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    ViraVax
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    ViraVax
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    ViraVax
    Ebook410 pages6 hours

    ViraVax

    By Bill Ransom

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From the New York Times bestselling coauthor, with Frank Herbert, of The Jesus Incident

    A near-future thriller of deadly genetic warfare. The private laboratory known as ViraVax, deep in the Central American jungles, is known for conducting questionable genetic research outside of safety regulations and oversight. Ex-intelligence officer Rico Toledo has uncovered a horrifying truth. Viravax, run by a mysterious utopian group called the Children of Eden, wants to remake the world, and humanity itself, according to their own image. As he digs deeper, Toledo’s worst suspicions have been confirmed: his partner has been genetically programmed for assassination.

    And Toledo may have been altered, too.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWordFire Press
    Release dateJul 4, 2011
    ISBN9781614750147
    Unavailable
    ViraVax

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    Reviews for ViraVax

    3/5

    7 ratings1 review

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    • 3/5
      My reaction to reading this in 1994. Spoilers follow.This was an exciting espionage/sf thriller of which I raced through its second half, and that haste may explain why I found what I took to be certain holes in its convoluted plot. Why doesn’t Joshua Casey, like Marte Change immediately does, realize that Dajaj Mishwe has a secret access to the top level of the ViraVax compund – otherwise his frequent topside trips would necessitate a great deal of decontamination time? If the Defense Intelligence Agency is so suspicious of ViraVax why not confront them openly rather than send Chang in – or they could cut off their support? (Of course, you can argue that they simply want intelligence before they make such decisions.) It’s also never clear if Yolanda Rubia aka agent Mariposa is a DIA employee or is just a guerilla known to the DIA (seemingly contradicted by the novel’s end when Solaris inquires as to her identity). The plot of this book just ended a bit too neatly and happily. Mishwe’s plan to literally melt down humanity is foiled; Sonja Bartlett and Harry Toledo – with Major Scholtz; Colonel Toledo’s genetic inspired bouts of anger, lust, and drunkenness are going to be cured, and it’s hinted that the DIA – who seems to have collaborated with ViraVax on some of their shadier deals – are suddenly nice guys willing to watch over Harry and Sonja out of gratitude. Still, there was a lot to like in this book. First, there is the sinister, scary notion of a pharmaceutical company programming the human immune system with seemingly benign vaccines. Second, I liked the depiction of the Children of Eden as a plausible mix of radical, Sabbath keeping, holistic minded (in the medical sense – they distrust doctors), environmentalists, who are masters of genetic engineering and bent on world domination. I liked Mishwe’s twisted loyalty to the cult. He tries to kill the other members off because he sees them as traitors. I liked the twisted morality of the Children (or at least the Caseys) as they are willing to covertly sterilize Catholics, encourage mongoloid births (they regard Down’s Syndrome sufferers as nonhuman subjects for experimentation, sources for organs, and a work force), contemplate the murder of millions all very coolly. It is only through Chang’s eyes we are reminded of the horrors they plan. I liked Colonel Toledo hoping to die a heroic death and regain his family’s respect with the mission that takes up most of the novel’s second half. Instead, he ignominiously fails, Sonja and Bartlett rescue themselves, and he survives and still has to deal with his family. Stylistically, Ransom diverges from the usual thriller writing method. Rather than take the traditional approach of introducing characters and expounding on their background and how they got to be at this point in the story, Ransom takes a less linear approach and drops in background expositions on his characters, the country of Costa Brava, the Children of Eden, and ViraVax. I also liked the notion of a church being connected to a high tech bioengineering firm. It runs counter to the cliché of religious and/or fundamentalist types being scientifically illiterate.