Science meets zombies, and chaos ensues.

Apocalypse Weird: Immunity by E.E. Giorgi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Whenever I have a new book by E.E. Giorgi in front of me, I always feel a little reluctant to begin reading. Because I know that once I get started, I'm going to have an awfully hard time prying myself away from it. This book turned out to be no exception. It is part of an innovative collaboration of authors who have created stories set in a shared world of doomsday mayhem. If Immunity is any indication, there must be a lot of excellent novels in this series.

Immunity is a behind-the-scenes look at what could be called a zombie apocalypse. The focus is not so much fighting zombies as it is finding out, from a scientific perspective, why they exist. Normally, the words "zombie apocalypse" would put me off right away, but the clever ideas and relentless action of this book made for an addicting read. The story begins when Dave, a computer scientist, leaves the ravaged remnants of California for a secluded government lab in New Mexico, to join a team working to understand the H7N7 virus - a flu virus that brings on horrifying psychological effects. Dave and biologist Anu Sharma become increasingly desperate to reach a solution as the world around them implodes.

I found that I was engaged by both Dave's and Anu's perspectives, and it was fascinating to see each of them through the other's eyes. Additionally, I really enjoyed Anu's commentary on the intersection of research and government bureaucracy: 'It was devious, but she’d learned a long time ago that without a pinch of mischief you got nothing in return, forever stuck in the “you can’t do this” limbo.' It's a nice touch of realism that helped bring the character to life.

Giorgi's writing is, deservedly, often praised for its thoughtful take on science. What I found equally noteworthy is the thoughtful take on scientists. Too often in fiction, we see scientists that fall into one stereotype or another - the noble intellectual, the socially inept bore, the evil genius. In contrast, the scientists in Giorgi's work are as diverse as anyone. They can be ambitious, prejudiced, kind, haunted, or goofy - and none of it takes away from the fact they share a drive to solve problems and to understand the world a little bit better.


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