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readingbecomesme's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
gawdz0rz's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Murder
edgegrrl156's review
3.0
Interesting book, but too short. This could be a really neat world if expanded.
kth991's review against another edition
dark
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
evesn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
felyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
simonlorden's review against another edition
4.0
Drinking game: drink every time they say "herd immunity". (it's just a funny phrase, okay? i know it's serious stuff.)
After the spread of anti-vax ideology damages America's herd immunity, a new virus appears and kills millions, leaving the survivors immunocompromised. A doctor called Isabel Gauley starts gathering those who have not been infected to quarantine them on private islands, where they can wait and live (potentially for decades) until a cure is found and they can return to society.
It's a very ethically ambiguous story, especially with the twist at the end, which is wow.
It is also very very American, because Europe has had mandatory vaccinations for certain illnesses for like, forever. Unfortunately, like control, many Americans believe mandatory vaccinations are the work of the Devil. (If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it - I know not all Americans think this, but enough that mandatory vaccines would be met with riots.)
For the life of me I don't understand Angela's logic, and even some of Isabel's, since she seems to be against mandatory vaccination at first then has a much more reasonable view later. But it's a complicated topic.
After the spread of anti-vax ideology damages America's herd immunity, a new virus appears and kills millions, leaving the survivors immunocompromised. A doctor called Isabel Gauley starts gathering those who have not been infected to quarantine them on private islands, where they can wait and live (potentially for decades) until a cure is found and they can return to society.
It's a very ethically ambiguous story, especially with the twist at the end, which is wow.
It is also very very American, because Europe has had mandatory vaccinations for certain illnesses for like, forever. Unfortunately, like control, many Americans believe mandatory vaccinations are the work of the Devil. (If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it - I know not all Americans think this, but enough that mandatory vaccines would be met with riots.)
For the life of me I don't understand Angela's logic, and even some of Isabel's, since she seems to be against mandatory vaccination at first then has a much more reasonable view later. But it's a complicated topic.
lesserjoke's review
2.0
Although this novella has an important message about vaccination and herd immunity, the characters and the plot feel pretty abbreviated. That's partly an artifact of length, but author Mira Grant -- who also publishes under the name Seanan McGuire -- has been able to captivate me with shorter works in the past, so I'm not entirely sure why she hasn't done so again here. The immuno-compromised world she presents would be a decent background for a story like Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower or the writer's own Newsflesh series, but it never really moves beyond a thumbnail sketch.
And while the ending hints at sequels to come, that only makes me even more baffled that Grant and her editors thought this one was strong enough to stand on its own. (I'm also curious about why a straightforward medical thriller has been given such a trendy fantasy title, unless there's some genre twist still ahead.)
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And while the ending hints at sequels to come, that only makes me even more baffled that Grant and her editors thought this one was strong enough to stand on its own. (I'm also curious about why a straightforward medical thriller has been given such a trendy fantasy title, unless there's some genre twist still ahead.)
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