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Pox
The year is 2055 and Kevin is enjoying doing what he loves with who he loves. Jade has been going to therapy and her life is finally on track.
The mysterious blue woman interrupts their settled lives and warns them of a terrorist plot to end civilization with the most deadly virus the world has ever seen.
—The police are infiltrated.
—The terrorists number in the thousands.
—Kevin and Jade are the only ones that can stop them.
They assemble an unlikely group of allies, including a rogue RCMP, an AI psychologist, a bio-hacker from Australia’s Outback, and high-school terrorist victims looking for revenge.
The odds are impossible—time is running out, but failure would mean apocalypse.
This is the second book in the Jade series. Although Pox can be read as a standalone novel, it contains spoilers for the first book in the series, The Jellyfish Device.
Pox Chapter 1 Kevin leaped to his feet, his heart racing, “Who the fuck are you and how did you get in?” Standing in front of him was a young woman dressed like a punk, with a bulky army-surplus jacket, patterned pants and heavy polished black boots. She had a vacant stare and a pale complexion that radiated blue light. “I am the protector.” Her voice was penetrating without being loud and it seemed to come from all directions at once. Kevin lowered himself back into his chair, staring at her with his mouth hanging open and the hair on the back of his neck standing up. His hands felt cold and damp and his mouth went dry. “How the fuck did you get past security?” “I didn’t. There is a new file on your tablet. It contains what we know about an organization that is planning to engineer a deadly virus to kill millions and end civilization. You must find and stop them.” “Do I look like a cop to you? Why are you telling me this?” “The police have been notified and chose not to do anything except alert the conspirators. Many people in powerful positions have been radicalized and you cannot rely on those in authority to protect you.” “What makes you think I’m going to do this? I’ve had enough of saving the world. My life is going good and I don’t want to screw it up.” “If you do not, everyone’s life will be… screwed up, as you say, everyone’s including Jade’s. There will be a return to barbarism that will lead the world to a new dark age. Along the path, there will be violence, disease, war, and famine. You do not want to be alive during such a time. “In spite of your new success, we do not believe you will turn your back on your fellow humans. We calculated you and Jade were the right ones to stop the Apostles and we believe you are both the right ones to stop this new organization, whoever they may be. You may contact me through Dr. Feldman. Jade will tell you how.” “Who the hell are you? Why are you here?” “I am the protector.” She looked far into the distance and calmly walked out the open door and dissolved into a tessellated shimmering cloud.
The mysterious blue woman interrupts their settled lives and warns them of a terrorist plot to end civilization with the most deadly virus the world has ever seen.
—The police are infiltrated.
—The terrorists number in the thousands.
—Kevin and Jade are the only ones that can stop them.
They assemble an unlikely group of allies, including a rogue RCMP, an AI psychologist, a bio-hacker from Australia’s Outback, and high-school terrorist victims looking for revenge.
The odds are impossible—time is running out, but failure would mean apocalypse.
This is the second book in the Jade series. Although Pox can be read as a standalone novel, it contains spoilers for the first book in the series, The Jellyfish Device.
Pox Chapter 1 Kevin leaped to his feet, his heart racing, “Who the fuck are you and how did you get in?” Standing in front of him was a young woman dressed like a punk, with a bulky army-surplus jacket, patterned pants and heavy polished black boots. She had a vacant stare and a pale complexion that radiated blue light. “I am the protector.” Her voice was penetrating without being loud and it seemed to come from all directions at once. Kevin lowered himself back into his chair, staring at her with his mouth hanging open and the hair on the back of his neck standing up. His hands felt cold and damp and his mouth went dry. “How the fuck did you get past security?” “I didn’t. There is a new file on your tablet. It contains what we know about an organization that is planning to engineer a deadly virus to kill millions and end civilization. You must find and stop them.” “Do I look like a cop to you? Why are you telling me this?” “The police have been notified and chose not to do anything except alert the conspirators. Many people in powerful positions have been radicalized and you cannot rely on those in authority to protect you.” “What makes you think I’m going to do this? I’ve had enough of saving the world. My life is going good and I don’t want to screw it up.” “If you do not, everyone’s life will be… screwed up, as you say, everyone’s including Jade’s. There will be a return to barbarism that will lead the world to a new dark age. Along the path, there will be violence, disease, war, and famine. You do not want to be alive during such a time. “In spite of your new success, we do not believe you will turn your back on your fellow humans. We calculated you and Jade were the right ones to stop the Apostles and we believe you are both the right ones to stop this new organization, whoever they may be. You may contact me through Dr. Feldman. Jade will tell you how.” “Who the hell are you? Why are you here?” “I am the protector.” She looked far into the distance and calmly walked out the open door and dissolved into a tessellated shimmering cloud.
396 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 1, 2023
2 people want to read
About the author
William Marshall
2 books5 followersI have a degree in MIS from the University of Alberta, in Canada. MIS is half computer science and half business.
I was a bookworm when I was a kid and Tolkien made me want to write when I was a teen.
Raising kids and building a career took a lot of time, then I started reading again, which leads to writing as surely as marijuana leads to heroin. (There's the Borroughs influence) Then I read Neuromancer and it blew my mind.
I started writing The Jellyfish Device sometime before 2018, then we moved, and I spent a year doing DIY and hired renovations in our fixer-upper and then forgot about writing for a year after that. The Jellyfish Device kept calling me and I started it again.
I was a bookworm when I was a kid and Tolkien made me want to write when I was a teen.
Raising kids and building a career took a lot of time, then I started reading again, which leads to writing as surely as marijuana leads to heroin. (There's the Borroughs influence) Then I read Neuromancer and it blew my mind.
I started writing The Jellyfish Device sometime before 2018, then we moved, and I spent a year doing DIY and hired renovations in our fixer-upper and then forgot about writing for a year after that. The Jellyfish Device kept calling me and I started it again.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 18, 2023
Picked up the second book of the series, and haven't read the first. It's probably one of the more challenging type of readers for an author to appeal to, because they're getting a reader who hasn't had the context of the previous book to build off of. Author Marshall did really well in this regard; I didn't feel lost, and they managed to mete biographical and historical details when needed. I will always commend an author who does this and without info dumping. Onto the story.
Kevin and Jade own their own business making arms for the Canadian military when a mysterious blue figure warns them that the current "Biker" unrest (think the Freedom Convoy crowd) has outsider influence and is on its way to literally plaguing Canada. It is up to Kevin and Jade to put a stop to it.
The plot is very thriller-esque, which matches its amount of investigative inquiry, action, and hard-hitting science. It's also a very long read, which I like for science fiction novels but less for thriller since it's not a genre that piques my interest. The main characters are genuine, and I like the dynamics of their relationship and what quiet moments are afforded them. The Bikers are a bit comically dumb, and the Canadianisms are over-abundant, but nothing that takes away from the narrative. Author Marshall advocates well for his major LGBT character, and in turn his leading man (Kevin) does the same.
Overall, an intriguing piece of fiction that I would encourage people to read if you like science fiction and thriller novels.
Kevin and Jade own their own business making arms for the Canadian military when a mysterious blue figure warns them that the current "Biker" unrest (think the Freedom Convoy crowd) has outsider influence and is on its way to literally plaguing Canada. It is up to Kevin and Jade to put a stop to it.
The plot is very thriller-esque, which matches its amount of investigative inquiry, action, and hard-hitting science. It's also a very long read, which I like for science fiction novels but less for thriller since it's not a genre that piques my interest. The main characters are genuine, and I like the dynamics of their relationship and what quiet moments are afforded them. The Bikers are a bit comically dumb, and the Canadianisms are over-abundant, but nothing that takes away from the narrative. Author Marshall advocates well for his major LGBT character, and in turn his leading man (Kevin) does the same.
Overall, an intriguing piece of fiction that I would encourage people to read if you like science fiction and thriller novels.
May 15, 2023
Pox a realistic look into the not to distant future where custom viruses could be created in a lab by someone who isn't even a scientist. It has a lot of interesting characters and takes place in some exotic places like northern Quebec and the Austrailian outback but it's mostly in Ottawa Canada. Accoring to the author, a realated pox virus was actually brought back from extinction in a lab in Canada in 2016, and Marshall imagines what the world would be like in 2055 when it could be done much easier, and right wing accelerationists want to kill millions and destabilize the country.
It's pace is a bit faster than his first book in the series, The Jellyfish Device, since there aren't chapters about Jade's upbringing and describing what the world looks like then. In this one, Kevin is the one to confront his demons and grow as a person. There are lots of thrills as he and Jade try to find the lab before it's too late. The bad guys are called "Bikers" and they are like what the freedom conovy protestors would be if they had another 30 years to get more evil and more fanatic. Without spoiling too much, there is a first contact with an alien lifeform and it makes sense in a way that even people who don't believe in UFOs could buy into. The scariest thing about this book is knowing someday, something like this is probably going to happen.
It's pace is a bit faster than his first book in the series, The Jellyfish Device, since there aren't chapters about Jade's upbringing and describing what the world looks like then. In this one, Kevin is the one to confront his demons and grow as a person. There are lots of thrills as he and Jade try to find the lab before it's too late. The bad guys are called "Bikers" and they are like what the freedom conovy protestors would be if they had another 30 years to get more evil and more fanatic. Without spoiling too much, there is a first contact with an alien lifeform and it makes sense in a way that even people who don't believe in UFOs could buy into. The scariest thing about this book is knowing someday, something like this is probably going to happen.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews