to get a degree in Computer Science followed by a career in Software and later in IT & Business Consulting.
You may know him from Game of Thrones, where he played "Back of Head from 100 yards" or in The Fall with Jamie Dornan and Gillian Anderson where he played "Elbow at the bar" - His acting career ended soon after.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 4, 2022
Control by Paul McMurrough is second in his Powerless Earth series - although he did manage to slip in a fantastic stand alone spin-off called Dr Death. I suggest reading the first in the series, Reliance, first - although all three books are perfectly formed and fully stand alone.
The series is a dystopian apocalyptic thriller - but we are not talking zombies here! We are talking a hugely believable plot of how quickly society can malfunction and dysfunction. I read Reliance at the height of the Covid pandemic - both books made my blood run cold.
Nothing is off the table with Paul’s novels - they are far from cozy.
Regardless of your usual genre, you will enjoy this series. This second novel, Control, is an equal to the first, Reliance.
Mr McMurrough has also published this in a dyslexia friendly format - well done sir!
The series is a dystopian apocalyptic thriller - but we are not talking zombies here! We are talking a hugely believable plot of how quickly society can malfunction and dysfunction. I read Reliance at the height of the Covid pandemic - both books made my blood run cold.
Nothing is off the table with Paul’s novels - they are far from cozy.
Regardless of your usual genre, you will enjoy this series. This second novel, Control, is an equal to the first, Reliance.
Mr McMurrough has also published this in a dyslexia friendly format - well done sir!
December 13, 2022
It’s only been a few days since the power went off, in the Northern Irish setting which the author has chosen for his terrifying it-could-happen dystopian vision of a world without electricity, and things are going from bad to worse. Violence is increasing, people are dying, capitalist-minded shopkeepers are cashing-in, and the government doesn’t help by guarding supermarkets, locked-up and with food rotting inside, while people go hungry outside.
And now a pack of paranoid provos, armed with a cache of conspiracy theories and contraband firearms, aims to take care in the community to a whole new level. They’ve got a plan, but need a new HQ from which to implement it, and they have somewhere in mind—which is absolutely no comfort to our friends from the first book, Lisa, Simon, Derek and Ray, with their varied friends and families. It’s not long before the reason for the state of emergency is forgotten and the main players are fighting for their lives.
Author Paul McMurrough ramps up the tension in his continuing saga, and it’s hard to see how anybody can come through this unscathed. Highly recommended.
And now a pack of paranoid provos, armed with a cache of conspiracy theories and contraband firearms, aims to take care in the community to a whole new level. They’ve got a plan, but need a new HQ from which to implement it, and they have somewhere in mind—which is absolutely no comfort to our friends from the first book, Lisa, Simon, Derek and Ray, with their varied friends and families. It’s not long before the reason for the state of emergency is forgotten and the main players are fighting for their lives.
Author Paul McMurrough ramps up the tension in his continuing saga, and it’s hard to see how anybody can come through this unscathed. Highly recommended.
October 25, 2022
Contains Spoilers.
Control is the second book in the Powerless Earth series. I read Reliance a while back and couldn't put it down. Imagine my delight when Control was released.
it is set in the immediate aftermath of the events in Reliance cause by the CME that struck Earth and destroyed the electricity network across the planet.
Our heroes are now in Donegal on Lisa's family farm where they have electricity and plenty of food.
Not everyone is so fortunate, though.
Food is scarce and both the Garda and the Army have been deployed elsewhere, leaving only skeleton crews to keep order.
In steps the paramilitaries in the form of former IRA man, Dermot O'Callaghan and they 'obtain' food from local supermarkets and dish them out to the locals. They also dish out punishment to anyone they deem to be breaking their new rule of law.
Sounds okay? Well, it does up to a point.
Because Dermot O'Callaghan is insane. And paranoid. And convinced this is all a plot by the British and the French to invade Ireland. And it is up to him to form a resistance to stop them. By any means.
This is brilliant. McMurrough has taken the recent history of the 'troubles' and the facts that they do still rumble on, on both sides, I might add, woven them into his dystopian world and created a story that is um, powerful, and gripping. I loved every movement of this story and I hope there will be a third part.
Control is the second book in the Powerless Earth series. I read Reliance a while back and couldn't put it down. Imagine my delight when Control was released.
it is set in the immediate aftermath of the events in Reliance cause by the CME that struck Earth and destroyed the electricity network across the planet.
Our heroes are now in Donegal on Lisa's family farm where they have electricity and plenty of food.
Not everyone is so fortunate, though.
Food is scarce and both the Garda and the Army have been deployed elsewhere, leaving only skeleton crews to keep order.
In steps the paramilitaries in the form of former IRA man, Dermot O'Callaghan and they 'obtain' food from local supermarkets and dish them out to the locals. They also dish out punishment to anyone they deem to be breaking their new rule of law.
Sounds okay? Well, it does up to a point.
Because Dermot O'Callaghan is insane. And paranoid. And convinced this is all a plot by the British and the French to invade Ireland. And it is up to him to form a resistance to stop them. By any means.
This is brilliant. McMurrough has taken the recent history of the 'troubles' and the facts that they do still rumble on, on both sides, I might add, woven them into his dystopian world and created a story that is um, powerful, and gripping. I loved every movement of this story and I hope there will be a third part.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2022
I was really looking forward to reading Control by Paul McMurrough after finishing Reliance. The second book in the series did not disappoint. McMurrough further explores the impact of a powerless society as people start to realise the power might not be restored very quickly. With authorities seeming unable to help, individuals start taking matters in their own hands. As with Reliance, the story made you consider your own life and how you would cope in the same scenario. McMurrough cleverly used aspects of everyday life that people take for granted to keep the story extremely plausible (and worrying!). Brilliant read. Hope there will be a book 3!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews