Review of Pandemic
Posted: 18 Nov 2022, 13:44
[Following is a volunteer review of "Pandemic" by Dieter Gartelmann.]
As a person, I am deeply uninterested in politics. Far too many baseless arguments and problems come from the topic: one which draws attention away from real world problems like global warming and the growing insecurity concerning the food crisis and economic instability. However, after reading Pandemic by Dieter Gartelmann, I can say I was deeply uninterested in politics. This book educated me on the mechanisms of the political process, how much it directly impacts our daily lives and how much good it could potentially do: a brilliant message told under the context of a global pandemic we all were affected by.
Pandemic by Dieter Gartelmann is a semi fictional political novel recounting the events of the Corona virus pandemic that rocked the US during the late 2020s to early 2021. Using real world facts and people from the world wide epidemic mixed in with fictional characters, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on the onset of the virus parallel with the 2020 elections with Ex-President Donald Trump and acting President Joe Biden being the main focus. It deals with the political turmoil America faced. With Donald Trump’s refusal to leave office, his disregard for covid, threats of his impeachment, the storming of the capitol sparked indirectly by Trump’s radical behaviour. Part 2 begins in the relative future: Biden is elected into office with the main challenge being taking control of the virus and its deadlier mutations. It also deals with the aftermath of the Trump administration: a makeshift battle between the “selfish” republicans and the “brave” democrats. Drastic measures are taken to take control of the viruses, some which kill in under 3 days. The whole plot is moved under the influence of respective fictional Democrats – Dorothy Thompson, of the Washington Post, and Terry Balzarini, a virologist – and Republicans – Mitch Upton, an oilman, and Blew Orhtman – with several other characters playing a part.
There were many positives. For one, the accuracy of events mentioned in the story, compared to the real world, was superb. The book, at face value, is a fictional piece but reads like a non-fiction which could possibly happen in our world. Each street, location and place mentioned were accurate to the letter. Details on the virus and mutations was evidently well researched with one of the characters being a virologist. The author was also well versed in his politics. Documents like the Constitution were quoted many times in the story. The call and command between the president, senators, and judges of the Supreme Court, officers and generals were all laid out, showing the reader how the federal system really plays out behind closed doors: the positives and the negatives. With over 30 diverse characters in the novel, all were handled with the upmost care, with each adding value to the plot. From virologists, to teachers to public health lecturers, most of the characters were connected in some way or another. It really is a testament to the author’s excellent writing skill, to manage so many without making the story feel choked up. I liked that some characters in the story evolved, seeing the errors in their ways and changing their way of thinking. Citations were given throughout the novel showing evidence of some of these things which happened in the real world such as the UK and South African strains of Covid-19. This added a degree of realism which really puts these grave events into perspective; they weren’t quite so fictional.
On the negative side, the book takes time to progress towards the main plot. Due to introducing and providing background on so many characters, patience is required to get through the first 40 to 50 pages. At times, the book read like a history novel with entire pages filled with recounts and facts about Covid levels on so and so countries. This may affect the readability as not everyone may find it as interesting.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. Although the book had some negatives, I feel its positives outweigh the other aspects. The book is very well written and researched. Plus the editing was superb, grammatically and in its spelling, with only 2 typos in its entirety.
I would recommend the book to a more mature audience and to anyone interested in politics, a bit of history, and doesn’t mind being educated in their next read.
******
Pandemic
View: on Bookshelves
As a person, I am deeply uninterested in politics. Far too many baseless arguments and problems come from the topic: one which draws attention away from real world problems like global warming and the growing insecurity concerning the food crisis and economic instability. However, after reading Pandemic by Dieter Gartelmann, I can say I was deeply uninterested in politics. This book educated me on the mechanisms of the political process, how much it directly impacts our daily lives and how much good it could potentially do: a brilliant message told under the context of a global pandemic we all were affected by.
Pandemic by Dieter Gartelmann is a semi fictional political novel recounting the events of the Corona virus pandemic that rocked the US during the late 2020s to early 2021. Using real world facts and people from the world wide epidemic mixed in with fictional characters, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on the onset of the virus parallel with the 2020 elections with Ex-President Donald Trump and acting President Joe Biden being the main focus. It deals with the political turmoil America faced. With Donald Trump’s refusal to leave office, his disregard for covid, threats of his impeachment, the storming of the capitol sparked indirectly by Trump’s radical behaviour. Part 2 begins in the relative future: Biden is elected into office with the main challenge being taking control of the virus and its deadlier mutations. It also deals with the aftermath of the Trump administration: a makeshift battle between the “selfish” republicans and the “brave” democrats. Drastic measures are taken to take control of the viruses, some which kill in under 3 days. The whole plot is moved under the influence of respective fictional Democrats – Dorothy Thompson, of the Washington Post, and Terry Balzarini, a virologist – and Republicans – Mitch Upton, an oilman, and Blew Orhtman – with several other characters playing a part.
There were many positives. For one, the accuracy of events mentioned in the story, compared to the real world, was superb. The book, at face value, is a fictional piece but reads like a non-fiction which could possibly happen in our world. Each street, location and place mentioned were accurate to the letter. Details on the virus and mutations was evidently well researched with one of the characters being a virologist. The author was also well versed in his politics. Documents like the Constitution were quoted many times in the story. The call and command between the president, senators, and judges of the Supreme Court, officers and generals were all laid out, showing the reader how the federal system really plays out behind closed doors: the positives and the negatives. With over 30 diverse characters in the novel, all were handled with the upmost care, with each adding value to the plot. From virologists, to teachers to public health lecturers, most of the characters were connected in some way or another. It really is a testament to the author’s excellent writing skill, to manage so many without making the story feel choked up. I liked that some characters in the story evolved, seeing the errors in their ways and changing their way of thinking. Citations were given throughout the novel showing evidence of some of these things which happened in the real world such as the UK and South African strains of Covid-19. This added a degree of realism which really puts these grave events into perspective; they weren’t quite so fictional.
On the negative side, the book takes time to progress towards the main plot. Due to introducing and providing background on so many characters, patience is required to get through the first 40 to 50 pages. At times, the book read like a history novel with entire pages filled with recounts and facts about Covid levels on so and so countries. This may affect the readability as not everyone may find it as interesting.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. Although the book had some negatives, I feel its positives outweigh the other aspects. The book is very well written and researched. Plus the editing was superb, grammatically and in its spelling, with only 2 typos in its entirety.
I would recommend the book to a more mature audience and to anyone interested in politics, a bit of history, and doesn’t mind being educated in their next read.
******
Pandemic
View: on Bookshelves