Barth Anderson The Patron Saint of Plagues

The Patron Saint of Plagues

In the not so distant future on an alternate Earth, Emil Obregon is the president for life in a fascist Mexico thanks to the support of the Holy Renaissance Party. This theocracy has an alternate Pope who broke away from the Vatican and has much power over the country. Most of the population is hooked up through implants to the Pilone, an online form of the net that allows the government to keep track of its citizens.

Mexico and the United States are at war with the former annexing Arizona and New Mexico as well as part of Central and South America. When Dengue Fever threatens to kill much of Mexico's population, doctors like Henry Stark from CDC rush over there to help. The airborne virus constantly mutates; after studying it the researchers conclude that it is manmade and someone is still spreading it around the country. If Stark and his team don't find the carrier, 80% of Mexico's population will die.

This is as much a medical thriller as it is a futuristic alternate history. Readers will be fascinated by the theological fascist regime that has the church's blessing but the focus of much of the book is Stark, a man not interested in politics but in saving lives. Barth Anderson is a gifted storyteller whose debut novel is a roaring success. His descriptions of a futuristic Mexico are so vivid that readers can easily visualize it.

Barth Anderson

Bantam, April 2006, $13.00, 384 pp

ISBN 0553383582

Harriet Klausner