The world is caught in the grip of worry, but for once it’s not one country looking at another and its problems, it’s all of us here together in the same boat. Understandably there’s quite a lot of anxiety about the current Coronavirus outbreak and to take your mind off it, you may well be ‘self isolating’ with your favourite books.
We can’t promise our suggestions for books about plagues and pandemics will do much to take your mind of the current news, but no one can accuse us of not getting into the spirit of things! Here are ten books you may find interesting, given the current world situation, feel free to add your own in the comments.
The Stand – Stephen King
Understandably, a book about a fast mutating virus that has escaped from a lab on a US Army base makes top of our list! If there’s ever a catastrophe to scare your socks off, chances are Stephen King has already written about it.
Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel
A devastating flu virus hits the city and changes life as everyone knows it. Civilisation is at an end, here is the outcome.
Pandemic – A. G Riddle
As the WHO and the CDC race to fight a deadly pandemic, they discover it holds a secret. This A. G Riddle book is where conspiracy theories are born, full of theories and survival tips.
I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
Most of the world has been killed by a deadly pandemic, except for those turned into mutant vampire like creatures. The future is here, and it’s terrifying!
The Eyes of Darkness – Dean Koontz
The Eyes of Darkness is not a pandemic novel, but it has been in the news a lot! That’s because a side story in the novel talks about a virus that has escaped from a lab, it’s making the news because the lab is in Wuhan, China and the virus is called Wuhan400, which means people are asking if Koontz predicted this outbreak!
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The Passage – Justin Cronin
An experiment goes wrong, society collapses and a new world is born out of the ruins. If you like the sound of that, the Passage is the first in a trilogy so there’s plenty more to follow.
The Masque of the Red Death – Edgar Allan Poe
The Masque of the Red Death is a classic tale from the king of macabre, following Prince Prospero’s attempts to avoid a dangerous plague, known as the Red Death, by hiding in his abbey.
The Last Man – Mary Shelley
Another classic as Mary Shelley predicts the end of human civilisation. Set in the late twenty-first century, the novel unfolds a sombre and pessimistic vision of mankind confronting inevitable destruction, but she didn’t predict him buying all the toilet rolls to survive!
The Andromeda Strain – Michael Crichton
A military space probe, sent to collect extraterrestrial organisms from the upper atmosphere, is knocked out of orbit and falls to Earth. Twelve miles from the crash site, an inexplicable and deadly phenomenon terrorizes the residents of a sleepy desert town in Arizona, leaving only two survivors: an elderly addict and a newborn infant. Be afraid, nothing Michael Crichton predicts is going to end well!
Sick – Brett Battles
Captain Daniel Ash is awakened by the cries of his little daughter Josie who is burning with a high fever. He calls for his wife’s help, but gets no reply, so he returns to his bedroom only to find she has died while asleep. Horrified, he dials 911. Moments later, the front door are being smashed, men wearing biohazard suits storm in, and the nightmare begins.
We hope you find some good suggestions there and we’ll be back with more recommendations lists soon. If you want to ensure you never miss any of these, subscribe now.
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