Waiting in the dark silent depths of the Arctic Ocean lies a secret that could change the course of humanity – but only if World Health Organisation epidemiologist Dr. Peyton Shaw can prevent 95% of the planet’s population from being wiped out by the most virulent, fast-moving plague outbreak in history.
The Ebola-like pathogen first surfaced in a remote Kenyan village and it’s more terrifying then anything Peyton has ever seen before. If she’s going to halt its spread she’s going to have to trace the virus back to its origins, but as the clock ticks towards the apocalypse Peyton begins to suspect that this outbreak is far from being a natural catastrophe: could it be the opening gambit in a conspiracy designed to bring mankind to its knees? And what part does Desmond Hughes play in the story, as he wakes up in a Berlin hotel room with the body of a dead man lying beside him? He has no memory of anything, so is it possible that he may be responsible for setting the virus loose? And if so, could he hold the key to stopping it? Only Peyton Shaw can help him find the answers, assuming they can survive both the virus and the ruthless conspirators lurking behind it…
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you want to like a book, it’s just not going to happen. Pandemic starts out well – the opening chapters smash us full-tilt into the action and the pace is terrific – but then it starts to lose its way very badly: there are too many annoying flashbacks, there are too many unnecessary twists and turns and intrigues piling on top of intrigues until the reader completely loses track of what’s going on (and it feels like the author does too), and although the story seems to have been impeccably well researched it’s a shame the same care and attention didn’t go into the characterisation of the heroine. It’s frustrating because Peyton Shaw starts out strong but then rapidly devolves into whiny, incomprehensibly more concerned about her love life than the fact she’s got the end-of-the-world to avert. If anyone ever wanted to make the argument that male authors can’t write female characters (which this writer normally doesn’t agree with) then they could produce Pandemic as Exhibit A.
It’s a shame because there are a lot of fascinating ingredients in this mix, but it’s far too long (by at least 250 pages) and it’s not the sum of its parts. Compared to the recently released The Genius Plague, Pandemic is very disappointing.
PANDEMIC / AUTHOR: A.G. RIDDLE / PUBLISHER: HEAD OF ZEUS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
