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The End of October

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

A DEADLY VIRUS. QUARANTINE. A WORLD IN LOCKDOWN. THE THRILLER THAT PREDICTED IT ALL.

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A race-against-time thriller, as one man must find the origin and cure for a new killer virus that has brought the world to its knees.

At an internment camp in Indonesia, forty-seven people are pronounced dead with a mysterious fever. When Dr Henry Parsons - microbiologist and epidemiologist - travels there on behalf of the World Health Organization to investigate, what he finds will soon have staggering repercussions across the globe: an infected man is on his way to join the millions of worshippers in the annual Hajj to Mecca.

As international tensions rise and governments enforce unprecedented measures, Henry finds himself in a race against time to track the source and find a cure – before it’s too late . . .

©2020 Lawrence Wright (P)2020 Penguin Audio Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Political Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller Thriller & Suspense Exciting Technology Adventure Middle East

Critic reviews

"An eerily prescient novel about a devastating virus that begins in Asia before going global.... A page-turner that has the earmarks of an instant best seller." (New York Post)

"Eerily prescient. Too bad our leaders lack his foresight." (The New York Times)

"A compelling read up to the last sentence. Wright has come up with a story worthy of Michael Crichton. In an eerily calm, matter-of-fact way, and backed by meticulous research, he imagines what the world would actually be like in the grip of a devastating new virus." (Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone)

All stars
Most relevant
Not really a documentary (well kind of, this all might happen or are partly happening) and even less of a novel (no prose, thin characters, no depth, no drama). The narration does not help it either: Uninteresting, frustrating accent mimicking and sudden spikes that don't fit.

Meh... [2.5 stars]

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Excellent narration and frighteningly topical. Political paranoia, research gone wrong, climate change. Read and worry.

Chilling

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Well right in the middle of lockdown from Covid19 comes this gem. About an unbidden plague. The science is interesting. The politics is only too believable. The final sentence says it all. It’s long and it’s dense. It’s funny and suspenseful. I listened solidly and got through it in 2 sessions. I loved it. You will too.

Talk About Prescient

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The story is so relevant to today. I was hooked from the very start. Good main character.

Amazing Book

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In the era of World pandemic an apt and gripping tale with a great twist.

Exceptional

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