Typically, I love everything by Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire. Her works have always tempted me down a road I never thought I would ever want to go down. Which made this piece of work one of the more disappointing for me. While I loved the premise I felt like this book was left wanting due to just how short it is. If it had been a little longer I would have felt like everything was flesh outed enough for my liking. Still, considering how much she writes a year I am amazed by just how amazing in quality this story is.

“That’s the thing about monsters, Angie,” said Izzy, lowering the gun. “It takes one to know one.”

Oh My God Mira Grant!

You gave me chills and they’re multiplying. But I’m smiling through my palpitations because this story was an outstanding medical doomsday drama with a hopeful ending.

And a twist the black heart of me enjoyed!

Thanks again Karen, there’s a reason I have shelf named after you!

Short enough that it doesn’t have the problem with repeated phrases that has started to bother me in Grant’s writing, but characteristically uses quotes from in-universe documents to introduce everything in rather heavy-handed ways. This is consistent with the heavy-handed nature of the story itself, which is about an outbreak of a variant of measles that doesn’t just wipe your immune system (did you know that catching regular measles often also removes prior immunities to other diseases? That’s some freaky shit) but prevents it from learning new immunities in the future—meaning that a huge percentage of the world is permanently immunocompromised. Vaccinate your kids (and get your flu shot), people, but this story is skippable except for hardcore Grant fans.

I know I know, I read this one waaaaay early, but I love this author so much and also it's Sci-Fi September [at least for me] so I figured I would just go for it. This book definitely has more in common with her older works like Parasitology and Newsflesh than her newer stuff. Grant's popular books have always been categorized by their creepy but incredibly plausible medical horror and there is pretty much nothing more believable in this day and age than anti-vaxxers bringing about some kind of super-disease apocalypse.

I really liked the overall concept of this book and also found all the characters to be incredibly real and 3-dimensional [even if most of them were not necessarily likable while making hard choices, but I think that adds to the realistic nature of the whole thing]. The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because it did seem to me like it could have been a little bit longer. The ending came up pretty abruptly [and it took me a minute to understand some things revealed towards the end] and made the whole thing seem a bit like a prequel to a longer story. It still stands alone pretty decently, but I think that she could easily continue with another book.

“No one wanted to consider the fact that we might, in the end, have done this to ourselves.”

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Subterranean Press. Trigger warnings: severe illness, death, child death.

Lisa Morris is patient zero for a deadly new strain of measles that vaccines can’t hold out against. Not only does it cause waves of death all over the world, it cripples the immune systems of those who survive, rendering vaccines for measles and other long-conquered diseases such as mumps and whooping cough ineffective. In a last ditch effort to save humanity, Lisa’s aunt, Dr. Isabella Gauley, tries to quarantine healthy survivors on an island funded by wealthy donors, but it won’t erase her guilt.

I’ll follow Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire just about anywhere she wants to take me in her fiction, but Kingdom of Needle & Bone isn’t one of her best. Horror has a long-standing role in providing political and social commentary, but there comes a point where the agenda overwhelms the storytelling. This novel is almost all agenda in a pro-vaccine crusade, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I’d like to give a copy to every anti-vaccine parent out there who puts the rest of the world at risk with their poorly researched choices. (Don’t @ me until you’ve read this book.) However, the novel isn’t strong on plot or character, and I know Grant is skilled enough to send a message while still telling a good story (see the Newsflesh trilogy for more). That just isn’t the case here.

The characters are surprisingly flat for a Grant novel, as she manages to flesh out characters in far fewer pages in the Wayward Children novellas. The main character, Dr. Gauley, is more or less a cardboard cutout of a doctor who’s willing to be ruthless if it means saving lives. There are some interesting dynamics with her two sisters, one who lost a daughter and the other who never met a cause for activism she couldn’t drive into the ground, but the relationships don’t get enough page time to feel complex. The scant details of the minor characters have already faded, but the characters aren’t the point of the novel. They’re vehicles to deliver the message and little more. The plot is more straightforward than I was expecting, and rather than follow the characters closely through the setup of the island quarantine, it’s streamlined quite a bit to get to its point. There’s a lot more exposition than action. The end has a plot twist, but in order to be truly shocking, we need a better understanding of the characters and what they might plausibly do under extreme circumstances, so it’s a lukewarm surprise at best.

The novel is strong in a few areas. While the scientific explanations can be a little overwhelming, it’s mainly because it doesn’t have the plot/character to balance them out. In a longer, more-developed novel, I think they would have been fine. Grant’s science is always well-researched, accessible to the novice, and terrifyingly plausible; I’m now frightened by what I know about “herd immunity.” The debate over whether vaccines should be mandatory or an issue of bodily autonomy are well-described, though the novel makes no pretense about being unbiased. If you’re looking for a short, gruesome, and scarily accurate fable about why vaccines are a necessary evil, look no further.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

The Kingdom of Needle and Bone was a fantastic novella. I really enjoyed the premise and the look into the morals and ethics behind medicine. The protagonist, Dr. Gauley, is complex and intriguing, something you don't always see in female characters.
My only complaint is that because of the novella's length there were plot points and characters that weren't given as much focus or backstory, so I didn't feel as attached or invested in it/them. The story also read like a precursor to the real story, which seemed to just start at the end, so I am hoping for a second part.
Other than that I did really enjoy this novella and Mira Grant's writing, which is startling real and makes it all the more scary.

This is the first book I have read by Mira Grant although I am from familiar with her other writings under the name Seanan MaGuire. I understood that Grant’s books leaned toward horror which is not a genre that I typically read, however I was intrigued by the description of a viral epidemic and how it disrupted, first Canada, and then the greater world in several waves of massive loss of life.
This is a fairly short book and I will try to avoid spoilers. The main character and her sisters suffer a loss in the very beginning of the story. The dynamics between the three sisters is complex and they are enmeshed both emotionally and politically. Seemingly at the center of the conflict is the question of bodily autonomy versus required vaccinations, yet a different underlying issue is foreshadowed and leads to a horrific twist at the end.
I found the characters well drawn and was glad I took a chance and tried a Mira Grant story. Thank you NetGalley!

Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) is one of those authors whose work I will always read, regardless of topic. "Kingdom of Needle and Bone" is another solid horror novella, one that I actually found far more disturbing then "Rolling in the Deep" since this one feels eerily plausible.

"Kingdom" starts out with the outbreak of a new and deadly form of measles, one that spreads all the more quickly due to the growing rate of unvaccinated people. The first confirmed victim is the eight year old niece of our protagonist, Dr. Isabella Gauley. What Dr. Gauley does in her efforts to save as many as possible, and her reasons for doing it, inform the rest of the story.

I actually had a tough time making it through this book. Not because there's anything wrong with the writing or story, but because the descriptions of dead and dying children were hard to deal with (this is a problem that has popped up more and more since my son was born. Amazing how much worse things like this read when your brain has a face to put on everything). Parents of young children might want to be prepared for this before reading.

"Kingdom of Needle and Bone" presents a good story, but there are some details that feel a bit thin and glossed over, mostly due to the length of the book. I wouldn't be surprised if readers clamor for a sequel once this is out. This is another good horror novella from Mira Grant, just be aware if you think you might be bothered reading about the scarily plausible pandemic.

Short read but very enjoyable! The horror of this world was that it could really happen. I’m really hoping Mira Grant decides to expand this into a novel. I would really love to know more!

I was super excited when the blurb for this came out because I am a big Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant fan, and the subject of the book sounded right up my alley. Crazy disease that knocks out a bunch of the world? I'm in!

The book started off exciting- you're immediately introduced to poor patient zero- Lisa, the niece of the protagonist of the book. However, she quickly dies before you can get too attached. The book largely felt like a prequel to the Real Book. I felt a bit detached as I was reading and didn't connect or wasn't made to care for the characters enough to feel fully invested in the story. The story felt cursory and not detailed/rich enough. There was a hint of an interesting backstory, but as soon as it got more intriguing, the book ended, and the backstory wasn't explored.

Thank you to Subterranean Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I love speculative fiction. I love it when things have a political slant that I agree with. I love geeky, well-researched scifi. Mira Grant is amazing at all of these things. And although I like short books, I really wish this one had been longer. There is more to this story and I really want to hear it! I absolutely loved this crazy, scary spin on what could happen in the future if this anti-vax movement is allowed to gain any more traction. It's what makes books like these so terrifying, because they feel real. Mira Grant is SO good at this, to the point where even her FEED series sounded like it was only a few years in the making. So good. So short. Loved it.

A chilling indictment of the antivax movement, built on a fairly realistic sci-fi tale of what could happen if antivaxxers are allowed to continue their ignorant proselytizing. The writing is impactful, and the length is just about right for the story being told, although the ending feels rushed and a few extra pages of character work would have helped give a better understanding of certain characters' actions and motivations. 4.5 stars, rounding up. It's a great novella.

I absolutely adore everything Mira Grant/Seanan McGuire writes, but this...THIS, was amazing! I think it may be my favorite of her Mira Grant titles. In Kingdom of Needle and Bone, she takes on the anti-vax community and boy, how does she take them down!

This novella, much like Final Girls and Rolling in the Deep before it (go check those out!), packs a huge emotional punch in a small package. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say, Kingdom of Needle and Bone is definitely one to preorder - and fast, since according to SubPress, there are not many left.

Get vaccinated, dipshits! This was a terrifying read, because it is so very plausible. I have no tolerance for scientifically illiterate hillbillies or religious zealots refusing to vaccinate their kids and now we have diseases like measles and whooping cough coming back that haven't been seen in years. So yeah, the scenario in this slim book is not out of the realm of possibility. It was a fast read and utterly absorbing and terrifying.

This book is terrifying because it's actually a possibility, and it made me so angry! Get vaccinated!!! It's a fast read and one you won't soon forget.


Thank you NetGalley and publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Most of the apocalyptic fiction that I have read leans towards the zombie genre or struggling with the day-to-day survival. This book focuses on a nebulous time period between the initial outbreak and looking at the world and how it has changed.
The book follows a doctor who is struggling with the death of her niece who ended up being patient zero in a rabid new virus. The characters are well built, and the story approaches an outbreak in a way I haven't read before.
I really enjoyed this book for the frank discussions of how these things spread and why herd immunity is necessary. The book does not try to hide its politics and was clearly inspired by the recent outbreaks of a number of diseases thought to be controlled in North America. It could come off as a little bit heavy handed at times, but the story and the way everything unfolds was still incredibly enjoyable.

<img src="https://www.npr.org/assets/img/2014/01/24/outbreaksvaccineLoop.gif"/>
thanks, assholes!

for some reason, the synopsis for this one didn’t excite me - no zombies, no sentient tapeworms, no killer mermaids, just a faceless, familiar threat: regular old <i>disease</i>. i didn’t grab the novella right away on netgalley, but when i finally did commit to it, i realized how stupid i had been, and i was like YOU DUMMY, THIS IS MIRA GRANT!!!!

because one of the best things <i>about</i> her books has always been the amount of medical detail, and how convincing, how chillingly <i>plausible</i> those facts have made her stories seem.

so horrific, so credible.

so, yeah, this is “just” about disease. it is “just” about what could happen if the anti-vaxxers keep pushing medical information into the world that is much less convincing than what supports mira grant’s “this is how we could have zombies” speculation. and in this case, “just” becomes so much more pants-shittingly terrifying than any creature-based horror tale could. because the truth is, with enough misinformed douchebags out there, we could be totally wiped out.

and misinformed douchebags with the power to wipe us all out is something i have already learned to fear way more than killer mermaids.

i would love to see this developed into a longer series, the way her novella [book:Rolling in the Deep|23634011] eventually led to more more more. dr. gauley is wonderfully flawed in that way very specific to mira grant, particularly her dr./mad scientist characters, and she could easily carry a series, with brooke and sandy and mark rounding out her quirky and meticulously diverse team of pals and colleagues.

i’m glad i was able to read this, and i’m glad mira grant is such a powerhouse of productivity, because knowing her, if she wanted to, she could have a trilogy set in this world written in 2-3 months, tops. and it would be magnificent.

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thank you, netgalley! review TK.

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another $40 novella from subterranean that i am too poor to justify buying.

https://subterraneanpress.com/slider-tabs/just-announced/kingdom-of-needle-and-bone

someone buy it and read it to me over the phone!

Lisa Morris, age 8, is Patient Zero in this novella's unflinching look into a new pandemic of a mutated strain of measles, afterward known as Morris's disease. She feels unwell but doesn't want to miss a day at the amusement park by telling her parents she feels ill. After her day at the park, she travels back from Florida with her parents, spreading infection like wildfire. Shortly after arriving home, Lisa dies. The virus, however, doesn't die with Lisa.

As with any unchecked infectious disease, Morris's disease, or measles encephalitis, spread quickly in the days that followed. Even more terrifying is what came after: "the strange forgetfulness of the human immune system following exposure". If the death toll from the initial wave of Morris's disease wasn't high enough, then came Whooping cough, and then an outbreak of Mumps, and it continued.

"A person who survived measles who lose some measure of their preexisting immunity to other diseases, whether that immunity has been aquired through natural or manmade means.By waltzing across the world, Morris had, effectively, rendered the entire population unvaccinated, and now the terrible consequences of that reality were being revealed."

Now you would think that the remainder of the novella might concentrate on a brave scientist finding the cure or of the doctors and nurses resulting struggle against the disease, or even a post-apocalyptic survivors tale. But this story takes a different turn. The rest of the narrative belongs to pediatrician and former virologist, Dr. Isabella Gauley, Lisa's aunt. There's no hero bringing light to the darkness here. Just a woman who is willing to do whatever it takes, good or bad, to save even a fraction of humanity. A woman who may have dark secrets of her own.

Kingdom of Needle and Bone takes an uncompromising stance against the anti-vaccination movement and the concrete need for herd immunity. It also touches on bodily autonomy and it's legal ramifications.

The terrifying reality is this: Kingdom of Needle and Bone's scenario is one that could truly happen. In fact, it has. We only need to look into our past to find the existence of other such instances. The bubonic plague wiped out 75-200 million people in the 1300's. Cholera, 1 million people in the 1850's. Asian flu, 2 million, in the 1950's. AIDS/HIV, 36 million.

Sometimes the scariest fiction is the one that isn't so far off the truth.

This excellent novella, about a pandemic of a particularly nasty mutated strain of measles, highlights the dangers of the anti-vaccination ideology and the loss of herd immunity. Various characters' responses to this scenario feel depressingly realistic. It's a novella about survival and what people are willing to give up--or refuse to give up--in order to ensure that survival. As such, it brings up fascinating questions of where bodily autonomy begins and ends.

I do wish this had been a full-length novel, in order to flesh out certain aspects of the plot. Even so, this novella was exactly as interesting and thoughtful as I would expect of this author.

Kingdom of Needle and Bone
Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant
Kingdom of Needle and Bone
by Mira Grant

M 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Aug 06, 2018 · edit

really liked it

A harrowing glimpse into the possible world of consequences of expansion of the anti-vaccination movement that plagues are society. The memory and consequences of the multiple childhood diseases has faded from our collective mind. The end result will be loss of herd immunity in our society.
This tale starts with the feverish child LisaMorris not wanting to miss her last day for a chance to ride the roller coaster. Events quickly spiral out of control as she unknowingly infects hundreds of unsuspecting adults and children with her virus particles. Without herd immunity being strong enough an epidemic ravages the US and then the world ... giving rise to the Morris Disease ... an apparent mutation from the common childhood disease measles. Unfortunately the disease also renders the individual virtually immunosuppressed. The fate and success of future generations is left in the hands of Lisa's aunt, Dr Isabella Gauley ... noted pediatrician and previous virology researcher.
Thanks to Netgalley and SubTerranean Press for providing this wonderful novella in exchange for an honest review. @SubPress