The United States government is given a warning by the pre-eminent biophysicists in the country: current sterilization procedures applied to returning space probes may be inadequate to guarantee uncontaminated re-entry to the atmosphere. Two years later, seventeen satellites are sent into the outer fringes of space to collect organisms and dust for study. One of them falls to earth, landing in a desolate area of Arizona. Twelve miles from the landing site, in the town of Piedmont, a shocking discovery is made: the streets are littered with the dead bodies of the town’s inhabitants, as if they dropped dead in their tracks.

I purchased a copy of this book for my own reading.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Jurassic Park I was keen to sample more of Crichton’s science fiction offerings. This one was somewhat different, leaning into something a lot more plausible but highly fictional none the less.

When a mysterious virus affects the town of Piedmont, Arizona leading to multiple fatalities, government protocols activate to lock down the town and assess the situation. When it turns out it came from a space probe and that there are two survivors, an old man and a baby, the need for speed and silence are ever more important.

The virus, its effects and the core of the story ended up being really quite entertaining. It felt like it could happen, and I loved all of the protocols and processes that are followed in investigating the virus. The first part of the book drags the overall rating down though. It felt far too science-heavy to the point it was tough to follow. While the book picked up the pace, it was marred by the laboured start.

My rating: