The End of October by Lawrence Wright

PSA -- I rarely give 5 stars to a fiction book but this one completely blew me away! To say that it is prescient and timely is an understatement. If you have a desire to really understand what is going on in the world right now, this is a novel that you cannot afford to miss!  It is shocking and absorbing with so much information that I can't even relay it in a review. I was overcome with so many emotions as I read this and I think it is one that every sentinent being on the planet cannot afford to miss this year.

It stars with a few cases in an Indonesian camp set aside for Muslims with HIV. Termed the Kongoli virus, this is a killer unlike anything seen since the pandemic Spanish Flu of 1918. As it infects the entire world, there are only a few who understand what has happened and its ramifications. Doctor and epidemiologist, Henry Parsons, is one of those few. His history is unusual, he's gone around the globe fighting epidemics of horrific porportion. "Science knows no borders, nor does disease -- especially a disease that can literally fly across international boundaries."  This novel explores the nature of a virus unlike any that has occurred in recent human history and its aftermath is beyond chilling. "Disease was more powerful than armies. Disease was more arbitrary than terrorists. Disease was crueler than human imagination."  The entire world is under attack and there is no treatment for the scourge affecting the world population. There are no spoilers here but I urge you to read this chilling story of a world in ruins.

The writing and research involved in this novel are of epic proportions. The science, the human component, the political fallout are all so vividly described. If you only read one book this year, I urge you to pick up this one. I know it's going to be tough as you sit in self-quarantine lock-down with little information on our own situation with COVID-19, but the message within is extremely powerful and must be communicated. Don't be complacent. "But nature is not a stable force. It evolves, it changes, and it never comes complacent." Our way of life, our civilization, our future depends on us getting a handle on these organisms and saving humanity. This is real. And I realize this is a work of fiction, but it is so eerily close to what is happening now that it totally petrified me. Maybe you don't have the stomach or nerve to read this now while you are sitting at home in isolation and worrying about your family and your job, but I'm telling you that our lives are now entering into the phase of nightmare and this book puts it all out there.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alfred A. Knopf Publishers for this e-book ARC to read, review, and highly recommend. DO NOT MISS IT.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3L5AZZ5DGOWDS/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- medical thriller, political, so timely