Type B

by Steve Mitchell

Overview

John, a courier for Mercy Hospital lab, is given instructions to go pick up two blood specimens and rush them to the hospital for analysis. John discovers information about a deadly blood disease that is fatal to everyone except those who have type B blood and those who have not reached adolescence. The medical community doesn’t know what it is, how it spreads or how to cure it. What they do know is the virus spreads rapidly with a 100 percent mortality rate. As the disease takes its toll on the adult population, the number of adolescent gang starts to grow causing more problems throughout the communities. Problems like burglary, arson, and various forms of assault including rape and murder become commonplace. As time goes by, the death toll continues to climb. The population of the world is decreasing fast. Who will survive and what will society look like?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781663207227
Publisher:	iUniverse, Incorporated
Publication date:	02/28/2021
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.71(d)

About the Author

USCG Veteran with degrees in Bio-Medical Electronics, Business Management, and a Devry Certification on Communication Systems. I have a background in chemistry, physics, electronics, robotics, refrigeration, and many other high tech disciplines. I have 40 years’ experience as a High Tech Instructional Designer in the Semiconductor, Pharmaceutical, and Aviation industries.

Editorial Reviews

2021-07-01
In first-time author Mitchell’s dystopian novel, a father and son try to save their family during an epidemic.

John Davison, a biological fluid courier in Cincinnati, observes the first signs of a new deadly virus. This hypercontagious blood disease kills everyone it infects within mere hours. Surprisingly, it doesn’t affect people with type B blood; those with any other blood type who are past puberty are at risk. Though John and his 14-year-old son, Peter, are safe, his wife, Paula, is susceptible, and Peter’s little sister, Beth, soon will be. A blood transfusion can save Paula, should she be infected, so John suggests searching for donors. They’ll need a prepubescent child with her blood type. They could just ask nicely; instead, Peter and his friend Ken Moore chloroform kids and test their blood. By this time, the virus has spread globally, and parentless children form vicious gangs. They make money by stealing blood for transfusions, so now Peter and Ken have competition in an increasingly ugly world. Mitchell excels at building tension; John and his colleagues keep the virus a secret until news reports spark chaos among the public. Character development, however, is less successful. Virus-related discussions trump virtually all character development. As such, readers may find it hard to sympathize with anyone, even the ones who die. And as the novel progresses, Ken’s moral compass slowly corrodes, inciting truly unsettling scenes involving adolescents. Nevertheless, Mitchell knocks out an impressive ending that proves both memorable and convincing.

A potent, grim apocalyptic tale marred by tepid characterization.

Kirkus Reviews