The Third Pandemic

by Ouellette

The disease starts out like a cold - and soon turns deadly. It is caused by a highly communicable, wildly aggressive bacteria that is immune to all know antibiotics. In one year, it will kill sixty percent of the global population.
It is just a theory - a brilliant, highly credible, frightening bit of epidemiological research by Dr. Elaine Wilkes, a scientist in a secluded California laboratory. Then a bizarre confluence of events makes it real.
A rat bites a man in a dump in Iquitos, Peru. A wild parrot is transported to the island of Sao Tome, off the west coast of equatorial Africa. And a syphilitic whore goes in search of her lost lover.
Unaware that the plague she predicted has already begun its deadly march, Elaine Wilkes has fled to Seattle with the formula for the drug that can cure it - a gold mine her employers planned to withhold from the world in a grisly game of supply and demand. She convinces Phil Paris, an obsessive cop with his own vicious enemies, to help her reach the proper authorities. But as the fatal epidemic crashes across Africa, Asia, Europe, and onto America's shores, communications crumble, the dead pile up, and the law of the streets takes over. And in the center of the madness, a psychopathic genius readies the final, stunning blow...

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction, Medical

384 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Angell · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. This book is poorly written. “His uncle, Omar, his mother’s brother...” what a stupid sentence. We’ve known since you randomly started this stupid chapter with another random minor character that this is his uncle. Which germ is it going to be? You haven’t said yet but there have been six different diseases mentioned by chapter 10. When does the plague start? Not before chapter 10. I shouldn’t have to read over 100 pages for something to fucking happen. Is it a cop investigation action story? Maybe. Who knows? The author sure didn’t. There are so many random ass flashbacks in the middle of paragraphs. This book is incoherent crap.

I’m glad I got this at a used book store. I wanted to read a book about a pandemic after having lived through one and this guy can’t even get to the god damn point. 0/10 will never recommend. Garbage.

[John (JC) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had a plethora of plots going from the very beginning. I am used to two or three going at once but the author had so many I was initially thrown off. When they finally came together an exciting clarity overcame any of my initial doubts. The ending was full of twists and turns giving it a grand finale I enjoyed.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very detailed description of the emergence of a catastrophic influenza pandemic, not unlike the current Bird Flu scares (a chicken plays a central role in this biological horror story). Very entertaining for people into microbiology.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very ragged copy found in a little free library. A local author, this fellow wrote about drug companies predicting and nudging the next pandemic to see their vaccine, drug interests and profit margins skyrocket. Sound familiar? I thought so. No wonder the nuts claim plandemic and such. A little gritty in some spots with its humanity and takes a long time ti set up the actual millions dying but it gets there.

I'm going to repair this autographed copy as best I can and return it to the wild.

[Shonda Cornell · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 and 1/2 stars

[BrizeeReads · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I really tried to love this book but I did not get very far. It was confusing and frustrating to read.

[Clackamas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was good. It held my interest throughout.

What I liked: Good descriptions of the disease. The author told you about things happening all over the world, and you knew the disease was going to pop up somewhere, but until it did, he didn't tell you which pathogen that he was telling you about was going to be the one that led to pandemic.

What I liked less: There was a mystery subplot that I didn't care about, but it was okay because I suppose the author needed some kind of framework for why we would care about the main character.

All in all, an unexpected surprise that I'm happy I read.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is an abundance of anthropomorphism in this book of pandemic apocalypse. I could not have better penned the drama of bacteria. I never finished my degree in epidemiology, but the book reminded me of how I thought about diseases during my grad classes. It's unfortunate how dated the technology and medical information is, but it does serve as a memorial to a time in our epidemiological past. This book is worth a read, especially if you're interested in epidemiology, and how the science has changed over time.

[Margaret Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

The anthromorphization of the viruses and bacteria is takting to such an extent that it actually ngets in the way of understanding the processes through which the survive, propate and proliferate.

An unwieldily large cast of characters that that does little to flesh out the story since most fulfilled standard stereotypical roles found in books of this nature.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a terrifying book that is actually based on the facts laid out in The Hot Zone. The 'what if' question plays out well when a vicious epidemic approaches the United States. The battle of genius between the noble, Dr. Elaine Wilkes and an evil genius is captivating.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this type of book but I got bored in several parts. Too much detail that wasn't interesting and too little detail on the interesting parts. I did enjoy the life like descriptions of the armies of virus/bacteria parts.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy on the science of microbiology, which I love (but might lose some readers). I wanted to give it 5 stars, but there were too many loose ends because there were superfluous characters that didn't need to be present in the story.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy books like this! They are like candy to me!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book