Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately I have been unable to get into it. DNF @ 23%.

This is a tough review to write. I’m always on the lookout for something different and unique in the post-apocalyptic universe. Pandora seemed to tick off all of the boxes; sometimes there is simply a failure to connect the product offered by the author to the product desired by the reader.

I can’t and won’t take anything away from Harry’s skill as an author. Pandora was well-written and had intriguing characters; I had a few chuckles with them along the way.

So what went wrong? Pandora simply did not give me the apocalypse that I was looking for. The entire story seemed to revolve around the laboratory and the boardroom. It was all talk with little to no action. Now when I look back at the synopsis, I can see that perhaps I should have expected that. I just assumed that Harry would put me in the midst of the action more frequently.

With roughly an hour left in the book, I almost gave up, DNF-ed. I kept waiting for the action to begin, it never did. I have a feeling that the second book in the series will visit the frontlines, and I’m certain that Harry will do a top-notch job with the remainder of his story; this story will go on without me. He had 288 pages to make me care. I don’t.

*3 Stars

I really do enjoy a good apocalyptic story and judging by the blurb for Pandora: Outbreak, it definitely was going to be one. A virus that destroys the brain. Epic battle of survival. There is no known cure. Sign me up because this sounds like it’s going to be epic!

Ummm… So let’s start with I didn’t hate the book. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It’s always the possibility of what could happen in the real world and how authors like to put their spin on it that what keeps me reading these kind of stories. Can I see it happening this way? Would I survive it? So here we have a world where a virus is unleashed when a crew is drilling in Siberia. The virus has an extreme short incubation and victims of it either die, become extremely violent or… And that or is the curious thing. Are they zombies because once changed they certainly are different. No sense of self, no shame, able to communicate, or at least in this case, Emma is. I think zombie is a poor word but for now, that seems to be the only word to use.

It’s the beginning of the end and the author is giving us breakdown of what happens. First infection, what becomes of the victim, the possibilities of the destruction of the world. Each chapter is almost a day-by-day deconstruction of the world as we know it as the people in the know deal with the fallout, how to contain and ultimately how they will survive. For readers who like realism there is plenty of scientific lingo, violence and other things you can expect when you watch a disaster unfold.

I am undecided on who I would consider the main character of the story. Is it Emma? She studies diseases for a living and now that she has the virus, she herself is now being studied Can we say ironic! Is it Isabel, Emma’s twin sister and a neuroscientist? She comes to help with Emma only to find Emma is severely different, is now being studied and used as a comparison, and is in the center of all that is going on. Then you have Noah, their brother who is determined that he and his family will survive and the plans he has set in place. The government, the doctors, military, other victims, the world. So many decisions on who it can be except the silent character that has a life of its own: The Pandoravirus.

As much as I enjoyed Pandora: Outbreak I also found it a bit tedious. The day-by-day chapters while interesting, I also sometimes found myself bored with it. The end-of-the-world virus, while unique, felt all too familiar in other stories I read. Isabel I liked but as a neuroscientist, I found her to be a bit too weepy and hand wringy for me. Actually, most of the characters felt a bit pigeon holed into what I would expect in a story such as this. This was not a book I was able to just sit down and lose myself in. Of course, this is a series, there has to be a cliffy. At this time, I am undecided if I want to continue with the series. I am curious to find out what happens, just not sure if I want to keep reading a book that does daily breakdowns of the world.

reviewed by Jac

While in Siberia studying a new virus Dr. Emma Miller an epidemiologist is attacked and succumbs to the virus herself. After she makes it through the worst of the virus she is flown home to America where she is taken to a government hospital and put into quarantine. The virus which has been name Pandoravirus Horribilus attacks the brain and leaves the person without any emotions or feelings of pain and the patient can become extremely violent.

Emma’s twin sister Dr. Isabel Miller a neuroscientist is allowed to come to the hospital to visit with Emma and to help understand the virus and how it affects the brain.

Isabel visits her brother Noah to let him know about Emma and to tell him about the virus so he can prepare for what is coming and hopefully save his family from the infected.

The story is told from the point of view of all three siblings. We get to see inside of Emma’s head a little bit to see how the virus affects the human brain. Then we get to see how Isabel is handling seeing her twin sister locked up and the person she knew as her sister is gone.

Noah shows us how to prepare for an apocalypse like what supplies to buy, how much ammo and guns to purchase and how to fortified your home against an attack from zombie like humans.

I have always loved reading stories about diseases especially Ebola so when I read the summary for Pandora: Outbreak I knew I had to read it. I loved the world that the author created in Pandora: Outbreak and how the brain is attacked and changed when a person is infected with the Pandoravirus. I liked reading the story from the point of view of all three siblings. I like reading different point of views it is like getting three stories in one sort of.

I love zombies so Pandora: Outbreak was right up my alley and I loved the story very much and would recommend it to anyone else who loves a good mystery or science fiction type of book with a whole new kind of zombie.

I was really excited to read this book it sound fascinating. Diving right in I found it more depressing than most apocalyptic fiction or pandemic sub-genre books that I have read in the past.
The characters might be likable for some but this reader struggled to connect with anyone of them. The misogynistic undertones that always seem to fall into this genre was too much as was the repetitive words that were used. A good editor could have fixed those quickly.
The series I am sure will have an upswing at the books move forward.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Rebel Base Books for the Advance Copy

Pandora: Outbreak by Eric L. Harry is the first book in the new Pandora Thriller series. The story is a bit of science fiction fantasy that’s also quite the thriller. The story starts with Dr. Emma Miller being called in to investigate the outbreak of a new virus but when she contracts the virus herself she becomes the one being studied.

After Emma survives the Pandoravirus which kills roughly fifty percent of those that contract the virus it becomes clear that those that survive are changed. Dr. Isabel Miller who is a neuroscientist is called in to help study the virus and her twin sister Emma when it becomes clear that the survivors have had parts of their brains damaged and are now impervious to pain and lack all emotion.

The story switches the point of view between Isabel while she is in a secret lab working with other scientists and her infected sister and then Noah who is the brother of Isabel and Emma while he prepares for the oncoming pandemic to hit the U.S. With the POV changing between the siblings readers are able to follow the top secret happenings that are hidden from the public and that of those on the outside as fear begins to hit the nation.

I found this story to actually be quite an engaging one as I read along. We all know that it seems there are always new scares in the news with new diseases being found all the time, Ebola anyone? The only thing really that brought the book down a bit for me was when it became a bit overly scientific at times.

Now don’t get me wrong the author did a wonderful job making things clear enough to me not being a doctor or familiar with science but there were times it made it drag a bit going a bit too far in my opinion. I won’t say if which part of the brain controls what and the effects were all realistic because I wouldn’t know myself but the author certainly made it all sound plausible.

I would also warn to readers too that rape is mentioned in the story although just a mention and not graphically described. The violence is also done without getting too overly graphic considering the content with the infected becoming violent and the defense of them doing so. The book also ends in a cliffhanger leading into the next book in the series without a definitive resolution to the story just yet which has me quite ready for the next book already and will certainly be reading when it comes out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

If you are a fan of the virus outbreak genre of books, you should undoubtedly add this to your shelf.
I found this to be a very mature, intelligent and quite original take on the basic pandemic premise.

Pros:
Accessible writing makes the more complex ideas in the book easy to understand.
Very natural and realistically flawed characters.
Fresh take on the genre.

I have only one real con with the book which is that I feel like it was overly apparent that this is the first of the series. It does not function as a self contained novel and it is obviously necessary to wait for the sequel(s) before we see any sort of character or story resolution. This is a bit of a shame for me, I really felt like would have been possible to create a novel that was enjoyable on its own merits while also leaving it open to future installments.

Sidebar: not a fan of the cover art. Seems generic and doesn't capture the tone of the novel at all.

All in all, i enjoyed the read and will be happy to read the next installment when it comes out.

A new virus makes an appearance in the Siberian tundra after a drilling team accidentally unleashes it. Although Russia and WHO do everything they can to keep it contained it spreads to China then Korea then Europe and finally Canada and the USA. A team of scientists, sociologists and military generals are gathered together to study it. One member of that team is Isabel Miller, who is studying her sister Emma who got infected. Everyone is hoping that by studying Isabel and Emma, who are identical twins, they can detail the entire effects of the virus.

Although this novel was good I found there wasn't anything special about it. The novel is a classic science fiction novel where a destructive virus is released.

The plot was interesting with great depth and details. The scientific background regarding the virus history, mode of entry and effects on the human body was intensive. I though the addition of a scientist discussing a new bacteria or parasite at the beginning of the meeting was unnecessary. It felt like forced character development and unnecessary science talk.

The characters were okay but I didn't feel like anything distinguished then apart. Isabel and her brother were the most annoying and stupid. They made decisions from their heart regarding Emma but it felt like they were just endangering the country. I also still don't understand the purpose of the legal talk... a plot device I guess. But it could have been better accomplished by a jail break.

<spoiler>I still don't understand why North America didn't close its borders. Although the author states by closing their borders the countries economy wound have tanked and people would have starved I don't believe this because what other alternatives did they have, a virus that destroys portions of the human brain running lose... I guess that'd be great for the economy.</spoiler>

Thanks to Rebel Bade Book and Netgalley for this ARC. Although it would be interesting to read the next book in the series regarding (hypothetical guess) the destruction of the current society and the creation of the new one by infected people I don't plan too.

*thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

1.5 stars.
The idea of this story is really good. A virus that could wipe out the world super fast. Those infected turned into Zombie like creatures. Sounds great. But unfortunately, there were so many unnecessary parts to this that made it a bit of a mess. So much of it didn't need to be there and was quite boring, with only random moments of scenes that were actually enjoyable. This story had potential but it just wasn't for me.

I read about 40% of "Pandora: Outbreak" before going to bed, only to wake up with nightmares. Fortunately it was a weekend so I just turned on the light and finished the book straight through. Now that's effective (and affecting) writing!

Mr. Harry surely exchanges parasite notes with Mira Grant and channels Michael Crighton too, and it seems that he might have read Connie Willis in his youth. "Pandora: Outbreak" may echo "Doomsday Book", "Andromeda Strain", the Newsflesh series, but it stands strong in its own right.

Emma and Isabel are twins. Emma is a field epidemiologist and Isabel is a neurobiologist. Emma, the bold one, responds to an alert about a new disease outbreak in Siberia and is infected with a severe form of viral encephalitis that destroys certain portions of the brain while leaving other parts intact, and perhaps even strengthening some skills. The virus spreads from human to human very rapidly and soon sweeps out of Siberia and arrives in the USA.

Mr. Harry is quite good at explaining the disease and what it does, and he has worked out the epidemic timeline pretty well. His characterizations, beyond Emma and Isabel are not as strong as they could be. I found myself not caring about most of the others. US President Stoddard, though, is well presented, though, as an intelligent, educated man who feels deeply for people.

This is the first of a series and although I think I have an inkling about where it is going, I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books to find out if I am right.

I received a review copy of "Pandora: Outbreak" by Eric L. Harry (Rebel Base Books) through NetGalley.com.

This reader was very interested at the beginning but felt that the story stalled and it ended up as a dnf. There was no definitive reason for this other than the style of the book did not suit.

A new virus found while drilling in Siberia has started a terrifying pandemic of the zombie apocalypse type. The virus infects the brain and leaves the victims with extremely violent tendencies, no sense of "self", and no empathy for others. The virus is airborne and spreads at a massive rate.

The book focuses a lot on the science, the philosophical and ethical questions, and sociology (of crowds) and goes into detailed discussions of the various issues and possible solutions, as well as the predictictions for how vast the virus spreads and what will happen when it does. Sometimes I felt too much detail. The story is somewhat predictable as are almost all disaster-type books and leaves us with a cliff-hanger opening for the next book.

Overall this was well written, had interesting characters that I mostly liked, and gave me that overall feeling of fear of what is coming. A good story and I look forward to the next installment.

Thanks to Eric L. Harry and Kensington Books for an advance copy.
#RebelBaseRising #NetGalley

They aren’t zombies…are they?

So the author gives us an interesting take on the pandemic sub-genre. His not-really-zombies are extremely interesting. I’d say they lean more toward slightly sociopathic parasites than anything else. He gives us a slower apocalypse and really lets the reader experience the impending panic, the cover ups, and the eventual terror of this pandemic.

Now, the author really thought a lot about the science, sociology, and philosophy behind the enemy here (yes, philosophy and sociology!) The only issue is that he has his characters explain a bit too much. Characters lecture a lot, leading the reader’s eyes to glaze over. I’ll admit that I started reading the lectures with interest, only to eventually just skip over most of them in an effort to get back to the story. Probably the best explanation is when one of our characters has to explain what’s happening to two children. (Yep, I’ll admit it. I needed the kid’s explanation!)

The story itself is a good one. I liked our characters – especially Emma.

The book ends on a cliffhanger. A preview of the next book is included and, if it were available for download today, I’d already be reading it.

This was a harrowing apocalyptic tale of a disease outbreak. While the phrase 'zombie apocalypse' roughly fits this outbreak, it's not true zombies that we see. They do not die and reanimate, and they hold onto their intelligence or even get more intelligent.

This is a great book for those who like the hard sciences in their science fiction. There's in depth looks at the physiological and psychological affects and implications of the disease, and a grimly realistic look at how people and governments would react to this kind of unstoppable pandemic.