The Duck Springs Defiance: A Novel of the Next Civil War

When America fractures, one town becomes the last line of Resistance.

Daniel Goodman came to Duck Springs to disappear.

Haunted by war, drowning in regret, and numb to the life he once fought for, the former Marine retreats to a remote mountain community in Washington’s Cascade Range with nothing left to lose. But in the quiet rhythms of small-town life, he rediscovers something he thought was long dead. Purpose.

Then the country burns.

A brutal coup ignites a second American Civil War. Militias rise. Cities collapse into chaos. And when rogue forces close in on the isolated town of Duck Springs, Goodman finds himself standing beside farmers, hunters, veterans, and neighbors determined to defend the only home they have left.

The Duck Springs Defiance is a gritty, emotionally charged military thriller about survival, redemption, sacrifice, and the power of community when the world falls apart. Blending tense combat, philosophical depth, and deeply human relationships, it explores what happens when broken people are forced to decide what, and who, is worth fighting for.

Perfect for fans of modern military fiction, survival thrillers, and character-driven stories in the vein of One Second After and American War.

Step into a town that refuses to surrender.

Peter S. Adler, PhD., lives in Honolulu. He is a planner, mediator, and consultant specializing in cooperation strategies for complex public policy issues.

Adler has been a Peace Corps volunteer, an Outward Bound instructor, and worked for the Hawai’i Supreme Court before becoming President and CEO of The Keystone Center.

He is the author of five previous books: Beyond Paradise (Oxbow Press, 1993), Oxtail Soup (Oxbow Press, 2008), India-40 and the Circle of Demons (Xlibris, 2017), Eye of the Storm Leadership (RIS, 2008), and Calming the Storm: A Leader’s Handbook for Managing Unproductive Conflicts (Roman and Littlefield, 2024).