72 Minutes to the End of the World

Staying human may be the hardest thing to survive.

Seventy-two minutes: the exact amount of time between the launch of a nuclear missile and the end of the world. Sixteen-year-old Little Boy learns this when he joins B-72, a secret group of teenage preppers led by the magnetic and dangerous Jip. Hidden in the mountains, the group builds a bunker, studies nuclear survival protocols, modifies Apocalypse Watches programmed to intercept emergency frequencies during a nuclear strike, and prepares for TEOTWAWKI — The End of the World as We Know It.
At first, survival feels like freedom: no parents, no rules, no future left to fear. But as Jip isolates the group from the outside world and pushes them toward increasingly dangerous actions, preparation turns into fanaticism. Then the watches activate. 72:00. As panic spreads and a fake nuclear alert sends the teenagers into a violent escape across Europe…

• A high-concept survival thriller driven by a real-time countdown: the plot’s seventy-two-minute countdown is mirrored by the chapter headings, which mark the minutes left until impact, creating a tense “real-time” reading experience from beginning to end.
• A chilling exploration of prepper culture and teenage radicalisation: the novel examines how fear, isolation and the desperate need to belong can slowly transform survivalism into extremism.