Plague books

[The Great Quail]

Three of Seven writes,

> Are there any novelists of the Pynchon caliber who treat the subject of
> apocalyptic strains of virus or bacteria in their fiction?

Of Pynchon caliber? Perhaps:

"Blindness," by José Saramago. A strange disease brings a "white blindness,"
setting the stage for a harrowing tale of social breakdown and personal
redemption as a city, and perhaps the whole world, slowly loses its sight.
Highly recommended.

There are a few of lower caliber than Pynchon, Saramago or Camus. To
continue, in the same half-assed book blurb critic-speak just established
above, and listed in order of descending literary quality:

"Blood Music," by Greg Bear. A strange virus of some kind twists its way
through the world's population, breaking down the barriers of flesh and
heralding a new form of symbiotic sentience. Very disturbing and
tremendously creative -- really, this is what science fiction can be at its
best.

"The White Plague," by Frank Herbert. A pissed-off genetic engineer creates
a deadly virus as revenge after losing his family. It spirals out of
control, slaughtering human males all over the world, giving Frank the
chance to do some social engineering ala Robert Heinlein.

"The Stand," by Stephen King. An apocalyptic virus called "Captain Trips"
kills off most of the world, setting the stage for an epic, supernatural
struggle between good and evil. Absolutely fantastic characterization; and
the book rocks during the first few hundred "oh shit the world is dying"
pages; then turns into a mediocre "epic struggle" story that makes little
sense and has an utterly inept ending.

"The Andromeda Strain," by Michael Crichton. In his best book, (indeed, one
of his only decent books), Crichton pits mankind and science against a
disease with extraterrestrial origins. Notable for its unusual narrative,
told mostly in dispatches, programs, reports, and so on, like a modern
"Dracula." 

--Quail