The premise sounds simple. First, a mysterious sunken submarine is discovered by the US Coast Guard near Alaska. The submarine has no identification, and has been there for decades. The boarding party suspects they will find evidence that could change the course of human history, and they do find something. Second, there is an outbreak of a deadly new pathogen in Africa, specifically in Kenya. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) send experts to investigate and provide aid.
Pandemic incorporates story elements of several films that I've seen over the years and seamlessly weaves them into an extraordinary thriller. First and foremost is Outbreak, starring Dustin Hoffman - this seems pretty obvious. A team is sent to investigate an outbreak, and to try to contain it, followed by the discovery that this is a new pathogen that has a very near 100% mortality rate and spreads very quickly. The second film that comes to mind is the Ben Affleck vehicle Paycheck, which is based on a Philip K. Dick short story by the same name. It might seem strange that this story comes to mind, but keep reading - it will make sense shortly.
The final element that Pandemic draws on is what I will call "the search" - films and other stories where the main characters are on a quest for knowledge to solve a mystery that is tied to the past of the characters on the quest, or to the history of the world. Too many films and stories fall into this category to enumerate them, but one that immediately leaps to mind is Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code (if you have some favorites in this category, please comment on this post; my mind is blanking, but I know many exist).
The central character we encounter first is Peyton Shaw, an epidemiologist with her own mysterious past. She is sent to Kenya as the leader of a team from the CDC which will attempt to contain the outbreak. Upon arriving in Kenya she quickly learns that the disease they are dealing with is strange and does not fit the typical pattern of an outbreak. Things become more complicated as she gradually learns that this outbreak somehow seems to be linked to her past.
Desmond Hughes is the second primary character we encounter. His story is the one that reminds me of Paycheck. He wakes up in a hotel room in Germany with the dead body of a man who was apparently there to do him harm. Most of his memories missing, but he has left himself several clues about what is going on.
The characters are well developed, and most of them have very interesting backgrounds, which contributes greatly to the story as the novel reaches its climax. The flow of the tale remains interesting throughout, as more of the truth is revealed while following the actions of several additional characters. In the final third of the book there are numerous revelations that I didn't see coming, and we learn more and more about what is really going on. Of course, we can guess that things won't be resolved a the end - the outbreak won't be stopped. After all, this is the first book of a planned trilogy (book 2, titled Genome, will be released in October of 2017).
Pandemic is almost 700 pages in length, and is filled with so much story, all of it satisfying, that it boggles my mind that there are two more books coming - I'm assuming with an equivalent length. I can't wait to see what happens next! This is the kind of story that should be turned into a TV show - I think it would work better than The Event, which had some similar themes. I think this would work better than Under the Dome, which was fantastic until the very end.
I have to say that Pandemic is one of the best books I've read this year, and I'm looking forward to many more stories from Mr. Riddle in the future. If you like the films I mention above, or if you have enjoyed his previous novels, I think you will like Pandemic - check it out.
As always, I would love to hear from people. If you have read this book, feel free to comment to get some discussion going.
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