Jinkang Wang

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Usually when I read a novel that is translated, I try not to comment too much on the prose or the awkwardness of the language; I can't really judge these two aspects accurately as I am not reading this novel in the language that the author intended, and I am not here to judge a translator at how well they do their job. With that being said, I found the story to be very interesting. This novel is heavily steeped in science and if you are not familiar with virology or even certain basic concepts of evolution and their consequences, then this novel may not be as enjoyable for you. I enjoyed that the author was able to make me think of evolution and vaccination in a different way; I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions that the author makes but it definitely gave me food for thought! I also found that the story had a good amount of detail and good character development, as well. The terrorist angle was a little bit weird for me because it is mentioned in the beginning of the novel an then stays silent for a major part of the story, only rearing its head at the end. While the author did tie up all loose ends, I'm not so sure if the terrorist angle was really necessary. It was also the part that I believed had the least amount of shaping and growth, when it could have been a lot deeper and more developed. Overall, a very interesting novel that will make you rethink what you know about evolution and viruses.… (more)