Product Description

The nanotechnology was designed to fight cancer. Instead, it evolved into the machine plague, killing nearly five billion people and changing life on Earth forever.

The nanotech has one weakness: it self-destructs at altitudes above ten thousand feet. Those few who've managed to escape the plague struggle to stay alive on the highest mountains, but time is running out. There is famine and war, and the environment is crashing worldwide. Humanity's last hope lies with a top nanotech researcher aboard the International Space Station--and with a small group of survivors in California who risk a daring journey below the death line...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14449 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"An epic of apocalyptic fiction: harrowing, heartfelt, and rock-hard realistic. Not to be missed." ----James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Oracle

Review
"Unlike anything I've read before."

Review
"Part Michael Crichton, part George Romero... full of high-altitude chills."

Customer Reviews

Clever variation of the usual 'plague outbreak' story
I bought this book in an airport because I wanted something to read and it was the best thing on offer. However, I was pleasantly surprised and ended up finishing it in a couple of days.

The story centres around an outbreak of a nanotechnology 'plague' that was intended for medical use but is released from its lab into the general population. The nanobots are capable of reproducing inside all hot-blooded animals, consuming the host from within, inside of a few hours. As with most of these stories, a few people escape the plague, but in this case it is not due to usual excuse of natural immunity. The nanobots are unable to function below 70% of atmospheric pressure so the only survivors are those that managed to escape to altitudes about around 10,000 feet above sea level.

The story follows two main groups of survivors. The first group are living on a mountain in Colorado and have resorted to cannabalism in order to avoid running out of food. They are aware of a similar group living on a nearby peak and become aware that somebody is trying to contact them from that settlement. The second group of people are the astronauts aboard the International Space Station, including a nanotechnology expert who is trying to find a way to destroy the nanobots loose on the surface.

I won't go into any more detail as it will ruin the story, but I would recommend this book to anyone interested in sci-fiction, disaster or adventure stories. It reminded me of a cross between 'The Stand' by Stephen King and the story of the Andes plane crash, 'Alive'.

Harrowing SF
Post-apocalyptic tales usually fall into one of two camps: the plucky lone survivor living hand-to-mouth, or the happy-go-lucky hippy commune who discover modern society was overrated. In Plague Year, Jeff Carlson, avoids both these tired tropes and paints, to my mind, a realistic portrayal of people coping as best they can in terrible circumstances.

Perhaps coping is too generous a word for the day-to-day existence that a band of strangers eke out on a cold, barren mountaintop east of San Francisco. Survive might be a better word. For although there is empathy and a community of sorts, there is also the brutal calculus of existence: if he eats, I don't. Despite these bursts of selfishness, what comes across is how very human these characters are. They make hard choices, and they suffer for it.

The second thread of the novel follows an astronaut who is aboard an international space station and has witnessed the devastation that the machine plague has wrecked on the world below. Unlike the grim physical quest for survival on Earth's high ground, her battle is a psychological one. As a nano-tech expert she is frantic to aid the fight against the machine plague, but how she might do this is unclear. Her confined unease is well depicted and provides a good contrast to the heart-in-mouth adventures of those below.

A "page-turner" in the best sense of the word, Plague Year presents a well-thought out, politically viable apocalyptic scenario, and marries it with compelling characters who you care about. Highly recommended.

A good read
I liked this book, and I'm pretty picky. Carlson has hit on a great premise in the nanotech plague. His handling of the technological aspects of the plague are inspired. The misery of the survivors rings true. This book is a fast paced read: you won't be sorry if you pick it up.