#we’re just scared. we’re all scared. we are all mourning the loss of our sanity and begging for answers and nothing is working

[surrealsunset]

the sun always shines on TV

[alexsfictionaddiction]

10 of the best pandemic novels

It’s an understatement to say that the world as we know it has changed insurmountably over the last few weeks. We’re apart from our loved ones, most of our summer plans have been cancelled and we’re faced with more uncertainty than ever before. Pandemics and plagues have been present in horror, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic books for decades and they’ve always seemed to be exactly that. Abandoned cities, fast-acting deadly diseases and epic efforts for survival are things that happen in different worlds to our own but of course, they’ve never reflected reality more than they do right now.

I’ve been using this time to research and read a bunch of books that deal with pandemics and I wanted to share 10 of the very best of them with you. I completely understand if you’re trying to avoid these kinds of reads at the moment to limit anxiety or simply to escape. That’s why I also have a list of feel-good reads especially for you!

1. The Stand by Stephen King

The Stand is a book you’ll see on every pandemic fiction list because it is widely considered to be King’s masterpiece. The virus is really just the beginning of this enormous tome as its proceeded by ominous dreams, the inevitable end of days and the very real eternal battle between good and evil -perhaps not unlike some of your recent political discussions? Typical of a King novel, it’s populated by a huge cast of morally complex, tragic characters and there is an overwhelming sense of dread from the very first chapter. Expect a harrowing atmospheric read that will stay with you for a long time.

2. The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey

Essentially, it’s a zombie book but it’s also so much more than that. Set in a world where ‘hungries’ roam the wastelands, a select group of infected but high-functioning children are contained in a special facility. Amongst a ruthless scientist, a kindly teacher and a wary sergeant, child genius Melanie’s story will become one that haunts you in the middle of the night. It’s a classic page-turning thriller that isn’t an exact reflection of our current world but there are some eerie likenesses that will have you questioning who the real monsters are.

3. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel

Station Eleven is so full of believable situations and characters that I could easily see the end of the Earth looking exactly like this huge sprawling landscape, dotted with towns populated by small groups of suspicious, scared people. It chiefly follows five principal characters -seasoned Hollywood actor Arthur Leander who dies on stage during a production of King Lear, his incredibly talented but unappreciated first wife Miranda, his oldest friend Clark, Jeevan Chaudhary who tried to save him and Kirsten, one of Arthur’s child co-stars whose life has been shaped by the events of that fateful night. It’s a beautifully written, expertly constructed book that explores loss, resilience and the heartbreaking notion of desperately trying to hold on to the past. You’ll want several boxes of tissues for this one!

4. The Fireman by Joe Hill

Ok, so the virus in this one isn’t QUITE like COVID-19 but the intense fear, teetering sanity and unexpected small rays of hope aren’t unlike our current set of feels. Dragonscale marks its host with black and gold and burns them up from the inside causing them to eventually spontaneously combust and no one appears to be safe from this horrifying end. We follow pregnant nurse Harper who bears the ominous marks but is desperate to live long enough to give birth and the mystery of the Fireman -an afflicted man who has somehow learned to control the fire within him. It’s a very original premise and although it’s another beast of a book at over 700 pages, it will have you gripped from the very first page.

5. The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

There’s something about memory that feels so precious to me. It may be because in a normal functioning brain, it’s the only thing that constantly keeps us company and therefore, in some ways it’s like an old friend. The Book of M features a virus where shadows have begun to disappear, leaving their humans with a strange new power but also with a rapidly deteriorating memory. Following Ory and Max -two halves of a couple who have been torn apart by the prospect of heartbreak- we meet a bunch of wonderful characters on a journey to New Orleans, where sanctuary reportedly awaits. I stayed up late to finish it because I became so invested in getting these characters back together but I was left completely thrown and sobbing my eyes out by the very cruel twist at the end. Yeah... brace yourself!

6. The Last Town On Earth by Thomas Mullen

Set in 1918 in Washington state, this story follows a small quarantined town trying to stave off the Spanish influenza. The effects of financial instability on the community, the fear of the unknown and the erratic actions of a panicked mind will definitely seem familiar in our current world. It’s an enclosed domestic drama with a lot of social history, tear-jerking moments and a truly explosive ending. I’m delighted that I discovered this emotional hidden gem!

7. Skin by Liam Brown

Skin describes a world with an extreme version of a COVID-esque virus. Everyone must completely isolate from everyone else including the people they live with and can only communicate from separate bedrooms via technology. But then our protagonist Angela spots a man outside without any protective gear on and he doesn’t even seem to be slightly sick. Full of intrigue, complex characters and a twist in the tale, it’s a fast read with a lot to say about contemporary society via a wry cynical voice.

8. Severance by Ling Ma

Candace Chen is a routine-loving millennial who turns ghost city photo-blogger when the deadly Shen Fever sweeps New York. Joining an eclectic band of survivors on a trek to a supposed sanctuary, she is harboring a secret of epic proportions. Things get progressively darker as the group begins to develop a cult-like dynamic and the seemingly self-elected ‘leader’ Bob becomes increasingly tyrannical. The sudden jolt out of ordinary life and the making and breaking of human relationships in times of hardship mixed with a touch of satire makes for a thoroughly entertaining, topical read.

9. Wilder Girls by Rory Power

I love a good boarding school novel and this is possibly the darkest, most unique one I’ve ever read. The Tox has left multiple pupils at Raxter School For Girls with deformities and they’re now waiting patiently for a cure. But then Hetty’s best friend Byatt goes missing and suspicion heightens as to what’s really happening on the remote island. I couldn’t shake the feeling of doom for the entire time and there was such a heavy gloomy atmosphere that seeps through the pages. There was a lot of buzz around this book on YA Twitter when it was released late last year and it’s definitely worth all of the hype! 

10. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

This impeccably strange, enchanting novel is a little glimpse into some of the weirder rooms of Atwood’s mind. Snowman lives in a tree on a deserted beach and spends his days foraging for scraps and mourning his best friend Crake and the woman he loved, the enigmatic Oryx. He seems to be the only human left but somehow he has become a prophet-esque figure to the beautiful, ethereal Children of Crake. The actual virus doesn't appear until the final 50 pages but we see the effects of it from the very beginning, so I was pretty eager to find out exactly what had happened, which kept the pages turning. Although it is funny in places and exceptionally thought-provoking, there is a lot of disturbing content to be aware of including animal experimentation and child trafficking and sexual abuse. It’s a horrifying window into a possible future if extreme capitalism and the fast advances in genetic engineering were ever to meet in a head-on collision. 

[clarksvegas-dreamsnightmares]

Sick day....

since I took a sick day and have time to kill....unrust the writing brain

The Sapphire Winter

At the beginning of winter the Lord of the Mountain began mourning for his lost love. So stricken with grief the land was blanketed by snow. His heart so frozen with pain that the rains that should of come instead fell slowly as droplets of ice. Spring banished as surely as Summer was when it was supposed to come. Many people came and went to the Stone Throne to offer condolences,  gifts, even new brides in hopes that he would let the sun return to our lands.

Now it’s the midst of June, and we have adapted to the thought that we will not see a warm breeze this year. Countries outside the shadow of the Mountain have made a boon of this situation, trading much more with us now that we have a need for things that we could of otherwise grown ourselves. Luckily, our near endless supply of snow and ice has given us something to offer in kind. Still, we give much more to feel heat from the sky once again. We try, pray and tell us that our King does not do this out of malice, but a great loss.

There are those that try to sow discord among the people, envious of the Kings vast power over the skies and earth. There was once a man who tried to raise a group to go up to the Mountain and depose the king. Cooler heads and steeled nerves won the day. But still, people began to wonder if that was needed after all.

But we still wait, we manage and we pray for the reprieve from the snow. Still people travel to the throne and make their offers, even maidens are going up there on their own to speak. They hope he will find one fetching enough to warm his heart and dull the pain, or at least find a warm smile to help him, and us, return to the sun.

Question Sanity, or don’t

First thing you don’t do is question his sanity. At best he’ll ignore you, at worse you’ll get your answer and find out why it was a pointless question. If you can catch him at the right time, maybe you’ll get the story, as far as he understands it, how he became so weird.

Last time I managed to get that answer, he was staring into his coffee. We were at this nondescript chain of coffee shops. The kind that comes up with overly hip names for coffee with the kind of flavors that Dennis Leary dreads about.  I take him there so he can find something that suits his ever erratic tastes. The baristas either find him a welcome challenge, or the source of their alcoholism. Either way, his coffee is overly sweet with some food stuff sticking out of it that has no business being in coffee. I try not to remember those details.

Anyhow, he said it might of been a Friday, when you don’t have anything productive to do and are up for whatever comes your way. He wandered with some friends into downtown, hitting up clubs, cheap dates, and all the like. Somewhere between the goth inspired techno and a country bar he lost track of his friends and was now with a new crowd. They seemed mostly normal, or at least that’s how they look at first. The twang of a steel string guitar melted into sitars and flutes as the night wore on, then gave way to a drone like a didgeridoo stuck to a muffler of a truck. There is where he said it gets… fuzzy. I think this is where he wasn’t at a club, not one that normal people go to anyhow. His story gets jumbled, going back and forth as he’s trying to piece things together. Was he in a place underwater, surrounded by mermaids? Or was there a tower nearby that something was flying around.  He thinks there was at least one other person, a girl in all white. Her hair was maybe shoulder length and so blonde it was almost white as her dress. The eyes were what struck him, the sclera were red but the iris was white. If that wasn’t enough to make him twitch abit as he was trying to nibble on what my brain was trying to rationalize as a sandwich, the look of frantic desperation she had as she saw him.

The last part seems to be the most consistent thing of this story when he tells it. The girl almost pleading with him

“Are you here to save me? Are you here to make them stop jabbering? They don’t ever stop...why did father put them here?! Why won’t they be quiet!? I JUST WANT TO LOVE HER IN PEACE!!!!”

….As this point he stops talking and chugs the still burning hot coffee and the mushy ham dough ball that cost me 10 dollars. This is also where the manager is more than happy to tell us to have a nice day. We’re never banned from coming back, but they do appreciate we go scare someone else for a change.