Scan barcode
A review by scottjp
Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes
2.0
Viral Nation takes place in a world where most of the population has been obliterated by an unnamed virus. America now exists under a sort of benevolent totalitarianism. Crime is dealt with swiftly and harshly, so there is very little of it, at least not anywhere people seem to care about. The justice system is a lot like the one in [b:The Minority Report|65018|Minority Report|Philip K. Dick|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1170626052s/65018.jpg|63086], except that instead of using a team of psychics to predict when crimes will occur, "Time Mariners" retrieve information from the future via a temporal gateway, and (theoretically) crimes are dealt with before they happen.
At the heart of the story is Clover Donovan, an autistic sixteen year-old girl who is cared for by her brother while their father works away from home (their mother died of the virus when Clover was an infant.) Clover is the best thing about the book, at least for the first half or so. I felt she was portrayed well by the author--realistic and likeable, even if she isn't always nice (although this is usually because she has trouble recognizing social cues and often misspeaks.) That's until her condition is revealed to be a gimmick which is never explained, and which comes off as a patronizing attempt to make autistic people feel special.
I thought the story was great in the beginning, but as I neared the end I came to like it less and less. It became obvious that there was no way the story was going to be completed by the end of the book. That revolution mentioned in the summary? It doesn't even get started until the last few chapters. Yes, I know it says "first in a new series" clearly on the front cover, but there is no kind of closure at all. Novels are not a serial medium. If you want to do that, write comics. I feel like I've gotten nothing out of reading this. Will I be rewarded in the second installment, or will I have to wait for the third?
At the heart of the story is Clover Donovan, an autistic sixteen year-old girl who is cared for by her brother while their father works away from home (their mother died of the virus when Clover was an infant.) Clover is the best thing about the book, at least for the first half or so. I felt she was portrayed well by the author--realistic and likeable, even if she isn't always nice (although this is usually because she has trouble recognizing social cues and often misspeaks.) That's until her condition is revealed to be a gimmick which is never explained, and which comes off as a patronizing attempt to make autistic people feel special.
Spoiler
We're eventually told that only autistics can travel through the time portal. At first I thought this meant that only they could cope with it mentally, but it turns out that only they can literally pass through it at all. Anyone else is held back, even somehow being pushed through and out of the submarine craft they travel in. So, only autistic people and objects can pass through? ...okay.I thought the story was great in the beginning, but as I neared the end I came to like it less and less. It became obvious that there was no way the story was going to be completed by the end of the book. That revolution mentioned in the summary? It doesn't even get started until the last few chapters. Yes, I know it says "first in a new series" clearly on the front cover, but there is no kind of closure at all. Novels are not a serial medium. If you want to do that, write comics. I feel like I've gotten nothing out of reading this. Will I be rewarded in the second installment, or will I have to wait for the third?