The Changeling Plague

Syne Mitchell's third book, "The Changeling Plague," is another winner. It starts out as a near-future medical thriller, but quickly takes an unexpected turn, because thankfully Mitchell's more interested in showing the relationship between real viruses and computer viruses than she is in writing yet another tale about How They Isolated the Virus and Saved the Planet.And so, in this tale the vaccine is found rather early on in the novel, after which Mitchell turns her attention to what happens next. Most people demand the virus, of course, while a small percentage do not, because they like the body modifications the disease can cause (one character wants wings). As for the victims themselves, they're simply quarantined.There are three main characters: Mitchell's hacker character, Idaho (he wires himself into the net and feeds himself via IV while on line), quickly sees how he can turn his skills from altering the virtual world to altering the real one, by manipulating DNA. He realizes that by doing so he can modify people and he goes about doing just that. The other two protagonists are Lillith, a health worker (she's a save the world type who still wants to keep her day job) who tries to help solve the mystery of the plague while aiding the victims, and Geoffrey, the rich young man who's inadvertently started the whole while looking for a cure for his own cystic fibrosis.As in "Murphy's Gambit" and "Techogenisis," Mitchell creates interesting characters who don't always make the right decisions. You'll probably find yourself caring about them (one especially effective scene is when Geoffrey, who is kept in quarantine as the "patient zero" of the plague, is transferred to a quarantine facility for other victims--it's his old family estate). Mitchell keeps things moving along briskly and efficiently and the book reaches a satisifying and logical conclusion, with room for a sequel although one isn't inevitable. She also raises some ethical issues that are definitely worth pondering.

Mitchell's third novel is first rate science fiction. The science (primarily genetics) has clearly been meticulously researched. I have to admit to some unpleasant synchronicity in reading this book about a new disease running rampant and the news reports of SARS. Luckily this is a real science fiction novel and not "merely" a medical thriller, and the story veers off into interesting territories reminiscent of Greg Bear's Blood Music. I especially liked the notion that genetic programming was indeed akin to computer programming and that hackers might excell at it.To the reviewer who complained that the use of "changeling" was incorrect, I disagree. When the term comes up in the novel, it refers to genes being replaced with something "wild" which seems to me to be a perfectly good match to the more traditional one (babies replaced by something wild, if you will).

Bio-engineering must be an "in" thing to base fiction on these days among hard sci-fi writers the way cyberpunk was for the mid-to-late 90's. The Changeling Plague reminded me of nothing so much as Greg Bear's Darwin's Radio (also an excellent read). Both use a base hypothesis of what would happen if genetic propogation began to do odd things. How would that change us and how would various societies and their governments respond? But while Bear's story hypothesizes it could happen from spontanous mutation due to environmental stresses such as industrial pollution and over-populated regions Ms. Mitchell's novel envisions a world where illegal gene therapy research escapes the control of the scientists conducting it.As with most novels there are some odd situations. For example, in Ms. Mitchell's novel (as a previous reviewer noted) the world quite understandably has a mass panic (the infection rate climbs to 96% with almost certain death to follow). It is never clear how extensive the damage is beyond a few scenes sketched out showing general public panic. In a world where it is admitted this virus is highly communicable (the author never quite pins down if it's airborn or only transmitted via touch) and mass-panic ensues apparently pizza-delivery boys think they're immune so you can still order delivery knowing it will be at your doorstep a half hour later. And since the story explains earlier that bio-hazard suits sell for thousands of dollars on the black market I doubt pizza-delivery suddenly becomes a lucrative career option. This is only one example of some odd disjunctures. It had the effect of reminding me I was reading a story. Thankfully though it didn't happen often.If I had to classify it I would say this book is more plot-driven than character-driven. You see the 3 main characters (the medical researcher Lillith, Patient 0 Geoffrey Allen and hacker extraordinaire Idaho Davis) and what they think and how they react to the events around them but unlike some I didn't get a sense of getting to know or understand each character *except* in relation to their handling of the plague and it's consequences on them, their family and friends. This is what I mean about it being more of a plot-driven novel than a character-driven one. Having said that these 3 do get a lot of air-time with everyone else getting bit roles. Using terms of a standard hollywood tv-drama the main 3 carry the novel and get the majority of lines while a few other regulars get a few lines per chapter.The pacing is also tight. Unlike some novels there isn't a lot of time spent building a backstory that makes people often say of a novel, "it's slow through the first part.". Ms. Mitchell jumps right in and never lets up. It is a fun, entertaining read and the author succeeds overall more often than not. If you are a sci-fi fan give this book a shot.

In the very near future, virus engineering is understandably illegal, but a rich man with CF pays millions for an engineered retro virus to cure his condition. The whole world pays the price when the virus does the impossible and mutates to infect others. The virus rewrites every victim's genetic code. It's a new and constantly changing plague. The CDC, doctors the world over, even computer hackers race for a cure...at least at first.This is the absolutely excellent third novel by a woman who SHOULD have a hardcover contract soon. She's compared to Crichton on the cover, but she's better. She's written a Sci-Fi Thriller for intelligent readers that will keep you reading into the wee hours. This one has only been out a short time, and I already can't wait for her next book. Pick up Murphy's Gambit and Technogenesis if you haven't already.

A scientist working on a project to eradicate hemophilia inadvertently releases the virus that causes Mahn's disease. The global wide pandemic propels the world's powers to sign the Beijing Treaty of 2013, banning any work on viral engineering.Geoffrey Allen, a young very wealthy man dying of cystic fibrosis buys a viral engineered therapy illegally from a reputable scientist for a large of money. The cure works but anyone Geoffrey goes near catches what becomes known as AHMS (Acquired Human Mutagene Syndrome), a plague that spreads around the world. Diverse groups such as the American CDC and renegade hackers work feverishly to find a vaccine that will stop the spread of the disease. They then have to convince unsympathetic governments and corporations not to let die the plague victims who are hidden away in internment camps.There are many heroes running the human spectrum in THE CHANGELING PLAGUE. They range from the man who served as the host of this plague to the doctors who risk their own health so that others may have hope to the scientific hackers who fill the gap when all else fails. Syne Mitchell's latest work revisits hot potato social issues providing a powerful magnitude of perspectives which gives credence to the naysayers as much as the supporters. This is a powerhouse novel.Harriet Klausner