Don't worry, I know how silly this sounds when discussing non fiction, but here I am writing this anyway. I finished the book a month or two ago, and it was fine, and I'm glad I know more about ebola if nothing else. But, this book was a lot of edging and not a lot of release. It starts off strong with showing its awful effects on humans, and the effort to contain it, and then the whole book you're waiting for some sort of outbreak or something to happen, and it never really does.
A bunch of monkeys dying is some drama, but tbh, for me that's more of an appetizer. I don't wanna say that I want people to die, but really if I'm reading a book about a viral outbreak, I kinda want to read about the human drama that comes with that. I'm not particularly interested in bureaucracy or a bunch of character introductions that don't go anywhere.
Again, I don't regret reading it, but it peaked HARD in the first couple of chapters, and then peters off slowly, and then just sort of ends. With the power of hindsight, I'd probably have stopped about halfway through and been satisfied.
by thebigscorp1
4 Comments
Upvoting for hilarious use of edging whilst discussing a book you were disappointed in. Love it!
You should try “The End of October”, by Lawrence Wright. Incredibly, it was published -before- the pandemic.
This is how I felt about The Revenant
So… you think it would have been more… exciting if there had been an actual widespread outbreak of a hemorrhagic fever? Well, that is a hot fucking take, that’s kinda hilarious.
Think about it this way: maybe the whole book is just foreplay, the main event is still to come… lol