SciFi/Fantasy Novella Review: Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant

Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant:

Kingdom of Needle and Bone is a novella by Mira Grant - the horror genre pen name of SF/F author Seanan McGuire.  I'm not a big fan of horror, but McGuire is one of my favorite authors and I did enjoy her one Grant work I've read (Into the Drowning Deep), so when this popped up as an audiobook on my Hoopla Library, I figured I'd give it a try.

And....I have mixed feelings.  This is a horror story based upon the anti-vaccine movement, in which the loss of herd immunity allows a mutated strain of Measles to spread throughout the world, threatening the immune systems of even those who survive its 33% fatality rate.  So that's a pretty powerful and relevant idea for the core of a novel, but the story's ending kind of undercuts the idea a little bit, in addition to being a little bit predictable.

Note: The audiobook reader is very good and the book is worth reading in that format.


Quick Plot Summary:  It begins with a young girl named Lisa Morris at Disney.  When she catches an altered strain of Measles, quickly named Morris' Disease, the virus quickly spreads throughout the world, helped by the loss of herd immunity caused by the Anti-Vax movement.  After all the deaths of the first outbreak, and the related diseases that return, the world is shook to its core.  Dr. Isabella Gauley, Lisa's Aunt, is a pediatrician desperate to convince the world's survivors of the importance of vaccination.  But when she discovers a deadly after-effect of Morris' Disease, she believes that only by taking extreme action will the human race be able to survive.  But such extreme actions will only reveal the extent of the monster that is humanity....and Dr. Gauley may be no exception.

Thoughts:  This novel sets up a really utterly chilling scenario of a disease outbreak caused by the lack of herd immunity, one that feels very real and devastating.  The story spends its first part showing the impact on the personal level on Lisa Morris of the lack of vaccination and then on the rest of the world.  Grant does a fantastic job narrating the effects of the various diseases, the discovery of their hidden long-term impact, and the effects of the characters' actions on the world, which makes this a rather chilling and disturbing read.  It makes the actions of its protagonist, Dr. Gauley, almost understandable and believable, despite the clear ethical issues they portend.

And then there's the novella's ending.  While it makes sense and follow up from the setup throughout the novel - to the point where you might suspect the reveal* when it comes - it kind of undercuts the them of the dangers of the anti-vax movement, which is the main purpose of the novella.  It's still a strong work, but I just wish it hadn't played that card at the end.

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