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The Culling
Carl Sims, a young virologist, discovers a plot hatched by a group of international scientists to cull, in a matter of weeks, two-thirds of the world's population - some 4.5 billion people, by releasing a deadly virus that kills two-thirds of those it infects. Their goal is to reduce Earth's population from an unsustainable seven billion to two billion. What is he to do? Try to stop the conspiracy, or join it?Horrific, yes, but what if this culling could prevent the extinction of some forty percent of our planet's flora and fauna? Or if he was certain it was the only way to prevent an even larger human die-off, incurring significantly more suffering, by the end of this century? Or if he were convinced it represented the only hope for humanity surviving at all? This is at the heart of this thriller, for these viruses do, in fact, exist.Most everything that plagues mankind today - the highest concentration of atmospheric CO2 in 3 million years, escalating extinction rates, habitat loss, fishery collapses, climate change, polar and glacial ice thaws, arable land loss, desertification, aquifer depletions, ocean acidification, unprecedented air pollution, looming famine and social unrest - stems from over consumption which, unchecked, will lead to Earth's sixth mass extinction event.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2014
3 people are currently reading
641 people want to read
About the author
Robert Johnson
687 books19 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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December 28, 2013
The Momentum of Folly
(Full disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book for review through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program.)
Young upstart Dr. Carl Sims is moving on up the food chain at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta - though not as quickly as he'd like. While visions of Level 4 Ebola research dance in his head, Carl is dispatched to Guangdong, China, in order to track down an emerging flu virus. What was to be a rather mundane and tedious assignment quickly morphs into a battle for the future of humanity, as Carl is thrust into a conspiracy orchestrated by his senior colleagues. Led by his own superior on the assignment, Dr. Jenna Williams, the scientists hope to release the 1918 "Eskimo" flu strain, thus "culling" two thirds of the earth's population and saving the rest from impending environment collapse. It's up to Carl to stop them - that is, if he doesn't decide to join them.
Robert Johnson has an interesting idea in The Culling - but, for whatever reason (or combination of reasons), the finished product just didn't do it for me. Johnson is an adept enough writer, and mostly keeps a quick pace, but it takes some time for the conspiracy angle to get off the ground. The book - or at least the ARC I received - isn't divided into chapters, which makes the story feel as though it's unfolding more slowly than it is. Johnson fills the book with facts and figures that are supposed to drive home the urgency of the situation, but which mostly made my eyes glaze over. (To be fair, I'm already convinced that humanity is headed swiftly off a cliff. A member of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement - emphasis on "voluntary" - I can do Johnson's "just two children" credo two better: I have none. So I didn't really need any convincing, is my point.)
A significant problem lies with the characters, most of whom are simply unlikable. Carl's actions often come off as stupid or selfish (often simultaneously), which makes his heroic sacrifice at the end that much less plausible. He knowingly boards a cross-Atlantic plane when ill - thus exposing hundreds of his fellow passengers to the bird flu - and then slips the quarantine once the plane lands. That this little gambit actually pays off is nothing but dumb luck. After he intentionally infects himself with the big one, he once again floats the idea of flying back to America on a commercial liner, only to be talked out of it by his roommate Stuart.
Stuart, by the by, is so juvenile that I have trouble believing he could hold down a job as a sandwich board dude, let alone a research scientist at the CDC. And love interest Angela? I can't even with her. That she and Carl end up together after she knocks him out cold and steals his blood is the stuff of absurdist comedy. They seem to have little in common, and yet I can't help but think that maybe the two deserve each other after all. Mass murderer Jenna is the easily the most likable of the main cast of characters, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
Also problematic is Johnson's emphasis on overpopulation to the near-total exclusion of overconsumption. A child born in the United States simply isn't equivalent, resource-wise, to a child born in Zanzibar City; and yet the emphasis remains on "irresponsible breeding," placing the lion's share of blame squarely and undeservedly on the backs of developing nations. China, for example, is held up as an example of rampant pollution - all while ignoring that those smog-burping factories are in fact churning out cheap, unethically produced consumer goods for use in other countries, including the United States.
Rather than lecture those primitive third worlders on family planning (something Carl's father made a career out of), why not focus your efforts on convincing consumers in developed nations to scale back their comparatively luxurious lifestyles? Or, better yet: clear the path for women in developing nations to decide how and when they become mothers by making birth control (including but not limited to abortion) both readily available and socially acceptable? (Developed nations, too: contraception remains a point of controversy even in the "enlightened" West.) Additionally, women's rights are integral in this fight. When given the means and opportunity, women more often than not choose to have fewer children. Ending misogyny is a must. Yet Johnson mentions contraception just twice in 325 pages; the oppression of women, not at all.
On the contrary: several of the characters express agreement with China's one-child policy - a state intrusion on women's bodily autonomy. While they decry its lack of effectiveness, the idea of combating misogyny so that female children aren't considered a "waste" remains unspoken. Women need to be lifted up, not talked down to.
As for our protagonists, Carl does pick a fight with Angela on her choice of car, but this is the only nod Johnson makes to limiting our impact on the environment through the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle - in that order). For all his self-righteousness, Dr. Carl - a highly educated man with ready access to multiple means of birth control - still manages to accidentally impregnate his girlfriend (and engages in presumably unprotected sex with Jenna, in a scene that's weird, out of place, and not a little discomfiting. While not his boss in an official capacity, Dr. Williams is still Carl's superior on this assignment - thus making the scene feel quite a lot like sexual harassment.) Angela considers getting an abortion...and then doesn't. Presumably because Carl's just so damn dreamy.
As a vegan, I'm disappointed (but not at all surprised) that our dietary choices and treatment of nonhuman animals (individuals, not species) receives absolutely zero attention, even as humans' domestication of various species in animal agriculture is blamed for creating conditions conducive to the spread of lethal zoonotic diseases. Likewise, the irony of using billions of chicken eggs to grow flu vaccines passes unnoticed. (The very eggs used to fight the bird flu are produced in unsanitary factory farms - which themselves help to create the need for these very vaccines.) The Culling did introduce me to the happy (but as of yet small-scale) development of using (human) cell strains to develop vaccines, so there's that.
Also, that bit about a frog boiling to death in a bot of slowly heated water, presumably because he's too stupid to notice the gradual change in temperature? It's a myth.
On the positive side, The Culling does feature a rather diverse cast of characters: Dr. Williams is a woman of color; Stuart is paraplegic; Angela is Latina; and the nefarious scientists hail from a variety of countries. Particularly amusing are Tian and Wen, the Chinese interns aiding Carl and Jenna in Asia, who take great pleasure in mocking and subverting Western stereotypes.
Two and a half stars, rounded down to two on Amazon.
Read with: Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, by Michael Greger (2006); Tami Noyes's American Vegan Kitchen (2010), or the vegan cookbook(s) of your choice.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/01/06/...
(Full disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book for review through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program.)
Young upstart Dr. Carl Sims is moving on up the food chain at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta - though not as quickly as he'd like. While visions of Level 4 Ebola research dance in his head, Carl is dispatched to Guangdong, China, in order to track down an emerging flu virus. What was to be a rather mundane and tedious assignment quickly morphs into a battle for the future of humanity, as Carl is thrust into a conspiracy orchestrated by his senior colleagues. Led by his own superior on the assignment, Dr. Jenna Williams, the scientists hope to release the 1918 "Eskimo" flu strain, thus "culling" two thirds of the earth's population and saving the rest from impending environment collapse. It's up to Carl to stop them - that is, if he doesn't decide to join them.
Robert Johnson has an interesting idea in The Culling - but, for whatever reason (or combination of reasons), the finished product just didn't do it for me. Johnson is an adept enough writer, and mostly keeps a quick pace, but it takes some time for the conspiracy angle to get off the ground. The book - or at least the ARC I received - isn't divided into chapters, which makes the story feel as though it's unfolding more slowly than it is. Johnson fills the book with facts and figures that are supposed to drive home the urgency of the situation, but which mostly made my eyes glaze over. (To be fair, I'm already convinced that humanity is headed swiftly off a cliff. A member of the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement - emphasis on "voluntary" - I can do Johnson's "just two children" credo two better: I have none. So I didn't really need any convincing, is my point.)
A significant problem lies with the characters, most of whom are simply unlikable. Carl's actions often come off as stupid or selfish (often simultaneously), which makes his heroic sacrifice at the end that much less plausible. He knowingly boards a cross-Atlantic plane when ill - thus exposing hundreds of his fellow passengers to the bird flu - and then slips the quarantine once the plane lands. That this little gambit actually pays off is nothing but dumb luck. After he intentionally infects himself with the big one, he once again floats the idea of flying back to America on a commercial liner, only to be talked out of it by his roommate Stuart.
Stuart, by the by, is so juvenile that I have trouble believing he could hold down a job as a sandwich board dude, let alone a research scientist at the CDC. And love interest Angela? I can't even with her. That she and Carl end up together after she knocks him out cold and steals his blood is the stuff of absurdist comedy. They seem to have little in common, and yet I can't help but think that maybe the two deserve each other after all. Mass murderer Jenna is the easily the most likable of the main cast of characters, which isn't necessarily a good thing.
Also problematic is Johnson's emphasis on overpopulation to the near-total exclusion of overconsumption. A child born in the United States simply isn't equivalent, resource-wise, to a child born in Zanzibar City; and yet the emphasis remains on "irresponsible breeding," placing the lion's share of blame squarely and undeservedly on the backs of developing nations. China, for example, is held up as an example of rampant pollution - all while ignoring that those smog-burping factories are in fact churning out cheap, unethically produced consumer goods for use in other countries, including the United States.
Rather than lecture those primitive third worlders on family planning (something Carl's father made a career out of), why not focus your efforts on convincing consumers in developed nations to scale back their comparatively luxurious lifestyles? Or, better yet: clear the path for women in developing nations to decide how and when they become mothers by making birth control (including but not limited to abortion) both readily available and socially acceptable? (Developed nations, too: contraception remains a point of controversy even in the "enlightened" West.) Additionally, women's rights are integral in this fight. When given the means and opportunity, women more often than not choose to have fewer children. Ending misogyny is a must. Yet Johnson mentions contraception just twice in 325 pages; the oppression of women, not at all.
On the contrary: several of the characters express agreement with China's one-child policy - a state intrusion on women's bodily autonomy. While they decry its lack of effectiveness, the idea of combating misogyny so that female children aren't considered a "waste" remains unspoken. Women need to be lifted up, not talked down to.
As for our protagonists, Carl does pick a fight with Angela on her choice of car, but this is the only nod Johnson makes to limiting our impact on the environment through the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle - in that order). For all his self-righteousness, Dr. Carl - a highly educated man with ready access to multiple means of birth control - still manages to accidentally impregnate his girlfriend (and engages in presumably unprotected sex with Jenna, in a scene that's weird, out of place, and not a little discomfiting. While not his boss in an official capacity, Dr. Williams is still Carl's superior on this assignment - thus making the scene feel quite a lot like sexual harassment.) Angela considers getting an abortion...and then doesn't. Presumably because Carl's just so damn dreamy.
As a vegan, I'm disappointed (but not at all surprised) that our dietary choices and treatment of nonhuman animals (individuals, not species) receives absolutely zero attention, even as humans' domestication of various species in animal agriculture is blamed for creating conditions conducive to the spread of lethal zoonotic diseases. Likewise, the irony of using billions of chicken eggs to grow flu vaccines passes unnoticed. (The very eggs used to fight the bird flu are produced in unsanitary factory farms - which themselves help to create the need for these very vaccines.) The Culling did introduce me to the happy (but as of yet small-scale) development of using (human) cell strains to develop vaccines, so there's that.
Also, that bit about a frog boiling to death in a bot of slowly heated water, presumably because he's too stupid to notice the gradual change in temperature? It's a myth.
On the positive side, The Culling does feature a rather diverse cast of characters: Dr. Williams is a woman of color; Stuart is paraplegic; Angela is Latina; and the nefarious scientists hail from a variety of countries. Particularly amusing are Tian and Wen, the Chinese interns aiding Carl and Jenna in Asia, who take great pleasure in mocking and subverting Western stereotypes.
Two and a half stars, rounded down to two on Amazon.
Read with: Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching, by Michael Greger (2006); Tami Noyes's American Vegan Kitchen (2010), or the vegan cookbook(s) of your choice.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2014/01/06/...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2014
*Review origianlly published by the New York Journal of Books*
Robert Johnson's first novel tackles an issue that most in the media, the arts, and entertainment industry—even the environmental community—are afraid to discuss directly: overpopulation.
The fear of offending powerful individuals who profit in the short-term either culturally or monetarily from the nonstop propagation of our species is strong.
This thriller explores various angles of the problem, including this reluctance to challenge those powerful leaders and the inevitable consequences. Although the real suspense doesn't really start until about 70 pages in, once it gets going, Johnson has the reader ensnared in the story, needing to know which team of geeked out scientists will save the world.
And make no mistake: both teams believe they are saving the world.
On one side are five preeminent biological scientists led by a rogue WHO virologist, who having studied the data and seen the real world effects of the glut of humans that currently use up the resources of 1.5 Earths*, the attendant extinction of record numbers of species, and the fouling of the planet we rely on for life have come to the conclusion that humans have proven they are not willing to change their foolish ways within a meaningful time frame.
Consequently, they’ve chosen to stop dithering around with more reports that will be ignored and force a change by implementing a plan to unleash an engineered super-virus that will cull the world's population down to approximately two billion—a number calculated to be sustainable in terms of the earth's resources while providing everyone with a roughly European standard of living.
On the other side is a virologist from the CDC who discovers the plot and recruits his colleagues to stop the epidemic.
Read more at: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
Robert Johnson's first novel tackles an issue that most in the media, the arts, and entertainment industry—even the environmental community—are afraid to discuss directly: overpopulation.
The fear of offending powerful individuals who profit in the short-term either culturally or monetarily from the nonstop propagation of our species is strong.
This thriller explores various angles of the problem, including this reluctance to challenge those powerful leaders and the inevitable consequences. Although the real suspense doesn't really start until about 70 pages in, once it gets going, Johnson has the reader ensnared in the story, needing to know which team of geeked out scientists will save the world.
And make no mistake: both teams believe they are saving the world.
On one side are five preeminent biological scientists led by a rogue WHO virologist, who having studied the data and seen the real world effects of the glut of humans that currently use up the resources of 1.5 Earths*, the attendant extinction of record numbers of species, and the fouling of the planet we rely on for life have come to the conclusion that humans have proven they are not willing to change their foolish ways within a meaningful time frame.
Consequently, they’ve chosen to stop dithering around with more reports that will be ignored and force a change by implementing a plan to unleash an engineered super-virus that will cull the world's population down to approximately two billion—a number calculated to be sustainable in terms of the earth's resources while providing everyone with a roughly European standard of living.
On the other side is a virologist from the CDC who discovers the plot and recruits his colleagues to stop the epidemic.
Read more at: http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-...
December 13, 2013
There’s a strong clear message in Robert Johnson’s The Culling, but there’s a strong clear storyline too, and neither overwhelms the other. It’s appealingly different to read about plausible scientists, speaking real science, giving well-reasoned arguments, and backing them up with facts. These scientists have genuine character too—their relationships aren’t glued onto the message to turn it into fiction, and their arguments aren’t imposed on the adventure to give it weight. Instead a thread of real-world fear waves through a novel of imagined excitement, leaving this reader wiser, worried, and significantly more well-informed... as well as entertained.
Carl Sims is a young virologist with dreams of studying something a little more exciting than ’flu. If you’re anything like me, you probably have no idea how ’flu vaccines are created, why they work or fail, or how the ingredients are gathered. You’ve probably never traveled to the huts of indigenous peoples in hidden jungles either. But in Robert Johnson’s novel you can experience both from the comfort of an armchair. Not that this novel will allow you to remain comfortable; it covers many singularly uncomfortable topics, from global warming to overcrowding to humanism, hopelessness and more.
Author Robert Johnson renders scientific detail as evocatively as the African jungle, beautifully contrasting nature’s mysticism with raw explanation, and carrying the reader into the minds of flawed characters as they balance human relationships with human need. A passion for science and a passion for humanity clash when Carl uncovers a frightening plot. As he decides which side to take, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. And the golden triangle of influenza (people, pigs and birds) becomes redrawn in people, science and hope.
Better than Michael Crighton, blending science and fiction more completely, more plausibly, and thereby, more frighteningly, this novel is enjoyable, exciting, satisfying, thought-provoking, and a thoroughly enthralling read.
Disclosure: I received a free bound galley from the publisher and I offer my honest review.
Carl Sims is a young virologist with dreams of studying something a little more exciting than ’flu. If you’re anything like me, you probably have no idea how ’flu vaccines are created, why they work or fail, or how the ingredients are gathered. You’ve probably never traveled to the huts of indigenous peoples in hidden jungles either. But in Robert Johnson’s novel you can experience both from the comfort of an armchair. Not that this novel will allow you to remain comfortable; it covers many singularly uncomfortable topics, from global warming to overcrowding to humanism, hopelessness and more.
Author Robert Johnson renders scientific detail as evocatively as the African jungle, beautifully contrasting nature’s mysticism with raw explanation, and carrying the reader into the minds of flawed characters as they balance human relationships with human need. A passion for science and a passion for humanity clash when Carl uncovers a frightening plot. As he decides which side to take, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. And the golden triangle of influenza (people, pigs and birds) becomes redrawn in people, science and hope.
Better than Michael Crighton, blending science and fiction more completely, more plausibly, and thereby, more frighteningly, this novel is enjoyable, exciting, satisfying, thought-provoking, and a thoroughly enthralling read.
Disclosure: I received a free bound galley from the publisher and I offer my honest review.
March 4, 2014
A possible plot to cull the Earth of 2/3s of its human population using a deadly virus? Oh the intrigue!
As I read the first couple of chapters, I felt like I was watching a movie: the way the characters speak to each other, the way their first adventures are set up. A little later, I read the author's biography and lo and behold, the fellow writes screenplays!
This book was a thought provoking read! Lots of food for thought. I actually found myself making notes of things to look up online to see if the facts that the characters spewed were real. I had no idea that the Spanish flu of 1918 actually started in Kansas, USA, not Spain! It hit as far as remoter places like Alaska. And the giant garbage city outside of Cairo, Egypt is really a thing!
Given the sheer amount of sobering details about human over-crowding, I found myself struggling to decide who were the heroes and villains in this story.
Right after I finished it, someone on Facebook posted a link to an article about scientists resurrecting a 30,000 year old virus...
As I read the first couple of chapters, I felt like I was watching a movie: the way the characters speak to each other, the way their first adventures are set up. A little later, I read the author's biography and lo and behold, the fellow writes screenplays!
This book was a thought provoking read! Lots of food for thought. I actually found myself making notes of things to look up online to see if the facts that the characters spewed were real. I had no idea that the Spanish flu of 1918 actually started in Kansas, USA, not Spain! It hit as far as remoter places like Alaska. And the giant garbage city outside of Cairo, Egypt is really a thing!
Given the sheer amount of sobering details about human over-crowding, I found myself struggling to decide who were the heroes and villains in this story.
Right after I finished it, someone on Facebook posted a link to an article about scientists resurrecting a 30,000 year old virus...
October 29, 2013
Written in the present tense to add a sense of immediacy, and including frightening information about the world's population, climate, resources and the crushing poverty that increases every day, it's also full of philosophical questions.
What if the only way for a population to survive were to cull the herd? We do it already with animals - should we cull the human herd too? Dr. Carl Sims is faced with an impossible choice, where neither option is desirable and both outcomes are terrible. Our world, according to this book (and probably others), can support 2 billion people. In the winter of 2011, it reached 7 billion. Within 13 years we'll reach 8 billion. From a purely mathematical perspective, the solution is obvious... but the cost in human lives, knowledge and suffering is immeasurable, and the obvious solution would forever change the world.
There were some minor plot glitches - nothing more than you'll see in fairly much any movie, so let's call them "plot points" - and I can't tell you if the science is right, but it seems plausible, and that's what counts. Read this, and think.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What if the only way for a population to survive were to cull the herd? We do it already with animals - should we cull the human herd too? Dr. Carl Sims is faced with an impossible choice, where neither option is desirable and both outcomes are terrible. Our world, according to this book (and probably others), can support 2 billion people. In the winter of 2011, it reached 7 billion. Within 13 years we'll reach 8 billion. From a purely mathematical perspective, the solution is obvious... but the cost in human lives, knowledge and suffering is immeasurable, and the obvious solution would forever change the world.
There were some minor plot glitches - nothing more than you'll see in fairly much any movie, so let's call them "plot points" - and I can't tell you if the science is right, but it seems plausible, and that's what counts. Read this, and think.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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March 13, 2017I don't like the idea of rating something I haven't read all the way to the end, so I'll leave the stars off this one and just give a brief explanation of why I'm abandoning it. I made it to about page 100, but the story hasn't grabbed me and the prose itself is grating on me.
For one thing, I've never been a big fan of third person present tense. I love present tense in first person, where it can provide a sense of immediacy and intimacy, but in this case the third person usage felt like I was reading a screenplay that had just had its descriptions bumped up a notch. The writing, as a whole, is somewhat amateurish, with lots of explaining how the characters are speaking or feeling or why they're acting the way they are, instead of letting the reader figure it out on their own. There's an effort to include a diverse cast, but when the characters are all one-dimensional (and sometimes bordering on stereotypical), the effort doesn't feel like it counts for much.
Because of all the issues with the prose, I never felt like I was actually experiencing the story; instead, I was being told the story, and when I'm not hooked by the plot or the characters, that's just too unsatisfying for me as a reader to be worth continuing.
(Note: I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.)
For one thing, I've never been a big fan of third person present tense. I love present tense in first person, where it can provide a sense of immediacy and intimacy, but in this case the third person usage felt like I was reading a screenplay that had just had its descriptions bumped up a notch. The writing, as a whole, is somewhat amateurish, with lots of explaining how the characters are speaking or feeling or why they're acting the way they are, instead of letting the reader figure it out on their own. There's an effort to include a diverse cast, but when the characters are all one-dimensional (and sometimes bordering on stereotypical), the effort doesn't feel like it counts for much.
Because of all the issues with the prose, I never felt like I was actually experiencing the story; instead, I was being told the story, and when I'm not hooked by the plot or the characters, that's just too unsatisfying for me as a reader to be worth continuing.
(Note: I received a free copy of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.)
August 9, 2016
In this book, a young virologist named Dr. Carl Sims is sent to China by the CDC to obtain samples of a flu virus. He is to assist a famous epidemiologist, Dr. Jenna Williams, and her two interns. Their search leads them to a small village in Laos where they encounter a particularly vicious virus that infects everyone who encounters it and kills two thirds of the afflicted. Carl discovers that the viral outbreak is part of a plan to cull the worldwide population.
Carl is the son of a man whose mission in life was to convince people that the only salvation for the human race was to limit families to two children. His mission obviously failed and a planet which can sustainably support 2 billion people is being asked to support 7 billion, with more to come. The future seems to hold ever-growing slums, poverty, climate change and eventual extinction of the human race. The scientists behind the culling see no other way to save the planet and preserve life for the remaining inhabitants. They could be right. While our eventual extinction is probably inevitable, the question is what, if anything, we are willing to do to postpone it.
This book has a very interesting and scary plot with a likable protagonist and some exciting sequences. I particularly liked the action in the village in Laos and in a CDC containment facility in Brazil. However, I would give this book only 3 stars for the writing. At times it seemed very over-written with bloated, run-on sentences. It became so annoying that I occasionally counted the words. I thought it was bad when I counted 53 words in one sentence. Then a few pages later a sentence had 84 words. There were also plot holes which I won't describe for fear of spoilers. The book also employed the tired convention of having the conspirators reveal their entire plot to Carl for no other reason than to let the reader know what was going on. They even introduced themselves to him. Also, at times there was too much detail about viruses and vaccine production. The behavior of Dr. Williams often made no sense and was inconsistent. This book could have used some more editing. In spite if it's flaws, this wasn't a bad read, but then I've always been a sucker for "escaped-killer-virus" books.
I received a free preview edition of this book from the publisher.
January 24, 2014
This is, by no means, a feel-good read. It is filled with fascinating (though terrifying) scientific facts and data and opens up a whole new world of the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization that most of us are never privy to.
The driving storyline revolves around Carl, a virologist with the CDC, who discovers a plot by other scientists to release a virus on the world at large. That alone would make for a fast-paced thriller, but what makes The Culling a unique story is the reason FOR this plot to kill a majority of the world's population. A strong case is actually made FOR the release of this virus - saving human kind from ourselves. The central theme of this book is the earth's overpopulation, and the dramatic depletion of natural resources. The future painted through these pages and through the facts and figures demonstrated by the scientist is bleak, at best.
My fear is some readers who relate to one side of the political spectrum will just write this off as liberal fear-mongering. I, however, stress that there is absolutely no political agenda, and though this is entirely a work of fiction, the facts within should not be overlooked. A well-written book is one where there is no clear side for good or for evil. The Culling certainly falls within that category, and it is one that will stick with me far into the future.
The driving storyline revolves around Carl, a virologist with the CDC, who discovers a plot by other scientists to release a virus on the world at large. That alone would make for a fast-paced thriller, but what makes The Culling a unique story is the reason FOR this plot to kill a majority of the world's population. A strong case is actually made FOR the release of this virus - saving human kind from ourselves. The central theme of this book is the earth's overpopulation, and the dramatic depletion of natural resources. The future painted through these pages and through the facts and figures demonstrated by the scientist is bleak, at best.
My fear is some readers who relate to one side of the political spectrum will just write this off as liberal fear-mongering. I, however, stress that there is absolutely no political agenda, and though this is entirely a work of fiction, the facts within should not be overlooked. A well-written book is one where there is no clear side for good or for evil. The Culling certainly falls within that category, and it is one that will stick with me far into the future.
December 29, 2013
I received this book from Goodreads Giveaway & boy, am I glad to have had a chance to read it! Carl Sims (the protagonist) is virologist with the CDC in Atlanta. He lost his father at a very young age while his father was overseas trying to convince the world that the rate at which the population was growning would result in more poverty, more CO2 production, resulting in the mass extinction of plants and animals, and eventually humans themselves. His message was that people should voluntarily limit the number of children they bring into the world. Carl resents his father's message because it resulted in his father's death. Carl is more concerned about saving people and wants to research the "sexy" viruses like Ebola. He's disappointed, therefore, in being selected to accompany Dr. Jenna Williams to Guangdong, China to track emerging strains of what he considers the "lowly" influenza virus. While there, however, the team is called to investigate an outbreak in Laos where he witnesses the results of an extreme flue virus with a 2/3 mortality rate. As the story unfolds, a group of scientists try to use this awful virus to "cull" the population of 2/3 of the planet's inhabitants. How Carl tries to figure this out, and what he's going to do about it is the rest of the story (so to speak). Exciting and scary (because many of the facts and scenarios given are true and could actually happen). This is a thriller with a message that will make the reader think. I recommend this book to everyone - no matter what genre you usually like. It will be released January 24, 2014.
January 26, 2014
"The Culling" by Robert Johnson is a fictional tale told about a very real concern, the overpopulation of our world. The premise is that our world can effectively sustain a population of approximately 2 billion people but we are already hitting the 7 billion mark. Many species of plants and animals are becoming extinct as our population destroys more and more habitats for these species. In effect, man is the main culprit in its own kinds coming extinction. This story portrays the not unimaginable event of a group of scientists who decide to try and save the world and human species by introducing a potent virus resulting in the fatality of 2/3 of the human population. The novel starts out slow as the reader is educated with the particulars but by mid-story, the reader will find themselves captivated with the totally believable yet horrifying events that unfold throughout the pages. Yet in the end, I didn't know whether to cheer or cry because both would be appropriate. I don't really know how to explain that without giving away spoilers, but if you read "The Culling" by Robert Johnson, and I recommend that you do, I think you will understand exactly what I mean.
February 1, 2014
The title tells all but what is doesn't say is the magnitude of problem facing the human race. This is expertly described within the storyline by Robert Johnson. With the worldwide population increasing beyond comprehension Dr Carl Sims of the CDC finds himself at the centre of a plot to dramatically reduce the planet's populace, to allow it to recover from the decades of over exploitation and pollution. Carl's father had originally highlighted the problem by establishing population clocks in major cities but to date no one had really taken any notice. Will this plot succeed and how will it shape the future of the world.
The author has written an exciting thriller, which is for most of the time fast moving and entertaining, albeit with some dire visions of what could happen.
The author has written an exciting thriller, which is for most of the time fast moving and entertaining, albeit with some dire visions of what could happen.
August 13, 2016
Realistic horror in a novel whose potential horrors are factual and scientifically documentable, "The Culling" stands on a scientific foundation which renders its implacability all the more terrifying. Forget zombie apocalypse and nuclear war; it seems now environmental apocalypse lurks at our doorstep.
December 1, 2013
compelling, riveting, frightening..could not put it down. hollywood grab it quickly..would make a great movie. overpolulation will be our demise..not an enviromental demise. it is fiction but at the beginning has quotes from ronald reagan,dali lama, jacque cousteau, stephen hawking and others agreeing with that..once you get into it you find it thoroughly absorbing...5 stars +.
December 21, 2013
I recieved this book for free from Goodreads. Scary and fascinating at the same time. Tough decisions that had to be made. Startling and educational information.
December 17, 2013
A dire book which desperately tries to reinvent the terrorist release of a supervirus trope.
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January 20, 2020
Written by a screenwriter, and you can definitely tell; this novel could easily be adapted to screen, not doing much for its characters on the inside but focusing on their outsides, the external factors. Like watching a movie in book form, which isn't entirely pleasant. Still, it was a compelling story, an easy read, and a worthwhile distraction-a kind of airport read.
March 26, 2020
Great entertainment...ripped from the headlines. Written a few years ago, this author has his finger on the pulse, as it could have be taken from today's news.
For some it might hit too close to home, but I loved it!
For some it might hit too close to home, but I loved it!
March 24, 2017
Story-wise it's a 4. Got the fifth star because it took balls to tackle this subject, and no one else really has, neither as directly nor as in-depth. Well researced.
August 5, 2016
See the rest of my review here
The title alone drew me in to this little gem of a novel. Yes, some of us are very aware of how overpopulated the planet is, but culling the herd is most def an inhumane way to go about it. This novel takes a look at scientists who are looking at the bigger picture. Save the earth by taking out a good percentage of the reckless population who can't seem to stop breeding.
This actually got me thinking about deer. How every year we have a season where hunters are allowed to bring down the deer population. If we culled the human herds one has to admit we would be of a manageable size. One: people would stop having so many children if the fear of them dying this or the next year was eminent. Two: we would have a smaller population if a lot of us got wiped out yearly. TIs it more humane or inhumane than dying from a deadly virus? Okay, I got a little carried away there. Back to the novel.
Carl Sims is a virologist who works for the CDC. He gets sent on a mission to investigate a potential outbreak of the flu in China. Jenna, epidemiologist, and two interns have to figure this out while not getting contaminated and not getting killed. The first half of the novel has us dealing with the Chinese outbreak, and I enjoyed the facts the novel tries to tell the reader through Carl and Jenna's discussions with the interns. Yes, it was not as subtle as it could have been, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Later, Carl gets sick and travels back to the USA and decides to leave quarantine and go to Alaska to find out about a deadlier strain of Influenza. This part had me a little annoyed with Carl. He is a virologist. He knows how important it is to take safety precautions. His delusional belief that he wasn't sick was a little too unreal for someone who knows how his job works.
The other half of the novel gets to the reveals, and I can't expand on them because of spoilers. I understood the motives and the reasons for the scientists wanting to do what they did and I was not surprise with who the scientist were because the novel doesn't try to hide much. What you see is what you get all the way until the ending which was sad but so real. I enjoyed this novel.
About the characters, I liked them all. They were all diverse and all had their own reasons for doing what they were doing. No, they were not likable. Not all. But they were real. Even Carl's ex girlfriend, when she lost her cool and wanted to make the antiviral so bad that she does something seen as evil, its explainable. I saw her point. Her reasoning. The novel does spend time with a few folks at the CDC that I didn't know enough or cared enough to remember, but they were crucial as well. Everyone had a purpose in this story. No characters wasted. From the interns who needed to be imparted knowledge, to the wheelchair bound friend who helped get Carl out of a lot of bad situations.
About the plot, first, I loved the narration. I love the pan in and pan out feel of every spot Carl finds himself in. The first chapter, the intro, was perfect and it set the tone for the rest of the novel. A mosquito comes down to poor village in South America and bites our host, our MC. From there on we go on a trip from country to country and scenario to scenario. All at a great pace.
Good book.
The title alone drew me in to this little gem of a novel. Yes, some of us are very aware of how overpopulated the planet is, but culling the herd is most def an inhumane way to go about it. This novel takes a look at scientists who are looking at the bigger picture. Save the earth by taking out a good percentage of the reckless population who can't seem to stop breeding.
This actually got me thinking about deer. How every year we have a season where hunters are allowed to bring down the deer population. If we culled the human herds one has to admit we would be of a manageable size. One: people would stop having so many children if the fear of them dying this or the next year was eminent. Two: we would have a smaller population if a lot of us got wiped out yearly. TIs it more humane or inhumane than dying from a deadly virus? Okay, I got a little carried away there. Back to the novel.
Carl Sims is a virologist who works for the CDC. He gets sent on a mission to investigate a potential outbreak of the flu in China. Jenna, epidemiologist, and two interns have to figure this out while not getting contaminated and not getting killed. The first half of the novel has us dealing with the Chinese outbreak, and I enjoyed the facts the novel tries to tell the reader through Carl and Jenna's discussions with the interns. Yes, it was not as subtle as it could have been, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Later, Carl gets sick and travels back to the USA and decides to leave quarantine and go to Alaska to find out about a deadlier strain of Influenza. This part had me a little annoyed with Carl. He is a virologist. He knows how important it is to take safety precautions. His delusional belief that he wasn't sick was a little too unreal for someone who knows how his job works.
The other half of the novel gets to the reveals, and I can't expand on them because of spoilers. I understood the motives and the reasons for the scientists wanting to do what they did and I was not surprise with who the scientist were because the novel doesn't try to hide much. What you see is what you get all the way until the ending which was sad but so real. I enjoyed this novel.
About the characters, I liked them all. They were all diverse and all had their own reasons for doing what they were doing. No, they were not likable. Not all. But they were real. Even Carl's ex girlfriend, when she lost her cool and wanted to make the antiviral so bad that she does something seen as evil, its explainable. I saw her point. Her reasoning. The novel does spend time with a few folks at the CDC that I didn't know enough or cared enough to remember, but they were crucial as well. Everyone had a purpose in this story. No characters wasted. From the interns who needed to be imparted knowledge, to the wheelchair bound friend who helped get Carl out of a lot of bad situations.
About the plot, first, I loved the narration. I love the pan in and pan out feel of every spot Carl finds himself in. The first chapter, the intro, was perfect and it set the tone for the rest of the novel. A mosquito comes down to poor village in South America and bites our host, our MC. From there on we go on a trip from country to country and scenario to scenario. All at a great pace.
Good book.
January 8, 2014
The Culling by Robert Johnson had all the earmarks of a great novel choice for me.
Deals with a plague/virus/outbreak - check
Main characters work for the CDC - check
Action packed and includes sound scientific facts - check
A team is exhuming the graves of flu victims in Alaska - check
Sadly, despite all it had going for it, The Culling needed culling for me - a so-so novel
In The Culling by Robert Johnson 27 year old Dr. Carl Sims is a buff doctor with the CDC who aspires to work with the lethal Biosafety Level 4 viruses (Ebola and Marburg) but is still in level 2. His lover and fellow CDC employee, Dr. Angela Varella (28) tries to tell him to tell him that this is because every other virologist at the CDC has more seniority than he does, but he resents this fact. Angela leaves the CDC for a job with an evil pharmaceutical company while Carl is called off to assist Dr. Jenna Williams in Guangdong Province, China, where there is a reported outbreak of influenza.
What Carl doesn't know is that his being requested by Jenna Williams to assist her is not a coincidence. Jenna knew Carl's father who headed the world wide campaign to encourage people to just have two children in order to stop global overpopulation. Soon Carl's an unwitting part of a global conspiracy. He must untangle the facts before he succumbs to what he is trying to stop.
My problem with The Culling by Robert Johnson is on two levels.
First all the characters are unsympathetic. Carl is annoying. His friend, Dr. Stuart Chew is even more annoying. Dr. Jenna Williams and Dr. Angela Varella are annoying. And they do very foolish things by "accident" that I simply can't accept. By the time we get to the culling conspiracy I'm sort of secretly leaning toward supporting it.
All the overpopulation information Johnson includes at the opening are well-known facts for me, known for many, many years. My lifetime also includes a period of time when lots of scientific facts for a new ice age were also being released (naturally this predates the current global warming facts). Maybe, just maybe, Johnson needs to look at a wider picture in order to have a better idea how complicated the overpopulation issues are, beyond simply only having two children. (For the record - 2 children.) It does not help the novel that we know early on that Carl accidentally impregnated Angela.
I can't help but feel that this novel has been written before in variety of different ways that were all more successful as novels. By the end the message I though Johnson was trying to convey felt muddled and incomplete. It's not that it is bad; it just isn't as good as it could be.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of The Permanent Press for review purposes.
Deals with a plague/virus/outbreak - check
Main characters work for the CDC - check
Action packed and includes sound scientific facts - check
A team is exhuming the graves of flu victims in Alaska - check
Sadly, despite all it had going for it, The Culling needed culling for me - a so-so novel
In The Culling by Robert Johnson 27 year old Dr. Carl Sims is a buff doctor with the CDC who aspires to work with the lethal Biosafety Level 4 viruses (Ebola and Marburg) but is still in level 2. His lover and fellow CDC employee, Dr. Angela Varella (28) tries to tell him to tell him that this is because every other virologist at the CDC has more seniority than he does, but he resents this fact. Angela leaves the CDC for a job with an evil pharmaceutical company while Carl is called off to assist Dr. Jenna Williams in Guangdong Province, China, where there is a reported outbreak of influenza.
What Carl doesn't know is that his being requested by Jenna Williams to assist her is not a coincidence. Jenna knew Carl's father who headed the world wide campaign to encourage people to just have two children in order to stop global overpopulation. Soon Carl's an unwitting part of a global conspiracy. He must untangle the facts before he succumbs to what he is trying to stop.
My problem with The Culling by Robert Johnson is on two levels.
First all the characters are unsympathetic. Carl is annoying. His friend, Dr. Stuart Chew is even more annoying. Dr. Jenna Williams and Dr. Angela Varella are annoying. And they do very foolish things by "accident" that I simply can't accept. By the time we get to the culling conspiracy I'm sort of secretly leaning toward supporting it.
All the overpopulation information Johnson includes at the opening are well-known facts for me, known for many, many years. My lifetime also includes a period of time when lots of scientific facts for a new ice age were also being released (naturally this predates the current global warming facts). Maybe, just maybe, Johnson needs to look at a wider picture in order to have a better idea how complicated the overpopulation issues are, beyond simply only having two children. (For the record - 2 children.) It does not help the novel that we know early on that Carl accidentally impregnated Angela.
I can't help but feel that this novel has been written before in variety of different ways that were all more successful as novels. By the end the message I though Johnson was trying to convey felt muddled and incomplete. It's not that it is bad; it just isn't as good as it could be.
Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of The Permanent Press for review purposes.
April 27, 2014
Although this book incorporated some interesting ideas, it was not very original, and had a very predictable ending. Some of the events were random and did not add to the ambiance of the book or the main storyline.
This book could have been thought-provoking, but did not leave anything up to the reader's imagination, so it was a 'closed' book: everything was tidied up nicely at the end and I probably won't remember this book in several months. The book did not make enough of an impact for me to seriously consider the messages it was supposed to be conveying.
That said, it was good enough for me to read to the end.
This book could have been thought-provoking, but did not leave anything up to the reader's imagination, so it was a 'closed' book: everything was tidied up nicely at the end and I probably won't remember this book in several months. The book did not make enough of an impact for me to seriously consider the messages it was supposed to be conveying.
That said, it was good enough for me to read to the end.
October 2, 2014
This book is based on an interesting premise, and could have been a thrilling read. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for The Culling. The characters were completely unlikeable, and most times, I felt like I was reading a medical codex. For example, the "hero" of the story, Carl, reads more like a whiny, college frat boy, than a trained epidemiologist. His girlfriend and fellow colleague, Angela, is no better. The only characters that come close to being likeable, are the villains of the story. I usually try to commit to finishing a book once I start it, but when I found myself skipping entire chapters of this book, I knew it was time to give it up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2014
This book is an entry level Michael Crichton story. Very straightforward plot with one-dimensional characters. Could be a screenplay. The story: a group of scientists are convinced that only by significantly reducing the world's population can humans survive. So they set themselves out to infect the world with a potent virus. I like Dan Brown's population explosion solution in The Inferno better - that book is better too.
December 31, 2013
this was the first book I've read that i won on goodreads. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed.
It took me a while to get into this book. I thought the characters needed more development and the story was pretty much predictable. About page 200 it did get more interesting and held my interest a little more. It was a book i could put down and not rush to keep reading as I usually do.
It took me a while to get into this book. I thought the characters needed more development and the story was pretty much predictable. About page 200 it did get more interesting and held my interest a little more. It was a book i could put down and not rush to keep reading as I usually do.
December 17, 2014
I do not like getting preached at when I read a novel, even if it is one that contains a lot of good science that I happen to agree with. The basic plot is familiar and the story line developing the plot seems weak. Characters are not really likable or well developed. Again, I have to come back to the preaching tone of the novel. It just does not work for me.
July 2, 2016
This was a surprisingly good book. I haven't read to many medical thrillers dealing with viral weaponry. This suspenseful thriller gave me a lot of food for thought about what extreme measures would people take to save the planet from overpopulation....I plan on reading more books by Robert Bloch.
Read
January 4, 2014Can't wait for this to go to e-book format
February 25, 2014
Listened to the audio version of this book during a recent road trip. It was interesting, and I liked it fairly well. Not one I would consider 'great' though.
June 26, 2014
Just could not get into this book.To be fair I was also in the middle of a trilogy I really loved so this book may deserve more credit than my attention was willing to stretch.
April 12, 2015
This is a good, not great, book about the very real fear/concern of overpopulation on a planet already over-consuming natural resources at a fatal rate.
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