Saturday, January 3, 1998

Disturbing biotech thriller

THE THIRD PANDEMIC Pierre Ouellettes

Hodder and Stoughton R129.95

HAVE YOU ever wondered how the world would respond to a lethal, global and unstoppable epidemic if it were to strike?

What would you do if you found yourself in an infected area where a mere breath of air could bring about your two final weeks followed by agonising death?

These are questions facing the world's population in Pierre Oullettes' convincing biotech thriller, The Third Pandemic.

The plot is a fairly complex one and falls essentially into two main threads.

A biological research group produces a complex computer model to predict the probability of a deadly bacteria emerging and spreading throughout the globe. The computer gives an alarmingly high probability and also estimates its destructive scope -- over half the population of the world in under a year.

A morally corrupt group within the company plan to guard the valuable data on this hypothetical bug, "Agent 57a", work on a cure, and pull in huge profits when the plague strikes, sacrificing millions of lives to keep demand high. Their plan is thwarted when Elaine Wilkes, creator of the simulation programme, manages to flee with the valuable disks, her aim to inform the world's health organisations of the horrific prospect in the hope that they can ultimately prevent the Third Pandemic.

Meanwhile time is running out as nature's counterpart to Agent 57a, the killer bacteria Chlymydia, has begun to develop in the physical world through many an unknowing host -- a rat in a rubbish dump in Peru, a drug-crazed traveller seeking the wisdom of the Shamen, a prostitute in search of her lover and a rare parrot on the small island of Sao TomÈ off the west coast of Africa.

At each stage it is making genetic mutations to create the bacteria scientists dread; incurable and highly contagious, soon to be termed more colloquially, the plague, the description of which must be read to be believed.

As the living dead move about the planet reports of cases crop up in the rest of Africa, Asia, Europe and, finally, Seattle where the American action is focused.

As the plague smashes through the developed world, full of people who have always assumed wealth or power will protect them, hope of any escape fades rapidly.

Add to this morbid situation a schizophrenic serial poisoner who is now in his homicidal element and a megalomaniac who blackmails his way out of jail to try and control this chaotic and panic-stricken world, and the outlook bleakens beyond the obvious tragedy into a more macabre scene altogether.

It is in the final of three parts of the novel that the plague takes over with ruthless finality, leaving technology powerless. The description of a world in which the functions of society enter terminal collapse is well executed, providing enough detail to create a horrific picture and still leaving the imagination to play fearful games.

Wilkes, still holding the only faint hope of a cure, finds herself fearing for her own life to a point where she has very difficult decisions to make.

The novel rarely runs the risk of dullness, as it regularly switches character perspective and geographical location, heightening interest without disorienting the reader. Each section, however small, adds an interesting piece to this jigsaw of a plot, which is all the more interesting for its network of threads.

Oullettes' description is as disturbing as it is effective, though it sometimes misfires or comes off as a little overdone. At times he shows a sharp eye for detail of character and action, which helps maintain the all important realism.

I am sure he would make no apologies for the technical vocabulary used and the biological descriptions and explanations given -- they are integral to the plot and the futuristic context (doctors practice "virtual surgery" and businesses have "teleconferences" rather than meetings).

If you are put off by technical jargon you may find a few hurdles here and there, though this should not destroy the novel's impact.

In fact, Ouellettes overcomes the possible distraction of the technicalities with some original metaphors and analogies. Bacterial agents, "dedicated to waging war against the vast armies of immunity", are personified throughout, and the technological wizardry is often fun or fascinating, however far-fetched it may seem.

In view of various infectious agents which have emerged in recent years, from the E-coli virus to BSE (Mad Cow Disease), from Ebola to Aids, and films and novels such as Jurassic Park which base their plot on the wonders of technology and the power of nature to overcome it, this book should gain some interest.

Oullettes maintains his consultation and research into the scientific area of infectious diseases was extensive -- let's hope 1998 doesn't bring us any closer to the content of this book.

For readers who like technology, a well-structured plot, criminal pursuits, chilling descriptions and the opportunity to get their imaginations stuck into such an unimaginable disaster, this thriller will not disappoint.

Mark Thorpe

George and the dragon revisited

PAINT YOUR DRAGON by Tom Holt.

Macdonald Purnell R49,95

PUT TOGETHER a cast of characters including a good natured dragon, a foul mouthed, whiskey swilling saint and a bus load of holiday bound devils on the loose and hand them over to an author with his tongue firmly in his cheek, and you will have a damn good laugh.

Tom Holt takes a good guy and a bad guy, shakes them around in the theory that good cannot exist without evil and creates a wonderfully entertaining tale woven around the bout of the century -- the dragon and Saint George rematch.

You see, the first time round George cheated. Although he is a fully accredited saint, with a day of his own and all that, George is, quite frankly, a nasty piece of work.

The dragon, although somewhat indifferent, is the one with ethics.

St George and the dragon are brought back to this world by a sculptress who, quite unwisely in retrospect, decides to create a monument depicting the triumph of good over evil with the final St George/dragon showdown in glorious granite three dimension.

But she has not taken into account that quirk, the crack in the fabric of time, which allows wandering souls to slip into "empty" statues and come to life ...

Thus we have St George and our endearing hero, the dragon, stepping off their pedestal and blundering through 20th century England on a quest to settle unfinished business.

Of course there has to be some love interest and the efforts of demon Snodfrod to ensnare the rather wimpish demon called Chardonay are quite shameless.

Snodfrod is a one-time Helliday Inn cocktail waitress and two time Playgoul of the Month in Hell and Efficiency magazine and one hell of a tough cookie.

But, while the story clips along at a good pace grabbing the reader's interest and Tom Holt's ability to play with language causes outbursts of laughter, it is his sharp thrust of satire which lifts Paint Your Dragon out of the ordinary.

You close the book feeling a little sad to be left behind with the morally flawed human race because, as Holt sums it up: "... problems only arise when people on the ground point and say 'This is small; this is big; this is good; this is bad'.

"Which points out the moral of the story: stay high, stay aloof and there'll be nobody to f... you around.

"It works flawlessly if you're a dragon, which very few of us are. Unfortunately, there's no equivalent pearl of wisdom for human beings, who therefore have to make out the best they can."

Most of it is pure flippant fun, but Holt has cut through stereotypes and rigid ways of thinking to give the reader something to chew on after the chuckles have subsided.

Liz Grant

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