KINGDOM OF NEEDLE AND BONE – Mira Grant

Powerhouse author Mira Grant takes an idea that appears to be ripped right out of the newspaper headlines and makes it even more terrifying because we all know who close to truth this fictional story is.

In a world where medical and technology knowledge grows at a staggering pace and vaccinations are so common that we can easily forget how terrible the diseases were that are now vaccinated against, the next biggest danger to mankind is probably man him (or her) self.

It starts as a simple fever. Nothing too serious, right? Shortly after the fever there are the spots that appear and now it’s already too late. The first person to contract this is dead and a pandemic has begun. But to add insult to injury, this is a disease that we’ve already fought and had vaccinations for. But the movement to not vaccinate children – especially for a disease that no one’s contracted in decades – has opened the door for the disease to rush back in a lay claim to millions of people.

One doctor, related to the first person to contract the new strain of the old disease, sees a possible way out for humanity, but it’s not exactly ethical and she will be vilified by anyone and everyone who might ever mention her name.

The amazing thing about Mira Grant’s writing is that she can make even the eradication of humanity seem poetic. She also manages to make everything incredibly plausible with her detailed research and the way she presents the science behind the horror.

On the one hand, the book appears to be about vaccinations and immunizations but it’s the people in Grant’s books that make her stories rise up. They are ordinary people. Maybe doctors, maybe news reporters, maybe day laborers, but they all seem like someone we know in our own towns, and they are asked, by the circumstances presented to them, to challenge themselves – to rise above what they thought were their limits to combat the horror in front of them. And Grant finds new ways for people to do that. And that is what keeps me reading her books … whether she is writing as Mira Grant, or Seanan Maguire … I’ll keep reading.

Looking for a good book? Kingdom of Needle and Bone is a science fiction horror story by Mira Grant and it is captivating.