The Gemini Virus
By Wil Mara
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
This science-based thriller from Wil Mara will chill you to your core
Bob Easton thinks he has a cold. Before he dies in agony, four days later, he infects dozens of people. Local health agencies become quickly overwhelmed by the sick and dying and beg the CDC for help. Dr. Michael Beck and Cara Porter, a member of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, race to identify the deadly bug. They can't cure it until they know what it is.
Dennis and Andi Jensen and their children are terrified. Schools and offices close. Fresh food disappears from store shelves. Three of their children's friends die. Their neighbors are dying or running away, fleeing the unstoppable infection. Desperate, the Jensens join the exodus, making a nightmarish journey to their isolated mountain cabin along empty roads, through abandoned towns, past looted shopping malls.
The superbug—and the panic—quickly spreads beyond America's borders. On a packed plane, someone coughs—and at their destination, the pilots are told, "you can't land here." US military bases are quarantined. Yet the virus continues to spread. Some believe the plague is man-made. Others see it as a sign of the end times.
In the lab, Cara Porter makes a potentially fatal mistake. In the mountains, Andi Jensen tells her husband that she doesn't feel well.
The world is running out of time.
"Irwin Allen's disaster films meet Stephen King's The Stand. A scary notion."—Booklist
"A chilling and horrific outbreak story. If you're a fan of Outbreak, The Hot Zone, and Contagion (the movie), you'll love Gemini Virus."—No More Grumpy Bookseller
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Wil Mara
Wil Mara is the award-winning novelist of the 2005 disaster thriller 'Wave.' His second book in the disaster group, The Gemini Virus,' was released by Macmillan Publishing in October of 2012 to tremendous reviews by consumers and critics alike. In 2013, he released the first book in a new suspense series, 'Frame 232,' which features pivotal character Jason Hammond. 'Frame 232' begins with the discovery of new evidence concerning the Kennedy assassination. Wil has finished the second Jason Hammond novel, 'The Nevada Testament,' and is now developing the next story in the disaster series, 'Fallout.'
Read more from Wil Mara
Frame 232 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fallout: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Homes Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cut: A NFL Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Draft: A NFL Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Food Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShopping Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFire Breathing, Sword Swallowing, and Other Death-Defying Circus Science Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBreakthroughs in Deep Space Science Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBreakthroughs in Space Travel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battles of Lexington and Concord: Start of the American Revolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCreating the Constitution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBearded Dragons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlying Dragons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide of World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeveloping the Bill of Rights Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHolidays Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWriting the Declaration of Independence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Gemini Virus
Related ebooks
The Day after Oblivion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Redaction: Extinction Level Event (Part I) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Leviathan Effect: A Thriller Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Containment: A Thriller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Influenza Bomb: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Powerless Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Final Epidemic Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Gabon Virus: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Search For Home: A Post Apocalyptic Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Positive: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cataclysm Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A New Dawn: The Districts, #3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plaguesville, USA Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Germ Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Anthrax Protocol: A Dystopian Viral Pandemic Thriller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Year Zero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never Say Die: Stories of the Zombie Apocalypse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Immortalist: A Sci-Fi Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Revelation Day: The Fall, #6 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA New Hope: The Districts, #4 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Line Between: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wolves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Genesis Game: The Fall, #4 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood Plague Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Infection and Containment: Alaskan Undead Apocalypse Books I & II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disease X Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dead Will Rise: The Fall, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsApocalypse Drift Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monster Nation: A Zombie Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cold Storage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Thrillers For You
Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Good Indians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pretty Girls: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Animal Farm Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I'm Thinking of Ending Things: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cryptonomicon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Housemaid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Needful Things Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Flight: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The It Girl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Spoon: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sisters Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Family Upstairs: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Huntress: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eyes of the Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perfect Marriage: A Completely Gripping Psychological Suspense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Paris Apartment: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Terminal List: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mr. Mercedes: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Maidens: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Rock Paper Scissors: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Billy Summers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Gemini Virus
23 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Aside from being a pretty good Texas Hold-Em Tournament player, Wil Mara writes an excellent disaster novel.Wil and I met at Bally's poker room a few years ago and wound up splitting the pot that day with a few other players.I found Wil to be an affable guy and I wound up buying a copy of his first disaster novel, Wave, about a tsunami that hits Long Beach Island. That was a great story and I found his writing style to be very readable and compelling.Since then, I've been asking when the next "disaster" novel would be released. Well, that time is finally here and the book is called The Gemini Virus. It all begins in Ramsey, NJ where normally healthy Bob Easton wakes from a deep sleep with a fever, and within 4 days, Bob is no longer among the living.Mara is a fine story-teller with an eye for detail. Simple stuff, like when decribing Bob's wife, "Bernice, in the baby blue nightgown that Easton thought of as part of the Golden Girls collection."Before his death, Bob manages to infect a number of others and the descriptions of the symptoms grow increasing gruesome. You'll definitely need a strong constitution, especially in the early chapters. There's even a scene where the virus is being passed around Bally's in A.C. (An aside to Wil: Suddenly, I'm in no hurry to go back).What started the virus? Where did it come from? With thousands already dead and many more infected the prospect of the CDC and WHO finding a cure or controlling the outbreak are bleak. "It could take millions and developing a vaccine could take years."More than a few cringe-worthy moments. A well researched, yet clean read that will keep you up at night and guessing right till the end. Available from a wide variety of sources as a Hardcover, Digital Audio or e-book. Well worth a read or listen.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First you sneeze, then you die. It had me at that. I read the first few chapters and was really caught up in the story. I threw the book in my carryon bag to read on my flight to Disneyland. When I left Disneyland I had managed to catch, you got it a cold! First you sneeze, then you die, not good reading material when you feel like that's exactly what's happening to you! First you sneeze then you die keep staring at me from my bedside table daring me to pick it up and finish it. I did finally muster the strength to pick up the book. I did enjoy the story. Sort of part, The Stand which will always be on my top 10 list and also, The Andromedia Strain another 10 List well all of M.C. books really. You will enjoy this book, just don't catch a cold while reading it!!!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I like my horror/thriller books. I like zombies and ghosts and things that go bump in the night, but the one thing that scares me more than anything is a viral outbreak. I’m not talking about a zombie virus (though, I must admit, that would be pretty friggin intense), I’m talking the realistic ones (ie: Swine flu, SARS, Bird flu) the kind that if not caught soon enough can spread like wild fire and infect and kill thousands. Now, luckily (or maybe I should say so far), the aforementioned viruses were kind of blown out of proportion by the media because they gave the “worst case scenario”. That’s not to say the potential isn’t there, but for the most part, a major epidemic was controlled. Still, it was scary, and the looming risk of other viruses, ones that could wipe us out quickly, is one of my worst fears.Where am I going with this? To the premise of this book — that’s where.The Gemini Virus was one of those books I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to get when I picked it up. I knew it would either really freak me out, or it would seem implausible. It wasn’t the latter.The first few pages of this book were pretty gross. Like total cringe-worthy, “I’m glad I’m not eating right now” gross. I have a strange aversion to bodily fluids (which is one of the reasons I did not go to medical school) — blood, snot, poop, vomit, infections — yeah. Not for me. So the descriptions of the illness were a little much. Still, they were real. Everything about the book felt very, very real.The premise is very simple on the surface: People get sick. People realize there’s an epidemic. People try to appear calm. Loved ones show symptoms. You get the idea. It’s the execution that drew me in and kept me glued to the pages. I seriously couldn’t stop reading this one, and when I did, it was to research whether or not this could actually happen. (It can. Everything in the book is based on scientific fact.) The characters are relatable, the plot tightly woven and the medical jargon isn’t so heavy that it weighs down the pace.If you are a fan of medical thrillers, or like movies like “Contagion” and “Outbreak”, I would definitely recommend this one. It definitely made me think (and got my slight neurosis all in a twitter).
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A dud. 'Low Grade Apocalyptic Fiction' is a new genre to me. I don't need the human race to perish for a satisfying read, but this book was underwhelming in the extreme.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5was very excited to go back to a genre that I used to love but this one did not hit all the bases. At the beginning of the story the list of symptoms encouraged me to read on. Then I laughed. I wasn’t convinced of the horror. I was hoping that this book would rise to the challenge of breaking the mode of most medical disaster stories. I stopped reading them because so many of them stick to a formula and are so predictable. It is not interesting to read a progression of incidents. I found myself yawning. Just on the symptoms alone, I think the author needed to do more research of some real diseases. I have had one of the symptoms of his 'Gemini Virus, the extreme itchiness in the skin. The Gemini Virus was supposed have a stronger itch than meant poison ivy or poison sumac. This is where I am positive that I could write something more convincing. I have a rare auto-immune disease that can a person to scratch so much that he/she runs the risk of sepsis and sometimes can even need skin transplants. I think there is an important lesson here, do not make up symptoms, look them up, you will find plenty so scary in real life. The characters did not make me fearful for their possible death. They seemed so one dimensional to me. Even bringing the present day government leaders did not wake this novel up. I did not bite my nails as the cover said it would and I often felt like I wanted to get behind the characters and push the story along. Sorry, I cannot recommend this book.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5nice read. I liked the descriptions of the virus and the CDC's handling. I think I may have even learned a few new words.