Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
Horror | Apocalyptic | SciFi > Epidemic
Published July 7th 2020 by William Morrow
Hardback | 320 pages
Barnes & Noble | B.A.M. | The Book Depository | Goodreads
A riveting novel of suspense and terror from the Bram Stoker award-winning author of The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts.
In a matter of weeks, Massachusetts has been overrun by an insidious rabies-like virus that is spread by saliva. But unlike rabies, the disease has a terrifyingly short incubation period of an hour or less. Those infected quickly lose their minds and are driven to bite and infect as many others as they can before they inevitably succumb. Hospitals are inundated with the sick and dying, and hysteria has taken hold. To try to limit its spread, the commonwealth is under quarantine and curfew. But society is breaking down and the government’s emergency protocols are faltering.
Dr. Ramola “Rams” Sherman, a soft-spoken pediatrician in her mid-thirties, receives a frantic phone call from Natalie, a friend who is eight months pregnant. Natalie’s husband has been killed—viciously attacked by an infected neighbor—and in a failed attempt to save him, Natalie, too, was bitten. Natalie’s only chance of survival is to get to a hospital as quickly as possible to receive a rabies vaccine. The clock is ticking for her and for her unborn child.
Natalie’s fight for life becomes a desperate odyssey as she and Rams make their way through a hostile landscape filled with dangers beyond their worst nightmares—terrifying, strange, and sometimes deadly challenges that push them to the brink.
Paul Tremblay once again demonstrates his mastery in this chilling and all-too-plausible novel that will leave readers racing through the pages . . . and shake them to their core.
Now, I knew when I started this book that it was about an infectious disease ravaging Boston, but what I did NOT know, is how well Paul Tremblay predicted how our current pandemic is going. It’s kind of frightening really.
This book takes place over the course of one day. Just one day. As Natalie attempts to defend her husband and herself from a man with SUPER RABIES (yes, super rabies), she is bitten and goes to her doctor-friend, Ramola, for help. Unfortunately, super rabies works super fast, so within an hour of a bite, the victim can be too infected for the vaccine to help. Another thing, Natalie is eight months pregnant.
As Nats and Rams (their fun nicknames, provided by Nats), try to get to a surgeon who can deliver this baby via c-section, they run into numerous issues. First they have to escape the first hospital because some infected got loose, then they get hit in an ambulance by an infected man driving a truck, then they run into the goofiest teens ever, who I instantly became endeared to.
I won’t spoil the whole book, but I do want to talk about how well Tremblay wrote the government handling an epidemic (because this isn’t a pandemic, it’s only affecting Massachusetts, therefore, epidemic). There is overcrowding at hospitals, mass hysteria surrounding how to deal with the infected, whether it be human or animal, and an general lack of guidance and support from the government. There is also the argument on how to handle infected humans. Rabies basically blocks the part of the brain that helps make rational decisions, and it completely incapacitates ones inhibitions. This, along with abnormal behavior and hallucinations, can cause an infected to act in fear or rage toward anyone or anything. As of June 2019, there have been less than 20 survivors of regular, normal rabies (thanks, CDC website), so is letting them live more dangerous than just killing them? If killing a person infected with SUPER RABIES murder? I don’t know, and thankfully I don’t need to answer it.
Something else that Survivor Song has that I absolutely THRIVE for in horror, is great friendships. I LOVE LOVE LOVE deep loving platonic friendships in horror. This has not just Nats and Rams, but Josh and Luis, the two goofy teens I mentioned earlier. They’re in their late teens, early twenties (though the girls refer to them as teens during their time together), and they decided they needed to patrol their neighborhood to keep it safe from the infected. They carry tons of supplies, like disinfectant, bandages, and water to help those they encounter along the way. They get their own little conclusion that I won’t spoil, but it’s sad and beautiful and I loved it but also hated it at the same time. Do with that what you will.
This book is violent and gory and heartwarming and wholesome, so if you like all of those things, or if you’ve read anything else by Tremblay (which I always recommend), definitely pick this one up.
∴ 5 stars ∴
Visit me:
Book Club | Blog Server | Horror Discord | Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Letterboxd
My podcast:
Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Patreon | iTunes | Google Play | Spotify | where ever you like to listen to podcasts
Hexen Librarian 