SOJALS rating:

Mediocre (2/5)

I first read this in February 2000.

Mitch Rafaelson is hunting prehistoric frozen corpses in the Alps.
Kaye Lang's revolutionary research suggests a whole new family of viral infection.
Christopher Dicken is an investigator for the National Center for Infectious Diseases and he's been searching for historical evidence to back up his theories about a strange deforming disease.

They're all unknowingly on separate tracks toward the identifying the problem that is about to engulf their world. However, events are moving swiftly and identifying a problem is not the same as solving it. An ancient virus has somehow awakened. For men it means just a slight influenza, but for women the effects are extreme and horrifying. Soon the virus will be rampant world-wide and and extreme measures will be needed to safeguard the uninfected.

Greg Bear has managed another excellent book. I've liked Greg Bear's writing ever since "Blood Music" (make a point of reading it). This work is part detective novel, part thriller and part exploration of evolutionary theories. It's gripping stuff.

I'm glad to say that Asia Books in Sukhumvit Road came through this time. In years past it was always well worth the trudge in the sweltering heat down to the shop, but recently their SF selection has drifted all to far toward swords and sorcery fantasy. It's become an increasingly tough decision between the doing the book run or having another cocktail by the pool. But they came certainly through by having Greg Bear's new book on their shelves .

Note for the publisher: my paperback had an astonishingly bad binding, the pages falling out as I read it. Paperbacks are meant to be convenient, not disposable. Having the book slowly self-destruct while being read is an impressive but entirely inappropriate application of technology.