The 13 Lives of a Television Repairman by M.D. Thalmann

Here lies the world.
That's one way to do it!

“The 13 Lives of a Television Repair Man” by M.D. Thalmann provides a character-driven look at a post-apocalyptic world and the events that led up to it. This is a unique look at post-apoc scifi, and Thalmann uses his narrator, Arthur, to great effect building up to and through the cataclysmic events.

The world has died, and Arthur knows how it happened. In many ways, he caused it. But to get there, and to understand the character and the events, the reader is first treated to a wonderful character, one most people can relate to. Starting in Cold War America in the 1950s, Arthur becomes enamored of the magic of television. While his parents are struggling through their own realities, Arthur finds solace and comfort in the warm glow of an old cathode ray-tube Zenith. Unfortunately, when the Zenith breaks, and his parents can’t afford to fix it, he’s cut adrift. Eventually, Arthur is taken in by a television repairman, who sees promise in the boy, and inadvertently sets things on a collision course to destruction.

Thalmann provides a unique perspective into the life of a man lost and gasping, while trying to make sense of the world and make a living and life for himself. Nothing is ever easy, even being a television repairman. Readers will come to respect that bygone profession, and see the events that led up to the end of the world through the eyes of a wonderful character. There is laughter, tears, frustration, and joy in walking with Arthur through his life, and ultimately to the end of the world.