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Pathological
On the surface, the life of young scientist Mei Yin seems perfect. She runs her own research institute in China, she’s getting married, and she founded an orphanage that helps hundreds of girls. But Mei Yin has a dark secret—three vials of “Satan’s gift,” a deadly smallpox virus left over from Russian scientific research conducted during the Cold War. She’s determined to find a vaccine, even if that means endangering those she holds dear.
Zia Baj, a terrorist educated in the West, has also obtained Satan’s gift. But he’s not looking for a cure—instead, he plans to exact revenge and start a war. So he unleashes the virus in an American classroom. At the same time, thousands of miles away, the children of Mei Yin’s orphanage fall ill. Soon authorities realize that this is no ordinary outbreak: it’s the start of an epidemic. How are the two cases linked? And can a worldwide pandemic be stopped?
From award-winning Chinese author Wang Jinkang comes a terrifying look at the future of war.
Zia Baj, a terrorist educated in the West, has also obtained Satan’s gift. But he’s not looking for a cure—instead, he plans to exact revenge and start a war. So he unleashes the virus in an American classroom. At the same time, thousands of miles away, the children of Mei Yin’s orphanage fall ill. Soon authorities realize that this is no ordinary outbreak: it’s the start of an epidemic. How are the two cases linked? And can a worldwide pandemic be stopped?
From award-winning Chinese author Wang Jinkang comes a terrifying look at the future of war.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
131 people are currently reading
448 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 12, 2017
Um. Well. This was...a thing that I read.
I was RIDICULOUSLY excited going into this book. I've always loved medical/biological thrillers, and the blurb for this one sounded amazing. Add in the fact that it's translated from Chinese in a year when I'm trying to read more fiction translated from non-European languages, and I was sold.
HOWEVER.
This really isn't a medical/biological thriller. I don't even know what I'd classify it as. Because there are really two sections that deal with "OMG TERRORISTS ARE RELEASING A VIRUS AND EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE". One covers the first third of the book. The other covers the last...15%, maybe? The rest dragged on forever and ever and ever.
What I liked:
- The concept
- The secondary characters
- The whole science vs nature debate: is it better to let one person die of a horrible disease for the good of humanity? Or should we try and cure everyone and end up with diseases that mutate and become drug-resistant, dooming millions of people?
- The amount of the world that it covered. We jump between China, Japan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and the US. And we jump around a fair bit in China as well.
What I didn't like:
- The way that all the female characters HAVE to be beautiful. And the way that they're described?? Like...one female character ends up with smallpox scars. But it's a tragedy because she was OMG SO BEAUTIFUL JUST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF EVER so they won't rest until she's given plastic surgery to fix every scar on her body.
- This line: "Her naked, curved body was as smooth and shiny as an insect's carapace." No thank you please.
- Giving a Native American character smallpox to start an epidemic. Yeah. That's a thing that happens.
- I mean??????????? This is a country where people of colour are routinely killed by police for being mentally ill, for being 12 years old and having a toy gun, for having their hands up and saying "please don't shoot me". And yet I'm meant to believe that this is plausible? Uh, okay.
- Honestly? It took place over WAY too long. Like, it starts in 1997. Then it jumps to 2002. Then 2016. And it finishes in 2030. There was way too much time between events.
- The secret society side of things was...not well explained. And it was explained far too late in the piece.
So on the whole? I wanted to love it. But I just flat out didn't care about all the stuff that happened in between the "LET'S USE VIRUSES AS TERRORISM" chunks of the plot. The writing was often clunky, and I don't know if that's a product of translation or not. And...yeah. No.
I was RIDICULOUSLY excited going into this book. I've always loved medical/biological thrillers, and the blurb for this one sounded amazing. Add in the fact that it's translated from Chinese in a year when I'm trying to read more fiction translated from non-European languages, and I was sold.
HOWEVER.
This really isn't a medical/biological thriller. I don't even know what I'd classify it as. Because there are really two sections that deal with "OMG TERRORISTS ARE RELEASING A VIRUS AND EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE". One covers the first third of the book. The other covers the last...15%, maybe? The rest dragged on forever and ever and ever.
What I liked:
- The concept
- The secondary characters
- The whole science vs nature debate: is it better to let one person die of a horrible disease for the good of humanity? Or should we try and cure everyone and end up with diseases that mutate and become drug-resistant, dooming millions of people?
- The amount of the world that it covered. We jump between China, Japan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and the US. And we jump around a fair bit in China as well.
What I didn't like:
- The way that all the female characters HAVE to be beautiful. And the way that they're described?? Like...one female character ends up with smallpox scars. But it's a tragedy because she was OMG SO BEAUTIFUL JUST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF EVER so they won't rest until she's given plastic surgery to fix every scar on her body.
- This line: "Her naked, curved body was as smooth and shiny as an insect's carapace." No thank you please.
- Giving a Native American character smallpox to start an epidemic. Yeah. That's a thing that happens.
- I mean??????????? This is a country where people of colour are routinely killed by police for being mentally ill, for being 12 years old and having a toy gun, for having their hands up and saying "please don't shoot me". And yet I'm meant to believe that this is plausible? Uh, okay.
- Honestly? It took place over WAY too long. Like, it starts in 1997. Then it jumps to 2002. Then 2016. And it finishes in 2030. There was way too much time between events.
- The secret society side of things was...not well explained. And it was explained far too late in the piece.
So on the whole? I wanted to love it. But I just flat out didn't care about all the stuff that happened in between the "LET'S USE VIRUSES AS TERRORISM" chunks of the plot. The writing was often clunky, and I don't know if that's a product of translation or not. And...yeah. No.
December 5, 2016
Whoa. This world-encompassing biological thriller is one of my favorite books to come out in 2016. Everyone knows that smallpox was eradicated so thoroughly that they don’t even inoculate kids for it these days. We’re more worried about mumps and measles, to even think about a virus that wiped out millions of people in the past seems a waste of time. Author Jinkang Wang uses his latest book to show us why that might not be the right way to go. With an interesting way of combining the idea of nature as a god-like entity and an understanding of science, the story unfolds in a surprising manner. The timeline stretches from just before 9/11 until present times. This gives a rich world-building story that shows the slow game that evolution and adaption take until meddled with by humans.
Jinkang Wang and translator Jeremy Tiang have done an amazing job on Pathological. Its full of twists and turns leaving readers with the moral question of “Just because we can, should we?” There is quite a bit of religion, atheism and science throughout which give all the various viewpoints that can be difficult to fold together. The idea that everything that exists to day has won some sort of genetic and evolutionary lottery is unsettling if only in the need to question one’s own existence. Couple that with the highlighting of the horrible things that humans have done to each other, JInkang Wang has done a brilliant job marrying science and morals to leave the readers wondering in the best way. I think the basic thought this book leaves you with is best put in the author’s own words. “Does the rabbit have the authority to declare the coyote illegal?”
Jinkang Wang and translator Jeremy Tiang have done an amazing job on Pathological. Its full of twists and turns leaving readers with the moral question of “Just because we can, should we?” There is quite a bit of religion, atheism and science throughout which give all the various viewpoints that can be difficult to fold together. The idea that everything that exists to day has won some sort of genetic and evolutionary lottery is unsettling if only in the need to question one’s own existence. Couple that with the highlighting of the horrible things that humans have done to each other, JInkang Wang has done a brilliant job marrying science and morals to leave the readers wondering in the best way. I think the basic thought this book leaves you with is best put in the author’s own words. “Does the rabbit have the authority to declare the coyote illegal?”
September 30, 2025
mei
At the beginning of the book sounded like it was going to be a great read. But took me forever to finish almost put it on the DNF shelf but I pushed through. I guess I am not quite the target market.
At the beginning of the book sounded like it was going to be a great read. But took me forever to finish almost put it on the DNF shelf but I pushed through. I guess I am not quite the target market.
January 24, 2021
The book title sums up the main character perfectly- she is a villain crossed with a Mary Sue with a giant serve of pseudoscientific evo-psych nonsense. All the characters are insufferable, and Ebola doesn’t work like that. But the plot was interesting.
Maybe something lost in the translation?
Maybe something lost in the translation?
February 24, 2022
Okay so I dived into this expecting to be thrilled but except for something thrilling bits at the beginning and the very end, this was utterly boring. I kept reading because I thought maybe it's building up to a HUGE BIG twist at the end... BAH!
It's all very conspiracy theories and all the sciency terms plus the mind twisty philosophy drivel drove me rather to the wall. I guess all this tells you is that this is totally not my kind of read.
It's all very conspiracy theories and all the sciency terms plus the mind twisty philosophy drivel drove me rather to the wall. I guess all this tells you is that this is totally not my kind of read.
September 20, 2021
I don't know whether it's because of bad translation or because of the story itself but I felt disconnected with the character. Almost drop this book but somehow I decided to finish and give review.
As a disclaimer, I saw this book free on kindle on daily deals or such. Because I was interested with the concept, I decided to give it a try. The pace at the beginning of the book was very slow … well, was dull and lethargic, to be honest. Just after a half of this book, things getting better. Not dull, but still phlegmatic. Worthy to finish, nonetheless.
I was about to give 2 stars but I really like the plot — this COULD be as grand as Dan Brown's conspiracy, seriously. Hence, in the end, I decided it worth 3 stars.
As a disclaimer, I saw this book free on kindle on daily deals or such. Because I was interested with the concept, I decided to give it a try. The pace at the beginning of the book was very slow … well, was dull and lethargic, to be honest. Just after a half of this book, things getting better. Not dull, but still phlegmatic. Worthy to finish, nonetheless.
I was about to give 2 stars but I really like the plot — this COULD be as grand as Dan Brown's conspiracy, seriously. Hence, in the end, I decided it worth 3 stars.
March 18, 2023
While I liked the main idea of the story, I felt it was too stretched out.
And for me the writing style (translation?) was sometimes too basic. "Shee said, she did. He walked over". I don't know why it was so obvious to me this time.
And for me the writing style (translation?) was sometimes too basic. "Shee said, she did. He walked over". I don't know why it was so obvious to me this time.
December 31, 2018
Not very good. It had potential but it was rushed, many ideas crammed into a short book. Had all the events been extended, and relationships formed naturally, this could’ve been a great book.
November 9, 2023
This book was such a long winded attempt at a medical thriller. The story felt very imbalanced and poorly paced. There were some moments that seemed to go on forever and served no meaningful purpose to the overall plot.
There were way too many conveniences in order to move the plot along that felt forced and cringey.
The characters were well fleshed out but still seemed oddly one dimensional to the plot. Most lacked nuance and the necessary internal conflict to make the plot more engrossing. The story just didn’t crescendo, it just kept a dull steady pace.
So my advice to enjoy this novel is to ignore the blurb (it’s not a riveting medical thriller), it’s a slow burn about familial belonging, love and generational beliefs.
There were way too many conveniences in order to move the plot along that felt forced and cringey.
The characters were well fleshed out but still seemed oddly one dimensional to the plot. Most lacked nuance and the necessary internal conflict to make the plot more engrossing. The story just didn’t crescendo, it just kept a dull steady pace.
So my advice to enjoy this novel is to ignore the blurb (it’s not a riveting medical thriller), it’s a slow burn about familial belonging, love and generational beliefs.
October 21, 2023
Saved from 1 star simply because there was plot and very fascinating how this was published before COVID but fortells some small things. Anyways, the book was boring. I did not care about any of the characters, whose intents and purposes and desires were always laid bare. There was no mystery and thus, no suspense. Was tempted many times to just quit and wish I had.
October 25, 2023
Disappointing
The premise was intriguing, but full of useless deaths, violence, suicide, non-twists, parallel storylines, the characters were all flat and largely villainous, there was no conclusion nor moral, it was full of xenofobia, sexism, ableism, insulting several religions and diseases, plus almost a full chapter was dedicated to pitying a girl for not looking perfect.
The premise was intriguing, but full of useless deaths, violence, suicide, non-twists, parallel storylines, the characters were all flat and largely villainous, there was no conclusion nor moral, it was full of xenofobia, sexism, ableism, insulting several religions and diseases, plus almost a full chapter was dedicated to pitying a girl for not looking perfect.
May 4, 2017
The premise is its strength. Otherwise a rather straightforward moving narrative style. If you're looking for poignant and linear speculative fiction it's quite good. I'm at the moment looking more for complicated narrative entanglements that are more demanding on the reader.
January 21, 2019
And now for something completely different...
Very interesting. I enjoyed the scientific aspects, the love of nature, a peek into secret societies, different cultures, and the yearnings of the heart.
Very interesting. I enjoyed the scientific aspects, the love of nature, a peek into secret societies, different cultures, and the yearnings of the heart.
December 17, 2021
Pathological novel
A pathological novel, seems this genre quite popular in this pandemic Era, especially if written by Chinese author. A journey of the scientist and maybe some mainstream thought.
A pathological novel, seems this genre quite popular in this pandemic Era, especially if written by Chinese author. A journey of the scientist and maybe some mainstream thought.
May 16, 2023
Thrilling
The science explanations are detailed about several pathogens. I can't describe more of how good it is because it's still lingering in my head and I need to think about it more. But overall I like all about the book
The science explanations are detailed about several pathogens. I can't describe more of how good it is because it's still lingering in my head and I need to think about it more. But overall I like all about the book
May 4, 2017
Prospective fiction at its best
Sadly, the bio-terror postulated by this author is well within the realm of reality, given only a few more years.
Sadly, the bio-terror postulated by this author is well within the realm of reality, given only a few more years.
July 30, 2023
That was just horrible! Dropped from 2nd chapter.
December 22, 2016
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Usually when I read a novel that is translated, I try not to comment too much on the prose or the awkwardness of the language; I can't really judge these two aspects accurately as I am not reading this novel in the language that the author intended, and I am not here to judge a translator at how well they do their job. With that being said, I found the story to be very interesting. This novel is heavily steeped in science and if you are not familiar with virology or even certain basic concepts of evolution and their consequences, then this novel may not be as enjoyable for you. I enjoyed that the author was able to make me think of evolution and vaccination in a different way; I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions that the author makes but it definitely gave me food for thought! I also found that the story had a good amount of detail and good character development, as well. The terrorist angle was a little bit weird for me because it is mentioned in the beginning of the novel an then stays silent for a major part of the story, only rearing its head at the end. While the author did tie up all loose ends, I'm not so sure if the terrorist angle was really necessary. It was also the part that I believed had the least amount of shaping and growth, when it could have been a lot deeper and more developed. Overall, a very interesting novel that will make you rethink what you know about evolution and viruses.
Usually when I read a novel that is translated, I try not to comment too much on the prose or the awkwardness of the language; I can't really judge these two aspects accurately as I am not reading this novel in the language that the author intended, and I am not here to judge a translator at how well they do their job. With that being said, I found the story to be very interesting. This novel is heavily steeped in science and if you are not familiar with virology or even certain basic concepts of evolution and their consequences, then this novel may not be as enjoyable for you. I enjoyed that the author was able to make me think of evolution and vaccination in a different way; I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions that the author makes but it definitely gave me food for thought! I also found that the story had a good amount of detail and good character development, as well. The terrorist angle was a little bit weird for me because it is mentioned in the beginning of the novel an then stays silent for a major part of the story, only rearing its head at the end. While the author did tie up all loose ends, I'm not so sure if the terrorist angle was really necessary. It was also the part that I believed had the least amount of shaping and growth, when it could have been a lot deeper and more developed. Overall, a very interesting novel that will make you rethink what you know about evolution and viruses.
January 10, 2017
***I won this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. This has not influenced my review***
The overall theme of this book is science vs. nature. It is drenched with scientific history and facts about disease, the spread of disease, and what happens when humans work to eradicate disease. At times, this is interesting. Other times, it is quite tedious.
The fictional story takes place internationally over several decades - even into the future. While I understood the motivation of the characters, I found it difficult to connect with them. This could be because they are scientists and are married to their work and their passion for science. I can't relate to this. There are a lot of characters in this book, but it's not too difficult to track them all.
There are some good themes about loneliness, longing to have a family, heritage traditions, and religion. The storytelling feels disjunct. I am not sure if this is a translation thing or the style of the author. The action is very slow at times, then quite detailed and fast-paced. Then there are times that details are skipped over and the reader has to figure out what is going on. It made the book feel inconsistent.
Certainly disease used as a mass weapon is a topical issue and of great interest. I am happy to have read a book about it and learn more. The author did a lot of research, and I respect that. This just wasn't my type of book.
The overall theme of this book is science vs. nature. It is drenched with scientific history and facts about disease, the spread of disease, and what happens when humans work to eradicate disease. At times, this is interesting. Other times, it is quite tedious.
The fictional story takes place internationally over several decades - even into the future. While I understood the motivation of the characters, I found it difficult to connect with them. This could be because they are scientists and are married to their work and their passion for science. I can't relate to this. There are a lot of characters in this book, but it's not too difficult to track them all.
There are some good themes about loneliness, longing to have a family, heritage traditions, and religion. The storytelling feels disjunct. I am not sure if this is a translation thing or the style of the author. The action is very slow at times, then quite detailed and fast-paced. Then there are times that details are skipped over and the reader has to figure out what is going on. It made the book feel inconsistent.
Certainly disease used as a mass weapon is a topical issue and of great interest. I am happy to have read a book about it and learn more. The author did a lot of research, and I respect that. This just wasn't my type of book.
February 14, 2017
I got this free through Goodreads giveaways!
Eh, it was okay. The things I didn't quite understand I'm chalking up to being lost in translation. The ending was disappointing. Wow, the more I think about it the less I like it. 2.5 stars
Eh, it was okay. The things I didn't quite understand I'm chalking up to being lost in translation. The ending was disappointing. Wow, the more I think about it the less I like it. 2.5 stars
February 2, 2017
I won this as a giveaway. This isn't the type of book that I would read, but I am trying to expand my genre.
The story line was good and the details and knowledge was very interesting. There were a few times where I felt like a topic was dragged on longer than it should be in a chapter. The biggest issue I had was the number of chapters. The 5 chapters were over 1.5 hours long each. I only have short breaks during the day; 15-30 mins. There were definitely breaks within the chapters that could have been split out into chapters to have more of them. You just do not know when the next one was since they were not tagged as chapters.
The story line was good and the details and knowledge was very interesting. There were a few times where I felt like a topic was dragged on longer than it should be in a chapter. The biggest issue I had was the number of chapters. The 5 chapters were over 1.5 hours long each. I only have short breaks during the day; 15-30 mins. There were definitely breaks within the chapters that could have been split out into chapters to have more of them. You just do not know when the next one was since they were not tagged as chapters.
December 18, 2016
At first I struggled with this book, I am not sure if it was the writing style or translation or both, but the prose was very clunky and inelegant, and this almost put me off. The storytelling reminded me a little of the Dan Brown Robert Langdon books, with mysterious secret societies and weapons hidden in crosses, and attempts to release a plague upon the earth, but I did find the science interesting and that is what kept me reading.
January 24, 2017
It's always hard to judge the writing in AmazonCrossing books because they are translations, which can sometimes be a problem. This topical novel is interesting but it's also a little slow. You might have read thrillers with this theme of biological war before but this is unique because it's by a Chinese writer- and this perspective is the main reason to read it. THanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this for a different take.
August 19, 2017
Interesting philosophies
I liked a lot of the science discussed in this book, but I had a hard time relating to any of the characters. I thought the story itself was long winded in places, but it really got to me think about topics that I hadn't ever considered before.
***I won a free digital copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway***
I liked a lot of the science discussed in this book, but I had a hard time relating to any of the characters. I thought the story itself was long winded in places, but it really got to me think about topics that I hadn't ever considered before.
***I won a free digital copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway***
January 24, 2017
A real good book
A interesting book about horrible diseases..The ones that could wipe out mankind.. Scary to think that one vial could kill millions...I'm glad I had a chance to read this book..a good read.
A interesting book about horrible diseases..The ones that could wipe out mankind.. Scary to think that one vial could kill millions...I'm glad I had a chance to read this book..a good read.
December 29, 2016
I won this book through Goodreads. Very interesting and intelligent story. Frightening to think about. I could not put the book down. Read in one sitting.
Want to read
May 31, 2019Placeholder for a review.
I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
I won this book via Goodreads Giveaways.
May 1, 2017
I won a free Kindle copy of this in a Goodreads giveaway.
Man, this took forever to get through! I was expecting a thriller, but it's really more of a sedately paced science fiction novel. There are long stretches where nothing much seems to be happening. Conflict is curiously muted. There is a lot of Reasonable Explanation at Great Length in this book. If it seems as though someone has done something wrong, rest assured that they will smilingly explain their actions for several pages, and it will become clear that they did the right thing after all. I don't know. It's not a terrible book or anything. I just found it less than impressive.
Man, this took forever to get through! I was expecting a thriller, but it's really more of a sedately paced science fiction novel. There are long stretches where nothing much seems to be happening. Conflict is curiously muted. There is a lot of Reasonable Explanation at Great Length in this book. If it seems as though someone has done something wrong, rest assured that they will smilingly explain their actions for several pages, and it will become clear that they did the right thing after all. I don't know. It's not a terrible book or anything. I just found it less than impressive.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews