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jane_kelsey's review against another edition
3.0
The apocalypse strain is a fast, fun read, full of twists and turns which some I did not expect to happen at all. As the book goes along, you get to see the POVs of multiple characters and that was super fun.❤
It was a fair amount of blood and guts, but nothing horror like and I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The execution was not as smooth always, but I really enjoyed it and gave it 3.5 stars.
It was a fair amount of blood and guts, but nothing horror like and I really enjoyed the concept of this book. The execution was not as smooth always, but I really enjoyed it and gave it 3.5 stars.
oakes's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
nickymaund's review against another edition
2.0
With elements of sci-fi and horror, the premise really did appeal to me. Thrown in for good measure there’s a shady organisation with religious undertones. On paper it would have been a gripping read - right up my street. However I didn’t really connect with any of the characters. There were multiple points of view, but I only wanted to learn more about Clara and the mysterious Dante. There’s lots of gore and suspense in here - it just wasn’t for me sadly.
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
4.0
The Shakhova-Mendelsen Siberian Research Center, Siberia. A group of scientists of various flavours have been brought together and a security detail is keeping watch. Outside, protesters march. A virus has been found, an ancient virus, a giant virus, an intelligent virus. When microbiologist Clara is in the middle of running tests, one of the astrobiologists completely loses the plot and drinks the Mollivirus sibericum, a.k.a. Molli, attacking Clara in the process.
Clara has an advanced form of MS, and it is relevant to the story, MS is definitely the condition to pick to pull off the kind of plotline the author has gone for. While never overly descriptive or scientific, I did feel the condition is aptly represented, except perhaps that Clara has a brilliant brain in a manky body and the lack of brain fog and/or fatigue (which most patients suffer from) is not mentioned at all, so that’s a teeny tiny gripe on my part, but definitely not something most readers would even notice. What happens to Clara is obviously speculative but medically plausible under the given circumstances, so no complaint there.
After a few introductory chapters, the shit hits the fan and the action doesn’t let up until the evil (and outright fantastic) epilogue. This is sci-fi horror on speed! If you love fast-paced action stories, this is the one for you. This was so high-octane and speculative it was pure escapism. Who has time to worry about real-life issues when reading about characters who are fighting and running for their lives, warding off maggoty creatures, burning stuff down, blowing stuff up!
The Apocalypse Strain was a quick and fun read, despite (or maybe thanks to) the gory bits that had me cringe and make faces at my book. If you’re in the market for a high-octane story about what could go wrong in a research facility, and basically opening Pandora’s box, this is one to check out!
Clara has an advanced form of MS, and it is relevant to the story, MS is definitely the condition to pick to pull off the kind of plotline the author has gone for. While never overly descriptive or scientific, I did feel the condition is aptly represented, except perhaps that Clara has a brilliant brain in a manky body and the lack of brain fog and/or fatigue (which most patients suffer from) is not mentioned at all, so that’s a teeny tiny gripe on my part, but definitely not something most readers would even notice. What happens to Clara is obviously speculative but medically plausible under the given circumstances, so no complaint there.
After a few introductory chapters, the shit hits the fan and the action doesn’t let up until the evil (and outright fantastic) epilogue. This is sci-fi horror on speed! If you love fast-paced action stories, this is the one for you. This was so high-octane and speculative it was pure escapism. Who has time to worry about real-life issues when reading about characters who are fighting and running for their lives, warding off maggoty creatures, burning stuff down, blowing stuff up!
The Apocalypse Strain was a quick and fun read, despite (or maybe thanks to) the gory bits that had me cringe and make faces at my book. If you’re in the market for a high-octane story about what could go wrong in a research facility, and basically opening Pandora’s box, this is one to check out!
wilsk's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
the_coycaterpillar_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Funnily enough I really enjoy reading about viruses and the potential of how these can wreak havoc upon our world. Our world is hospitable to a deadly virus, you only must examine the spread of Covid-19 to see that we have the conditions that allows deadly viruses to destroy our way of living, our health and oftentimes take away our lives. The Apocalypse Strain enforces that knowledge when scientists in a Siberian Research Facility discovers a potent Pandora virus, something that we have never experienced before. Sergei is the lucky scientist to have discovered it but since then memories of his daughter’s death have been haunting him…alongside the voice of her urging him on…urging him to set it free.
The virus is affectionately known as Molli, which kind of seems cute. This virus is anything but cute, its destructive, out of this planet weird and it doesn’t care who you are – it will tear you atom from atom. The Protagonist, Clara St. Pierre, a Doctor in Medical Genomics and bioinformatics (trying saying that with a drink in you) arrives to lend her expertise to the research. She is wheelchair bound after being diagnosed with MS. Clara is fascinated with the subject and can’t wait to discover its secrets.
Mollivirus Sibericum was extracted from seeds in an ancient squirrel’s nest which was buried deep in the Siberian permafrost. It’s such a fascinating idea, and I have no doubt in my mind that something like that could be lurking, just waiting to be disturbed.
The Apocalypse Strain is mind bending crazy. It’s a virus but its not and the consequences of letting it loose had me panicking. Oh no, not another Covid-19, it isn’t, its far worse and I’m fairly sure my eyes were fully dilated the entire time whilst reading this book. The body horror had me both shocked and scrambling inside my head for reasons that this virus could do this. Let me tell you, there doesn’t need to be a rhyme or a reason…it just fucking can! We have a virus that manifests as a creature and just to throw some shits and giggles into the mix – it seemingly can’t be destroyed either…these characters will be laughing all the way to the funny farm…if they survive!
The Apocalypse Strain is intelligent, and the level of research really blows my mind. Viruses are a specialist subject for me, I could read about them all day and I really appreciated Jason Parent’s attention to detail. The story felt a lot like The Thing vs. Contagion. Not at all a bad thing either. Enough twists and turns to keep me invested but let me just be clear…this kind of thing really scares the crap out of me.
The virus is affectionately known as Molli, which kind of seems cute. This virus is anything but cute, its destructive, out of this planet weird and it doesn’t care who you are – it will tear you atom from atom. The Protagonist, Clara St. Pierre, a Doctor in Medical Genomics and bioinformatics (trying saying that with a drink in you) arrives to lend her expertise to the research. She is wheelchair bound after being diagnosed with MS. Clara is fascinated with the subject and can’t wait to discover its secrets.
Mollivirus Sibericum was extracted from seeds in an ancient squirrel’s nest which was buried deep in the Siberian permafrost. It’s such a fascinating idea, and I have no doubt in my mind that something like that could be lurking, just waiting to be disturbed.
The Apocalypse Strain is mind bending crazy. It’s a virus but its not and the consequences of letting it loose had me panicking. Oh no, not another Covid-19, it isn’t, its far worse and I’m fairly sure my eyes were fully dilated the entire time whilst reading this book. The body horror had me both shocked and scrambling inside my head for reasons that this virus could do this. Let me tell you, there doesn’t need to be a rhyme or a reason…it just fucking can! We have a virus that manifests as a creature and just to throw some shits and giggles into the mix – it seemingly can’t be destroyed either…these characters will be laughing all the way to the funny farm…if they survive!
The Apocalypse Strain is intelligent, and the level of research really blows my mind. Viruses are a specialist subject for me, I could read about them all day and I really appreciated Jason Parent’s attention to detail. The story felt a lot like The Thing vs. Contagion. Not at all a bad thing either. Enough twists and turns to keep me invested but let me just be clear…this kind of thing really scares the crap out of me.
cassie1206's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kristinasshelves's review against another edition
5.0
If you like scifi thrillers a la Blake Crouch or Michael Crichton, this one is for you!
Based on the synopsis for this book, I knew I'd like it but I LOVED it! Dr. Clara St. Pierre is a researcher stationed at a remote facility in Siberia to study an ancient pandoravirus, referred to as Molli instead of it's lengthier scientific classification. Things quickly spiral out of control when Molli proves itself to be unlike anything Clara expects, becoming sentient and wreaking havoc.
This story has so many elements I adore! The entirety of the story takes place in the research center, which is an element I adore in books, and features perspectives from other scientists and individuals in the building. There is a covert governmental organization (much in the vain of B6-13 from Scandal) named Pointy Hats, as well as a highly trained assassin thrown into the mix. Clara has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disorder which plays a significant role in the story. I also have MS and found her attitude towards her limitations to be refreshingly realistic; it's not often I see this disease featured in books so I always appreciate when it's done well.
I received an ARC of the ebook of this title from the publisher via Netgalley; all opinions are my own.
Based on the synopsis for this book, I knew I'd like it but I LOVED it! Dr. Clara St. Pierre is a researcher stationed at a remote facility in Siberia to study an ancient pandoravirus, referred to as Molli instead of it's lengthier scientific classification. Things quickly spiral out of control when Molli proves itself to be unlike anything Clara expects, becoming sentient and wreaking havoc.
This story has so many elements I adore! The entirety of the story takes place in the research center, which is an element I adore in books, and features perspectives from other scientists and individuals in the building. There is a covert governmental organization (much in the vain of B6-13 from Scandal) named Pointy Hats, as well as a highly trained assassin thrown into the mix. Clara has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disorder which plays a significant role in the story. I also have MS and found her attitude towards her limitations to be refreshingly realistic; it's not often I see this disease featured in books so I always appreciate when it's done well.
I received an ARC of the ebook of this title from the publisher via Netgalley; all opinions are my own.
johnlynchbooks's review against another edition
4.0
The Apocalypse Strain is the latest title from Jason Parent, coming by way of flame tree press. A story about a virus that could be the end of the world, launching in the midst of a viral pandemic. That’s one heck of a coincidence. With no knowledge of the author’s prior work, I jumped right in.
Right off the bat, I would like to say that this book was more up my alley than I originally thought. I was expecting some kind of a sci-fi thriller, but this one definitely leaned into a horror aspect that I wanted, but didn’t think would be present. Deep in Siberia, a team of scientists unearth a historic discovery. There is more to this virus than meets the microscope, and there are others with purposes of their own.
The writing here was fast paced and easy to follow. Parent does action and horror scenes quite well in this book and it made it a joy to read. Those parts I felt were the strongest parts of the book. There were some parts that felt a bit cliche, or predictable, but nothing too crazy that it pulled me out of the immersion. There’s always a new action/horror scene right around the corner that is spectacularly done that brings you right back in. I didn’t really connect with the characters here, they all served their purpose, and they did the job well, there was just nobody i really cared for. Sometimes that happens, and that’s ok. The virus does some horrific things to the human body, and Jason put plenty of that in here.
As a first exposure to the author, I had a good time with this book. I would recommend it to fans of scifi/techno/horror. I’ll be on the lookout for more.
Right off the bat, I would like to say that this book was more up my alley than I originally thought. I was expecting some kind of a sci-fi thriller, but this one definitely leaned into a horror aspect that I wanted, but didn’t think would be present. Deep in Siberia, a team of scientists unearth a historic discovery. There is more to this virus than meets the microscope, and there are others with purposes of their own.
The writing here was fast paced and easy to follow. Parent does action and horror scenes quite well in this book and it made it a joy to read. Those parts I felt were the strongest parts of the book. There were some parts that felt a bit cliche, or predictable, but nothing too crazy that it pulled me out of the immersion. There’s always a new action/horror scene right around the corner that is spectacularly done that brings you right back in. I didn’t really connect with the characters here, they all served their purpose, and they did the job well, there was just nobody i really cared for. Sometimes that happens, and that’s ok. The virus does some horrific things to the human body, and Jason put plenty of that in here.
As a first exposure to the author, I had a good time with this book. I would recommend it to fans of scifi/techno/horror. I’ll be on the lookout for more.