The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
hstorkel's review
5.0
Not sure if reading this book during the pandemic was a good idea or a bad idea. Everything seemed so much more plausible including designing a system that ensured inequity. A cautionary tale with great characters and a strong plot.
cdeane61's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting premise, and absolutely believable. Interesting characters and and a great plot. What more can you ask for?
I've seen her being compared to Michael Crichton and that not far off the mark.
Will definitely look into her other works
I've seen her being compared to Michael Crichton and that not far off the mark.
Will definitely look into her other works
paulataua's review against another edition
3.0
Dystopias are often best when they focus on the realistic and near at hand, and the antibiotic crisis certainly fits those criteria. Anyone thinking people could never act like they do in the novel might be pointed in the direction of a NPR news report a few days ago where a woman with an intellectual disability in Oregon was denied the ventilator she needed with the doctor, citing her "low quality of life", wanting her to sign a legal form to allow the hospital to deny her care. How frail humanity is. The dystopian angle is the very positive aspect of the novel and worth reading just for that. If there is a weakness for me it was in the story. It was pretty obvious very early on what was going to happen, and it was just a matter of waiting for that story to pan out. Slow but worth the time!
katebb76's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
This is a chilling story in a world where antibiotic resistance is rife and even a small bacterial infection can be fatal. In an attempt to minimise further bacterial mutation and subsequent antibiotic-resistance, the largest population of antibiotic users, the over-70s, are denied new antibiotics and encouraged to sign assisted-death declarations.
The dual timeline follows a scientist striving to develop new, plant-based medications before and during a epidemiological crisis, plus a assisted-death nurse and care-home resident 20 years post-crisis. How are their lives interlinked with each other and others close to them?
This novel is fabulously researched and written, and is a real thinker. With antibiotic resistance already a reality, how will we approach treatment of bacterial infections in the (near) future? Eve Smith has definitely created a speculative future that is too close to reality for comfort.
The dual timeline follows a scientist striving to develop new, plant-based medications before and during a epidemiological crisis, plus a assisted-death nurse and care-home resident 20 years post-crisis. How are their lives interlinked with each other and others close to them?
This novel is fabulously researched and written, and is a real thinker. With antibiotic resistance already a reality, how will we approach treatment of bacterial infections in the (near) future? Eve Smith has definitely created a speculative future that is too close to reality for comfort.
noveldeelights's review against another edition
5.0
Well, now. Where do I even begin? If youâre looking for a thought-provoking, terrifying but realistic story thatâs extremely apt for the crazy times weâve been living in the last few months, ⌠here it is! Iâm hard pressed to think of any other book that blurs the lines of fiction as much as The Waiting Rooms does and Iâd have no qualms whatsoever to sacrifice whatever it takes to please the powers-that-be so this type of situation can be avoided because itâs bloody scary, you guys!
There is a global antibiotic crisis caused by drug resistance. Ordinary infections are untreatable and a scratch from a pet can kill you. If youâre a person over the age of 70, you are royally screwed. The elderly are not allowed new antibiotics and are being sent to hospitals that carry the misleading name of âThe Waiting Roomsâ. Itâs a bit like Hotel California. You can never leave. Nor will you ever get well. This crisis has been raging for the last twenty years. Some people remember how things used to be, for others this is the new normal. In the midst of all this, Kate starts searching for her birth mother. But Kate isnât the only one. Someone else is trying to find Kateâs birth mother too.
Itâs clear Eve Smith has done a ton of research on this. Even though the science sometimes went slightly over my head, I was endlessly fascinated by it all. That is also true of the truly stunning descriptions of South Africa, where we meet Mary at the beginning of what will ultimately become a global crisis. Mary is a botanist who is tasked with finding a new medicinal plant to help in the treatment of a new drug resistant strain of TB. But thereâs a lot more to her story than that and the mystery surrounding Mary runs through the entire book.
Back in the present, we are introduced to Lily. Lily resides in one of the better retirement homes. Sheâs counting down the days to her 70th birthday, fully aware of the danger sheâll be in once she crosses that line. But there seems to be another kind of danger lurking in the corridors when Lily starts receiving odd messages that seem to taunt her about her past. A past nobody is supposed to know anything about. Lily was one of those characters I warmed to from the start and through her we get a rather sad insight into life at the retirement home and what happens when youâre unfortunate enough to be sent off to the waiting rooms.
Youâd be forgiven for thinking Eve Smith has psychic powers because quite a few things in The Waiting Rooms are part of our current daily lives. Wearing masks outside, for instance. Keeping your distance from others. No shaking hands or any other kind of touching, really. Unless itâs for sexy time
There is a global antibiotic crisis caused by drug resistance. Ordinary infections are untreatable and a scratch from a pet can kill you. If youâre a person over the age of 70, you are royally screwed. The elderly are not allowed new antibiotics and are being sent to hospitals that carry the misleading name of âThe Waiting Roomsâ. Itâs a bit like Hotel California. You can never leave. Nor will you ever get well. This crisis has been raging for the last twenty years. Some people remember how things used to be, for others this is the new normal. In the midst of all this, Kate starts searching for her birth mother. But Kate isnât the only one. Someone else is trying to find Kateâs birth mother too.
Itâs clear Eve Smith has done a ton of research on this. Even though the science sometimes went slightly over my head, I was endlessly fascinated by it all. That is also true of the truly stunning descriptions of South Africa, where we meet Mary at the beginning of what will ultimately become a global crisis. Mary is a botanist who is tasked with finding a new medicinal plant to help in the treatment of a new drug resistant strain of TB. But thereâs a lot more to her story than that and the mystery surrounding Mary runs through the entire book.
Back in the present, we are introduced to Lily. Lily resides in one of the better retirement homes. Sheâs counting down the days to her 70th birthday, fully aware of the danger sheâll be in once she crosses that line. But there seems to be another kind of danger lurking in the corridors when Lily starts receiving odd messages that seem to taunt her about her past. A past nobody is supposed to know anything about. Lily was one of those characters I warmed to from the start and through her we get a rather sad insight into life at the retirement home and what happens when youâre unfortunate enough to be sent off to the waiting rooms.
Youâd be forgiven for thinking Eve Smith has psychic powers because quite a few things in The Waiting Rooms are part of our current daily lives. Wearing masks outside, for instance. Keeping your distance from others. No shaking hands or any other kind of touching, really. Unless itâs for sexy time
yvo_about_books's review
5.0
Finished reading: October 16th 2020
"That's the trouble with hope. Just when you think you've weaned yourself off it, its devilish little head rears up and sucks you back in."
Spoiler
I actually won an e-copy of The Waiting Rooms in a Twitter giveaway back in March, but with the whole COVID-19 situation I haven't been in the mood to read it until now... I'm glad I waited, because this story might just have been too much for me back then. Why? The Waiting Rooms is a compelling and terrifying thriller set in a dystopian world that feels a little too realistic to be comfortable... The current state of the world gives this story an even bigger impact and makes the dystopian world seem like a logical possible next step. Most terrifying indeed! If your nerves can stomach it, this story is absolutely brilliant though.
It's hard to put The Waiting Rooms into a neat little genre box... Part dystopia, part medical thriller, part mystery and part domestic/family focused, we get a wonderful mix of different elements that together form a recipe for a terrifyingly perfect cocktail. This story has multiple POVs, multiple settings as well as different timeframes. We switch back between past and present (or pre-Crisis in this dystopian world), but we also switch between South Africa and the UK as well as the different characters in play... This gives the story a rich and multi-layered feel, and the different parts are combined splendidly.
The chapters in South Africa really stood out to me, but this has a lot to do with the fantastic descriptions of the setting and fauna. The descriptions made the setting really come alive for me, and I loved how the research looked into using plants and knowledge of the locals to try and create new medicins. The whole cheating angle was a bit of a letdown for me, but then again it's one of my mayor pet peeves to that was just a personal reaction. That said, this feeling was just a blip on the radar as the rest of the story is simply fantastic.
The medical element as well as the dystopian world are truly terrifying. The current COVID-19 situation gives this story an even bigger impact, as you wonder just how much worse things can get. Imagine a world where antibiotics no longer work and people can die of a scratch... The dystopian world as described in The Waiting Rooms sounds bloodcurdlingly realistic and all too possible considering the recent situation: a true nightmare situation that will have you biting your nails and will chill you to the bone.
Thankfully the pre-Crisis chapters as well as the time Kate spends looking for her birth mother distract a little from the dystopian present, and the different elements were brilliantly balanced. The Waiting Rooms turned out to be an absolutely fascinating, captivating as well as alarming read. It's one of those stories you have to be in the mood for, but if you think you can stomach it, The Waiting Rooms will blow you away.
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
melaniesreads's review
5.0
This book was a very personal read for me, for a multitude of reasons. I have for a long time held the belief that people take drugs like sweets and this cannot go on. I have had antibiotics three times in my life, that I know of, which at 47 I think is pretty good. I was in hospital for two weeks last year and had to have IV antibiotics, now imagine if they hadnât worked due to resistance or I was over 70 so was not allowed them. I know if this highly plausible book became reality I would be deemed unworthy of treatment. Shocking isnât it!
This book follows three equally captivating characters, Kate an end of life nurse at the waiting rooms facility, Lily a care home resident rapidly approaching seventy and Mary, a young botanist living in South Africa, searching for a cure using plants for Tuberculosis before the crisis. With a dual timeline of pre and post crisis and some well developed sub plots of a mystery surrounding Lily and Kateâs search for her biological mother. This really does have something for everyone.
My personal opinion is that nature has a way of fighting back and controlling the population. Cure one disease a new one will pop up but nature can also help with finding the cure.
The timing of this book couldnât have been better or worse depending how you view it and it wasnât surprising that a lot of it was based on actual medical research. I really admire how much work has gone into this as you can tell from the writing just how much research the author has done herself.
However it was the little things that really surprised me with this book. Not being able to touch plants, thorns and spikes no longer exist as they have been genetically modified so you donât get scratched. The end of life poison being made to taste like your favourite tipple. Itâs the little details that make this a truly outstanding book and a highly impressive debut.
This book follows three equally captivating characters, Kate an end of life nurse at the waiting rooms facility, Lily a care home resident rapidly approaching seventy and Mary, a young botanist living in South Africa, searching for a cure using plants for Tuberculosis before the crisis. With a dual timeline of pre and post crisis and some well developed sub plots of a mystery surrounding Lily and Kateâs search for her biological mother. This really does have something for everyone.
My personal opinion is that nature has a way of fighting back and controlling the population. Cure one disease a new one will pop up but nature can also help with finding the cure.
The timing of this book couldnât have been better or worse depending how you view it and it wasnât surprising that a lot of it was based on actual medical research. I really admire how much work has gone into this as you can tell from the writing just how much research the author has done herself.
However it was the little things that really surprised me with this book. Not being able to touch plants, thorns and spikes no longer exist as they have been genetically modified so you donât get scratched. The end of life poison being made to taste like your favourite tipple. Itâs the little details that make this a truly outstanding book and a highly impressive debut.
kitapkurdu's review against another edition
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
ljwrites85's review against another edition
4.0
The Waiting Rooms is a captivating, if slightly scary, read.
So I decided what better book to read during a pandemic is a book about a pandemic! As it happens this novel turned out to be so much more than that, the pandemic sort of fades into the background and it becomes more of a tale of love and loss.
Eve Smith has created a believable world not too far off from our own world, where the overuse of antibiotics had led to disease or injury, once easily treated, has become deadly. Over seventies are denied medication or treatment, they have the option to either end their lives or suffer their illness until the end. They are sent to âwaiting roomsâ if theyâre lucky they end up in a top notch nursing home, the less lucky ones end rotting away in flats.
The main story revolves around three women. Kate whoâs adoptive mother has just died leading her to look for her birth mother. Lily, who is just coming up for her seventieth birthday and is afraid that someone from her past is coming back to haunt her. Then thereâs Mary whose POV that starts before the crisis and goes to the root of what happened. Each character is really fleshed out and flawed, you almost think that theyâre real.
The parts that were set in Africa were amazing and descriptive, I could almost picture myself there while I was reading.
If Iâm going to nitpick here, certain aspects of the story were a little predictable but of course thatâs just my opinion.
The Waiting room has realistic characters and an evocative storyline that makes it an almost hypnotising read.
So I decided what better book to read during a pandemic is a book about a pandemic! As it happens this novel turned out to be so much more than that, the pandemic sort of fades into the background and it becomes more of a tale of love and loss.
Eve Smith has created a believable world not too far off from our own world, where the overuse of antibiotics had led to disease or injury, once easily treated, has become deadly. Over seventies are denied medication or treatment, they have the option to either end their lives or suffer their illness until the end. They are sent to âwaiting roomsâ if theyâre lucky they end up in a top notch nursing home, the less lucky ones end rotting away in flats.
The main story revolves around three women. Kate whoâs adoptive mother has just died leading her to look for her birth mother. Lily, who is just coming up for her seventieth birthday and is afraid that someone from her past is coming back to haunt her. Then thereâs Mary whose POV that starts before the crisis and goes to the root of what happened. Each character is really fleshed out and flawed, you almost think that theyâre real.
The parts that were set in Africa were amazing and descriptive, I could almost picture myself there while I was reading.
If Iâm going to nitpick here, certain aspects of the story were a little predictable but of course thatâs just my opinion.
The Waiting room has realistic characters and an evocative storyline that makes it an almost hypnotising read.