The Rationing

A virus is spreading, killing Americans, as the government is not properly prepared to deal with it. Maybe it sounds like real-life, but it is actually the plot of a May 2019 (!) novel by Charles Wheelan called The Rationing.

Needless to say, the book is remarkably prescient. A lot of details about what goes on during a pandemic were rather well-predicted by Wheelan.

The science behind the virus did not make sense to me, though. Why is it only happening now? What is the evolutionary advantage to making a host (who is far away) sick? In that way, I think Contagion (2011) did a far better job, probably because it stuck closer to what has actually caused pandemics in the past.

We're probably all in the frame of mind where this book is interesting just because of how relevant it is, so I recommend it.