Gemini virus

Irwin Allen's disaster films from the 1970s meet Stephen King's The Stand in Mara's new thriller. A superbug that starts with coldlike symptoms ends up escalating. It appears to be localized within a small town, but soon others outside the region become infected. Michael Beck of the Centers for Disease Control tries to find a cure and soon discovers that his own friend and assistant on the case is developing a runny nose. The story follows a family with their kids as they run from their home to an isolated cabin to wait for the panic and death to end. The narrative holds the reader at a distance, resulting in a story with little emotional core. The thought of a virus with such lethal power is a scary notion and will keep some readers turning pages, but, in the end, this is nowhere near as frightening as it could have been.--Ayers, Jeff Copyright 2010 Booklist

The squeamish may want to avoid the second entry in Mara's disaster series (after 2010's Wave), a foray into the deadly-virus subgenre that adds little new to the basic world-under-attack plot but will leave readers moving away from anyone who coughs or sneezes in public. Michael Beck, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control, and his assistant, Cara Porter, investigate seven gruesome deaths in Ramsey, N.J. "The victims were covered with large pustules from head to toe and exhibited symptoms of extreme delirium," Michael learns from his boss at the CDC. The body count grows geometrically as the disease spreads through the populace until most of the country is infected. A subplot involving terrorism helps build suspense, but the virus itself and the deadly possibility that it could appear in the real world is quite enough to keep you turning pages to see who will live, who will die, and how the invader will be vanquished. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Irwin Allen's disaster films from the 1970s meet Stephen King's The Stand in Mara's new thriller. A superbug that starts with coldlike symptoms ends up escalating. It appears to be localized within a small town, but soon others outside the region become infected. Michael Beck of the Centers for Disease Control tries to find a cure and soon discovers that his own friend and assistant on the case is developing a runny nose. The story follows a family with their kids as they run from their home to an isolated cabin to wait for the panic and death to end. The narrative holds the reader at a distance, resulting in a story with little emotional core. The thought of a virus with such lethal power is a scary notion and will keep some readers turning pages, but, in the end, this is nowhere near as frightening as it could have been. Copyright 2012 Booklist Reviews.

The squeamish may want to avoid the second entry in Mara's disaster series (after 2010's Wave), a foray into the deadly-virus subgenre that adds little new to the basic world-under-attack plot but will leave readers moving away from anyone who coughs or sneezes in public. Michael Beck, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control, and his assistant, Cara Porter, investigate seven gruesome deaths in Ramsey, N.J. "The victims were covered with large pustules from head to toe and exhibited symptoms of extreme delirium," Michael learns from his boss at the CDC. The body count grows geometrically as the disease spreads through the populace until most of the country is infected. A subplot involving terrorism helps build suspense, but the virus itself and the deadly possibility that it could appear in the real world is quite enough to keep you turning pages to see who will live, who will die, and how the invader will be vanquished. (Oct.)