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kiwutroowmis 's review for:
Second Cure, The
by Margaret Morgan
A new zoonotic disease that has mutated from toxoplasmosis is bringing cats to the edge of extinction. But soon, humans are infected and begin to develop strange neurological symptoms including the loss of their faith, increased wrecklessness, promiscuity, flashes of creativity and synaesthesia. The rise of the disease meets an opposing rise of far-right extremism.
The Second Cure follows the stories of multiple women of a family (of the non nuclear variety): Charlie Zinn, a scientist working on the cure for the plague, Brigid Bayliss, a political journalist, and Brigid's mother, Winnie, as they navigate the changed world.
The Second Cure is a very readable book with an interesting and ambitious premise. The book tries to say a lot and presents a really intriguing biological thriller with really cool science fiction concepts. However, the book tries to cram a little too much in, creating uncompelling characters that lack meaningful arcs and a seriously messy chain of events, some where it was clear the attempt was to be dark but honestly just came across as a little silly.
The book is written in two parts, the first part deals with the rise of the infection and the far-right, Christian Queensland government. I found this first half to have the most unbelievable moments and I only found Brigid's character to be even mildly compelling. Fortunately, the second half is largely her story and the action really picks up then with a 15 year time jump, bringing the book from a slow, biological thriller to an edgy mix between 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. While the action increases and makes it harder to put down, the book does start to get a little messy at this point. Characters suddenly have unexplained changes of heart, a lot of plot elements are introduced that are barely used, characters make genuinely villainous decisions while the book treats them as heroes, and quite a few characters endings and exits from the plot are waved away with one line of meaningless dialogue.
I was happy to persevere with this one. The premise was great but the execution could have used a little more finesse.
The Second Cure follows the stories of multiple women of a family (of the non nuclear variety): Charlie Zinn, a scientist working on the cure for the plague, Brigid Bayliss, a political journalist, and Brigid's mother, Winnie, as they navigate the changed world.
The Second Cure is a very readable book with an interesting and ambitious premise. The book tries to say a lot and presents a really intriguing biological thriller with really cool science fiction concepts. However, the book tries to cram a little too much in, creating uncompelling characters that lack meaningful arcs and a seriously messy chain of events, some where it was clear the attempt was to be dark but honestly just came across as a little silly.
The book is written in two parts, the first part deals with the rise of the infection and the far-right, Christian Queensland government. I found this first half to have the most unbelievable moments and I only found Brigid's character to be even mildly compelling. Fortunately, the second half is largely her story and the action really picks up then with a 15 year time jump, bringing the book from a slow, biological thriller to an edgy mix between 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. While the action increases and makes it harder to put down, the book does start to get a little messy at this point. Characters suddenly have unexplained changes of heart, a lot of plot elements are introduced that are barely used, characters make genuinely villainous decisions while the book treats them as heroes, and quite a few characters endings and exits from the plot are waved away with one line of meaningless dialogue.
I was happy to persevere with this one. The premise was great but the execution could have used a little more finesse.