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Plague at Redhook
. Dr. Mark Tolman—the only human doctor on the newly established colony world of Redhook—is not prepared for this bizarre alien disease.
. Everyone reacts differently, yet each gets trapped in an extreme emotional state.
. An enraged woman attacks everyone she meets, a frightened man jumps at shadows, a pregnant woman can’t stop laughing, which starts her husband endlessly crying, and one lust-filled woman tries to molest everyone within reach.
. . Military ships from Earth arrive in orbit and place the planet under strict quarantine and—afraid it will spread to other inhabited planets—secretly consider using nuclear warheads to destroy the disease by annihilating the entire biosphere of Redhook, along with all the colonists.
. Dr. Tolman had better find a cure soon, because now he's caught it too.
. Everyone reacts differently, yet each gets trapped in an extreme emotional state.
. An enraged woman attacks everyone she meets, a frightened man jumps at shadows, a pregnant woman can’t stop laughing, which starts her husband endlessly crying, and one lust-filled woman tries to molest everyone within reach.
. . Military ships from Earth arrive in orbit and place the planet under strict quarantine and—afraid it will spread to other inhabited planets—secretly consider using nuclear warheads to destroy the disease by annihilating the entire biosphere of Redhook, along with all the colonists.
. Dr. Tolman had better find a cure soon, because now he's caught it too.
203 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Euin Cobb
24 books14 followersStephen Euin Cobb is an author, novelist, magazine writer, futurist, award-winning podcaster, and host of The Interstellar Research Group's video series “From Here to the Stars,” for which he won the Iridani Award in 2021.
For over ten years, he produced a weekly podcast, "The Future And You," which explored, through interviews, panel discussions, and commentary, all the ways the future will be different from today. For that, he won the Parsec Award in 2006.
His science fiction novels include two about Leather — Leather & the 40 Corpsicles in the Cafe Freezer and Leather: A Runaway Girl Across Three Worlds. And three others without Leather, but in her universe’s historical timeline — Plague at Redhook, Bones Burnt Black, and One Small Theft for Man: One Giant Siege for Mankind.
A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor to Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen’s Universe Magazine.
An artist, essayist, game designer, and transhumanist, he is also on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation.
He has interviewed over 500 people and written over 100 magazine articles.
His nonfiction books include: Naked Space Theory: A Radical New Theory of Everything which Flips Physics on Its Head, as well as A Brief History of Predicting the Future, and Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.
Recently, he created a series of Sudoku and Cryptogram puzzle books under the short version of his name: Steve Cobb.
For over ten years, he produced a weekly podcast, "The Future And You," which explored, through interviews, panel discussions, and commentary, all the ways the future will be different from today. For that, he won the Parsec Award in 2006.
His science fiction novels include two about Leather — Leather & the 40 Corpsicles in the Cafe Freezer and Leather: A Runaway Girl Across Three Worlds. And three others without Leather, but in her universe’s historical timeline — Plague at Redhook, Bones Burnt Black, and One Small Theft for Man: One Giant Siege for Mankind.
A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor to Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen’s Universe Magazine.
An artist, essayist, game designer, and transhumanist, he is also on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation.
He has interviewed over 500 people and written over 100 magazine articles.
His nonfiction books include: Naked Space Theory: A Radical New Theory of Everything which Flips Physics on Its Head, as well as A Brief History of Predicting the Future, and Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.
Recently, he created a series of Sudoku and Cryptogram puzzle books under the short version of his name: Steve Cobb.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 30, 2018
Original copyright 1999. I read the revised and updated 2015 (Kindle Edition).
Plague at Redhook goes between two main point of views, a delivery driver dropping off supplies to various scientific and exploration outposts at the edges of humanity's space, and a hospital doctor taking his mobile care station to a colony while they build permanent facilities. Both get pulled off task by a medical emergency. A newly explored planet, the thirty-third truly earth-like planet, delivers a plague as only a place close to earth-normal can create.
Or manufacture, as revealed to the military officer (and third POV) sent to oversee the plague's quarantine in the doctor's status reports. The disease not only prevents sleep, keeps wounds from healing, and drives some people into permanent emotional cycles – like anger and depression, it bears all the hallmarks of intelligent design – beyond anything humans are capable of yet.
Originally written in 1999, the story would have been cutting edge. In 2018, when I read the book, the edge is dull. Science is rapidly moving beyond the hard science breakthroughs presented here.
The rest of the review is all about editing comments, if that is not your cup of tea, just skip the spoilers.
I've read Bones Burnt Black by the same author and written over a decade later. His style matured from this initial fictional story. If you like hard-science science-fiction, try that one out.
Picked up while free on kindle in relation to ConCarolinas 2016.
Plague at Redhook goes between two main point of views, a delivery driver dropping off supplies to various scientific and exploration outposts at the edges of humanity's space, and a hospital doctor taking his mobile care station to a colony while they build permanent facilities. Both get pulled off task by a medical emergency. A newly explored planet, the thirty-third truly earth-like planet, delivers a plague as only a place close to earth-normal can create.
Or manufacture, as revealed to the military officer (and third POV) sent to oversee the plague's quarantine in the doctor's status reports. The disease not only prevents sleep, keeps wounds from healing, and drives some people into permanent emotional cycles – like anger and depression, it bears all the hallmarks of intelligent design – beyond anything humans are capable of yet.
Originally written in 1999, the story would have been cutting edge. In 2018, when I read the book, the edge is dull. Science is rapidly moving beyond the hard science breakthroughs presented here.
The rest of the review is all about editing comments, if that is not your cup of tea, just skip the spoilers.
I've read Bones Burnt Black by the same author and written over a decade later. His style matured from this initial fictional story. If you like hard-science science-fiction, try that one out.
Picked up while free on kindle in relation to ConCarolinas 2016.
Displaying 1 of 1 review