Review of Blood Virus: A Pandemic by Design
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Review of Blood Virus: A Pandemic by Design
What would happen if Hitler lived in our times and had the advanced technology we have today? Well, let’s just say that covid-19 would be the least of our worries. Blood Virus: A Pandemic by Design by L. A. Hollis is a medical thriller about a deadly virus that seems to only affect the African population. This virus manifests through a hemorrhagic fever that causes thousands of deaths in West Africa, originating from Benin. Dr. Lennox Richards from CDC is assigned to investigate the cause of the virus and find a way to stop it. But is he able to fight the great evil that is behind this?
Reading this book was a very thrilling and immersive experience. I enjoyed how well-researched everything was. After all, L. A. Hollis has a minor in microbiology. I don’t have any medical background, but I was scared at how real the situation seemed to be. The possibility of a bioengineered and ethno-specific virus didn’t occur to me as something credible until reading this book. The author provides explanations and examples of different pandemics to help the reader grasp the magnitude of the situation. Even in the past, there were attempts at infecting one group or race, like Romans who dipped their arrows into plague corpses to infect their enemies. Nowadays, playing with death has never been easier.
This book was full of action. Because of its fast pace, I finished it in no time. My favorite aspect of the book was learning more about the culture of Benin. We follow Liz, Lennox’s wife, into a small village where voodoo is still the main religion. Through her eyes, we get to experience this exotic culture. However, bad things can happen when strangers interfere in ancient rituals. I liked how the author kept some words from Fon, an indigenous language. Local characters also spoke a mix of English and Fon, which could be expected.
The book also deals with family and relationship problems, as Lennox brings his wife to the center of the epidemic. There are also some conflicts with the in-laws that turn out for the best. The characters are complex and interesting to discover, as you also see them make mistakes and work together to fix them. Regarding our big bad villain, we get to know him from the beginning, but our characters remain completely clueless. Watching them decipher the puzzle while being in danger is the main entertainment of this book. Our villain’s idol is Hitler, so his goal is to cleanse the world of any impure blood. Nowadays, he has the means to do it in a way that would make Hitler proud. He is also a genius, as I was blown away by the revealing of the contamination process.
Even though I enjoyed most of the book, some things felt flat. For once, some major events seemed to be rushed, like skipping over a serious problem in just a few pages or less. This happened more than once. I would’ve liked to know more about how the characters felt about those things, as it could’ve helped me empathize with them. It also felt like the characters didn’t discuss their problems but somehow solved them. That applies especially to Lennox and Liz, who had some serious communication issues that I expected to be discussed more thoroughly. Because of that, I feel obliged to take a star away from the perfect rating, as the book could definitely be better.
The book terrified me on some occasions. The accurate descriptions of corpses made me feel uneasy. I know that this is the effect the author wanted, so soft-hearted people should probably think twice before reading this book. I think that the book is best suited for people who enjoy thrillers and action-packed books. The editing is pretty neat, as I found only five typos. My rating for Blood Virus: A Pandemic by Design is 3 out of 4 stars because of the problems mentioned above. This book offered me the full experience of a terrifying scenario that got me thinking about many of the world’s problems.
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Blood Virus: A Pandemic by Design
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Thank you for your thorough review!
Rosa Parks
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