What do you think?
Rate this book
The Anthrax Mutation
In the tradition of The Andromeda Strain. A chilling novel of a laboratory accident and its horrifyng consequences...
- GenresHorror
319 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
39 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2022
The Anthrax Mutation Review in Light of Covid-19
!Spoilers!
The Anthrax Mutation by Alan Scott was first published in 1971. I love this little mass market paperback for its creepy, bold cover and the blue tinted page edges, but one word strikes the reader right off the bat.
Upon opening the book, on page one, in big, bold letters, the word PANDEMIC screams at you.
Oof.
We follow an American major through an English microbiology lab. I won’t give away exactly what happens, but the lab is destroyed, releasing nerve gas and anthrax carrying bats.
The bats infect half of England, and Scott’s description of a pandemic is so similar to our current situation. Friends turn on friends. Family’s distrust each other in fear of contamination.
It was quite the depressing read in times like these, that is until the end.
A powder is developed to combat this super strain of anthrax, and planes dust half of England, curing those infected and disinfecting the area. How nice would it be to have a powder rained down on us and suddenly the pandemic is over?
I teared up at the very end of the book as it switches to the Major’s perspective. The rest of the book was told in third person omniscient, but the ending is very personal. He says the pandemic only lasted four days and killed around 3,000 people.
Wow. This is the sort of pandemic someone wrote about. This was what Alan Scott believed to be a worst case scenario.
A lab created pandemic solved in less than a week, meanwhile we’re two years into a pandemic and no closer to any answers about our future.
A very depressing read to say the least.
More on the story itself:
LOTS of dialogue. So much so that the author doesn’t consistently clarify who’s speaking, so it can get confusing. This book mainly follows the military and government’s response to the pandemic. While there are scenes of “terror” as people die, it’s not very fast paced. It’s more so uncertain and full of dread and anxiety. You’re there with the people at the top who make the big decisions. A lot weighs on their shoulders. But you only get a small glimpse into the general public’s point of view, which is almost always more terrifying. The reader was given Point A and Point B, but had it been told from the perspective of a civilian, it would have been a lot of guesswork.
I appreciate the fresh perspective, but at the same time, it made the book less “scary” and more nerve wracking as you await what the military is going to do and what they can do with what little resources they have.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, and for once I appreciated the “happy” ending as everyone is cured and the country is saved, except those already dead. It made me wonder what life would be like had the pandemic been solved in four days. It also put life into perspective as I realized we are living through a nightmare. Most of us are past the point of panic. It’s become a part of life, and we may never return to something like our past.
I do wonder what my opinion of this book would have been had I read it five years ago.
!Spoilers!
The Anthrax Mutation by Alan Scott was first published in 1971. I love this little mass market paperback for its creepy, bold cover and the blue tinted page edges, but one word strikes the reader right off the bat.
Upon opening the book, on page one, in big, bold letters, the word PANDEMIC screams at you.
Oof.
We follow an American major through an English microbiology lab. I won’t give away exactly what happens, but the lab is destroyed, releasing nerve gas and anthrax carrying bats.
The bats infect half of England, and Scott’s description of a pandemic is so similar to our current situation. Friends turn on friends. Family’s distrust each other in fear of contamination.
It was quite the depressing read in times like these, that is until the end.
A powder is developed to combat this super strain of anthrax, and planes dust half of England, curing those infected and disinfecting the area. How nice would it be to have a powder rained down on us and suddenly the pandemic is over?
I teared up at the very end of the book as it switches to the Major’s perspective. The rest of the book was told in third person omniscient, but the ending is very personal. He says the pandemic only lasted four days and killed around 3,000 people.
Wow. This is the sort of pandemic someone wrote about. This was what Alan Scott believed to be a worst case scenario.
A lab created pandemic solved in less than a week, meanwhile we’re two years into a pandemic and no closer to any answers about our future.
A very depressing read to say the least.
More on the story itself:
LOTS of dialogue. So much so that the author doesn’t consistently clarify who’s speaking, so it can get confusing. This book mainly follows the military and government’s response to the pandemic. While there are scenes of “terror” as people die, it’s not very fast paced. It’s more so uncertain and full of dread and anxiety. You’re there with the people at the top who make the big decisions. A lot weighs on their shoulders. But you only get a small glimpse into the general public’s point of view, which is almost always more terrifying. The reader was given Point A and Point B, but had it been told from the perspective of a civilian, it would have been a lot of guesswork.
I appreciate the fresh perspective, but at the same time, it made the book less “scary” and more nerve wracking as you await what the military is going to do and what they can do with what little resources they have.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, and for once I appreciated the “happy” ending as everyone is cured and the country is saved, except those already dead. It made me wonder what life would be like had the pandemic been solved in four days. It also put life into perspective as I realized we are living through a nightmare. Most of us are past the point of panic. It’s become a part of life, and we may never return to something like our past.
I do wonder what my opinion of this book would have been had I read it five years ago.
May 2, 2022
Periodically I reread my tattered copy of this satisfying "disaster" tale set in the UK. A lab that has infected bats with a highly contagious and horrific anthrax disease, accidentally releases the bats in an on-site accident. An American major becomes involved, and steps in to guide the authorities in finding the bats, who have dispersed widely, and identifying the infected. It's a good read during a pandemic--you can forget what's happening outside your own door. There are nice touches of an osphaned boy who is affected, and a possible romance beoween the major and a nice Brit.
December 6, 2016
I read this as a kid and enjoyed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews