This was a reasonable book, but I felt the inclusion of some unnecessary elements held it back a little, for example there's a large swath dedicated to how Noah Haldane's wife has had a lesbian affair with a woman down the road because he was away from home a fair bit, and they're all angsty and struggling with their marriage. This seemed entirely superfluous, I didn't feel it added much in the way of depth to the character and would have preferred the pages were spent dedicated to the issue at hand - the influenza outbreak and/or bio-terrorism.

That being said the story is decent, a new influenza strain is born in rural China and the WHO races to help contain it after invitation by the Chinese Government. They seem to have succeeded except for a doctor at the hospital who has turned to the black market to supplement his pay after being passed over for promotion sells access to an infected patient whose blood is collected and taken from the quarantine zone. Enter the Islamic fundamentalist terrorists who feel they must use any and all tools they have to strike back at the imperialist west.

Enjoyable, interesting but not on the level of Richard Preston's The Hot Zone. ( )

This book is scary! Not for being gory, supernatural or about any sort of monsters or creatures. This book is scary for the sole reason that it could easily occur in our lifetime. Our world is changing and there are some pretty evil people out there. Our world has seen some pretty bad sickness but the fact that a virus can kill thousands and is manmade and spread on purpose, yikes!! This book will stay with me for a very long time, not to mention that flick of worry at every time one of my children coughs. ( )

Dr. Kalla has written an exceptionally thoughtful first novel. The historical background is correct, and the medical information is solid and well written for a lay audience to be able to understand. Although this is not a novel to be immediately understood by someone totally without a science background, the fascinating concept of the book should keep a layperson interested enough in the beginning to lead them to greater and greater understanding of the science involved. The concept of the book is deeply frightening in the utter reality of its possibilities. The world is, in my knowledge, deeply incapable, at this point in time, of meeting a true flu pandemic - which Dr. Kalla goes out of his way to prove is greatly overdue.

Another point which deserves great admiration is Dr. Kalla's insight of, and introduction to, the Muslim religion in all of its diversity of thought. While giving deep insight into the vitriolic mindset of the terrorist, his portrayal of the Muslim people stops not with the twisted Kabaal and Sabri, nor with the mindless obedience of their followers. Dr. Kalla also draws a thoughtful picture of the other side of the Muslim religion in his portrayal of Inspector Eleish and his family. Eleish and others like him are the quiet side of the faith, those who have studied their religion, only to find in it the deep, abiding spirituality from which they gather strength in their day-to-day lives. It is not my point here, in any way, to delve into a discussion of religion. It is, however, refreshing to read an author who is not only willing, but capable of, showing both sides of the issue in a clear and understandable manner. Especially to a person who, like myself, is not a religious person and never has been. It is, however, interesting to me that we tend to paint all Muslims with the same brush, as terrorists and monsters. That is, in my estimation, like saying that all Americans are members of the Klan or the White Supremest movement, or practice Christian Religious Fundamentalism. An awfully wide brush for an extremely diverse population.

Pick it up for the solid science, or the rollicking storyline, or just for a bit of excitement. But do pick up this book - I doubt you will regret it. However, it probably isn't such a good idea to read it on an overcrowded jetliner, as I did, for several hours when your seatmate has a cold - - it made me rather jumpy, it did! :-)
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Dr. Kalla has written an exceptionally thoughtful first novel. The historical background is correct, and the medical information is solid and well written for a lay audience to be able to understand. Although this is not a novel to be immediately understood by someone totally without a science background, the fascinating concept of the book should keep a layperson interested enough in the beginning to lead them to greater and greater understanding of the science involved. The concept of the book is deeply frightening in the utter reality of its possibilities. The world is, in my knowledge, deeply incapable, at this point in time, of meeting a true flu pandemic - which Dr. Kalla goes out of his way to prove is greatly overdue.

Another point which deserves great admiration is Dr. Kalla's insight of, and introduction to, the Muslim religion in all of its diversity of thought. While giving deep insight into the vitriolic mindset of the terrorist, his portrayal of the Muslim people stops not with the twisted Kabaal and Sabri, nor with the mindless obedience of their followers. Dr. Kalla also draws a thoughtful picture of the other side of the Muslim religion in his portrayal of Inspector Eleish and his family. Eleish and others like him are the quiet side of the faith, those who have studied their religion, only to find in it the deep, abiding spirituality from which they gather strength in their day-to-day lives. It is not my point here, in any way, to delve into a discussion of religion. It is, however, refreshing to read an author who is not only willing, but capable of, showing both sides of the issue in a clear and understandable manner. Especially to a person who, like myself, is not a religious person and never has been. It is, however, interesting to me that we tend to paint all Muslims with the same brush, as terrorists and monsters. That is, in my estimation, like saying that all Americans are members of the Klan or the White Supremest movement, or practice Christian Religious Fundamentalism. An awfully wide brush for an extremely diverse population.

Pick it up for the solid science, or the rollicking storyline, or just for a bit of excitement. But do pick up this book - I doubt you will regret it. However, it probably isn't such a good idea to read it on an overcrowded jetliner, as I did, for several hours when your seatmate has a cold - - it made me rather jumpy, it did! :-)
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In China's Gansu Province there's an outbreak of a deadly virus similar to the Spanish Flu that killed 20 million people in 1919. Dr Noah Haldane and a team of experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) are called in to help the authorities identify and contain the virus. Just as things seem to be under control there are further outbreaks in Hong Kong and London. On top of having to address the medical issues the authorities are worried that the disease may not be spreading naturally.

This is a fairly standard thriller with a serviceable but not terribly unique plot. Virulent disease outbreaks, the threat of terrorism, doctors running around saving the world in the nick of time have all been done before. But more familiar than that is the roles and attributes assigned to various groups and people. The main characters are all good-looking, the Chinese are horribly authoritarian, the bad guys are all fundamentalist Muslims and the Americans are all heroes. The cliché ratio was just a bit too high for me. That aside, the book moves along at a good pace and there's lots of action scattered across the globe. The ending is a little predictable but there's only so many places a thriller can go so that's far more forgivable than the cliché count.

Kalla's made a valiant attempt to make the characters more than two-dimensional but, at least as far as the main characters are concerned, hasn't really succeeded. As well as being a hard-working, brilliant, emerging pathogens expert Noah Haldine is a loving father going through some marital troubles but the threads dealing with his personal life all felt a bit forced to me. The other main character is the American 'bug czar': the female head of Counter-Bioterrorism who's also a brilliant, sexy, workaholic going through a marriage breakdown. You don't need me to actually write the phrase 'sexual tension' do you? Kalla's done a much better job with the minor characters such Noah's fellow WHO doctor and the Egyptian policeman who plays a pivotal role in uncovering the terrorists' activity. For me they were far more engaging and interesting although their appearances were too brief.

This is Kalla's first novel and he's written four more since then. Because I've been struggling to feed my medical thriller habit since I gave up on the rubbish Robin Cook writes these days and because there are some elements here that show potential I'm prepared to give him another go. But only if I can mooch something. ( )