Nick Cole, the author of The Old Man and the Wasteland, asked me to write this review. Well … let me rephrase that comment as he did not ask me personally. Mr. Cole understands the value of personal marketing, and at the end of his novel, he asked all readers to submit a review on his web site. As an incentive, the first hundred reviewers will be offered a free copy of his new book due out next Summer.

Although I could just have posted a short paragraph on Mr. Cole's web site, I decided that a more through review was required for the pleasure he provided me while reading his Kindle version while at 35,000 feet between Minneapolis and Newark this past week. I'm glad I made the purchase. Here is my review:

• The Old Man and the Wasteland is true science fiction. Mr. Cole takes an idea, a scientific fact, and expands upon it to create a future society. In his novel you are presented with how one old man, at the end of his life interacts with this new society in the post atomic holocaust era. The challenge for the "old man" is civilization as we know it has disappeared along with its accompanying knowledge and laws. The old man sets out on a journey across the "wasteland" with the goal of one final salvage to prove himself to his small "tribe". Humanity is living off the land, but salvage of past technology can provide phenomenal wealth. You accompany "the old man" as he fights both nature and the elements of the new world and humanity. The book was a thoroughly enjoyable read, but had a touch more violence than I might personal like. However, the violence fits the circumstances and helps build the story.

I complement Mr. Cole on his use of social media in conjunction with electronic books (i.e. Kindle version) to create his own focused marketing plan. I hope he succeeds at this effort, and becomes a successfully science fiction writer.