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Monday, August 28, 2017

Good & Scary!

I like a good scary story---those imaginary nightmare scenarios that a good author brings to life in the pages of a suspense or horror novel. But what makes The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston truly scary is that everything in it really happened. (And it could happen again.) It's a very compelling....and frightening read. I couldn't put it down.


Here are some of the scary facts from The Hot Zone that just might keep you up at night:

  • The Marburg virus and the three identified strains of Ebola are Level 4 agents.  "A Level 4 hot agent is a lethal virus for which there is no vaccine and no cure."  
  • "No one knew where any of (these) filoviruses came from; no one knew where they lived in nature...And they didn't know exactly how the virus spread, or how it jumped from host to host."
  • "The worst of them was Ebola Zaire. The kill rate in humans infected with Ebola Zaire is nine out of ten. Ebola Zaire is a slate wiper in humans."
  • "From the moment Ebola enters your bloodstream, the war is already lost...you can't fight off Ebola the way you fight off a cold."  (Although some people do recover from it.)
  • "We don't really know what Ebola has done in the past, and we don't know what it might do in the future."
  • "....viruses never go away; they only hide..."
Happy Reading!

Other "scary" reads to check out:
Spillover:  Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen
Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC by Joseph B. McCormick




24 comments:

  1. That quote "....viruses never go away; they only hide..." is truly terrifying!

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    1. I know! It made me paranoid all week about what I may be touching or coming in contact with. :D

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  2. I think this would give me serious nightmares. I love a good virus/apocalyptic story -- as long as it's fictional!

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  3. Reality can be more frightening than fiction!

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    1. Yes! I can see where all those horror/zombie movies get their material, though. From books like this one!

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  4. This kind of thing really interests me as I'm fascinated by things like Ebola...fiction, NF, docs, films...I just don't get time to read NF these days!

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    1. I find Ebola fascinating, too. I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's so scary. (And I know what you mean about finding room in your reading life for non-fiction books; I've worked really hard this year to fit them in.)

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  5. I can't believe I still haven't read this yet. I think I'm more scared to read it now than I was when I got it.

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    1. It does freak you out just a little bit. :D

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  6. These books terrify me but I love them. We are all doomed!!

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  7. It'll be a scary book for me to read yet an informative and an important one.

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    1. That's the perfect way to sum this book up. :)

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  8. This would scare me to pieces--but I would also be fascinated and not be able to stop reading. I like how you reviewed it--very effective!

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    1. Thank you! It was one of those books I couldn't stop reading either. :)

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  9. Yes! Every once in a while I like to read books like this (I read Hot Zone years ago and it still stays with me) They are scary but SO INTERESTING. What a weird world we live in.

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  10. The books I find most frightening are often non-fiction. This sounds like a fascinating read, even if scary. Thanks for sharing, Lark!

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    1. Funny how fascinating and frightening so often go hand in hand. :)

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  11. I have this book on my TBR list. Don't know why these diseases are so fascinating. I read The Lassa Ward by Dr. Ross Donaldson. Lassa is similar to Marburg & Ebola. It is about his experiences as a young medical student in the Lassa ward in Sierra Leone. Great book. I will have to move The Hot Zone up my list!

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    1. I'll have to look for Lassa Ward at the library! :)

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