The Patron Saint of Plagues

March 15, 2006
In the near future, the city formerly known as Mexico City is the most populated in the world. Out of nowhere, a plague attacks without warning and quickly spreads across the city; unless it is stopped, it will spread across the world. An American virus expert, Henry David Stark, soon discovers that the disease is man-made. This is the first novel by Anderson, whose short fiction has garnered him some attention in the science-fiction community. The topic is timely (viruses and pandemics are hot), and the just-around-the-corner world is very well realized, full of smart extrapolations from today's technologies and social conventions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)