April 2024: "The Genius Plague" by David Walton > Likes and Comments

For April, the book is The Genius Plague by David Walton.
Read anytime. DISCUSSION BEGINS APRIL 1st.
2017, 384 pages, 3.74 stars
$10.49 Kindle, should be at larger libraries, print starts at $5.49

"In this science fiction thriller, brothers are pitted against each other as a pandemic threatens to destabilize world governments by exerting a subtle mind control over survivors. Neil Johns has just started his dream job as a code breaker in the NSA when his brother, Paul, a mycologist, goes missing on a trip to collect samples in the Amazon jungle. Paul returns with a gap in his memory and a fungal infection that almost kills him. But once he recuperates, he has enhanced communication, memory, and pattern recognition. Meanwhile, something is happening in South America; others, like Paul, have also fallen ill and recovered with abilities they didn't have before. But that's not the only pattern--the survivors, from entire remote Brazilian tribes to American tourists, all seem to be working toward a common, and deadly, goal. Neil soon uncovers a secret and unexplained alliance between governments that have traditionally been enemies. Meanwhile Paul becomes increasingly secretive and erratic. Paul sees the fungus as the next stage of human evolution, while Neil is convinced that it is driving its human hosts to destruction. Brother must oppose brother on an increasingly fraught international stage, with the stakes: the free will of every human on earth. Can humanity use this force for good, or are we becoming the pawns of an utterly alien intelligence?"

Until the discussion of the story opens on the 1st, here are some examples of things you can talk about if you would like! Just anything but the story itself.

Have you read any of this author's books before?
The cover design.
What format are you reading?
Does this book seem like another book, or unique?
You get the idea!

Most likely the other book club reads will be American War and The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus, if you want to put those on hold now.

this will be my first read with this group. super excited! (:

Welcome to it! I hope we get enough people joining in, the club reads vary a lot. I read this one and thought it was thought provoking and sometimes I still think about it.

Also confirming that the other two books are American War (May) and The Hot Zone (June, nonfiction, discuss anytime).

This doesn't seem to be available in the UK, or at least not on kindle. There's an audiobook at a ridiculous price, or a used paperback for £9.44
Strange for a book that was published 6 and a half years ago.

Oh darnit! Sorry to hear that.

Similar issue here that it is on the higher end price-wise, but I was able to get it from the library when I read it.

Oh good idea, I'll check the library.

I wasn’t sure at first but the more I read, the more I liked it. Keep at it, if you’re getting bogged down.

I was super lucky and got this on Hoopla, excited to dive into it this weekend!

First book I am reading for this group! I am excited to finish it up! I am reading the physical copy of it. It grabbed my attention from the beginning. Excited to chat about it! I picked up American War too - got both from Thriftbooks!

DISCUSSION NOW OPEN

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Did anyone read this? This is one I read a while back and my Meir y is terrible, but I do remember liking it, and finding the concept interesting. Every time the storyline is something about potentially changing humanity it is interesting - but I’m not always on the side of the protagonists lol.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for me. Walton did a good job keeping you interested and I enjoyed reading about the two points of view (science vs government). what an interesting concept.

I have a couple of complaints. One, since the main characters get (view spoiler)[ infected and lose self-control, at times I felt I was reading about lab rats or zombies. (hide spoiler)] As a result, I felt there were no heroes or villains and no chance of personal growth for the characters, no chance for an “aha,” personally transformative moment.

Which sets up my second complaint, that there were too many easy “aha” moments. :) When the characters were trying to solve problems, generally, they just thought a little, came up with a hunch, then the hunch was immediately proven correct. It became predictable. I wish the author had implemented more foreshadowing and left breadcrumbs so the reader could puzzle through things with the characters rather than “it was Colonel Mustard, with the lead pipe, in the Conservatory” without error over and over.

It was a quick read. And, I liked the first chapter from Paul’s point of view. Overall, I finish feeling indifferent about it.

So I’m pretty terrible at reviews. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. It took me several chapters to get into it or to get the direction it was going. The ending, to me, felt pretty anticlimactic to me as well. So good middle and rough start and end.

I read Superposition and really enjoyed it (it's my level of physics -- definitely magic to the average reader, totally believable to someone like me with a good but not academic physics background, perhaps total crap to a real physicist!)

I haven't managed to get hold of The Genius Plague yet.