Plague

by Malcolm Rose

Winner of the Angus Book Award 2001Winner of the Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award 2001In hospital a man lies dying in the most horrific, unimaginable way. Attacked by a virus, he is leaking blood. It’s happened before – in Zaire – but this is not Zaire. It’s the middle of England and it’s spreading fast. The town is sealed off. Rev, Lucy and Scott are trapped in the barbed-wire ghetto as the body count rises. Where did the plague come from? Can it be contained? What – or who – can stop it?‘Who could think of any place more safe and dull than Milton Keynes? But as teenagers, Rev, Lucy and Scott while away the summer, an invisible enemy is heading their way. Soon the town is in the grip of a deadly virus that causes its victims to haemorrhage to death. This is not the most literary of novels, but it is a compulsive page turner that would grip even the most reluctant reader. It even succeeds in making viral science seem sexy, which is no mean feat.’ The Guardian.‘From the violent cover and the title, I didn’t think this book would appeal, but it is infectious. The narrative is interspersed with worrying factual sections on diseases, viruses, human and animal parasites and their habits which will have you washing very carefully long after the book is finished. But, a real page-turner with some sensible points to make about class prejudice, animal experimentation and animal rights activists.’ Tina Massey, Carousel Guide to Children’s Books.‘Malcolm Rose has written a heart racing whodunnit with a difference, that keeps you absorbed until the very last page. This is a truly unputdownable thriller.’ Burton Daily News.‘If they have books in heaven this one would greet you on the way up!’ Judging Panel of The Lancashire Children’s Book of the Year Award.

Genres: Fiction

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Believe it or not, until Easter 1996, I was a Lecturer in Chemistry at The Open University. I carried out research in analytical chemistry, particularly in the area of health, and I taught mainly organic chemistry. The teaching part of the job predominantly involved writing, with some radio, TV and video work. It also left very little time for fiction writing which I tackled mostly after midnight. Perhaps that is why some of my strongest scenes are set on dark nights! Anyway, I am now a full-time writer.

Many people think it odd and fascinating that a scientist should also be a novelist but I don’t find it strange. After all, scientists have to be creative and show perseverance to carry out research. They also write a lot; in particular, they produce textbooks and articles on their research. Anyone who is imaginative, can stick to a task, and knows how to construct a sentence has the credentials for writing a novel. On top of that, my chemical research was aimed at understanding a little better some aspects of human life. A novel also seeks to illuminate some aspects of human life. The aims are similar even if the tools are different.

I reckon novel writing is not so removed from chemistry as you might think. In one life, I mix chemicals, stew them for a while and observe the reaction. In the other, I mix characters, stir in a bit of conflict and, again, observe the outcome.

I began writing stories while I was carrying out research at York for my DPhil degree in chemistry. Writing became a means of escape from everyday life. While I was at York, my then girlfriend (now wife) read my efforts and commented that I ought to try and get something published. I had never thought of writing as anything other than a hobby. Besides, as I thought then, a budding chemist couldn’t possibly be any good at it! Anyway, I joined a writers’ club to find out how to submit a manuscript to a publisher and, to cut a long story short, found a publisher in William Collins for my first novel, Rift.

I am now over half a century old, married to Barbara and have one son (Colin) who is an architect. I read all of my stories aloud to Barbara and Colin and they help me with their comments.

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 52 Book Challenge - 49) Set In A City Beginning With The Letter “M”

While this book isn't particularly fantastic or new, it did pull me in and I had to know how it ended, so I ended up staying up until 2am to read it.

There were a couple plot problems, ie, with the way the virus spread, it would not have been contained by a fence and would have broken out very easily, so I don't think that it would have remained just in Milton Keynes. Nor do I think that there wouldn't be outrage about the mass euthanisation of every dog in Milton Keynes.

[Buddug · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only read this because it so perfectly mirrored what was happening in real life with covid-19. The few scientific sections were interesting and relevant to current times, that's about all I can really say, the rest was a bit naff - probably ok for younger readers.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new virus that causes a swift, ugly and painful death in 100% of cases suddenly appears in an English town and begins spreading. The town is quarantined and the race is on to find a vaccination or a cure before the virus spreads further.

This is a scary and interesting YA novel. There are maybe some plot holes (e.g. given the way the virus spreads, putting a security fence around the town would not have contained it) but it's a well-written, gripping read. It's not a futuristic story at all - it is very realistic and could easily happen.

It made me wonder how many of us would be alive today if HIV could be transmitted as easily as flu? How many of us would have died (or not been born) in the long years of the 80s and 90s before effective treatment was developed? It is a frightening thought.

[Amandas Orong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would have thought this book would teach me a lot! Enriched in my biochem vocabulary I am.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the grim topic I really enjoyed this book. I read it in an afternoon as I just couldn't put it down

[Sarah-Jayne Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review may contain spoilers).

This is another book I've read several times before. I know what happens in it, but that knowledge didn't affect my enjoyment of the book.

Viruses are scary. There's a conversation in the book between two characters where one of them makes the comment that they could find something nice to say about anything in the world... except for the virus. That really resonated with me.

I liked the pieces of information - articles and the like - about viruses and bacteria. They were informative and didn't really interrupt the flow of the story. I also liked a lot of the characters and the relationships between them, both the pre-existing ones as well as the ones that formed through the book. The characters came across as real, three-dimensional people.

I did feel that there were a lot of very graphic scenes, which were written well enough for me to picture them occurring in my head. But overall, I enjoyed the book. And as much as I don't agree with testing cosmetics on animals, I find it really difficult to make a judgement one way or the other when it comes to medicine.

Daryl and Heather's relationship was one of my favourites in the book. I also felt that the author did a good job showing how Daryl had to be ruthless and make decisions that made him vastly unpopular.

I can't really speak much for the medical side of things, but nothing struck me as glaringly implausible. The characters made hard decisions, struggled and fought through - and that's what made this book for me.