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  • The Genius Plague

  • By: David Walton
  • Narrated by: Nick Thurston
  • Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (31 ratings)

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The Genius Plague

By: David Walton
Narrated by: Nick Thurston
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Summary

The contagion is in your mind

In this science fiction thriller, brothers are pitted against each other as a pandemic threatens to destabilize world governments by exerting a subtle mind control over survivors.

Neil Johns has just started his dream job as a code breaker for the NSA when his brother Paul, a mycologist, goes missing on a trip to collect samples in the Amazon jungle. Paul returns with a gap in his memory and a fungal infection that almost kills him. But once he recuperates, he has enhanced communication, memory, and pattern recognition. Meanwhile, something is happening in South America; others, like Paul, have also fallen ill and recovered with abilities they didn't have before.

But that's not the only pattern - the survivors, from entire remote Brazilian tribes to American tourists, all seem to be working toward a common, deadly goal. Neil soon uncovers a secret, unexplained alliances form between governments that have traditionally been enemies, and Paul becomes increasingly secretive and erratic. Paul sees the fungus as the next stage of human evolution, while Neil is convinced that it is driving its human hosts to destruction.

Brother must oppose brother on an increasingly fraught international stage, with the free will of every human on earth at stake. Can humanity use this force for good, or are we becoming the pawns of an utterly alien intelligence?

©2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
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What listeners say about The Genius Plague

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story!

For anyone interested in eco fiction. This is an enticing novel and I couldn't put it down!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Eh reader, pretty good book.

I ended up not liking the reader's voice. On the more objective side, he sometimes mispronounced English words, and while he uses different tones for different characters, he sometimes mixes them up.
The frequent Portuguese words in the book make it a little jarring to listen too with the contrast of it in-between English. This might possibly not be a problem if you knew Portuguese.

As for the book itself, it seems somewhat amateur linguistically; things like overuse of 'said' and what I consider to be an overuse of monologue and explanation; the authors talking points are pretty transparent whenever he tries to build them up. There's also some sort of fetish for the NSA and chess.
I love the premise however, and the plot and it's argument is fairly well constructed, if a little cheesy at times.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

True hard science covering bio, chem, phys and eng

All killer no filler. I was bored to death of gore and formulaic thrillers with a bit of science, or fantasy masquerading as sci-fi and then I stumbled on this. I haven’t enjoyed sci-fi like this since Andy Weir’s project Hail Mary and Nancy Chambers first trilogy.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great!

Very engaging with some very interesting ideas. This is the first book I've read (listened to) in just a couple of days in a while!

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2 people found this helpful