Pandemic

Pandemic (The Extinction Files #1)
By: A.G. Riddle

Due to our current pandemic, I felt it the right time to read this exceptionally long book. Somehow I read it in 5 days. As a mother of two littles, I’d be happy to accept an award for such a feat. And I can tell you- I didn’t read it that fast because I hated it.

I really liked Riddle’s Atlantis Gene trilogy and this book is definitely from the same cloth in that it was well-researched and chock full of historical and scientific information. Granted, some of it feels extra and like Riddle just wants to say “Did you know...?!” or “Look at all my knowledge!” But I still found it really interesting. Especially since we’re experiencing it right now (at a much lesser intensity).

Which- let’s talk about that for a minute. This book was written in 2017. It is 2020 now and we’re in the middle of a global pandemic in a modern era. I find it amusing how different the book’s governmental/CDC reactions are from real life when the book’s pandemic is much more virulent. It spread way quicker and has an astronomically higher death rate yet nothing was really shut down for awhile. Everyone still went shopping on Black Friday. No shelter in place order was issued, etc. The beginning of each day, Riddle inserted the virus infected/death numbers. It was hard to know whether that information was known by the characters or not so I suppose that could be why- plus the virus first presented itself as a normal flu.

Considering the variety of effects on the world from our actual pandemic, reading a story like this is a little eerie. Bioterrorism is scarier to me than most other forms of terrorism. Everyone has their own opinion but this quote from the book is timely: “And when that horrific pathogen reached their shores, they would do anything for the cure. Including giving up their freedom.” It is evident the power of fear.

It appears there are a lot of reviewers who find this book laughable or boring or unrealistic. I don’t know who these people are, but if I’m going to read a book about a global pandemic, I’d like it to not be too realistic. I’d rather be able to come away thinking ‘at least that will never happen.’ But maybe that’s just me.

Riddle did go big with his storyline: Bourne Identity meets Contagion. Man wakes up with an advanced skill set and no memories, finds out he needs to stop a global disaster he may or may not have been part of. Come to find out it’s a project that has been in the works for a couple thousand years that will change humanity forever, answer the question ‘why are we here?’, offer protection from literally everything (even natural disasters), and it requires a near extinction level event to get the ball rolling. It’s called The Looking Glass. And after book one, we are not privy to what it actually is yet. Oh, also all the critical players are all somehow intimately connected.

So if that all bothers you- maybe don’t waste your time reading it. But I decided to go with it! I like his writing and imagination. It read fast because it read like a movie. Lots of flashbacks for background knowledge, lots of shifting from following one character to another, lots of action. I didn’t find it confusing. I didn’t find it boring. It was informational, intriguing, semi-relevant, and entertaining. Too many coincidences? Nah, in this context I appreciated them.

But it’s not a perfect book.
- The build up in this book about what the Looking Glass actually is, is so big and we get no clear answers that I’m worried I’ll be disappointed with book 2 on its reveal. It is possible Riddle went too big. We will find out.
- I liked all the historic/scientific information he included, but it did get to be too much at times- there were a lot of acronyms and organizations to keep track of
- If we want to talk about unrealistic coincidences- let’s start with Desmond’s ability to figure out passwords he doesn’t remember. Not a week goes by that I don’t get frustrated with passwords. And my memories have not been tampered with. So nice try, A.G. Riddle. I think it would take him AT LEAST 4 tries, 2 lockouts, and a reset to a different email with 3 more tries before he cracks it. But I digress.
- Peyton’s interactions with her family towards the end are a bit out of character. In dangerous circumstances, you’d think you’d be more careful who you trust given the history of the situation but she just goes all in without much deliberation.

All that to say, I may be in the minority of ‘most helpful’ reviewers, but I enjoyed the book and if my review doesn’t put you off, I think you’ll like it too! And honestly, the sheer size of it is overwhelming but it really wasn’t bad to read at all!

I shall leave you with this quote from it’s pages that I also found amusing. What a time to be alive.

“Human history has a relating theme: we battle pandemics, we lose, we die, it burns itself out, and we rebuild. We always come out the other side stronger. Humanity marches on.”

Peace.