Review of eBook

Sixteen-year-old Christian Black lives with his older brother, Levi, his younger twin brothers, Mason and Caden, and his parents. He doesn’t quite fit in . . . after due reflection, he's decided he sees punishment not as a consequence but as a price for an action.

On the first day of eighth grade, Christian has a run-in with a cruel schoolmate who attempts to assert his authority over the new kid. Christian is suspended for a week, but Ledoux needs a couple of weeks to recover from his fight with Christian. When Ledoux returns to school, he takes aim at Mason and Caden, and Christian doesn’t hesitate to protect his brothers, getting himself expelled in the process.

Christian describes himself as decisive and ruthless; his court-ordered therapist describes him as “different.” Still, it makes little difference in the wider scheme of things because the Brisbane strain of H5N1 spread itself across the planet. It spread through the school and ultimately killed the twins.

And now, as the pervasive prion virus continues to spread, it creates a prion encephalopathy that destroys the brain. With both of Christian’s parents affected, Levi and Christian do their best to care for them. But as more and more people are affected, large groups of similarly affected victims . . . designated “degenerates” . . . roam the streets.

With vaccines having little effect, people are dying by the millions and the hordes of “degenerates” are swelling. Can Christian make a difference in a world turned upside down?

Written years before Covid-19 unleashed itself on an unsuspecting world, this prequel story is, in many ways, grimly prophetic. The worldbuilding here is extremely strong; the pace of the gritty tale is fast and unrelenting. Setting the stage for the book that follows [where the action takes place some fifteen years later], the focus here is on action rather than on character development or complex plots.

Readers are sure to find themselves empathizing with Christian as the unfolding story establishes the apocalyptic development of the dystopian world. Questions remain as the prequel sets the stage for the book that follows.

Recommended. ( )

Decent little novella ( )

Entertaining and a quick read. I found it to be quite enjoyable, good choice to read on iPhone while I sit waiting. I'll be looking for the next in the series. Yes, I know, started in March of 2017 and finished in January of 2018, so how can I say it is a quick read? Somewhere along the way, I lost it on my iPhone. ( )

The sequel to Black Virus, while the story begins slower than I would have preferred, the characters are really interesting (my favorite is Goose), the world building was cleverly added to hint at what happened without info dumping and the finale is great.

You don't have to read Black Virus to understand this book, but it's sure a nice plus to learn a bit more about why Christian fled to Mexico and ended up getting into trouble with the Camacho cartel.

I'll definitely read the third book whenever it is finally released. ( )

Christian Black is 16 years-old and doesn't take crap from anyone - no matter how big or strong. Then the virus hits and people all around him are dying. Luckily, he was kicked out of school before everyone there contacted the virus, including his brothers. He is soon taken away from his family by a bounty hunter and finds himself rescued in the midst of a riot. People with the disease are intent on killing and destroying whatever they come upon. He joins a group of survivors and plans to rescue his own family and escape the city to the countryside. Unfortunately, the rioting mob is after him and a girl he befriends during his escape. Together they make good their escape but when getting back home - he finds insurmountable odds against him to complete their escape. Fast read and hard to put down. Great job, Mr. Adair!

John Podlaski, author
"Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel" and "When Can I Stop Running?" ( )