The Oracle Virus

The Oracle Virus is a richly detailed novel that works as much as a thriller as it does an SF story, medical mystery and ecological catastrophe novel. As such, it is quite ambitious in scope.

The main character, Jack Kavanaugh, is a nanotechnology expert recruited for his skills as an undercover agent, to protect 20 statesmen and leaders during an important conference. He is also in the front line of tackling a serial killer whose arty displays of the dead bodies of prominent people hint either at a particularly vicious psychotic, or as the work of international terrorists. Then, there is a massive and mysterious storm, Little Boy, that channels world events in the form of mysterious debris and beaches several pods of whales, one that has apparently succumbed to a virus that nearly caused a pandemic just one generation ago.

Then in the middle of this apocalyptic storm, the political leaders disappear and it is up to Kavanaugh with the agent he befriends, Annika, to get to the bottom of all these converging mysteries in time.

The protagonist himself is something ng of an enigma, being seen in more places at the same time than one. His father Peter believes the virus they are up against may be a smart virus. Meanwhile, Jack's grandfather, also an agent, does under mysterious and scandalous circumstances. Even now, as with all heroes, this problematic aspect of his paternal line, means he has something to prove.

What could be the nature of the shadowy elite Kavanaugh and his co-workers may be up against.

Lovers of conspiracy theories and SF based on cutting-edge science should love this!

The editing, however, leads something to be desired, hopefully this will get proofed a little better the second time round.

i really enjoyed that they used today's headlines to make a good scifi novel. I enjoyed the characters and the plot.