The Laptev Virus Synopsis: It begins as an oil company, drilling in the Arctic, accidentally discovers a megavirus, frozen in the permafrost. It is 30,000 years old. And it is a human pathogen. Just how would a team of scientists go about studying it? And what if the mice models they were using inadvertently became contaminated, leading the researchers to dubious conclusions? Now, imagine if the CEO of the oil company sponsoring the research put pressure on the lab to issue a certification that the coast was clear and they could return to drilling—but it turns out that he is dead wrong? – Goodreads
The Laptev Virus Review
The Laptev Virus is definitely an interesting read, but one that will not appeal to everyone. Christy Esmahan gives the reader a fascinating tale of what could happen, based on current knowledge of megaviridae, standard scientific practices, and extrapolation of the the effects of global warming upon our planet. If that last sentence made your brain hurt, chances are this book will be a bit much for you. It is chock full of speculation, research details, and general information specific to the subject. 
I loved it. It had a bit of a rocky start that made me a bit nervous about how it was going to go, but after I stuck with it for a few pages, it was easy to see that it was going to be the type of book that was right up my alley. This is not an action-packed book filled with people dying everywhere and brave scientists giving their lives in the process of trying to save the human race. Instead, she sets the scene for potential danger early on (including a few deaths), then she spins you a tale rooted in realism. Its intriguing and educational to see an actual microbiologist’s take on the emergence of a megavirus and how it would be handled.
Now, the book does end rather abruptly, and as I knew the end of the book was coming up, some of the things that happened had me thinking that the author was setting me up for a case of sequel-baiting. Luckily, that was not the case. While The Laptev Virus could easily have a sequel written, Esmahan ends it in a solid way that is believable if mayhaps a bit too quick.
Overall, it has its problems, yes, but The Laptev Virus is an interesting read for those who enjoy scientific/medical thrillers that are less about car chases and espionage and more about the realistic playing out of viable scenarios. Oh, and by the way, it won the 2015 NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR MEDICAL THRILLERS
Want to read The Laptev Virus yourself? Click here to find it on Amazon.
The Laptev Virus Review Book Data
Title: The Laptev Virus | Author: Christy Esmahan (site) | Publisher: Self-published | Pub. Date: 2015-3-2 | Pages: 246 | ISBN13: 9781507581957 | Genre: Medical Thriller | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 4 out of 5 | Date Read: 2016-2-8 | Source: Kindle Unlimited
Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
She is also a co-founder of Ladies of Horror Fiction, though she has stepped down to regular crew level.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
Dear Lilyn, I have just put out a sequel to The Laptev Virus called The Cobra Effect. The cobra effect is a real thing–it’s when you have a very difficult problem and you take steps to mitigate it, and these end up making the problem worse! I hope you enjoy it and would very much appreciate it if you would review it. Thank you!!
I love this review, thank you! And BTW, I agree that the ending is too abrupt so I have tweaked it a bit. 🙂
I’m sorry you saw it before I got around to reformatting it. Gah! Glad you like the review, though 🙂
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Glad you liked it!
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My head hurt a little, but it sounds so interesting I can’t turn my back on it. I’m glad the focus is on the medical research and the story is not just a lengthy list of nice characters suffering awful deaths.
Same problem for me, I could not leave a comment from the wordpress reader 🙁
I’m sure there’s a fix for the reader problem. I’ll look more into it tonight.
sounds right up my alley.
FYI, there’s something odd going on where you can’t just leave a comment from the wordpress reader anymore.
Hmmm *pokes at her site* Let me see what I can do.
could you try now, please?