Plague War by Jeff Carlson
Ace, $7.99, 292pp, pb, 9780441016174. Science fiction.
The sequel to Plague Year (which we reviewed in this article, picks up days after the first novel ended, and this review will necessarily have spoilers of that first book, so if you haven’t read it yet, go get both of them, and settle in for a good, long story (and getting longer, since we know that the third book in the trilogy, Mind Plague, will probably be out next summer).
To recap (mind you, Carlson does a better job of recapping the first book than I will. He doesn’t have any clunking infodumps, but nicely slides the information into the text, so if it’s too long since you read it, he’ll clue you in, and if you haven’t read the first but want to start here, you won’t be far behind the curve): in the first book, a nanotechnological plague had spread all over the Earth, killing all warm-blooded creatures below 10,000 feet above sea level. The few remaining people were trapped on mountain peaks, trying to survive. A year after the plague had hit, people are getting desperate, and the few scientists are frantically searching for a cure (or at least something to fight the nanotech). Scientists trapped on the International Space Station return home with a woman who may be the world’s leading nanotechnologist. That woman, Ruth Goldman, meets up with Cam Najarro, one of the survivors who lived out the last year on a mountain top in California. Together with fragments of the US military, and with the support of the remains of the US government, they stage a quick raid into lowland California, where the nanotech was apparently created. Ruth manages to synthesize a vaccine that, while not curing the plague, can fight it to a standstill in the human body, allowing some access “below the barrier.” At the same time, Ruth is part of a secret rebel cabal, who understand that the government in exile (in Leadville, Colorado) have all the markings of turning dictatorial, intending to keep the vaccine to themselves and rule the world. The rebels aren’t happy with the government’s plan, and are willing to risk all to spread the vaccine far and wide. As the book ended, Ruth, Cam, and several of their compatriots were walking into the wilderness, ready to spread the vaccine person to person to as many people as possible.
Plague War opens with them Ruth, Cam, and one of the rebel soldiers making their way through a dying lowlands. With the death of mammals, the disappearance of humanity, and the complete upheavel in the environment, insects rule the lands, and even with their crude vaccine, hot spots of the nano plague can still cause plenty of damage. Carlson lets us feel their discomfort as they hike fully wrapped up (hoping to keep out as much of the plague as possible), looking for food and clean water, avoiding bugs and snakes, and hiding from government partrols intent on recovering them (or at least, recovering enough of their blood to gain access to the vaccine).
On their journey, they find death and hope; some survivors able and willing to take the vaccine and help spread it, others too scared to risk what little they have left. Meanwhile, a war seems to be heating up between the government in Leadville and the rebel government based in Montana (let alone the remains of Canada). The rebels are trying to make contact with Ruth, to set her up in a lab to perfect the vaccine. Leadville is also trying to get her, or at least stop the rebels from getting her.
Meanwhile, back at the government, Nikola Ulinov, former commander of the ISS and current Russian ambassador to the US, is negotiating for US assistance for his people. Stuck with very little usable territory, the Russians are trying to move to the Himalayas, negotiating with the US to join with India and fight China, or else switch sides in that todo. But the US, personified by Senator Kendricks, is playing hardball. They know that without the vaccine, nothing else matters. With the vaccine, they can wait out everyone else, letting “the enemy” die on top of the mountains while they spread through the lowlands and take over the planet. Unfortunately for the US, the Russians (and the Chinese, and everyone else who matters) know this, too. And they’re desperate. Desperate enough to do something about it.
They all know that finding a sample of the vaccine should be enough; spreading it is fairly simple (blood to blood contact does it easily, other transmission methods are somewhat more difficult). And thus, the war is joined. For more plot details, read the book.
Carlson knows what he’s doing, making us feel the terror, pain, exhaustion, frustration, and triumph of his characters. Sadly, the book is not a feel-good romp through the future: it is at times relentlessly depressing. Again, my biggest problem with the book is Carlson’s assumptions of how people will act. Each time we meet new characters in a new situation, and they do or dread something truly horrible, we want to say “No, it wouldn’t happen like that. Happiness, light, and goodness.” But on a moment’s reflection, we realize he’s absolutely right: people clinging by their very fingertips to the hope of survival are going to be a lot nastier, uglier, meaner, and more coldly calculating than we normally are in our lives. It’s a very unpleasant picture of human nature in a postapocalyptic world, but I can’t fault the picture. And that’s what makes the book depressing. Oh, there are successes and goodnesses, moments of happiness and hope, and glimmers of a future of life, but (as I said in the previous review) if you’re feeling suicidal, this book will push you right over the edge.
At any rate, friendships are broken, new friends are made, old friends are reunited, feats of seemingly superhuman perseverance are almost commonplace. And Carlson practices scorched-Earth literature, killing characters individually, in groups, and in entire cities, as the plot requires. It almost feels as if he doesn’t need anyone to survive, but since there is an announced sequel, he’s going to need a few to survive.
Once again, the book ends on a hopeful note, but the end of the book felt rushed to me. The last two chapters almost feel as if he’d written a complete ending, and then realized there had to be a sequel, and so cut to the “to be continued.” Yet after reading the book (before I remebered there is to be a sequel) it felt complete, just rushed. I’m satisfied with the story, but I know I’ll be looking for Mind Plague next summer.
Yes, it’s a good book, telling a good story, and the speculation is excellent. But keep some happy thoughts around while you read it, so you don’t slit your wrists in terror.