My thoughts align with some of the other reviews here. I thought it wasn’t a bad story at all, definitely didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. It definitely has the texture of a story set in the 80s, with technology and pop culture references of that time. Interesting twist, the role of the Russians, but consistent with socio-political changes occurring in the 80s. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the story’s protagonist (perhaps because he was young and somewhat immature), but his character was well written and developed. A bit convenient, how he was able to connect the dots and understand what was happening before anyone else, and how it took a little while for medical examiners to realize that something unusual was happening. The strongest parts of the story for me were the transitions in the characters as they were infected – there was good gore there. It’s disturbing to think about how easily and quickly infection can spread.
And that’s where I wish the story had gone into a bit more detail. It wasn’t the goal of the story, to trace out the spread and impact on society. Instead, the lens was focused on specific characters. But I have an interest and a curiosity about the broader context, especially when the topic of the story is a contagious infection – how that contagion expands through the population, and what does the government and authorities do about it. I wish there was more of that broader picture in the story. This wasn’t totally absent from the story, but my personal preference is to have more of it. I think it’s because the killer was a type of contagion and the mind automatically starts to think about where and how fast it will spread.
The narration was good for this story. I imagined the protagonist to be a somewhat self-centered young adult man and that’s how the narrator painted the image in my mind. The other characters were voices well, no complaints there.
“I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.”