Review of The Stealthy Viral Pimpernel

[Sam Ibeh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Stealthy Viral Pimpernel" by Bernard Heys.]

---

3 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

In The Stealthy Viral Pimpernel, Bernard Heys examined the incursion of viruses he termed 'silent killers.' His examination, which came in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, centered on the historical attitude of viruses and the need for better preventative strategies to be in place to manage the outbreak of viruses. Heys drew from his many years of experience as a systems engineer involved in creating practical solutions for infection control. Most significantly, this book criticized the actions of the government of the United Kingdom in their approach towards combating the Covid-19 pandemic and their inability to heed expert advice on the subject matter.

The very foundation of this book was based on the patriotic spirit of the author. He desired to contribute to successfully combating the Covid-19 pandemic from his wealth of knowledge. There was no doubt that the author was qualified to render his opinion on the subject matter, considering his over fifty-six years of studying bacteria and viruses and creating solutions for their control.

This book was a helpful tool in understanding the things that went wrong in the strategies adopted to control the pandemic. It was evident that Heys deeply researched this issue and provided insightful details of the actual state of events. For one, the book revealed that the two-meter-social-distancing strategy and the stay-at-home order were not wholly effective strategies for infection control. He believed that the government had not considered all factors involved. The two-meter-social-distance order proved unrealistic because research showed that droplets from sneezes and coughs carrying the coronavirus could travel up to eight meters. Again, the stay-at-home order became counter-productive because the cramped living conditions of the poor masses promoted virus spread. For such people, staying out in the open with fresh air would most likely decrease their infection chances than adhering to the stay-at-home order.

Heys did not hold back in his apportionment and blamed the government for being responsible for many unnecessary losses of lives. The author believed that the government was slow to implement better strategies to combat the virus. This was in addition to the fact that government officials themselves broke their own safety rules, endangering not only their families but also the public with no consequences. This may be an indication of the ineptitude of the existing government. The author boldly called out the government to be accountable to the people they served in honesty and integrity. Heys pointed out how he had to fight for renal failure and diabetes patients to be added to the high-risk list. This was an indication that the government had not fully considered all the perspectives involved in the virus prevention, making it ill-prepared.

This book was a call to action to the government of the United Kingdom, and by extension to all the world governments, to establish strategies that would better control the outbreak of future pandemics. One more helpful element of this book was that Heys included poems he wrote to help keep children informed on steps to keep them safe in the pandemic.

As significant as the content of this book was, its readability was marred by the many unpunctuated, long, and unclear sentences, sentences with incomplete meanings, and a plethora of other grammatical errors. Consider this sentence on Page 37: "Failure to suspend politics and harness the full National talent and resources." Heys failed to say what this 'failure' would do. There were many similar sentences throughout the book, and it was easy to conclude that this book needed thorough editing and proofreading. It was a struggle to read and understand the content of this book, and it would be sad, but not surprising, if many of its intended meanings were lost amid these errors.

I'd recommend this book to readers searching for a better insight into the pandemic but who have a strong understanding of English. Finally, I’d rate The Stealthy Viral Pimpernel three out of four stars.

******
The Stealthy Viral Pimpernel
View: on Bookshelves

[TheGayOne12]

This does, indeed, sound like a very educational and important read. Thank you for the great review!

[Sharon Christanto]

Whew, I haven't heard that the droplets can travel as far as 8 meters! Your review sparks my curiosity to read this book and discover more facts about coronavirus.
Thanks for the amazing review!

[Essy Nma]

The pandemic came with lots of nervous breakdowns for me. Wouldn't like to read this. However, this review is amazing.

[Aisha Yakub]

This is a very insightful read, and I enjoyed reading this review.

[GNerd]

I think the theme of those book is patriotism. I loved reading your review. Thank you.

[Khali_Mali]

I am just about to start reading this book. Honestly from looking through the content I am not excited to read it. Your review summaries it well and hopefully I can do a good of a job as you.