Survivor Song - Paul Tremblay

Horror/Thriller

Rating: 6/10

This isn’t going to end well…the words on a never-ending loop in my head within the first few pages of this novel.  And spoiler alert, I was not even the tiniest bit wrong.

In a matter of weeks, part of the United States has been overrun by an insidious virus that is spread by…wait for it…droplets.  Emergency protocols are faltering, hospitals are stretched to the breaking point, the country is being run by a man woefully unprepared to make rational decisions and paranoia among the masses has taken hold.  No, this is not a true story…

Our two main characters are best friends, one a doctor and the other a woman about to give birth who has become infected. The story follows them over the course a few hours as they seek medical help. Along the way they encounter well-meaning strangers and escape death a few times over.

What was an irresistible premise was in the end a disappointment.  I’ve had my nerves shredded more during pandemic press conferences than at any point in this book.

Footnote: This novel was written not only before the pandemic was declared but before we even knew about cases in China. The authors prescience is what drove up my rating on what was otherwise a bit of a snore.