Overview

What happens when the grid goes down—and it's not coming back up anytime soon? In a chillingly realistic tale inspired by actual events, Dark Texas unfolds the moment when a brutal winter storm overwhelms the Lone Star State, triggering a cascading failure of its energy infrastructure. As oil and gas wellheads freeze, wind turbines seize, and the power grid buckles under the pressure, ordinary people must navigate extraordinary circumstances. Mac is a retired teacher with a wood stove, solar panels, and an old diesel generator—and just enough grit to outlast the cold. Laurie, a straight-talking yoga teacher and educator, believes in preparedness and love in equal measure, but even she can't predict what's coming. Jake, newly widowed and raising a toddler, faces his greatest test yet as supplies dwindle and systems fail. And Chas, a young analyst at a local power company, begins to see the truth behind Texas's fragile energy market—and what happens when the free market can't keep the lights on. Across cities and fields slick with ice, these characters confront not only freezing weather but the deeper question: What holds a civilization together when modern conveniences unravel overnight? With evocative prose and a quiet urgency, Dark Texas blends intimate character-driven storytelling with real-world insight into energy, policy, and resilience. This isn't just a disaster novel—it's a wake-up call. Dark Texas is ideal for readers who devoured books like Station Eleven, The Road, or One Second After. It's a gripping portrait of interconnection, vulnerability, and the many kinds of strength that flicker to life when the grid goes dark. This nearly happened.

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9781965766385

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Reviews

""I laughed! I cried! I bought a back-up generator! If you were in Texas in February of 2021, you know the terror of having no power, no heat, no water, and no idea when the world would return to normal. As bad as it was, it could have easily been worse. Much worse. Petrie's novel conjures a future that almost was and still could be when bad weather and bad policy collide."" —Robert Mace, executive director, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University ""Terrifyingly plausible. Terrifically entertaining."" —Frances Silversmith, writer and software engineer ""Dark Texas blends fact and fiction in a responsible, current and entertaining way that truly gave me pause about the impact of political decisions on our environment and our futures."" —Suzanne Paschall, award-winning author and musician

Author Information

Charles J Petrie, Jr. holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UT Austin and is retired from Stanford University where he had been an Associate Professor and Senior Research Scientist. He then built an off-grid home on his property in Texas. He also did consulting and guest professorships in Europe until the pandemic. In addition, he worked at Burning Man, retiring as manager of their airport. Now he lives with his new pit bull pup, Toby, in the woods, occasionally venturing to travel back to California and Germany where he keeps motorcycles and friends. Dark Texas is his first novel.

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