Scan barcode
izmadi's review
1.0
Disappointing
The premise was intriguing, but full of useless deaths, violence, suicide, non-twists, parallel storylines, the characters were all flat and largely villainous, there was no conclusion nor moral, it was full of xenofobia, sexism, ableism, insulting several religions and diseases, plus almost a full chapter was dedicated to pitying a girl for not looking perfect.
The premise was intriguing, but full of useless deaths, violence, suicide, non-twists, parallel storylines, the characters were all flat and largely villainous, there was no conclusion nor moral, it was full of xenofobia, sexism, ableism, insulting several religions and diseases, plus almost a full chapter was dedicated to pitying a girl for not looking perfect.
thewairimu's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
melbsreads's review
2.0
Um. Well. This was...a thing that I read.
I was RIDICULOUSLY excited going into this book. I've always loved medical/biological thrillers, and the blurb for this one sounded amazing. Add in the fact that it's translated from Chinese in a year when I'm trying to read more fiction translated from non-European languages, and I was sold.
HOWEVER.
This really isn't a medical/biological thriller. I don't even know what I'd classify it as. Because there are really two sections that deal with "OMG TERRORISTS ARE RELEASING A VIRUS AND EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE". One covers the first third of the book. The other covers the last...15%, maybe? The rest dragged on forever and ever and ever.
What I liked:
- The concept
- The secondary characters
- The whole science vs nature debate: is it better to let one person die of a horrible disease for the good of humanity? Or should we try and cure everyone and end up with diseases that mutate and become drug-resistant, dooming millions of people?
- The amount of the world that it covered. We jump between China, Japan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and the US. And we jump around a fair bit in China as well.
What I didn't like:
- The way that all the female characters HAVE to be beautiful. And the way that they're described?? Like...one female character ends up with smallpox scars. But it's a tragedy because she was OMG SO BEAUTIFUL JUST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF EVER so they won't rest until she's given plastic surgery to fix every scar on her body.
- This line: "Her naked, curved body was as smooth and shiny as an insect's carapace." No thank you please.
- Giving a Native American character smallpox to start an epidemic. Yeah. That's a thing that happens.
- I mean??????????? This is a country where people of colour are routinely killed by police for being mentally ill, for being 12 years old and having a toy gun, for having their hands up and saying "please don't shoot me". And yet I'm meant to believe that this is plausible? Uh, okay.
- Honestly? It took place over WAY too long. Like, it starts in 1997. Then it jumps to 2002. Then 2016. And it finishes in 2030. There was way too much time between events.
- The secret society side of things was...not well explained. And it was explained far too late in the piece.
So on the whole? I wanted to love it. But I just flat out didn't care about all the stuff that happened in between the "LET'S USE VIRUSES AS TERRORISM" chunks of the plot. The writing was often clunky, and I don't know if that's a product of translation or not. And...yeah. No.
I was RIDICULOUSLY excited going into this book. I've always loved medical/biological thrillers, and the blurb for this one sounded amazing. Add in the fact that it's translated from Chinese in a year when I'm trying to read more fiction translated from non-European languages, and I was sold.
HOWEVER.
This really isn't a medical/biological thriller. I don't even know what I'd classify it as. Because there are really two sections that deal with "OMG TERRORISTS ARE RELEASING A VIRUS AND EVERYONE'S GOING TO DIE". One covers the first third of the book. The other covers the last...15%, maybe? The rest dragged on forever and ever and ever.
What I liked:
- The concept
- The secondary characters
- The whole science vs nature debate: is it better to let one person die of a horrible disease for the good of humanity? Or should we try and cure everyone and end up with diseases that mutate and become drug-resistant, dooming millions of people?
- The amount of the world that it covered. We jump between China, Japan, Afghanistan, Nepal, and the US. And we jump around a fair bit in China as well.
What I didn't like:
- The way that all the female characters HAVE to be beautiful. And the way that they're described?? Like...one female character ends up with smallpox scars. But it's a tragedy because she was OMG SO BEAUTIFUL JUST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF EVER so they won't rest until she's given plastic surgery to fix every scar on her body.
- This line: "Her naked, curved body was as smooth and shiny as an insect's carapace." No thank you please.
- Giving a Native American character smallpox to start an epidemic. Yeah. That's a thing that happens.
-
Spoiler
The whole thing in the school?? Like...in what universe would the police/government/armed forces/Department of Homeland Security let three men of colour with guns (fake or otherwise) walk into an elementary school, take like 70 kids hostage, strap bomb vests to the kids (fake or otherwise), and still be like "Well, hang on. We don't know what's happening here. We'd better wait and see what they're going to do."- Honestly? It took place over WAY too long. Like, it starts in 1997. Then it jumps to 2002. Then 2016. And it finishes in 2030. There was way too much time between events.
- The secret society side of things was...not well explained. And it was explained far too late in the piece.
So on the whole? I wanted to love it. But I just flat out didn't care about all the stuff that happened in between the "LET'S USE VIRUSES AS TERRORISM" chunks of the plot. The writing was often clunky, and I don't know if that's a product of translation or not. And...yeah. No.
amydeerie's review
2.0
Not very good. It had potential but it was rushed, many ideas crammed into a short book. Had all the events been extended, and relationships formed naturally, this could’ve been a great book.
mechee91's review
5.0
Whoa. This world-encompassing biological thriller is one of my favorite books to come out in 2016. Everyone knows that smallpox was eradicated so thoroughly that they don’t even inoculate kids for it these days. We’re more worried about mumps and measles, to even think about a virus that wiped out millions of people in the past seems a waste of time. Author Jinkang Wang uses his latest book to show us why that might not be the right way to go. With an interesting way of combining the idea of nature as a god-like entity and an understanding of science, the story unfolds in a surprising manner. The timeline stretches from just before 9/11 until present times. This gives a rich world-building story that shows the slow game that evolution and adaption take until meddled with by humans.
Jinkang Wang and translator Jeremy Tiang have done an amazing job on Pathological. Its full of twists and turns leaving readers with the moral question of “Just because we can, should we?” There is quite a bit of religion, atheism and science throughout which give all the various viewpoints that can be difficult to fold together. The idea that everything that exists to day has won some sort of genetic and evolutionary lottery is unsettling if only in the need to question one’s own existence. Couple that with the highlighting of the horrible things that humans have done to each other, JInkang Wang has done a brilliant job marrying science and morals to leave the readers wondering in the best way. I think the basic thought this book leaves you with is best put in the author’s own words. “Does the rabbit have the authority to declare the coyote illegal?”
Jinkang Wang and translator Jeremy Tiang have done an amazing job on Pathological. Its full of twists and turns leaving readers with the moral question of “Just because we can, should we?” There is quite a bit of religion, atheism and science throughout which give all the various viewpoints that can be difficult to fold together. The idea that everything that exists to day has won some sort of genetic and evolutionary lottery is unsettling if only in the need to question one’s own existence. Couple that with the highlighting of the horrible things that humans have done to each other, JInkang Wang has done a brilliant job marrying science and morals to leave the readers wondering in the best way. I think the basic thought this book leaves you with is best put in the author’s own words. “Does the rabbit have the authority to declare the coyote illegal?”
veereading's review
4.0
I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Usually when I read a novel that is translated, I try not to comment too much on the prose or the awkwardness of the language; I can't really judge these two aspects accurately as I am not reading this novel in the language that the author intended, and I am not here to judge a translator at how well they do their job. With that being said, I found the story to be very interesting. This novel is heavily steeped in science and if you are not familiar with virology or even certain basic concepts of evolution and their consequences, then this novel may not be as enjoyable for you. I enjoyed that the author was able to make me think of evolution and vaccination in a different way; I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions that the author makes but it definitely gave me food for thought! I also found that the story had a good amount of detail and good character development, as well. The terrorist angle was a little bit weird for me because it is mentioned in the beginning of the novel an then stays silent for a major part of the story, only rearing its head at the end. While the author did tie up all loose ends, I'm not so sure if the terrorist angle was really necessary. It was also the part that I believed had the least amount of shaping and growth, when it could have been a lot deeper and more developed. Overall, a very interesting novel that will make you rethink what you know about evolution and viruses.
Usually when I read a novel that is translated, I try not to comment too much on the prose or the awkwardness of the language; I can't really judge these two aspects accurately as I am not reading this novel in the language that the author intended, and I am not here to judge a translator at how well they do their job. With that being said, I found the story to be very interesting. This novel is heavily steeped in science and if you are not familiar with virology or even certain basic concepts of evolution and their consequences, then this novel may not be as enjoyable for you. I enjoyed that the author was able to make me think of evolution and vaccination in a different way; I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions that the author makes but it definitely gave me food for thought! I also found that the story had a good amount of detail and good character development, as well. The terrorist angle was a little bit weird for me because it is mentioned in the beginning of the novel an then stays silent for a major part of the story, only rearing its head at the end. While the author did tie up all loose ends, I'm not so sure if the terrorist angle was really necessary. It was also the part that I believed had the least amount of shaping and growth, when it could have been a lot deeper and more developed. Overall, a very interesting novel that will make you rethink what you know about evolution and viruses.
almo621's review
2.0
I got this free through Goodreads giveaways!
Eh, it was okay. The things I didn't quite understand I'm chalking up to being lost in translation. The ending was disappointing. Wow, the more I think about it the less I like it. 2.5 stars
Eh, it was okay. The things I didn't quite understand I'm chalking up to being lost in translation. The ending was disappointing. Wow, the more I think about it the less I like it. 2.5 stars
More...