Infection: A Pandemic Survival Novel

Sympatico Syndrome, Book 1

By: M.P. McDonald

Narrated by: Scott Berrier

Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

What started as a flu outbreak on a military base proves deadlier than Ebola and more contagious than the Spanish Flu. Sympatico Syndrome is unlike anything the world has ever seen. Victims' behavior is changing to accommodate the rapid spread of the virus.

Former Navy epidemiologist Cole Evans is well aware of the rare, infectious diseases the military studies. He also knows, first-hand, the government's stance on sharing information with the public, so if the media has already learned about the disease, then it's far too late to contain the outbreak.

Cole's only chance to save his family is to establish a safe haven. Isolated, hard to reach, and with enough space for his brother's family as well, he has the perfect location - if only they can all reach it before they're infected.

©2016 M.P. McDonald (P)2016 M.P. McDonald

A tale of survival against all odds

4.5 out of 5 stars

Infection was an enjoyable read. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings numerous times and made me feel things for the characters. Not every book can do that, and to be honest, very few books I've read recently really make me feel something for the main characters. The last one I can think of was The Martian, but that book is easily the best book I've read in a long time.

Infection takes place during and after a pandemic level infection takes over the population of the world. The people are seemingly fine, but just want to party. Unfortunately, this incessant need to party is also the quickest and easiest way to spread the disease. These infected people party until they drop -- literally. They drop dead after a while at an alarming rate -- 98% infection/death ratio.

The narration of Infection was done by Scott Berrier who has a deep and booming voice. Sometimes I thought it was a little too deep and dark, and at other times it was perfect. I ended up really enjoying his narration and will listen to more books narrated by him.

McDonald does a great job with character building. The main characters all had their quirks, but that made the story interesting. I felt like each one of them at any time could succumb to the infection at any moment. Which really made for a wild ride.

This wasn't as much about the virus as I'd hoped it would be, but the incredible story really made it still an enjoyable book. I'm genuinely curious what will happen in the next book if/when McDonald writes one.

Overall, Infection had a little bit of everything. Bio-Thriller readers will enjoy a different virus than I've ever read. Thriller writers will enjoy the traveling and unknowns around every corner. And good fiction lovers will love the interactions and characters in Infection.

I received this book as a gift, this has not affected my review in any way.

If you enjoyed my review, please vote for it. If you'd like to see more like it, you can check out BriansBookBlog DOT com.

Post-Pandemic Survivalist Story

This was the first post-pandemic/post-apocalyptic type story I've listened to. I must say that I was quite impressed and will definitely be looking for more from this author. I will probably be giving stories with similar plots another look as well.

A man takes himself and his family to an island following a pandemic disease outbreak. The pandemic itself was quite interesting and different from most other stories I've heard of... An infected person gets a compulsion to literally party until they die... How's that for a way to go?

I thought that most of the characters were very realistic and believable, but found one of them to be almost ridiculous. This left me torn between thinking that either the author meant the character to be that way, or just missed the mark on that individual character. Either way, it didn't affect my overall opinion of the book.

The narrator was actually very good, but I only gave 4 stars because I thought that he may have been a little too deep of a voice for this particular book (completely my opinion). He was actually very good and I was thinking of other books I might like to hear him narrate.

Those who enjoy post-apocalyptic survival stories will almost certainly like this book. It was very well written and I hope there is a continuation of the story.

I requested and received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

Well worth the time

Read a lot of books in the genre, and this is a good one. I look forward to the next book. Not so impressed with the narrator though of the audiobook.

avoid like the plague

Any additional comments?

the story started out promising...a call from a colleague about a virus escaping from an isolated military lab, a son away at college, a younger brother with a family...i waited and waited for some action, but it was mostly developing the characters and the plot. the world is unraveling, but there's no drama, no tension to it.

the main character is a retired naval epidemiologist and describes what is going to happen. there's a sense of urgency to get things done, but you never feel it in the seat of your pants.the main character, cole, hints that the infected may become zombies, like the experimental rats did, but those infected just become social and want to party before suddenly dying in mass. so you're then thinking alright, here comes the real fear and action, but no, they just stay dead, and before you know it, 30 days have passed since people started dying, which leads me to the pacing. at first, the story focuses and spends a lot of time on the first few days and hours. then time is sped up, and we catch up with characters a few days later.

everything is a little too easy for the characters. you don't really feel any sense of danger, tension, or impending doom either from the writer or narrator. my only recollection from the narrator was his deep voice and his slow, even reading, even during action scenes.speaking of action, there is no action, no running and fighting for their lives. they just kind of plod along, getting things done w/o any problems

i don't mind character driven stories, but these characters are cardboard cut outs, predictable, and not very interesting.the story is slow, predictable, and not very interesting. so why did i listen to the whole thing? am i a glutton for punishment? no, i almost always listen to an entire book. i like to give an author a chance. plus, i kept hoping the zombies would show up, but maybe in book 2 since it's supposed to be a series, but that wouldn't make sense.

so if you're looking for zombies, then skip...a pandemic threatening and ending the world or a character driven story, there are more much better. i can't believe there are 90+ reviews and a 4+ star rating! let me save you some time...don't get suckered like me!

Infection

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

'Infection' is intense, with a story line that reflects life that we fear will come to pass. I'm torn between listening it all at once, or stopping during the intense scenes just to catch my breath. I always feel a sense of loss after finishing books of this genre.
I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange of my review.

if the world is going to end this is how.

I was provided a free copy of this book by the narrator for review.

I really enjoyed this book. Now I will have to purchase the sequel to it.

I can only imagine that if the world is ever going to end, it would be this way.
The story is great and so well written.
The narration was excellent as well.

I would certainly read/listen to more from this author and narrator as well as recommend to others.

Book 2, I'm on my way

Would you listen to another book narrated by Scott Berrier?

His voice is very prominent and does well with serious books, probably political thrillers as well. I did not like how fast the narration went to new chapters and switching scenes without more pause.

Do you think Infection: A Pandemic Survival Novel needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

YES! I wanted to hear how and if they got the animals, how things settled and how they handled the next 6 months. Basically this follow-up would give an idea how doomsday preppers would set up camp and move forward after something devastating like this.

Any additional comments?

I did not like how abrupt the ending came. When the narrator said, "The End", I thought, "Seriously?".

Not a great listen

I found this book believable, but did not like the narration. It was difficult to get involved.

Poor narration.

I liked the storyline, the characters and the progression. But the narrator did a poor job and I found it distracting. He has a nice deep voice but not much modulation. Additionally the was the "accent". I don't know quite how to describe it, maybe Valley Boy? Words with o's were drawn out oooo's. Silly and affected-sounding. Continue the series but get a new narrator.

OK book about survival

the best part was how a young guy used his wits to survive the apoplectic virus his father already had survival skills

Nice change

This book and the series is a nice change from other end of world books this is a story about people and what they would do, there isn’t some crazy group which they have to kill to maintain survival

Same old, same old

Well written? Maybe but very formulaic, no ‘peril’ involved when you give the characters an easy ‘out’ (I won’t spoil it but you will see what I mean)
Narration is dire, a monosyllabic drone that really brings the story down.
Shame, I wanted to hear the series.

Yeah..it was ok

(sigh)…I mean……ok I really wanted this book to be excellent. I read the reviews, and saw the adverts on social media. And this is my favourite genre of books, so I was excited to start it.
But it just couldn’t quite do it. Firstly the narrator was so wooden! He tried to make it exciting, but he sounded like he was standing in front of his English class reading from the book. It was also really hard to follow along at times. There are jumps in the narrative, and he didn’t quite make them obvious, so it was a bit confusing. Like the character would be driving a boat on a lake in a storm, and next they’re on a horse…
Secondly, the language and script for the characters was a little unrealistic and wooden. At times I nearly gave up it was that bad.
Good points, I liked the research Mr McDonald has put into the story. It was fun listening to the characters problem solve. And I was glad it had a happy ending.
Do I use a credit on the next book..?